Newt's Personal Playground

Yay!

2010-11-16T21:31:00.002-05:00

I think I just found my new favorite song.

Latte fun...

2010-11-16T19:57:00.000-05:00

Chai tea lattes are my newest obsession.

That's gonna leave a mark!

2010-10-20T22:11:00.003-04:00

As I shaved my legs Sunday night, I was startled to find that my legs are spotted with an inordinate amount of bruises. Further inspection alerted me to a similar situation on my arms.

There is an odd bruise on the inside of my upper arm. Well... really, it's about the size of a pen (with the cap on). It's a perfectly round pen-sized bruise. Weird. Am I trying to jam pens into the inside of my upper arms without realizing it?

For the last 15 years or so, I've been the worst klutz. I don't know how this happened.

There was a time when (as a child) I figure skated and did ballet and furthermore, there was also a time when I never ever walked into walls, doorways or door knobs. I can barely recall that time now, mind you. Though I do know… and can even get family members to swear… that I wasn’t always the walking accident I’ve turned into.

Is it possible to de-klutz-ify?

Rescue me

2010-10-18T23:50:00.003-04:00

Have you ever seen the promos on Show Time for Rescue Me? Usually the show's theme is playing when I see it, but I couldn't find that version. See the promo here. I love the characters as giants walking around NY.

Hear the theme here.

I love this show. I love this promo, too. Especially the last few seconds when one of the characters (the sweet, but super dense Mike) trips as the giant firefighters barge through Central Park.

Probably the best promo I've ever seen for a TV show. Ever!

Hair Bands

2010-08-15T00:00:00.001-04:00

Oh how I loved them as a teenage girl.

When TV is shit... which it now is being summer and all... I spend a lot of my free time on you tube. Tonight it was 80's Hair Metal... I was feeling all nostalgic.

Up All Night
Turn up the Radio
The Wild Life
Too Young to Fall in Love
Slow & Easy
Round & Round
Welcome to the Jungle
Monkey Business
Slave to the Grind
I Love it Loud
Bark at the Moon
Piece of Me

These are the songs I listened to back then. Some are missing, of course, but these are highlights.

There was also an awful lot of punk music that I listened to back then as well. Maybe I'll spend next Saturday night on Punk.

Things I have read this week... and things I've been craving

2010-04-10T14:51:00.005-04:00

1. Drink more water. And it's a good idea to put lemon in it, too.

I am a soda freak. Diet soda, no less. Probably the worst for me. It's entirely possible that I am far better off drinking the non-diet sodas. I don't drink diet soda because I'm dieting either. I just find regular soda way too sweet. The diet kinds are just the right amount of sweet.

Realistically, I should cut down on my soda drinking. I already have, but I am thinking I should cut down more. Two years ago, I would get caffeine withdrawal headaches if I didn't drink any soda during the day. I don't get those anymore. Yay me!

Oh and I almost always put lemon in water. Supposedly, it cleans you out a little bit.

2. Get at least 7 hours of sleep.

Yeah. It's not as if I don't try. If I go to bed at 11 p.m. (and most nights, I do), there's no guarantee that I'll fall asleep right away. I really hate when that happens, too. Pffft.

3. Put fruit in a bowl on your counter.

Right. And then say hello to all the damned fruit flies when you inevitably forget all about that fruit. And yes, I am speaking from experience. I'll keep it in the fridge, thanks. I'd rather risk forgetting it's there and have to chuck it than risk having to chuck it AND trying to kill all the very reproduce-y fruit flies.

Cravings:

Watermelon, fennel (which I just bought today) and a nice glass of scotch on the rocks.

At least 2 of the 3 are healthy. Progress!

Cleaning....

2010-04-04T14:18:00.002-04:00

I hates it!

Dust. Cat fur. Can't avoid them and they are my least favorite things.

Packing really makes them stand out more than usual, too.

Moving again...

2010-04-02T13:25:00.004-04:00

Yep. Seriously. I chose really really well this time, so it will be the last one.

If I win a lottery and can afford to buy a house, then perhaps I will go back on that bold statement. How about I put it this way... if left up to me, I will not move again. So barring some apartment catastrophe or winning a lottery jackpot, I am done moving.

It's closer to work... I can walk home at night. I will have the Atwater market relatively close by, as well.. so there's a huge perk.

Packing is going well. In fact, I can't really pack anymore as I am still using much of what's left for the next 3 weeks. I am weeding out the crap and getting rid of junk, but since I do that each time I move and probably twice a year when I am not Miss Move-A lot, there's not much crap to discard.

I've purchased some decor, all of which hasn't even been opened yet. No point unpacking these new pretty things when all I'm gonna do is pack them up to move, right?

I am anxious to get into the new place to paint because the bedroom walls are fluorescent green. the soon-to-be-ex tenant said she found the color relaxing, whereas I was pretty sure that my head would explode when I saw it.

Can't wait to get out of this place and into my new one... hopefully painted before I get my stuff in it.

Wow.. just wow...

2009-12-09T23:20:00.004-05:00

Week after week, I am utterly blown away by the talent on this one tiny, cute little show... plus I'm a sucker for musicals, which technically... this is.

Rain on my Parade

I Am Telling You

(click to hear.. sorry no video.. just had to share though)

Oh Christmas Tree....

2009-12-04T20:49:00.004-05:00

Kind of inspired by the fake tree in the window of the Andy the Ahn store that I walk past most mornings in the Cours Mont Royal, which is exclusively made from black feathers.. check these out.

I used to be SO VERY dead set against fake trees that I was almost manic and completely preach-y about it. I still love me a real tree, though... the mere smell of it makes me so happy that I could really care less what the thing looks like.

Now though, the fakes are just so beautiful that I can barely stand it. I think the pink one is beyond girl-y. I am starting to really dislike the typical Christmas colors, too. Why can't my tree or decorations be purple? Aqua is nice.

Argue that the colors green, red, gold, silver and (maybe) blue just aren't Christmas-y all you want.. All I know is that my Christmas spirit isn't tied up in the freakin colors.

It's fun to play at the Y-M-C-A...

2009-10-18T13:52:00.002-04:00

I joined the Y. Y? Because I want to swim. I NEED to swim.

Swim. Get in shape. Do something other than work, housecleaning, sleeping and laying on the couch. Well... I'll still lay on the couch, but it'll be AFTER swimming instead of RATHER THAN swimming.

I will make an appointment for an orientation type of tour on Monday, if possible as I've already gotten lost in there once and I hadn't even signed up yet. I can always be counted on to get lost, walk into something or break something.

I hope my swim suit still fits.

I be blogging here from now on...

2009-10-18T12:30:00.001-04:00

I spent a lazy Sunday surfing YouTube.

Happy Sigh

Losing my obsession...

2008-02-10T00:33:00.000-05:00

I used to be obsessed with music.

I listened to it AT ALL TIMES. If I was working, even. Where I work now, I don't think we're allowed.

Although, I am very tempted to ask my boss if I can don my mp3 player... only one earphone though.

If I wasn't listening to it, I was talking about it. If no one wanted to hear it, I thought about it.. a lot.

Has my job and other thoughts about responsibilities I have just taken over my mind and pushed my music thoughts aside? If so.. how much does that suck?

I miss it. Even now. I am sitting here at my computer writing this and no music is playing. Three hours ago, I was sitting here editing my budget. Still, no music playing. Two hours ago, I was entering some Avon orders and making invoices... wait for it. You guessed it.. No music playing. Now just a mere 5.. maybe 6 months ago WinAmp would be screaming out fantastic music as I did all that junk.

I downloaded anything and everything new and fabulous (let's face it.. there's really not much quality music anymore) or nearly forgotten classics or bands that were suggested to me by random people. That is so rare now.

My collection used to be incredible. It still is.. more or less, but I severely ignore it now.

These facts have occurred to me a few times over the last 5 or 6 months and even though I say I will dive back into my old music-obsessed ways.. I just can't seem to do so. I'm either working or sleeping. There's always some reason to ignore it.

That makes me really REALLY sad.

I did just launch WinAmp though, so I guess all is NOT lost. Not entirely.

Whoops

2008-02-09T22:50:00.000-05:00

I kind of abandoned this blog in favor of my regular site. Devoting myself to setting that one up the way I wanted. Well... now I've done it and while I post to it, I already want to change it again. God, I'm fickle.

I started a new job in October and while I'm back to commuting hell again.. it's only a 25 minute train ride and probably 10-15 minutes of walking. So not too bad. but nothing will beat the 4 minute commute I used to have. However, this job is SO VERY worth the travel time.

I am considering moving again. Hah! Not to minimize my commute, though that'd be pretty nice if I could swing it. I just don't like my apartment anymore. Even though I've only been here since October. Any fixes that need doing take forever and a lot of botching on my part. While the inside of my apartment is nice.. the lobby is pretty much disgusting. I notice that the building where the admin office is situated, is extremely well-maintained. I guess the rest of us are peons who don't deserve a clean lobby.

So yeah... moving again, but this time I will choose better and ask more and inspect things way more closely.

By the way...

Montreal is getting so much snow this Winter that I am starting to hate it. I want to break up with the snow. So very tired of it. Also... adding to the frustration... my favorite boots BROKE a week ago and I had to replace them. With GIRLY boots. My old one's were combat boots and I freaking ADORED those things.

They were warm, virtually slip-free on the ice, they looked scary (but in a good way.. and even when I was dressed up - a skirt with combat boots peeking out.. smokin' hot!) and they just all around rocked. I like their replacements (I couldn't wait around to find another pair of perfect combats).. girly as they are. The only feature my new boots don't have is that they aren't that warm.

Also.. my snappy pleather coat has a KEY button missing. It used to fall off all the time. I guess I pull on them too hard. I was always lucky enough to not lose the buttons when I pulled them off, but this past week (the boots and my coat were in cahoots, damnit!) I lost the button in a deep pile of snow.. UNDER A TRAIN! Grrr.

I cannot find a suitable replacement either.

Bugger!

Overflow...

2007-09-12T10:12:00.000-04:00

As if I needed another reason to move... you know.. beyond just wanting to...

Last night I washed 2 bowls, a dip bowl, a saucepan and it's lid, a strainer and 2 glasses... and 2 minutes later, I heard what sounded like water spilling onto the floor! My kitchen sink was overflowing.

I had not left water on and forgotten about it, but the little bit of water I used and someone else's laundry water (?) backed up into my sink and viola... a nice big mess for me to clean up. It did eventually drain, but not until after I took a bucket and emptied some of it myself.

I called my super, but it was 2 hours later when he showed up. Thanks a lot! Real helpful! *eyes rolling*

Supposedly, he's taking a snake to it today.. or some machine.. He wouldn't do this last night since it was already 11 p.m. and whatever it is he plans to use on the sink makes noise.

I can't wait to move.

I should be buying some livingroom seating Friday night. Can't wait because the "soccer mom chair" is getting stale. It's better than sitting on the floor, but only marginally.

Alone time...

2007-09-06T13:32:00.000-04:00

Finally alone in my apt.. only to move to another one in 3 weeks.

I have to start a list of things to do before I move. Thankfully the list isn't too big.

I love having my apt to myself though!

Yay for purple!

2007-08-23T11:49:00.000-04:00

The lease for the new apt is signed. I'm 5 wks from moving in and when I looked at the place again I found out that my freshly laid carpet is purple! Dark. Like plum, almost. Brilliance! I LOVE LOVE LOVE purple!

I am 7 days away from having my current apt to myself. So more cause for smiles! Even though I don't move for 5 wks... I'll get to have my own place a bit early. Yay all around.

I am still decorating in my head, by the way.

I even took over possession of my mom's Christmas Tree lights since she chucked out her tree. I figure I'll do something funky with them since unlike the just thrown out Christmas Tree.. most of the lights are brand-spanking-new.

I put a curse on you...

2007-08-16T16:08:00.000-04:00

Ever feel cursed?

I do all the time. I'll get some good news or some sort of good luck for a little and then suddenly something bad happens or something that - while it doesn't really relate at all to the previous good luck or good news - it does bring me all sorts of hassle and annoyance.

This is the story of my life.

Semi-recent example:

This time last year I was 4 days into my new living in a new apartment in LaSalle. I had also just started my current job on this day, a year ago AND I also had a bit of savings started.

Things were really swimming upstream.

Sept 19th. One month and one week later... my new apartment building is partially gutted by a fire.

My choices are to camp out with family for the 5 or 6 months it took to get the building renovated and then move back into the place or ask to be let out of the lease and take this opportunity (borne first from fear of the fire - going back in the apt - and then from my horrendous commute) to move closer to my office.

I chose get out of my lease and move near work. Which meant that I paid for a move twice in just over a month. Bye bye savings!

So I get good stuff sometimes.. I even get to keep the good stuff more or less... but I never EVER get good stuff without a nice huge dose of bad stuff. Which means, I never EVER get to enjoy the good for very long before something happens.

I know the balance of good and bad is supposed to be equal... but from where I sit... it doesn't seem to be.

Maybe this comment is wholly unnecessary... but this week is:

Shittiest. Week. EVER!

Signing my name to start happy fun time!

2007-08-14T22:34:00.001-04:00

I sign my lease on Saturday. YAY!

Shopping for moving...

2007-08-09T13:29:00.001-04:00

A fun yet frustrating process.

For now, I don't really have to get myself any furnishings. I have all I NEED or will very soon. Most of my furnishings I'm light on fall under.. nice to have as opposed to gotta have.

I'm all about getting a vacuum and a blender. I want a toaster oven, but I'm willing to wait on that for a little bit longer.

The frustrating part is having to re-buy all the cleaning agents. I hate to clean. I'm sure everyone does. Mostly though... I hate to clean because it means choking on the fumes of the products I have to clean with. Thus making me spend more time on cleaning than I'd like.. what with having to step out and breathe fresh air every few minutes.

Even some of the old stand-bys one can use to avoid those foul odors are just as bad. Vinegar, for example. I can and should use it mixed with water to clean my windows. And since one theme in my furnishings are glass tops, I'd get a lot of mileage out of such a change. Only problem is that I can no more tolerate the smell of vinegar, than I can the smell of say... Mr. Clean.

I guess the main difference is that the vinegar smell, while nauseating... isn't chemically vomit-inducing and likely not leaving traces of god knows what in my lungs. Plus, I'm not dumping chemicals down the drain when I'm done.

Any good tips on how to clean a bathroom without chemicals? Because that's probably where I use the strongest, most foul cleansers.

Holy line up, batman!

2007-08-08T15:10:00.000-04:00

Have you seen the line up for 2007 Lollapalooza?

Niiice.

Pearl Jam, Ben Harper (pardon me while I pant a little), Iggy Pop & the Stooges? My god... that right there is enough for me.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Modest Mouse?

Even Montreal's own Sam Roberts Band... though you have to scroll a ways to see them.

*sigh*

Some days you're the bug, some days you're the windshield.

2007-08-08T13:17:00.000-04:00

I am the windshield today. Even with the sleep I finally got from the other night, here I am today feeling like I'm at death's door.

I don't feel sick or anything (though I am sick and tired, heh), but I feel dead, kind of helpless... subject to huge ups (moving) and huge downs (not moving today). I am gobsmacked with annoyances that I am not able to get rid of.

The humid weather messes me up. Makes me more tired than I usually am (which is really tired) and saps any energy I may soak up during the day.

I hate Summer! I really do. OK, so it's nice, sunny, flowers bloom and stuff, but so what.. I freaking hate flowers! Keep your sucky flowers nature!

Give me a warm day... sure. It's not so bad when it's just warm, but why humid? Who does that help? NO ONE, that's who. I hate it. Pets hate it. Old people hate it.

One could argue that without heat, we couldn't swim, but screw that! That's what indoor pools are for. Also, warm isn't the same as humid.

The way the weather keeps going from OK to humid is bad for all of us. It makes me long for winter. Even though, once winter starts, I have to listen to everyone complain about the cold or the snow. And if it doesn't snow, then I gotta listen to people complain about the fact that there'll be no White Christmas. Can't have it both ways, folks.

Guess I can't either though... since Summer is the time for humid.

Bleh!

Moving: T minus 52 days.

2007-08-07T14:15:00.000-04:00

Ever get so excited about something that it interferes with your sleep? OK. Has moving ever been such a thing that'd excite you so much to lose sleep?

Perhaps this whole decorating in my head thing needs to stop? I don't really want to stop, but damnit.. I do want to sleep. This girl NEEDS her some sleep!

Also, it's T minus 30 days until the roomie moves out. At which point, I will move my bedroom into hers (it's bigger) and use my former bedroom as a packed box repository. I'll be so organized!

I will also move my TV & stand out into the livingroom. Hopefully, I'll have a couch by then. I'll likely be so blissful that I won't even care if I have to watch TV from the floor. Heh.

Last night, no sooner did I finish dinner and slump off to my room, originally to open the window... did I fall asleep. Sound asleep. I awoke at 2 a.m., stayed up for a half an hour and then tried to go back to sleep. I don't think I did get back to sleep until 4 a.m. or so, but so what... I'd just gotten 8 hours of sleep.

That only happens to me when I reach my tolerance for sleepless nights.

I can't wait to move!

Weird stuff... nearly meaningless

2007-08-05T01:09:00.000-04:00

I know I go on sometimes about my horrible memory, but I do remember a lot from my childhood (though not A LOT of that) and teenage years... then of course, my 20s. It's really only been the last 4 or 5 years that I've been having recall problems.

I can't tell you how often I've offended someone because I couldn't remember stuff they'd told me. This obviously doesn't go over well on dates.

Anyway, that was a lot of rambling to get to a point. The point was that now and then I find out things that people have said about me. Like things ex-boyfriends say to new girlfriends about me. Or once in a blue moon something said about me by people I've never even met will also trickle back to me. Generally years later.

It always boggles my mind how much bullshit has been said about me over the years. Not all bad things... some stuff I hear years later is complimentary, but still never happened.

The only thing sadder than than people who'll lie about you would be those who believe them.

Meanwhile, I'm still decorating in my head.

Decorating in my mind...

2007-08-01T16:08:00.000-04:00

I am so thrilled that I will be living by myself in 2 months. Actually it'll be in one month, because my roomie is leaving Sept 1 or.. at least after Labor Day!

I haven't lived alone in so long. I am looking forward to the privacy the most. To be alone. If there's noise, I'm making it. If there's a mess, I made it. If there's no food, the grocery fairies didn't come. I kid.

The prospect of decorating and NOT having to take someone else's tastes into account are seriously over-loading my brain (but in a good way). I've got strange tastes, so I'm sure my apartment will be enough to induce seizures in some people.

I'm all about swag lamps for example. Click for examples: here, here, here and here.

I've also got a serious jones for those vintage glass candy dishes/ashtrays. The more elaborate, the better. Click for examples: here, here, here and here.

They're a 70s era thing that being born in 1970... I just can't get over it. Hell, I don't even want to. The funny part is that while I'm stuck in the 70s a little bit, furniture-wise... I also like a few modern pieces. And again, if those 2 conflicting tastes weren't enough... I love antique furniture pieces as well.

So I can't wait to see how it all turns out.

Here's what will be my shower curtain.

Woo!

Ugh...

2007-07-26T12:03:00.001-04:00

Ever have one of those days where nothing you do is ever right?

Well I'm having one of those years.

Can't win and it's not ALL my fault either.

I need a hobby...

2007-07-24T11:32:00.000-04:00

Seriously.

I do have stuff I like to do, but I'm not really getting anywhere with teaching myself stuff at the moment.

I'm just too scattered to focus on anything. I am also just flat out of ideas for what I'd like to do as a real live, devote lots of my free-time to it hobby.

Knitting? Bah... I kind of hate knitting.
Sewing? Sort of, but it ain't really worthwhile without a sewing machine. Too expensive for the time being.
Computer stuff.. Already doing that. I need to branch out!

That's where it ends really. I can't think of a single other thing I like to do.

Is this weird.. or anal?

2007-07-20T11:59:00.000-04:00

I have a floor plan for my new apt. Oddly enough, the agent handed it to me after I'd looked at 2 apts. Hehehe. I don't think it's very accurate, but then again, my memory is horrible.

I was certain that the living room and the 2nd little bedroom were against each other. I hope that layout doesn't affect internet hookups. They can just run cord, I suppose, but it'll be a long way to run cord.

Anyway...

I've been drawing on the floor plan. Yeah. Drawing in my furniture to decide where it'll go. I don't have a couch yet or a futon for the #2 bedroom, so technically, I'm drawing things I don't have yet... which seems odd.

A friend of my mom's has a couch for me... I just have to get myself over to her place to look at it. I hope it's all one color or at least not flower patterned. So long as it's not flower-y, I'll probably take it.

I'm going to have SO MUCH room in my bedroom. I can continue to try and find a vanity table & chair... and I can probably get another small desk in there, too. Although... more likely I will take my current little glass top desk where my computer is now into my bedroom and get a slightly bigger desk for my computer space (bedroom #2). I have a laptop as well that can sit on my little bedroom desk. I also want a comfy chair in my bedroom... I also need a new office chair.

With the size of my closet, I'll have to buy more clothes!

There's lotsa parking spaces as well (for my peeps with cars) and I don't have to pay to park in any of the spots like I do now.

Can't wait to move!

New Place...

2007-06-27T14:52:00.000-04:00

I saw and applied for the new place I am moving to. It's a 20 minute walk to work (a 4 or 5 minute bus ride in shitty weather). There will be no more going home for lunch. Oh well.

I'm pretty jazzed about it. No sharing! Unless you count sharing with my 2 cats, which I don't. There's even a pool! The worst thing is that my fridge & stove won't fit, btu I don't care at this point. I'll either store them or sell them.

I don't move until October 1st though and let me tell you.. time so does not fly!

Dunder-Mifflin!

2007-06-20T15:16:00.001-04:00

The Office, the game?

Hot damn!

I so want that game. I want to prank Dwight mercilessly! I wouldn't mind the Dwight bobble head either.

I found a Stewie bobble head once, but I forget where.

Diet Pill Trial

2007-06-20T11:36:00.000-04:00

Let's not shit ourselves - In Which We Convince Our Friend To Try Alli

Hilarious. I am gonna follow up next week, for certain.

Using alli™...

You may get:

* gas with oily spotting
* loose stools
* more frequent stools that may be hard to control

From myalli.com

I have to wonder why anyone would want to use this. I'd rather be fat than have to worry about the "You may get" part of the deal.

People are crazy!

Who's yer daddy and what does he do? Wait one at a time, damnit!

2007-06-12T15:44:00.000-04:00

Mom, 20, giving birth to 3rd set of twins

I thought.. "WOW. Young. Why?" and then I got to this part of the article:

"The father of the latest set of twins hopes he's ready."

Kind of implies that he's not the daddy to the first 2 sets, don't it? I'm thinking.. WHY would he have sex with her and NOT use condoms? Knowing what he knows!

The family is, of course, on welfare.

I am also thinking... *for cryin out loud... can't someone sew that taco shut!*

I know it's mean, but come on!

Are you f*cking kidding me??

2007-06-09T14:18:00.001-04:00

What the hell is wrong with the world that one dumb-ass blonde's monumental stupidity is such a HUGE deal that all news outlets seem to cover it 24/7?

When you've got a TMZ honcho commenting how crazy the press is going over her and her on again off again jail sentence, you know it's bad. Not that the press coverage is bad... even though it IS bad. No.. actually, it's incredibly pathetic.

What's really bad is that the TMZ honcho isn't even siding with his lame-ass homies who are pushing, dissecting, pontificating and generally beating the deadest horse ever all day and all night. As if Mr. TMZ honcho isn't profiting from AND doing the very thing he pretends to be shocked about.

Poor little stupid rich girl skank. If you're too dumb to know that a suspended license means you can't drive your car, then you deserve jail time. In fact, she could use MORE jailtime just for being so stupid.

It's really too bad that all she's getting is 40 days, but what's worse is the "news" going over and over this constantly... even Anderson Cooper, for crying out loud! FOR SHAME!

The nuts have it!

2007-06-08T11:54:00.001-04:00

Apparently, if you send enough nuts to a network, you'll get your demands met!

CBS announced Wednesday that it is bringing back "Jericho"

Sweeeeeet!

Why can't you?

2007-06-02T20:28:00.000-04:00

Ever wonder why the person you want to sleep with/date doesn't want to sleep with/date you?

I haven't been rejected a whole lot, but I know it sucks. No matter how much someone tells you "Youre' great. I like you, but I just want to be friends.", you automatically think there's something wrong with you. And there is.

In a way there is, at least. Don't get all indignant on me and bellow, "There is nothing wrong with me. If they don't want to date me then that's their loss!" because while you're right AND wrong because, face it... they aren't losing what they didn't want anyway. On the other hand, they may later come to realize that they DID actually lose out, but that's rare.

There IS something wrong with you in the sense that the other person doesn't want you for whatever reason. This doesn't mean you're horribly flawed, but it does mean that they feel you're lacking something that they require.

However, take comfort in knowing that this is THEIR issue and not really yours.

Anyway... the questions usually asked upon rejection are:
1) If they think you're great, then how do they know they don't want to date you?
2) Why are they turning you down, but thinking you could be friends?
3) Do they even mean the "be friends" thing?
And my final question:
4) Why can't they just flat out say what they actually mean? Which is: While you seem great, I'm not attracted to you.

Having used dating sites on and off for the last few years or so, I have had occasion to say that I wasn't interested in a male who approached me, but I've never said that I wanted to become friends with the men I was turning down. Sometimes they have become angry, chastizing me for saying no to them and frankly that bit baffles me. Why should I wait until they may become more attached to me to tell them NO? That, my friends, is called stringing them along. We will go through this 'getting to know ya' process, at the end of which, I'm merely going to dash their building hopes anyway. To me, if I don't see them as dating potential on the first couple of contacts, why shouldn't I say so right up front?

Sure, I realize that not everyone is aces at promoting themselves online. We're not all great writers or self-describers, but then again we're not all literate or interesting or appealing either. I firmly believe that many things about a person can still shine through a poor profile. I tend to go by the first attempts at greeting/conversations moreso than the profiles anyway... so it's not as if I've been turning guys down based only on their poorly assembled profiles.

They always want to know why, too. "Why are you turning me down?". Now this gives me pause. Why would someone turn someone down? Well... because they aren't interested. That's why. That answer doesn't ever cut it, so if you want to get out of the on-coming circular argument, try stating, 'We want different things' or even 'I'm not attracted to you'. Sound harsh? Well it's not. 'I'm not attracted to you' doesn't mean 'You're ugly as sin'. We just like to pretend it does. Example: Most women I know consider Richard Gere to be hot as hell. Me? I have ZERO attraction to the man. I'd be full of shit if I said he was ugly, however, because he isn't. He does blink way too much, but maybe he's got allergies. Who knows?

Just give them the real reason. None of this bullshit about how you just got out of a relationship and are treading carefully. If you're so wounded from the past, you shouldn't be on the market. No long involved stories either, designed to keep him thinking that if he waits long enough for you, that you'll suddenly want him. Most importantly, DO NOT offer the friends consolation prize! He (or she) does not want your friendship if they are approaching you on a dating site. Doubly so if you're turning them down.

So to answer the first question I posed: More often than not: Because they just aren't attracted to you!

To answer the other four questions. The maddening, but true answers:
1) They just know they're not attracted to you for whatever reason, so the point is moot.
2) Se answer to opening question a few lines above.
3) Overall, NO. You're unlikely to encounter the rare breed of person who does genuinely want a new friend even if the new friend wanted something else.
4) We don't like to be honest if we think it will be taken poorly by the target of our honesty. In our defense, however, some folks do get mighty upset or abusive when we're honest with them.

Get a job damnit....

2007-05-24T11:27:00.000-04:00

I noticed that for 2 nights in a row, AI cast-off Constantine was in the audience. Can he not get a job now or what? Is he hanging around trying to nail Paula?

Fans of CBS Show Jericho Send 10,800 lbs of Nuts to CBS - Hehehe.. I love it when protest is this amusing!

Dillwads Not Welcome Here...

2007-05-24T10:55:00.000-04:00

Having used Online Personals before and seeing just how monumentally bad the majority of the profiles are, I couldn't help but share this.

Rachel's Helpful Guide to Online Dating: For Men

How To NOT Sound Like a Total Dillwad on the Personals:

1. When composing a headline for your profile, never use the phrase "Work Hard, Play Hard!". There are no exceptions to this rule, unless you find a clever way of being sarcastic about it. Such as "Work Hard, Play Hard!...in my pants." Otherwise, you sound like a tool.

2. Do not claim that you love to do "anything outdoors." Unless you really mean it, in which case I have a ditch that needs to be dug.

3. Do not post photos of yourself with attractive women. Women who are evaluating your dateability are NOT TURNED ON by seeing you with your arm around a Hooter's waitress with a dopey grin on your face. It's just the way we are. Get with the program.

4. Don't be a nutburger stalker. When you send a message to a woman, wait 72 hours. If at that point she has not responded, FORGET ABOUT HER. Don't send another message telling her how you rilly rilly are a great guy and she's missing out. Don't send her a second message two hours after the first, telling her she's proven herself to be a typical selfish woman. Do not assume that a lack of response before a few days have passed means she isn't interested in you, but DO assume it beyond that point and walk away with your dignity intact.

5. Don't tell us what your friends think of you. "My friends consider me to be honest, loyal, and fun to be around." What? NO WAY. You must be totally awesome if your FRIENDS think you're a decent person.

6. Do not say, "I love to have a good time." Nuh-UH!! Marry me please, because I just can't meet ANYONE who loves to have a good time. What an unusual quality for a human being.

7. Do not title your headline, "Carpe Diem." Dude. That is the most hackneyed thing you could possibly say. We're OVER it. Great movie, nice concept, but Jesus H. Christ. Just do not say it.

8. Do not title your headline, "Nice Guy...With An Edge." The primary reason for that is, five billion other guys use the same headline. The secondary reason is because it is meaningless and also sounds really fuckin' silly.

9. Ease up on the use of "fairly". There's something about that word that just pisses me off. "I'm fairly successful, I'm fairly new in town, I'm fairly adventurous, blah blah fairly blah" -- seriously, guys. Stop it. Do you TALK like that?

10. Don't say that you used to be a playboy but are now ready to settle down. First of all, if you have to say you were a playboy, you probably weren't. Second, it's kinda repulsive. I hear a man say he used to "play the field" and all I can think about is how many STDs and bastard children he has.

11. Much like #6, do yourself a huge favor and don't say that you "enjoy life." Because, again, NO SHIT. We are all going to go ahead and assume you do, in fact, enjoy life, even if you don't point out such. You may as well tell us that you are glad you can breathe and you don't want to die.

12. This the most important thing of all: LEARN HOW TO SPELL. Especially - I cannot stress this enough - if in your profile, you claim to prefer "smart" women. Because the thing about smart women is, they are wholly repulsed by guys who write like third graders. Here are some actual examples straight off the Yahoo! pages:
"I'm funny and humerous."
"Cool, calm, and collective."
"I tend to be layed back."
"I know your out there!"
"Pin pal needed!"
"Looking for a women who will luv me."
"I perfer smart ladeis." (Good luck with that, genius.)

13. If you have children, trust me, we KNOW you love them. It's kind of assumed, you know. You do not need to say, "I have two boys who are the center of my world. I'd do anything for them. I love them more than life itself. My boys are the sweetest little guys in the world! I have built my life around them." I mean seriously. For the love of GOD.

14. Never, ever, EVER whine in your profile about past relationships and how they scarred you. Nothing says "sexy" like baggage, baby!

15. Don't waste your time initiating contacts with women whose clearly-listed preferences do not in any way resemble YOU. You'll just get deleted. For example, the "my ideal match" list on my profile clearly said I preferred guys who were age 30-40ish, of fit or athletic build, college educated, no kids, not religious, and so on. Yet I got dozens of messages from men in their 60's, 22-year-olds with no job, men built like Michael Moore, men with four kids whom they had full-time custody of, men who said "godliness" was the sexiest quality in a woman -- you get the picture. I'm sure they were all lovely individuals, but the preferences are stated for a reason. I don't want to date men my dad's age, and I don't CARE how much money they've got. I don't want to date men who weigh three times as much as me. I don't want to date men who make half as much money as I do - they're just not trying hard enough. I don't want to date men who get turned on by Jeebus worship, it would only end in mutually assured destruction. And really, if I explicitly state a preference for NO KIDS, get a clue. That probably means I don't really LIKE children, so why would you want me to be around yours?

16. Don't make the fatal mistake of assuming ALL women are crazy bitches who want your money. I know, I know - some of them are. But if your opening line is, "You're cute, but the first thing I want to know is if you're crazy like most chicks and are you looking for a sugardaddy because I'm not into that drama," you go in the Douchebag File of Presumptuous Fucking Douchebags.

17. Do not say that you wish to find a mate with a sense of humor. Come on. Think it through. I'm repeating myself here, but...NO SHIT? You don't want someone with NO sense of humor? Huh. What a rare creature you are.

18. Do not, under any circumstances, wear a cowboy hat in your profile photos. Maybe it's just me, but I do live in Texas and I have asked around, and sorry to break it to you guys but most women really, really, REALLY aren't into the cowboy look unless you very closely resemble Tim McGraw in face and body. Few men can pull it off and not look like total dorks. I'm just trying to help you help yourself here.

19. Severely curtail your use of exclamation points. For example: "I don't want to sound arrogant! But I'm a great guy! Are you a great girl? I love the outdoors! Talk to me! I'm looking to meet nice ladies for friendship and maybe more!" Good lord. Take a deep breath. By the way, I'd like to see MORE use of the semicolon; it can be pretty sexy. One more thing - a profile written ALL CAPS is so very, very wrong. Don't do it.

20. Don't list 500 different activities that you "love to do in your spare time." I've seen profiles that seriously said, "On the weekends, I love to ski, surf, boat, fish, camp, rockclimb, play tennis, play basketball, play golf, hike, work out, watch movies, go to museums, have drinks, grill steaks, and cuddle a special lady." Well. My goodness. Sounds absolutely appalling to me. I guess those are the guys who like to Play Hard?

Bam! I feel so very helpful right now. By the way - I don't have a profile on Yahoo! anymore, and I recently started seeing someone I really like a LOT, so I'm off the market. Probably just broke a trillion hearts.

P.S. In case it seems like I'm being too tough on the guys, just wait; I'm making a guide for women, too, and it's not gonna be pretty. It is my well-researched assessment that the "ladies" are even worse than men as far as sounding like dunderskulls on the personals. By the way - "ladies" - is that what we're calling women now? It makes me throw up in my mouth a little.

Source: Rachel Lucas

I can't wait to read the guide for women.

Moving again....

2007-05-14T13:25:00.000-04:00

Yes. I'm moving again. Not until Sept 30. It may be possible to move sooner, but Sept 30 is D Day.. well M Day at any rate.

I'm moving into a smaller apartment in an attempt to save money. All told, the budget looks pretty spec-freaking-tacular assuming I stick to it. I've stuck to my current one mostly... only a few slips. I'm even ready to furnish my own private smaller apartment with the exception of a couch to play couch potato on. I probably need a few small appliances, too. Other than that, I'm set. I just purchased really pretty drapes & a TV/stand way bigger than I had planned which makes it fun to watch in my tiny bedroom. Hopefully my eyes will readjust once the new TV's in a proper sized livingroom.

I really can't wait. I hope like hell that I can move in the next 3 or 4 months, but if I have to wait until Sept 30, it'll make it that much sweeter, I suppose... having to wait and all. I'm seriously chomping at the bit right now. I am likely to stay in the very same building as one of my neighbors wants a 2 bdrm (which I have) and I want a 1 bdrm (which he has), but I am staying in the same complex at least and failing that, the same area since I work here, too.

File under, "Duh"

2007-04-13T11:39:00.000-04:00

So diets do not work. Go figure.

Funny that scientists just really decided what women (and probably some men, too) have known for an eternity.

"Diets do not lead to sustained weight loss or health benefits for the majority of people."

When you go up and down in weight for extended periods of time, you're doing far more harm to yourself than you would have done just staying fat. Most folks involved in this study gained back any weight they'd lost.

What does work?

Not super-sizing @ McD's, not loading up on junkfood everyday, not laying around doing nothing and just eating normal-sized meals as opposed to eating as if it is your last meal ever.

Move. Walk. Run/Jog... if you can. Swim. Chase your pets around the park or apartment even (or let them chase you). Take the stairs more often than you take the elevator/escalator. Take up a sport. Dance around your house with the curtains closed when no one is home (yeah, I do that one a LOT). Buy a few workout DVDs and do them.. alternating to avoid boredom a few times a week.

It really doesn't take that much effort and if a constantly-tired, anemic, lazy choc-o-holic like me can do it... then y'all can do it, too!

Come out.. or y'know.. not.. that's ok too.

2007-04-12T09:38:00.000-04:00

"I think Olbermann's remarks significantly up the pressure on Anderson to come out"

Really? I can't imagine how.

Why the hell should CNNs Anderson Yummy.. I mean Cooper come out? Because he has talked about his personal life (a little) in the past?

Apparently Mr. Olbermann isn't a big logic kinda guy because that must be the stupidest reason I've ever heard.

The thing about personal lives is that they're personal. See... it's right there in the name. Personal. It's like there's a gate around our info and guess what.. WE are the gate-keepers. No one else.

Sure, celebs share SOME of their personal lives with the rest of us, but because said celeb has shared one or two or three personal tidbits in the past, this in NO WAY obligates them to share everything.

Do most of us want to know? Probably.. even though in Anderson's case, finding out he is gay will probably bust up some of the fantasies I've had about him (I can do the selective memory thing if I have to), but really.. his sexuality is none of my business. Or anyone else's.

I get that Mr. Hot Hot Journalist's coming out could send a great message to other gay people that NO... you do not have to stay in the closet, but COME ON. A great message or not, HE is the one who would have to deal with any fall-out. No matter what. It's his call and no one else's.

Ever hear that saying that some things SHOULD be kept private? Celebrities must love to hang on to some semblance of their privacy and I really don't blame them. I would too if I were famous. I'd share some of my personal life, of course, but no one... sometimes not even friends and family are privy to EVERY detail.

Part of the problem is the mindset some folks have as to how they should get to dictate what we all get to know about other people's personal lives. Seriously.. who died and made you Personal Life Monitor, Mr. Olbermann?

I smell entitlement and the stench is making me wanna hurl.

Rural Music

2007-04-08T21:50:00.000-04:00

This is part of what I been watching all weekend.

And this.

*dreamy sigh*

Mailmen!

2007-04-05T14:19:00.000-04:00

How hard is it to ring a doorbell?

It must be very hard because when I went home at lunch I fought with the package containing The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. DVDs that the mailman inexplicably shoved in my mailbox which it didn't quite fit... which is why I was fighting with the package!

Ended up tearing the box to shreds before I could get the package out.

I'm tempted to leave a sticky note in the mailbox! "Please ring bell for packages, you lazy twit!"

Perhaps I should leave off the last part though?

He'd better not pull that shit again when my comic arrives in the mail!!!

AI...

2007-04-05T10:19:00.000-04:00

Is Michael Buble always that bad? I don't think I've EVER seen or heard the guy perform until last night on Idol, but holy crap.... HE was awful. Almost made Sanjaya sound good. Plus, I think Mr. Bubble was wasted.

I wasn't much looking forward to Tony Bennett, but now I feel robbed a little. Bleh...

Bubble, you sucked!

The horo... The horo... The horo... scope

2007-04-02T15:12:00.000-04:00

Libra (September 23-October 22)
Your assignment is to precisely identify every last one of your complexes, syndromes, and maladies. Towards that end, buy a copy of the 943-page book Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, and read it from beginning to end. APRIL FOOL! Don't you know me any better than that? I would NEVER encourage you to obsess on your pain. Here's your real horoscope: Start writing your own version of the book How We Choose to Be Happy: The 9 Choices of Extremely Happy People. It's high time you learned how to work your ass off to feel really good.

Is it weird that until I got to the part that told me that the 943-page book was a joke, that it actually sounded like good reading to me?

I know it's definitely sad that I'd much prefer to do the joke part of the horoscope. Not because I'm into my own pain or whatever, but because I wouldn't EVER want to write a How to Be Happy book. Not only haven't I the got one iota of a clue about how to make choices that'll lead to me being happy, but I don't even think I know anyone else who knows how do make those choices. I'm not even sure I know anyone who is happy... unless they're happy being all jaded and cynical. That's valid, right? Because I think I can get behind that!

Big money... even bigger mouth...

2007-03-13T19:32:00.000-04:00

Can anything shut Trump up?

I'm not a huge Rosie fan... though I was pretty keen on her stand up AND I don't think I saw any movie of hers that didn't cause giggles... BUT... I rarely agree with some of the things she says, nor do I always see the sense in what she says.

We're all entitled to our opinions... opinions are like assholes, everyone's got one...

(could you imagine the poor sap who has no asshole? Yikes!)... etc., etc. I know. Blah blah blah...

Back to the point though:

SHUT. THE. HELL. UP. TRUMP.

You sound more sad and pathetic the louder you bitch about this woman. Not to mention the longer you carry this idiocy on. Try a little class, pal. I'd settle for you just using a muzzle at this point.

Common sense tells most people with a brain that when you dislike someone... you avoid them. You don't bark about them on TV as much as and as often as you can. The more you insert your foot into that exceptionally tiny, but way over-used mouth of yours, the more I begin to think that you're seriously seriously needing or obsessed with getting attention.

What's wrong Trump? Your little kid not keeping you busy? Nor your empire? Nor your moronic show (which can't possibly be #1 as you claim since you've lost about 600,000 viewers)? Why are you devoting so much energy on someone you dislike? Normal people don't do that.

Are you hard up for attention?

Jesus, I don't even have an empire, a TV show OR a baby... and I couldn't even devote this much time/energy to someone I don't like.

Wake up rich guy...

Unless, of course, your main goal all along was to have most of the planet think you're batshit insane. If that's been the plan all along... well ignore everything I just said and know that your mission was completely accomplished!

Idiot.

Wow...

2007-03-08T15:56:00.000-05:00

Week after week, I keep waiting for the blow job queen to get booted from American Idol.

Not only does she blow (har har.. I mean her singing), she got to stay when I seem to remember another contestant from seasons ago who was booted for the exact same thing. She's a cocky little mongrel on top of it all (pun intended). She's told what she did wrong.. or why her performance wasn't good and what does she do? Talks back. Mouthy pissant.

I know talking back is encouraged (especially to Simon), but when you sucked (how many more puns can I make?)... slink off the stage and await your fate... don't be a punk.

She's really the only one of the girls that I REALLY want off the show, but I think Haley's gonna get the boot, too. She's alright, normally... but last night's song choice was a huge stinker.

Ouch! Damnit!

2007-03-02T09:42:00.000-05:00

Big snow storm here. Not a big deal for traveling in my case because I walk to work. It's not all that cold out considering it is snow stormin' and all, but it's a tad windy. Doesn't sound too bad though does it? Ah, but the snow is mixed with teeny tiny frozen ice pellets that sting like a bitch hitting your face.

My face hurts now... specifically my cheeks. *whine*

In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb

2007-02-21T10:34:00.000-05:00

Spoiler alert! If you haven't watched Veronica Mars' 2/21 episode yet, go away!

Awww. Bummer!

OK, Sheriff Lamb was a tool, but he was funny and sarcastic like much of the rest of the cast, so it sucks that he's dead. Who will we mock now, I ask you?

What doesn't suck, however, is that Keith Mars is back in his rightful post as Sheriff of Neptune! W00T! I can picture poor dead Sheriff Lamb sitting watching this turn of events from wherever it is that smarmy, self-important tools go when they die pulling a Homer, 'yelling "DOH!" over and over again.

I actually think it would've been better to merely have Lamb incapacitated permanently, unable to resume Sheriff-y duties and having to watch Keith resume his post. It would've been great fun to see Lamb repeatedly losing his mind over this and hurling barbs and comments every chance he got.

Poor Lamb. Creep that he was, I, for one, will miss him.

Yeah, just f*&king fabulous...

2007-02-20T11:04:00.000-05:00

My psycho neighbor actually uttered threats.

"If you slam your door again, I'm going to smash your face"

Yeah, sounds stupid, but the whole incident was stupid, so... but then again, it also sounds stupid because I've never slammed my apt. door.

As soon as I heard the threat, I was thrilled... not "thrilled" you understand, but pleased that he was so stupid and has now made it so easy for me to get rid of him. One sound out of this guy from here on in and the police will deal with him.

Apparently, he's not all there (according to my landlord and superintendent). His mom seems nice, though... if a bit dumb for letting a nutjob live with her. Once Ass-face had taken his meds he wanted to apologize, but the super told him not to come to my door again or try to speak to me in the hall.

I reiterated to the super that while I'll accept his (post-medication) apology, if he comes to my door or tries to speak to me again, the cops will be at his door within minutes.

No one accosted me as I left my apt. this morning.. so we'll see.

Dear neighbor...

2007-02-19T09:09:00.000-05:00

Piss off!

Yeah, that's what I said.

I "close the door too hard in the morning" when I head off to work? Yeah right. Living in the same building as me, you may have noticed that our front doors are almost heavy enough to close by themselves, so it takes very little effort from me to close my door as I walk out. So that's how little effort I expend.

So NO, shithead, I don't plan to make less noise leaving in the morning because I'm not making any noise. You being a piss poor light sleeper is SO not my problem anyway. By the way, most people "still sleeping" at about 8:20 a.m. are retired or unemployed and you're too young to be retired, dipshit.

If you work nights and sleep days, buy a freaking clue and get earplugs, because sorry ass-face... people are up and about in the morning. Do you bitch at everyone around us for leaving their apartment too loudly, too? You probably do, due to the aforementioned ass-facery.

The reason I know that you're an ass-face, aside from the obvious, is because when I turned to open the door to the lobby and realized that you were talking to me (whining actually, but whatever)... I pretty much ignored you because I realized that a) you're probably an ass-face and b) I don't make extraneous noise leaving my apartment. Your complaints about being woken up by me had to be bullshit and I know this because after I ignored you, you came out on your balcony in -25 weather to yell at me as I crossed the parking lot. I'm no noise expert, but I'd bet cold hard cash that you woke up some old or unemployed people with that stunt.

Assface.

I don't slam my door in the morning, but I gotta tell ya... I'm totally considering it now.

VD

2007-02-13T14:24:00.000-05:00

Well.. it's Valentine's Day tomorrow.

I'll be listening for the sound of relationships crashing and burning all over the world. Negative, eh? I know. But y'all know I'm right, don't ya?

You have to get her the perfect gift or she'll dump you (oh if only). More than likely she'll pout and be bitchy until you ask her why and then she'll tell you that you screwed up Valentine's Day. Or maybe she'll just tell you that you already know why she's mad. Or that if you loved her, you'd know why she's mad.

She won't say anything at the time.. or beforehand.. when it'd be the most helpful. You won't know that flowers aren't good enough (and really.. they wither and die.. so no. Not good AND on top of that you spent a huge wad on something that won't even last a week. Plain silly.).

That's right. You won't know until afterwards that the standard V-Day gifts are played and useless and can often be taken as insults.

If you take her to a crowded restaurant and have to wait a little too long for seating, you'll have screwed up Valentine's Day. Same thing if you take her to a movie and everyone and his brother had the same idea which leads to poor seating options or perhaps a noisy bunch of morons. RUINED I TELL YOU!

Substitute HIM for HER in any of the above and maybe you'll have the same problem. Having screwed up Valentine's Day. Not that men want flowers. I think most men could really give a crap about Valentine's Day. You're likely all set with merely a card or a wish.

Women should really look into that, by the way. Lives all over the world would improve... relationships, too.

What is a good gift then?

You know your honey better than I do. What do they like? Have they pointed out stuff that they wish they had the cash to buy? Do you even pay attention? And yes... I'm asking the women-folk that too.

There's no rule that says you have to get something done-to-death and probably not romantic as a gift. Getting something you already know they want works too. Know why? It shows that you freaking listened to them.

Hand me some stupid little stuffed animal saying "be mine" and I'll probably hand it back to you explaining to your ass that I already AM YOURS. Same with flowers since I'm allergic anyway.. even if I liked flowers, I couldn't take them.

I think I do a similar rant every year...

Tips

2007-02-09T15:28:00.000-05:00

Since we seem to be in the age of shitty customer serivce. Here is an article I found in my reading on "How to complain and get a good result".

Also covered on this site is a How-To for rebates, mail-ins, etc.

List-making...

2007-02-07T15:15:00.000-05:00

List of things I plan to do: Mock BF for going to go to the gym. Start listening to my MP3 player while I work (one ear only). Use my yoga ball more (without bouncing on it trying to see how long I can bounce on it before falling off - and FYI.. not long). Fantasize that I'm having a glass of red wine once or twice a week. Wish that I lived in an apartment with a pool. Have more sex. Tell anyone really annoying me, giving me attitude or bossing me around to eat a dick. Pee often (I don't have much choice here though). Buy curtains soon (but, I've been saying that since mid-October).

List of things I won't do: I am not going to stop snacking on icing (petulant, I know, but I can't have most of my vices any more.. this is one of the last). Cook a lot. Complain about the fact that my nostrils get stuck together when I breathe in because it's been so cold this week. Worry/think so much about my stomach. Hit people who ask me EVERY! SINGLE! DAY! how my stomach is.

Brrrrrr.. or not so much.

2007-02-01T13:56:00.000-05:00

Does the cold weather get to you?

Not me. Granted, a crisp fall day is lovely as opposed to winter's negative temps, but I do like the winter and the snow. What I don't like is crazy winter windy days where it's say... -12, but when you add the wind chill, it's more like -25.

I lived in Regina from August to February when I was in my early 20's and HOLY MOTHER OF ALL THAT IS SEASONAL... THAT is some cold winter.

Normal temps when I lived there during December and January were -30something. That shit's just debilitating. Cars don't start without those block heaters running at ALL times. Most apt. complexes out there even have plug-in spots for their residents to plug into overnight.

Public Transit didn't work out any better either. The bus schedules seemed to be "whenever the hell the driver feels like it" or "not on days when you have to work, sucka" and honestly, even if the bus was on time, you were frostbitten from making your way to the bus stop. Even if it was only across the street.

Weirdly, my stint in Regina only lasted until very early February. It also seemed like the moment I purchased my tickets to return to the relative warmth of Montreal, Regina got a whole lot warmer. Enough to enjoy my last weekend there with some ice-fishing (yeah.. this double x was doing more drinking than ice-fishing.. lemme tell ya) wearing a flimsy and unzipped coat.

Even more weirdly, by the time I arrived back in Montreal... it was FREEZING COLD here. Not quite as cold as Decemeber/January in Regina had been... but awfully close.

Anyway...

I do like cooler weather. I'm a Fall Girl. And I like snow. The humid hot of our Summers drives me insane and makes me unable to breathe... trouble breathing sucks, y'all.

Today in Montreal it's still cold. It's -5, but feels like -10.

For me... that's good.

Lemme sleep on it...

2007-01-29T11:42:00.000-05:00

"When Meatloaf died in Fight Club, I actually stood up in the theater and yelled "That's for Paradise, you son of a bitch!" And people applauded. "

Hehehehe.. go on over to FTTW and put in your 2 bits in on the worst 70's song ever. The above is a snippet of Michele's thoughts on "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" by Meatloaf. She hates that song. I have to agree. As much as I like Meatloaf, that's the worst of his songs.

I'm still thinking of my picks for worst 70's songs. I'll update later.

Here:

BRIDGES, ALICIA: I Love The Nightlife
STYX: The Best Of Times
A TASTE OF HONEY: Boogie Oogie Oogie

Try try try...

2007-01-27T00:00:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking a lot about the relationships I've had. Very few of them have been good for me. It's possible that while I think they started out good for me. They may not have EVER been good for me. I might have been terribly delusional about the whole thing.

I've never really been after marriage although I am not exactly opposed to it, per se. It's not a priority, but it's certainly not an impossibility either. For the right one, it'd probably be very good, indeed. However, no such person has presented himself to me. Nor has the universe revealed any such man.

Once upon a time, I was 21 and I thought such a man had dropped in my lap (ok, I was set up with him, really). The chemistry was phenomenal. He was smart, fun and funny, attractive and seemed to think all those things about me. Clicking isn't nearly a good enough adjective to describe what we did. As time when by (about 6 mos. to be exact), he proposed. I answered yes and there I was... engaged and part of me didn't even know why. I don't mean to make it sound like I got carried away and said yes when I didn't want to. Or that he got carried away and asked because that's not how it felt at the time. I said yes and I did mean it.

Eventually, however... maybe 2 years later, I really wondered why he proposed. There was never any wedding planning done. At first, we both felt that since we'd gotten engaged so quick, that a long engagement was on the menu. It made perfect sense at the time and families were on that bandwagon, so my spidey-sense wasn't tingling at all. I'll assume his wasn't either. One thing I never wondered about was whether or not he loved me.

After year number 3, I think I pretty much knew marriage wasn't gonna happen, but I stuck around for almost another 2 years. No, I don't really know why. I don't think I feared being alone, but I do think it made no sense to walk away from someone who loved me, and someone my family and friends really seemed to love, too. I didn't know then how wrong I was.

On both counts.

After that ended (obviously without a wedding), marriage became even less of a priority, though I was not turned off of the idea. I was just not giving it any thought with anyone who I got involved with after him.

No one was bad husband material or bad in any way. An while marriage was brought up once or twice by those who followed him, nothing ever came of it. I was fine with this. Again, I assume they were too.

Lately though... as I look back on my relationships, I notice a theme. None of them are all that bad, but there's always some sort of issue. There's me not wanting to get too involved. Or them not wanting to get too involved. Or it's too complicated for some reason (usually their reasons). Maybe it wasn't the right time.

I don't want a lot. Not looking specifically for marriage and not looking AT ALL to start a family with anyone. I'd rather step into an already created family (IE: step-kids) as I'm just not a baby-maker. I'm not looking to be showered with gifts. Or to be treated like a princess. I'm not looking for movie-style love. I'm not interested in drama, either.

What I do want is someone as interested in me as I am in them. I'm looking for the odd "I love you!" and the actions that back that shit up. I'm looking to tell someone that I love them and then going on myself to back that shit up. I want someone I can talk to. I want someone to go places with.. someone to do groceries with me (because I hate it).

Stupid as it seems... that's hard to find and I don't understand why.

Planes & white knuckles

2007-01-25T11:19:00.000-05:00

Do you like to fly? I do. I don't get to fly much, but I like it.

I've only flown twice. I suppose if I'd have flown more often, maybe I'd lose the whole "diggin' it" aspect. I don't like the plane food though. For me, that's directly up there on the yuck-o-meter with hospital food.

The first time was Toronto to Montreal, so really... by the time we climbed, we were about 20 minutes from beginning to descend. It was fun none-the-less. Take-off rules!

The next time was Toronto to Montreal, then on to Moncton. I forget how long the flight was. It was the standard hour and a half (maybe?) From Toronto to Montreal. Then I had to grab another plane. A much smaller plane. That fact didn't phase me until I got into the plane. I am claustrophobic and while I didn't react with major panic to the smaller plane, I did sorta have a detailed daydream about the flight not ending well.

I soon got over it and felt more than superior when some guy a few seats away from me freaked out and white-knuckled it with every tiny bit of turbulence we hit.

As nervous as I was initially, I barely reacted to the turbulence. I remember becoming very annoyed more than once at my CD player bouncing off the spot I'd perched it on. I'm sure the rest of the passengers heard the aggravated tongue-clicking during the worst of the turbulence.

When that flight was landing, I couldn't see an airport at all. It actually occurred to me that Moncton Airport might just be nothing but a field. I was wrong, but only slightly. Had I been sitting on the left side of the plane, I'd have seen the TINY airport we were landing at.

Anyway... I'd like to try a longer flight.

My office has a show in Las Vegas in a week or so. I'd love to go to that, but I don't think I am.

Boooo!

B Heaven...

2007-01-23T15:06:00.000-05:00

Bubba Nosferatu and the Curse of the She-Vampires

It's not coming out til 2008 or so, but I am so there.

For this as well: My Name is Bruce

Love it.

To eat or not to eat....

2007-01-20T15:03:00.000-05:00

Eating is turning into an adventure.

Firstly, I never quite know for sure if what I'm about to ingest will nail me, prompting me into a fetal position and begging for morphine. Oh sure, there are a few safe bets on what won't anger the Intestine Gods, but a lot of times, I am risking it. Many a healthy edible have laid waste to my insides (ok... extreme, but that's what it feels like), so the sage advise that everyone I know offers me - "Don't eat junkfood" - can tend to be not so helpful.

Doctors and dietitians have filled my brain with yes's and no's, but do admit that in many ways, it's trial & error. I'm on my own for meal-planning. If I need tests or prescriptions, they have my back, but otherwise...

Breakfast has quite literally turned into a free-for-all. As a girl who spent her teenage years (and then some) skipping breakfast entirely, having to now make that the "Big Meal" of the day really just gives me chest pain. I know it wasn't healthy to skip breakfast, but I love to sleep. So much so, that I got up at the very last possible second for school (now for work), leaving myself time only for hygiene. Also, I found that eating breakfast only succeeded in making me ravenously hungry all bloody day. Now I know that was because I wasn't eating ENOUGH.

What? I know... when the dietitian told me that based on my answers to her detailed questions about my eating habits I was floored. *I* don't eat enough? Well... it appears that I don't.

Who knew that dry cereal wasn't "enough"? (Not a big milk fan, you know, unless there's chocolate/strawberry powder in it). Toast isn't a breakfast? Who knew what while a bagel is good, it's nowhere near complete? Who knew that skipping it altogether in favor of sleeping in was probably why I needed so much freaking sleeping in?

No really, I am not as stupid as I must sound. Promise.

I am certainly one of those women who worries constantly about over-eating. I always think that I am. I have ALWAYS felt very tired and run down. Fifteen years (or more) of skipping meals does that to a girl, I suppose.

Secondly, I AM LAZY. I do not like to cook. This limits my options. But for breakfast, cooking isn't real necessary.

Now breakfast takes me about 2 hours to eat. Hah! Not always, but close because I bring it to work and eating & working all at once doesn't really ever go well. The eating always gets pushed aside for a bit.

I still do the toast or bagel thing some days, but there's fruit. There's still dry cereal. There's orange juice. There's milk (powder, too... so there's even sugar... woot!). There's yogurt. There can be eggs, but those are more of a weekend thing. There's lots of water so there's also lots of exercise because I'm running up and downstairs to the can every 20 minutes. Once in awhile there are muffins or banana bread (I don't bake them, FYI). Once or twice a week, there is even cream of wheat because this girl needs iron BAD.

Sometimes there's even jell-o.

Lunch and supper are way smaller and generally less time-consuming & guilt-inducing.

I think I'm finally eating properly and I think it will help, but... of course, I still think I'm eating too much. I mean read all that. To me, still... though I only have about 4 or 5 of any of the above in one sitting, I'm still plagued by this paranoia that I'm over-doing it.

I wonder if that'll ever go away or if breakfast will always be this way?

Ugh..

2007-01-19T14:47:00.000-05:00

Example of the reasons I got out of that business.

Debt Collectors Gone Mad

I was NEVER like that with clients, but I worked with many who were. Not quite as bad, but still bad.

FLQ you too, ok...

2007-01-19T14:12:00.000-05:00

RCMP taking seriously letter threatening FLQ attacks on part of Montreal

Thu Jan 18, 4:59 PM

MONTREAL (CP) - The RCMP says it's taking very seriously a recent threatening letter signed by the FLQ, a Quebec terrorist group active in the 1960s and 1970s.

RCMP spokesman Luc Bessette says the letter threatens to attack public places and rail lines in the western, largely English-speaking part of Montreal between mid-February and mid-March. Bessette also says it threatens businesses that don't conform to Quebec's French-language sign law.

He says copies of the letter, dated Jan. 15, were sent to Quebec Premier Jean Charest and French President Jacques Chirac.

But the RCMP official stresses that so far there's no indication those responsible for the letter can carry out their threats.

This is the second letter of its kind which has been received since mid-November and signed: FLQ, Camille-Laurin Cell.

Oh for cryin out loud. Didn't we do this already? I know I didn't exactly as I was still in the womb, but still.

GET. THE. HELL. OVER. IT.

Quebec is a FRENCH Province. Quebec will always be a French Province. That can never, will never and (I'm saying this as an English person) it should never change.

It doesn't matter that there's a whole hell of a lot of English folk here. We adapt. We always have. Those of us that aren't uppity or lazy, at least. You know what? Most of us don't even mind. Speaking both languages assures us jobs, help and dates even... I'm sure there's more stuff, but you follow me so far... so we're all good.

If an anglophone born here, who speaks both languages moves elsewhere... say, Ontario for instance... they have a golden ticket, so to speak, with regards to employment. Spending half your life having to communicate in 2 languages... French more predominately, obviously... only helps... never hinders.

Those few English who complain about having to learn French can move for all I care... or perhaps... buy a clue and shut up already.

I feel the same way about separatists too though. I'd even sell them a clue 1/2 off.

In other news...

2007-01-16T14:40:00.000-05:00

Did any of y'all see the CBS news bit they showed of kids reenacting Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech?

It was so cute... they were forceful and screaming their parts into the mic.

Adorable.

Oh.. and I've always known lettuce was evil. Here is proof.

Crapola!!

2007-01-16T10:00:00.000-05:00

I spent this past weekend in the hospital courtesy of Crohn's again. So not how I want to spend weekends. I was let out, but under protest by the Emergency doctor... he only agreed to send me home because A) I practically begged and B) I'd had a previous appointment with my specialist in a few days anyway... seeing that specialist was the main reason he was gonna make me stay in the hospital.

Thanks but no thanks... seriously. I'd rather sleep in my own bed... or try to anyway. I still feel like shit, but the excrutiating pain that prompted the trip to the hospital is now gone.

I got home Sunday evening still having some mild pain... a big improvement actually. I spent that night trying to sleep, but had no luck. All I did was lilsten to the noises my stomach made. I had a bit better luck sleeping last night... although, the stomach noises still woke me a bunch of times.

Lately, that hospital doesn't let me leave without forcing me to eat their nasti-rific food. It's like a test... if I can tolerate their food without getting sick, they'll let me leave. It's ironic actually. Everything they serve is either too sweet, too salty or too cardboard-y... so I can't win. I tough it out and eat what I can... (thankfully, they tend to only give me liquids) and smile through my desire to puke... ham it up about how much better I feel even though while I normally become very upset at throwing up... it's now become something I long to do... which is due ONLY to the foulness I've just had to swallow and then get the hell out of there.

Poundin' that snooze button with abandon

2007-01-12T16:16:00.000-05:00

I am tired. ALL the time.

I. AM. TIRED.

I go to bed early most of the time and yet I still have trouble getting up in the morning. Not trouble as in I sleep through my alarm, but as in having the hardest time bringing myself to get out of bed. Getting out of bed means out from under warm blankets and into the cold (even if it really isn't all that cold). I don't want to do it. Period.

It's not because I hate my job (I don't). It's not because I cringe at the long commute ahead of me (I totally killed that problem thanks to a fire and some panic). It's not because I am lazy (though, I totally am, but that's only in regards to house-cleaning).

It's due in large part to the fact that I am anemic thanks to the stupid Crohn's, but I've been given TONS of advice on how to manage both... and wonder of wonders, I'm actually religiously following said advice... however, I feel MORE tired.

I'm really stumped on what the hell else to do for some energy.

To DO's:

Get iron!
check

Exercise!
check.. only feeling so tired, it's harder.

Make sure my meals are more complete!
check.. sort of. After my 2nd stomach infection in a year and a half, I was told that fiber = bad for my intestines so I'm off fiber for a month.. meaning virtually no vegetables and only a few types of fruit allowed... no brown bread either, but that's not a hardship at all. It's a temporary thing, of course... and I'm not even sure veggies give you energy anyway (could be wrong.. dunno!). So I'm making my meals more complete in spite of being banned from a few things.

Energy drinks!
Sort of check.. ensure or boost type drinks. I am thankful that the dietitian didn't mean Red Bull or somesuch because YUCK. Pfff... I think I'd rather be dead tired than drink that sugar piss. Blargh!

So.. I am trying everything I've been told by experts and everything I can think of on my own and nothing's really working. My energy levels are pathetic and my desire to sleep so much deepens.

I used to be so hyper. I still am in a way, but I'll go all wide-eyed and jazzed and then fizzle out 10 minutes later. Very very frustrating!

Hail to the King, Baby....

2007-01-09T15:29:00.000-05:00

Can't have the real Ash, so I'll settle for this. Autolycus will do, too.

This works, too.

I found a bunch of action figures, actually. I was shocked at the prices though... guess I expected them to be much more expensive. Don't know why... just did.

Ah Pinhead... you stud, you!

Imagine my excitement upon finding Firefly themed action figures! Also, there seems to not be a theme where you will not find an action figure for it. So cool. Farscape, for example. Sort of obscure, right? Found almost all the characters. I found Hitchiker's Guide figures, but for some reason.. no Trillian.

Check this out... he freaking talks!

Here's something I didn't know. You can get Rock Dolls. Yes, that'd be action figures of rock stars.

Behold: Freddie Mercury, John Lennon & Kurt Cobain. You can also get Jimmi Page, Elvis, Johnny Cash, Madonna, Beyonce, Kiss, The Sex Pistols & Ozzy Osbourne. This blows me away, weirdly.

View My Registry If you wanna buy me something... no pressure though.

Odds & Ends

2007-01-08T10:00:00.000-05:00

Wow..

I spent the weekend on YouTube. How sad is that? I mean, not ALL 48 hours, you know, because there was at least 14-16 hours of sleep. Plus the 4 or 5 hours that my BF was over, but outside of those 2 things... yep... I YouTubed.

Many many posts ago, when I did the list of Yummies.. I totally forgot one guy. How this happened, I don't know... I mean, seriously... this guy... not what one would deem the forgettable sort. The only excuse I have is that my brain is an awful lot like tapioca these days. I'm forgetful and prone to daydreaming a lot. More than usual anyway.

So he is Henry Rollins.

I remember having one of those "oh my god, check out all these guys who I think are hot" conversations with an online pal and showing her a photo of him, but just his face. She was all, "oh nice!", but then she hunted down other pictures of him on her own and said, "Wait... Newt... Did you see all the tattoos? Oh my god...!". Heh. She likes her men un-inked, I guess. She, herself sorta looks a bit like a model, so I found it weird that the model-type was not into the tattooed man. Usually, they're all about that.

Oh well.

Yeah, so anyway... I was YouTubing him and Neko Case and Jeff Buckley.

This site has almost 600 visitors.. 550 of whom are looking for shots of a pop-princess's snatch. Charming. The one bonus is that now I at least know how to get a lot of traffic... write about pink girl parts. Good to know, really. I do wish more of you visitors would comment though. So get cracking!

Le Sigh

2007-01-06T14:58:00.000-05:00

One of my many obsessions.

Don't worry... not all my obsessions are dead. In case you were wondering.

Shoes pant pant

2007-01-05T15:53:00.000-05:00

From Amazon.com.... (drum roll please...)

Endless.com

Shoes & Handbags... oh my.

Resolve to spell better! Damnit!

2007-01-02T16:48:00.000-05:00

Welcome 2007. You'd better not suck!

This post gave me a happy. Why? Because it is nice to know that I'm not the only one who thinks this way about spelling & grammar. It's bugged the ever-loving piss out of me since the first day I ever saw shortened, ridiculous looking non-words like "l8er" or worse... phrases like "r u m or f?".

I've put up with spelling/grammar morons chastising me over my annoyance with this trend because I know I'm right (and he's right, too) about what this type of writing does to make otherwise intelligent or at least quick witted folks come off like slack-jawed yokels. I have also had e-mails at work from people who are very well-spoken in person shock me with incredibly sub-par spelling.

It's quite disturbing and I don't much care if people think I'm too anal about it.

I had been trying to comment on his blog to leave my complete agreement with his comments, but blogger was being a bitch and I soon gave up. Probably better to link to him anyway, right?

Sad sad sad...

2006-12-29T23:35:00.000-05:00

"It will never end on my behalf because I've exposed Rosie for what she is: a very dumb human being," Trump told the AP. "She's got no intelligence, but I've known that for a long time. Unfortunately, Rosie's pulled the wool over the public."

A representative for O'Donnell said she was unavailable for comment.

Perhaps she is laughing too hard to comment. That's what I'd be doing.

Shaved Kitty...

2006-12-28T17:42:00.000-05:00

Because my poor kitty was matted and would not let me brush him, I managed to get him shaved. He looks adorable. He looks like he's wearing a pair of Uggs though.

He feels like a Velvet Elvis.

It took his brother a few days to get used to the fresh, clean smell of him (well, actually... he smelled like a tiny whore, but whatever), so he acted like a chimp being leery of him. His own flesh & blood.

Here's me and my Christmas hair. Got a haircut after Christmas though, so more to come.

2006-12-22T11:43:00.000-05:00

"You can't make false statements," Trump tells PEOPLE exclusively. "Rosie will rue the words she said. I'll most likely sue her for making those false statements – and it'll be fun. Rosie's a loser. A real loser. I look forward to taking lots of money from my nice fat little Rosie."

Donald Trump is a real dickhead.

He went on to talk about stealing her GF. Ridiculous, for adults. This is sort of how I expect my friend's children to act when they get pissed at each other. Seeing adults do it is just sad & pathetic.

"The battle began on Wednesday's show, when a peeved O'Donnell said: "(He) left the first wife – had an affair. (He) had kids both times, but he's the moral compass for 20-year-olds in America. Donald, sit and spin, my friend."

She also made comments about his money, bankruptcies and not being a self-made-man.

It amazes me. Both of them come off like retarded apes. If The Donald had any class what-so-ever, his comments would've stopped here: "You can't make false statements, Rosie will rue the words she said. I'll most likely sue her for making those false statements". Petty, possibly? People say bad things about celebrities all the time. Can't sue everyone because I'm sure it'd get a might confusing after awhile.

As for Rosie, well.. her statements might've come off more as just her opinion if she hadn't added this part: "Donald, sit and spin, my friend." And then to talk about his finances, which is why he wants to sue her.

However, the first part of what she was saying about whether or not he's a suitable moral compass, was an actual valid observation.

It totally sucks when you piss your valid observations down the toilet by ending with flippant and totally unappealing instructions.

It apparently also makes the target foam at the mouth and talk about your weight, too.

Ahhh.. Merry Christmas you messed-up celebrities, you!

White stuff...

2006-12-21T15:29:00.000-05:00

Think Christmas is not Christmas without snow?

Well get over it!

Imagine how Californians or Arizonians must feel. They'd probably all keel over dead of shock if they got a white Christmas. I know I would if I lived out there in the HOT and it freaking snowed.

And listen, y'all.. I do like snow. Snow pretty.

I am told by many that I still have the fonds for the snow because I don't yet drive. I do not fault their logic either because when I try, I can actually see myself getting into my very first winter snow/ice related fender bender and belowing, "I fucking hate the snow! Just look at my damned car!"

But whatever.

We should all be glad that we get a little break before it actually snows A LOT. At which point, we'll all have to deal with the dingleberries who become quite stupid and incapable of driving when there's snow/ice on the roads.

They'll forget to start with the slowing down a little earlier than normal when you have to do the stopping thing. They'll forget how easy it is to lose all control of both car and bladder when speeding. And my personal favorite: They'll forget that they can't see through snow and leave about a foot of it on their back window.

I would like to propose that these dingleberries were all kinds of stupid and incapable of driving *before* the snow came, but they just hid it better whilst driving conditions were more or less optimal.

So yeah...

Don't belly-ache about the lack of a white Christmas (think of the Californians, damn you) and breathe happy that the driving tools shall mostly stay hidden just a little bit longer.

Great read

2006-12-15T20:29:00.000-05:00

Fabulous little article on feminism.

Waiting, waiting.. still waiting... um what am I waiting for again? OH Right!

2006-12-14T10:22:00.000-05:00

Since Sunday morning, I've spent an awful lot of time at the hospital.

I've got Crohn's Disease and after a really nasty stomach infection a year and a half ago, I got stuck with yet another one. However, because I didn't ignore this one for over a month (moron.. party of one.. your table is ready!), I ended up not being as sick. Even though I was in a hell of a lot of pain - doesn't really matter how advanced or not-at-all-advanced an intestinal infection is.. it still hurts like a MOFO - I'm not in as bad shape as last year and I'll be able to bounce back a lot faster.

Proof... I'm only about 2.5 days into my anti-biotics and I feel 1000 times better already.

I also came to find out that if the diet my doctor plans to put me on doesn't help a whole lot, there is at least some medication out there to help keep me from going through this each year. I didn't know that before. One of the drawbacks of the medication is that it causes nausea... but... (trumpets blowing happily)... not in me... Woo WOO!.

The doctors, nurses & techs at the hospital are pretty great.. even if they do make you wait forever and ever. And even if they poke you over and over with needles trying hard to get blood from you and missing. I swear... every nurse that came near me Sunday and especially yesterday, had to try at least 2 times. One had to try 3 times... he thankfully gave up... because my left hand still hurts and I probably look like a heroin addict with all the trackmarks I have.

The admin. staff, however... not even a little great. I ended up having to spend an extra day there all because the admissions bozos refused to give me my file... as I was instructed by the tech that did a scan requested by a doctor I saw. Originally, before the tech read the doctor's instructions... she told me just to make an appointment in a few days for the results. She told me after the scan... "oh bad news... you have to stay and see the doctor today. We can't let you leave yet" and told me where to go (back to emergency) and what to say when I got there ("Give me my file, I have to hand it off to the Triage Nurse, who will hand it off to the doctor").

The fuzz-mouthed bitches at the admissions desk refused to give me my file, in spite of the instructions I repeated back to them (at least 3 times or so)... from a tech who knew way more about what I needed to do than these geniuses did. After 10 minutes of politely, yet likely morphine-fuelled arguing, I got pissed off and decided to go follow the tech's original instructions and just make an appointment with what turned out to be a much friendlier clerk who didn't even argue with me once when I asked if she could set up the appointment for really really soon.

Generation thought bubble.

2006-12-09T10:52:00.000-05:00

Sometimes, I get things stuck in my head and they stay there until I either talk or write about them. So in an effort to clear out my brain, at least on the topic of Generation X, here goes nothin...

Generation X has been described as a generation consisting of those people whose teen years were touched by the 1980s, although this excludes the oldest and youngest X'ers covered by the other definitions. Cameron Crowe, film director, posed as a high school student in 1980 to conduct research on a new generation in high school that was the first generation to study the Vietnam War as nothing more than a history lesson. This new generation did not worry about the draft which had been repealed when they were in elementary school. They also listened to a new kind of music, new wave music, and propelled a new generation of rock stars onto the charts as early as the late 1970s- The Pretenders, The Cars, Blondie (band), and Devo. Cameron Crowe titled his book, released in 1981, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, followed by a hit film of the same name in 1982. Those in high school at the beginning of the 1980s were the first Gen Xers, described so well by Cameron Crowe, and the Fast Times film remains the ultimate Generation X reference film almost a quarter-century later. Unfortunately, these first Gen Xers also had another first - they were the first to attend college during the beginning of the HIV/AIDs epidemic. HIV started making headlines in 1983 reminding Generation X that the "free love" enjoyed by college-age Baby Boomers was a thing of the past.

Source

Myths about Generation X

Taken from here and maybe some other quotes, too:

Myth 1: Gen Xers are slackers and don't want to work hard at anything.

That's bull. We do want to work hard. Our preference, of course, would be to work hard for OURSELVES as opposed to making some other guy rich on the backs of ours and our co-workers, but still. As easy as it would be these days to sit in front of the TV watching DVDs, playing Halo or sitting in front of the computer surfing the whole day away, none of us actually wants to do that. Not for free, at least. Now-a-days, one can get paid to play computer games all day, so it works out if that happens to be your goal.

We've witnessed the bloat of the 80s and don't want to repeat that crap.

"Generation X has to work twice as hard as Baby Boomers," said Chad Lahren, 19, a sophomore at UNR. "We (generation X) are constantly being downsized by Boomers and have to work double to prove ourselves."

Some employers still operate with that seniority-is-god bull. Even if the more senior employee is more like tits on a bull than an employee.

Myth 2: Members of Generation X do not care about themselves or their future.

Yeah, that must be why we're all in debt with student loans.

I actually recall when our parents started harping at us to not only finish high school, but to get accepted into colleges and get degrees because they feared NO ONE would hire us without that.

We're hoping like hell we actually manage to have a future after the 80s.

Myth 3: Gen Xers hang out in coffee shops all day smoking cigarettes with the post-college blues because they have nothing better to do.

Sure, sure... most of us have other critical non-work stuff that needs doing before we can launch into our much required leisure time. Many of us don't even drink coffee.

Myth 4: Gen Xers live at home longer.

Longer than the folks who married off their daughters as soon as possible to the first guy who hung around long enough? Perhaps this myth is sort of true, but it's not the whole picture. Besides... Gen Xers' parents would be Boomers, presumably. I seriously doubt that both generations can reside together for long.

Myth 5: Gen Xers are frustrated, hopeless and cynical.

We're frustrated at the mess of a planet we grew up into, sure. The pollution, the wars, the injustices we all should've grown out of a long time ago. Being stereotyped frustrates us.

Hopeless people don't generally bother trying to change the world around them. So that particular adjective... total crap.

Gen Xers being cynical is, again... not the whole picture. I think perhaps that we just cope with realities better than Boomers.

This guy is WORSE than any stereotypically cynical or hopeless Gen Xer. I found this site while sorta researching Generation X, so that when I wrote this, I'd talk out of my ass a little less.

I have to say.. reading this site disgusted me. Thankfully, the site hasn't been updated in 2 years. Not that it would matter too much because there is nothing but bullshit on it. All the singers, writers, comedians, et al. that this guy mentions are fine... He doesn't like them. Cool. He's not required to. Tastes are subjective.

"GenX has no sense of history, no connection to nor understanding of their place in the time stream - to pose is an end in itself for them. They think they are cool, yet they lack the basic knowledge that cool is ultimately about dissent, about original ideas - and posing, of course, is anathema to this."

Cripes. I pity this guy if he actually knows people like this. Also, I think he's a moron for saying things like:

"GenX would not even grasp the concept of wanting to be an educated person for the sake of being an educated person."

"Participating in civic affairs is simply a non-starter for them, unless it is somehow cool. No doubt the cycle will reverse itself at some point, and the whole lost generation that is X will suddenly become politically active - because it has become cool somehow...and they will read one issue of the Economist or watch a few episodes of Crossfire and instantly think themselves informed and start dictating their demands."

"Gen-X is loathsome for oh so many reasons, but primarily for their lack of politics."

Explain to me how a lack of politics, as this site owner accuses fits his Gen X stereotype about Jeanine Garofalo "She was, however, unintentionally hilarious during her saturation talkshow and news program appearances protesting the Iraq war, doing her usual shtick... admiring herself as she smugly sprays words while saying absolutely nothing." I tend to think that protesting something kind of denotes some sort of politics. Use brain, pal. It helps you be more observant.

I think that anyone who tries to define a generation ultimately gets it wrong. Some take it a few steps further and imbue their definitions with insults and hate. Judging by the ihategenx site... there's not much in the way of actual research being done either. Hell, I love a good rant, but it's a little hard to read when it's all bullshit.

A really fun experiment (for me at least)

2006-12-08T14:15:00.000-05:00

Paris Hilton's crotch, Lindsay Lohan's crotch. President Bush's crotch. Micheal Richard's gnarly crotch.

Let's see... who else's crotch deserves a mention? Bah.. no one's really, but I want to see what happens to my hits now.

And just to be weird & out of curiousity, here's a phrase. Monkey Puke.

Now... to see what happens.

Really, I should have something better to do than this, you'd think.. and I do, rest assured, but I've reached the point in the day... Friday being the day... when slacking off is almost mandatory.

You are what you search? God I hope not!

2006-12-07T14:54:00.000-05:00

Searches that have been bringing people to my site:

"famous guys with tight pants"
"britney's crotch"
"britney crotch scar"
"paparazzi female crotch pix"
"britney girly bits"
"britney no undies"
"seinfled what did he say"
"johnny depp"
"gerard butler"
"robert downey junior"
"Jake Gyllenhaal"

I imagine the folks doing the crotch searches were pretty peeved at me upon arrival here.

HEH.

Well... since my visit counts went up thanks to Britney's girl parts post, I think I may post about other celebs girl parts (or boy parts) just for the hits. Shameless, I know. Probably immature, too.

Maybe people will even comment. Likely, I imagine some of those comments will go something like this, "You BITCH! Where are the snatch pics?!".

Oh Damn...

2006-12-07T12:05:00.000-05:00

I realized something just this morning.

I do miss one thing about my old LOOOONG commute. Not so much in the morning, as I generally dozed off on both the subway & then the bus after it. However, the 2+ hrs long rides home generally meant the chance to oogle some serious eye-candy.

What the hell else are you gonna do on a commute that long if not stare at hotties? Yeah, right... I could've read - and I usually did - but after the first hour, reading on the bus or subway tends to make one (this one) want to projectile vomit everywhere.

Thankfully, I live in Montreal and there are quite literally hot men EVERYWHERE. I guess that without the long commute, I will just have to spend more time at Malls and perhaps Sports Bars.

Not a bad idea. Especially the Mall part... shopping and all.

No one likes a quitter...

2006-12-06T10:42:00.000-05:00

But I quit smoking anyway.

Yesterday was my first day without a cigarette (well.. without a cigar actually. I stopped smoking actual cigarettes in favor of those mini-flavored cigars at least a year ago).

It didn't go too badly either. I wasn't super-crabby or jonesing too much, but I suspect that crap will start pretty soon.

We'll see if I can manage or if I cave.

When I want a smoke, I've been staring at the photos of the guys on my sexy list down below. Not that hot guys make me not want to smoke anymore, but for a few minutes, I do manage to forget I am a smoker trying not to smoke.

It's not overly hard to distract me, obviously.

UPDATE: I caved already. Although, I only had a grand total of 2 smokes yesterday. That's about 6 to 8 less than I usually have!

What is the deal??

2006-12-05T20:43:00.000-05:00

Y'all are searching for Britney's crotch photos, ya dirty birds. Stop that! If only I'd known.

On the plus side, maybe some of you who land here aren't overly annoyed that I didn't post any of her naughty bits and you stick around and read me.

SEXY....

2006-12-04T20:36:00.000-05:00

Who are your sexiest famous or semi-famous men and why? As asked here.

1) Bruce Campbell - Yep. Ash, Autolycus, Brisco County Jr., & the man with the screaming brain himself. It's safe to say that this is my favorite male specimen on the planet (BF excluded, but just barely).

2) Nathan Fillion - Captain Tight Pants.

3) Orlando Bloom - Someone that pretty doesn't generally interest me, but as pretty as he is, he strikes me as a serious geek too.

4) Gerard Butler - Mercy, mercy.

5) Clive Owen - Yum. I actually confuse specimen number 4 and 5 all the time.

6) Robert Downey Jr. - Troubled (previously anyway... seems to be doing well these days though), but damn. Gets sexier as he ages, too.

7) Johnny Depp - Can do no wrong on top of being sexy.

8) Christian Slater - I've been into him as long as I can remember.

9) Jeff Buckley - There are no words for this one. What a loss.

10) Ben Harper - Whew!

11) James Marsters - Who says vampires aren't hot? Well, certainly not me.

12) Jake Gyllenhaal - I am POSITIVE that there's no need to explain why I find this guy sexy.

I know there's more, but I am blanking right now.

Update: Remembered a few more:

13) Aaron Stanford - Definitely lights a fire!

14) Hugh Jackman - Wolverine. That is all.

More Heroes worship..

2006-12-04T19:04:00.000-05:00

Well... Christopher Eccleston won't be playing Sylar. Boo... almost. He's super-good at being bad. The guy who is playing Sylar is growing on me... starting to anyway.

Tonight's the last show til 2007.

Snatch? No not mine.

2006-12-02T20:15:00.000-05:00

So...

Who here is tired of reading about.. or seeing Britney's crotch?

Well... obviously not enough people are tired of or uninterested in her crotch. I mean... think about it. How many times have you seen her nether region this week?

Here's something to think about...

Almost every female on the planet has gone commando at one point (maybe more than ONE point), but the difference is that you and me, for example, we're likely only going to give our date the unintentional, but enjoyable peepshow. Or at worst, we're gonna give some random passer-by a free peek. This happens to (I think its safe to say) ALL women at least once. Period.

So I wonder... if there's no paparazzi there to capture your pussy-parade on film, is it still a pussy parade?

Mysterious.

Britney's not exactly the brightest bulb in the lamp, surely... but saying no to undies a few times in a row is really none of our concern. And also something that we've all done ourselves.

I personally think if you set up to judge someone like Britney, then judging her harshly for things like hanging out with Paris Hilton - I mean, seriously Paris makes Britney seem like a Rhodes Scholar - would make a whole lot more sense. Maybe she has a soft spot for trash? This explains her marrying trash. Who knows. She should actually be sort of admired for putting up with trash as much as she seems to.

I guess gossip is fun. I read it too, but I think that it's getting out of hand. Actually, it's been out of hand for a long LONG time. In a strange way, I thank god that "too far" now means Britney's crotch as opposed to a dead Princess, for example.

Let me ask you...

Would you like to be followed around with people snapping your photo constantly? Doubt it. How would you feel if, as a celebrity, you heading out for a good time at night with your trashy friend resulted in your crotch AND your c-section scar being published nationally? Talk about private business!

Are you gonna say, "Hey.. public figure.. that's how it is. Don't become a celeb and expect privacy"? Why not?

Do you and I OWN these people because we buy whatever it is that they do to entertain us? Do we have exclusive rights to them and their private lives? Or "private areas" as in Britney's case this past week? If any of you answered "YES", I actually think y'all got some issues. Sorry.

I do want to know about celebs, I admit it, but ya know what... I want to read about their projects, maybe a bio (where they're from.. especially fellow Canadians). I really can't figure out how crotch pics constitutes NEWS or even something interesting, but the public craves these bits of info. It's not enough to see the celebs doing whatever their talent is. It's not enough to have whatever info they actually don't mind sharing with the world. These tabloid girly bits and other ridiculous tabloid stories are what sells.

I don't know what's worse, the hunger for tabloid style info or the tabloids themselves providing said info?

Actually.. There would be no tabloids without the scandal-starved freaks of the world, so I'll blame the scandal-starved freaks.

Xmas shopping (for you)

2006-11-29T21:57:00.000-05:00

I need a new tool set. FYI.

My apt looks like an Xmas decorations store threw up in it. Freakish. How many decorations is too many?

Spastic racist?

2006-11-24T15:40:00.000-05:00

The more I see about this Michael Richards thing, the less I get it.

I'm curious how a guy who spends 9 seasons acting like an idiot flailing around the set gets a gig at a Comedy Club anyway. When was he EVER funny? I really didn't like the Seinfeld series at all, but I did enjoy Jerry Seinfled's stand-up back in the day. I hated the series largely due to this Kramer person & that bald guy. Neither one is funny. Or even watchable.

Richard's seems to be trying to make up for it, but here's the thing. What non-racist or sane person acts this way?

None.

Here's what I know...

Bad, horrific tempers aren't enough to explain the things he said. I have a nasty temper. I am quick to call those who get me angry names, even. Names like "bitch" or "asshole". It has NEVER once occurred to me to toss a racial slur at someone I'm really angry at.

I'm not trying to hold myself up as some example of goodness here. I'm not always a nice person or even a half way decent person... but still, screaming racist insults at people just doesn't enter the realm. So I guess I have a hard time buying, "but I'm not a racist" from this guy.

To me, you can't come up with that type of thing and not feel it/believe it on some level.

Was he even being heckled? Does it matter?

Most comedians (and I use the term really loosely with regards to Richards), have enough intelligence to mock hecklers or engage hecklers and integrate them into the act. I don't know anyone who would find the crap he spewed even remotely funny if that was his plan.

I very seriously don't care what the supposed hecklers did or said, Richard's went off and outted himself - best case - as a serious rage case, if not - worst case - a flat out racist.

He can apologize all he wants (and he should, don't get me wrong), but I seriously doubt it'll matter a whole lot for his "career". He's done. That's my hope anyway.

Get yer credit cards ready...

2006-11-24T14:59:00.000-05:00

Cute ornaments (another)

Cute lighting

Source

Read about the upcoming Season 8 Buffy comic. I personally cannot wait to get a look at this. You'll also read about other Joss goings on in this article.

It really sucked that Buffy ended (well on TV anyway), but in a way... too much of a good thing isn't a good thing. At least this is what I am telling myself. The fact that Buffy will continue in comic book form is great. I personally think it could've continued in cartoon form and been as huge of a hit as the TV show ended up being. I have read a few attemtps to go forward from the last episode and while I liked that all the characters were mentioned or involved, the story-telling itself was seriously lame (a for effort though). Sorry, but no one does Buffy like it's creator.

Procrastination station...

2006-11-23T12:18:00.000-05:00

Twice in the past 2 weeks I have wanted to set aside time with the man to work on my school project with me (because I need help!). Twice I've been too sleepy, too uninspired or too interested in some other thing to get busy and work on it.

It's late... VERY late. I'm having a lot of trouble with it, so I believe that the motivation's lacking because the ability is lacking. Oh well.. hence needing the man to help. The freaking thing is reasonably close to being finished, too.. so it's somewhat annoying that I can't get any further on my own. Grrrrrr. Thank god I'm dating a programmer, or I'd have lost it by now!

Not only that, but the last bit of September and most of last month have left me struggling to stay awake... or at even motivated to stay awake. This month has been all about catching up, which is something I can't seem to do where school is concerned.

Sucks, but true.

There's a lot of stuff I want to do (hey, that kinda sounds like motivation), but I never get around to it. Not so much because I'm too busy, but because I'm too beat (that motivation lasted a whole 5 seconds, bad bad sign).

I've been saying, "Oh, next week.. for sure" for about 3 weeks now.

Wish me luck!

Hero Worship...

2006-11-21T15:43:00.000-05:00

Star Trek's Sulu & Former Doctor Who to join Heroes.

"Entertainment Weekly reports that Christopher Eccleston (28 Days Later) will be playing what's referred to as a "top secret" recurring role on Heroes, beginning in January."

He's gonna be SYLAR damnit!

I'm good at predicting these things. I knew Micha would be sporting powers, just like his mom & dad do. Only while his dad's power's kind of cool. I mean seriously, think about it. If you were a kid, you'd ALWAYS win hide'n'seek. Whereas his mom's power involves being a very effective sociopath.

That guy who killed Claire's little cheerleading-nemesis by accident, and was supposed to/gonna kill scoop out Claire's brain won't turn out to be Sylar, but one of his minions and nothing more.

Sulu should be fun as Hiro's dad!

So how much did Heroes rock last night?

I either missed Peter's realization of what his power actually is or it wasn't done properly. Last he thought, he could fly like his brother. I only knew what his power was because I read about it (TV Guide or something).

There seems to have been some Nikki/Jessica stuff that I have missed too... like.. when did Miss Las Vegas Killer get a separate name? Why Jessica?

I don't know how I'd have missed these things since I won't even leave the TV to pee during that hour of TV.

My bladder hates me.

Crazy...

2006-11-20T12:57:00.000-05:00

A lot of men think women are crazy. Many men love & interact with women anyway, but they just keep that thought in the back of their minds during the friendship, relationship, sexual arrangement... whatever.

There's a percentage of men who will actively avoid women completely based on that "women are crazy" theory. Ok, well.. THEORY my ass.. let's face it. It's fact. Women ARE crazy.

Ya-ya.. exceptions to every rule.. so on and so on. And oh, "some women are crazy in a good way.. don't forget that". Yeah, I won't. STFU! No one cares about the good ways in which women are crazy because those ways don't scare or annoy men. Or anyone else, for that matter.

I totally understand why men think we're all crazy. Yeah. Kind of sucks when a WOMAN agrees that women are crazy, doesn't it? For women anyway.. the men just feel vindicated.

Why does a member of the fairer sex agree with men? You might wonder if I'm sucking up to men here, but I'm not. Many of the same little CRAZY things women do that annoy the men-folk, annoys the stuffing outta me, too.

A list, examples & proof that women are crazy:

1) We ask incredibly leading & stupid questions that have no answers that will please us.

I think that this is the worst possible thing a woman can do. "Do I look fat in this dress?"... do you honestly think a man's going to tell someone he loves or even likes, "Why yes.. you do look fat in that.. since you ask." There's nothing he can respond with that won't make a woman angry because she doesn't want the truth, she wants a compliment. Some of the needier members of my gender do this type of questioning repeatedly throughout the damned day. If she wanted the truth, she'd have asked her girlfriends.. and even then.. she's still probably fishing.

If by some miracle, a man actually has an opinion on your ensemble that is a bit more detailed than, "Hey, you look nice" lap it the hell up. Even if he says something like, "Nice outfit, but I dunno if I like orange on you.. too bright". I should think it obvious that he's giving his comments some thought and that a sane woman would not be offended. But I'd be wrong. She'd probably flip out on him. Even though he didn't insult her.. he just doesn't like the color.

Do you think she'd have flipped out if one of her girlfriends said that? Hard to say.. we are crazy, after all.

The ridiculous meanness of asking someone a no-good-answer type of question never seems to occur to women either or they just don't care (which either makes them cruel or stupid - neither of which are good). Why put someone you claim to care about in a position where 96% of any answers he gives you will piss you off? How do otherwise intelligent women not even consider this? Why are you testing him in this STUPID way when there are so many other important types of "tests" you should be putting each other through (like determining if any part of the couple would cheat or beat on the other part of it, for example.. you know.. something way more important than how your fat ass looks.. yeah, I said that. If you need to ask, your ass probably DOES look big).

Also, just note.. asking a guy questions like this clues him into the fact that you're batshit insane almost immediately, honey. You're not being sneaky and covert, measuring his love for you by these fucked up standards, you're being a tool.

2) A lot of us are so very willing to be something we're not to get a guy.

He's a squash fanatic. You're a biker. You forget your brains on your bike seat and try to pretend like you're a squash fan, too. Complete with lies about how you're an avid player. Nevermind that he's VERY likely to notice that you TOTALLY BLOW at squash. Also, nevermind that had you NOT pretended to be Queen of the Squash Courts, he might've fallen totally in love with you in spite of sqaushlessness. Oh.. don't forget to nevermind the fact that admitting you know next to nothing about squash, but are genuinely open to trying it out if he's open to showing you the ropes.. and perhaps you'd thrill him later with the finer points of biking.. might've spoke VOLUMES to him about how much YOU liked HIM and gives him the opportunity to do something that most men LOVE.. to show off. Oh yeah.. and be the hot teacher-type for a new potential girlfriend.. teacher's pet, etc.. Ok, imagination. Stop.

Pretending always backfires.. which leads me to something similar.

Oh wait for it...

3) Faking orgasms.

I could live to be 8,000 yrs old and I'll never ever never ever get this. You fake. He comes. Read those two little non-sentences OUT LOUD one more time. Let them sink in. Can you see who lost out here? No, here's a clue... it wasn't him. He HAD an orgasm Miss Fakey-Faker!

Yeah.. ok, he's been at it awhile now and I'm sore and I'm tired.. blah blah blah.. If you didn't really wanna mess around in the first place, don't agree to. If you did, but it's starting to hurt.. TELL HIM. Unless he's a complete jerk, he's not gonna keep going (if he is a jerk, push his dumb ass off you and show him the door.. jerks shouldn't be allowed to come.. not in you anyway. Shame on you anyway for boffing a jerk!). If his moves are just not doing it for you anymore, take over.. he's not exactly going to complain!

That's all I got time for right now. Just know that the list is indeed LONG.

Shopping cart-o-rama

2006-11-20T12:07:00.000-05:00

'Tis the season to buy some really cracked gifts:

Ashtray

Check out some of their other items. Hilarious!

And some really cute-as-hell gifts:

Cell Phone
T-Shirts
Penguin Lamp

Source: popgadget

Tele-Review Site.

2006-11-15T15:59:00.000-05:00

Added a new link because this site has GREAT reviews on some of my favorite TV shows.

Check them out!

Televisionary: Second Take: NBC's "30 Rock"
Televisionary: Veronica Mars: "Of Vice & Men"
Televisionary: Ugly Betty

Oh and Christopher Eccleston is apparently joining the cast of Heroes. W00t! That guy's amazing. I'm guessing he's gonna be Sylar. I've seen him play a villian before and OH MY GOD, he's good at it.

Meeeeeeeeeeow! WHAAAAAAAAAT??

2006-11-09T11:36:00.000-05:00

“The idea that I would act disrespectful towards a fellow musician is unimaginable to me,” Hill said in a statement.

Ms. Hill got caught on camera angrily yelling "WHAT?!?!" when it was announced that Carrie Underwood won the CMA for Female Vocalist of The Year.

Her quote is a gut-buster because acting disrespectful is an exact description of what she did. I am sitting here wondering how unimaginable something can be to someone after they've done it. Rest assured, I am really confused right now.

The longer I reside on this planet, the more I think that Celebs must just believe that everyone but them is remarkably stupid or gulliable. I'm pretty sure that politicians feel the same way.

Here, let me try one.

"The idea that I would eat a whole Aero bar for breakfast is unimaginable to me".

Yet I did indeed have an Aero bar for breakfast... and it was good... as unimaginable as it was. I am even imagining another one, but alas... I'm far too lazy to walk over to the store again.

Heroes are my heroes...

2006-11-08T12:15:00.000-05:00

I just loved it...

Do you watch Heroes? If not, you should. Totally rocks!

Anyway, I totally dug how DL and Hiro both helped save a car crash victim.. BOTH using their superpowers, but without either one noticing the other's use of their powers.

I love this show!

Oh and I suspected all along that little Micha had powers too. I mean how could he not? Both his mom & dad have powers. Yay me for knowing.

Send him where? Part 5

2006-11-06T15:52:00.000-05:00

OYE! Backpeddle, buddy... but be all snotty about the stupid thing you tried to do, too.

TORONTO — An American prosecutor said on Tuesday that he regrets the political firestorm caused by his decision to allow a teacher convicted of a sex offence in Buffalo, N.Y., to serve probation in Canada.

Frank Clark said he was astounded that Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other politicians had exacerbated a furor ignited by faulty media reports, and he now feels obliged to try to douse the flames.

"Obviously, there are members of Parliament who have used this for their own particular purpose," Clark said in an interview from Buffalo.

"This happened to be a pretty good target to shoot at and they shot at it, and there’s nothing I could do about it other than try to correct the misperception that was created."

Not much of a mispreception really. The fact all these so-called lawyers keep ignoring (likely intentionally) is that convicted felons can't just hop over the borders anytime they please. Anyone's borders.

I love that "faulty reports" bit, too.

I still can't fathom why anyone is surprised that Canadians don't want a convicted pedofile banished to Canada... and believe it or not, the key word there is CONVICTED. It makes NO sense at all. I know American's would be all-a-twitter if the situation was reversed.

What the hell is wrong with our borders? Or theirs for that matter?

Send him where? Petition edition...

2006-10-31T09:27:00.000-05:00

There is an online petition calling for Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to get Waston the hell out of Canada.

Check it out and hopefully sign it.

Send him where? Part 4

2006-10-27T12:05:00.000-04:00

OTTAWA, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- The American teacher who was allowed by U.S. judges to spend three-year probation in Canada after being convicted of sexually assaulting a student was arrested by Canadian border guards on Thursday.

Um.. thanks for doing your job properly this time border guards.

Three cheers for gettin' around to it eventually.

Watson's lawyer, Oscar Smukler, has accused Canadian politicians of blowing the case out of proportion for political reasons, and said the media has made him out to be a high risk offender, when he is nothing of the sort.

"He was convicted of having kissed a young lady and touched her breast outside her clothing," Smukler said.

This moron of a lawyer does not seem to get the BIG PICTURE here. Canada is NOT a dumping ground for criminals... of ANY kind. The probability that Watson'd move on to another teenager may be low in their estimation and they may even be right, but why should Canada have to deal with him? Why should we accept the risk, even a slight one? Would the US if the situation was reversed? I highly doubt it.

Oh and as an aside... if he didn't actually do anything to the young lady and as I have read... whatever went on between them was consentual, I wonder why this joke of a sentence was required to save the victim "the grief of having to testify"?

But really.. it boils all the way down to this: Criminals.. convicted criminals aren't allowed to enter Canada. Since they aren't allowed to enter the States either, I am really at a loss as to why anyone with any sort of education, then a degree in law on top of that forgot (or ignored) this fact?

It's complete and utter stupidity.

The Hour

2006-10-26T14:39:00.000-04:00

Ever watch this show?

Seems to be a news program geared to the 25-35 yr old crowd. Not that old fogeys wouldn't find something here for them, though.

The host is George Stroumboulopoulos, of MuchMusic News fame. If you're going to watch, you'd better watch & listen close because this program's like the Gilmore Girls of news. They all talk fast (except for the guests, thank freaking God!)... super fast. Note to The Hour host & correspondents: CUT BACK ON THE CAFFEINE!

Just in the 2 days that I have watched, the guests have been: Alice Cooper, Bob Geldof, The Killers (I don't really get the hype about this band... seriously) and Maggie Trudeau. Yeah, that's right. I know she's got some issues, but I've always found her to be quite the cool chick in spite of all that. A Canadian Icon, just like her former husband, though.. obviously for different reasons.

Check out the CBC site for the show & George's site.

By the way... I had to do this post twice. From now on, I'm freaking typing these out in notepad and only posting it when it's finished. Damnit. How annoying when your browser crashes mid-babble.

Send him where? Part 3...

2006-10-25T13:33:00.000-04:00

"As Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said yesterday, Canada is not a dumping ground for U.S. sex offenders. Authorities in New York state need to be reminded of that."

"A federal cabinet minister, Rob Nicholson, said he was "infuriated" by the decision and vowed that Ottawa will do whatever it can to block U.S. pedophiles from serving their probation time in Canada."

Friggen A.

Read this, too. The man has NO STATUS in Canada. He should not have even been allowed past the border. So not only are the Americans to blame for this, but the border guards are as well.

I'm so glad I'm not the only one thinking the sentence is insane. Not to mention that it's not really a sentence at all, but more like a vacation and a chance for this sex offender to help himself to a new Canadian under-age victim.

Canada isn't a "buffet" for pedofiles anymore than America is (or should be), so listen up any Americans involved in this case:

"Deal with your own fucking perverts, thanks!"

Numbers, wahhhhhhh!

2006-10-24T13:31:00.000-04:00

I hate doing my budget. I almost never stick to it. There is always something that needs buying... well not *NEEDS* buying, but you know...

This time though, I am going to have to dig in deep and try like hell to stick to it. Even if only a little because I got plans, yo. Plans that involve a car and a condo. At the very least... the condo. Having moved so close to my office, the car would just be a bonus. Ahh but what a bonus!

There are a few things I need aptartment-wise currently like a TV and a TV stand, curtains and a few other small, inexpensive items and fix-y type things. Like... I have to get some tools. I have a small girl-tool-kit, but I broke the tape measure recently and some parts are missing. Not overly-important parts, but still.

After that, however... the budget I'm working on will be stuck to like white on rice... no matter WHO or what interferes with it. Hopefully, I can pick up some extra Web work or help the man with some of his clients or something to help me not only stick to the budget, but improve upon it. That'd be nice.

Nothing and I mean NOTHING will get in the way of my condo-getting. Even though the thought of moving again in 2 years gives me hives... it's different when you're moving into something you'll eventually own outright.