remember where I was when Diana died. It was a personal tragedy for her sons, but I don’t get the melodrama that goes on top of it. Not a celebrity worshipper.
But that’s all she was. A celebrity. Meant well. Completely screwed up emotionally. Kinda pathetic at times.
I still find all of the emotion and the flowers and the public tears, then and now, to be artificial. Manufactured mourning.
Was out at lunch with some co-workers. Well, actually it was a send-off lunch for our co-op, but we tend to treat her like one of the gang.
Nevertheless, we started talking about “that one thing”. At the table, we’re all of the type that makes financial decisions “appropriately”, “prudently”, with an eye to not overdoing it.
But there’s that one thing. Totally don’t need it. But you smile every time you use it, damn the luxury payments.
For one guy, it’s a hot tub; for another, it’s a landscaped garden; for the student, it’s a new bed (that is not the one she’s slept in since she was 3). For me, it’s the car: leather interior, sun roof…
Every possible day that I can, even when it’s a little cold, I’ve got the roof open and the music thumping. Car payments be damned, I feel good.
Pearl came to visit and brought me …stuff. I think she was rather disappointed that I moved from Kitchener to Waterloo (K-W, if you don’t know, are Siamese cities), and that I *might* have lived in Waterloo before.
Nevertheless, the wonderful people at the Welcome Wagon gave me fruit chew things, and chip-bag holders, and magnets, and a free pizza coupon, and free tickets to the Orchestra (natch), and lipstick, and a coupon for photocopies, and lemon-dill dip mix, and a booklet of all of the things that I might do in Waterloo region.
I earned extra points because I’ve been to Ireland, cuz Pearl’s been there too.
I wore a pink skirt :)
A light tap on the door tonight. A lovely old lady who wants to come to visit me tomorrow :)
Her name is Pearl and she’s from the Welcome Wagon. I can’t stand it, it’s so perfect. I think I get a goody basket and I get to hear about community events. Around here, I’m sure it’s geriatric aquatics and mall-walking, but oh, this will be fun.
A recent expedition on a huge ridge in the North Atlantic found all kinds of amazing creatures. I’m always fascinated by how much we don’t know; how many creatures are out there that we don’t know about. Like this little guy – it’s like Disney-Pixar went down there and drew his face on…
And then I have an instant pang of fear that now that we know about them, we’ll find a way to kill them or their habitat. I hope the pictures were taken “in situ”…
On an internal site at work, there was a comment left that people were having to make some hard choices between work and life. I.e. having to do things after hours, after the kids go to bed… But there was one sentence that really spiked my punch: “And these aren’t the singles!” Meaning, of course, that it’s somehow okay if SINGLES have to work late, or at home, or on the weekends, but people with kids? Or married people? Oh no, that’s really bad!
So many levels of reality check here, that’s a given, but as a SINGLE, I can say that the sentiment is pretty pervasive in the workplace. Many times, it’s been assumed that it’s okay for me to take on extra work, since I have no dependents, what ELSE could I need/want to be doing during “life” time? It can be subtle too. If you’ve ever worked on a team comprised mostly of women, then you know all about the family days that invariably come up. And trust me, a sick cat doesn’t qualify.
What I want to do during my “life” time is my business, and I’m equally entitled to it, whether I breed or not. To think otherwise is discriminatory, and more than a little smug.
Drove over to my sister’s house yesterday to put in a few hours helping them to dig up about half their yard and then lay stone for various projects. My brother-in-law has become quite adept at manoevering the machinery, which is probably the culmination of gaming skills learned long ago.
In any case, the rain made sure that we had enough muck on our shoes to qualify them as anti-gravity boots. We figured out a pretty good system for checking grade involving a 2×3 and a baby level. Dig the muck and clay, move some over here. Dig some more…
I felt bad leaving them with big holes and tons more stone to move, but I had to get back to take care of JL. I had big plans to start priming the kitchen when I got back, but my ambition changed to food, nap and reading by the time I got home :)
Then I had a dream last night that my sister wanted to cover my back patio with 1 1/2 inch gravel.
Last night before I went to bed I watched one of those reno shows – the one where they show 3 couples “moving up” and they get to go back to their old house after it’s been renovated by the new people. Anyway, this one girl bought a house without an inspection because her real estate agent told her to.
She got there, and there were rat droppings in the kitchen, … and maggots. In the light fixtures. Now, there are all kinds of heebie-jeebies, but maggots in a light fixture has got to be in the top ten. My fists were clenched in the universal sign of ew! She had to strip the house down to the studs, and they found 4 or 5 dead squirrels in the ceilings. Good gods.
So, I went to bed with visions of squirrels running and/or keeling over in my crawlspace.
I managed to fall asleep but was woken around 3am by a brilliant thunderstorm, and by Jean Luc recognizing said thunderstorm and jumping on me before making a beeline for the closet.
Half asleep a little while later, I could hear scratching, then silence, then scratching again. I’m thinking, Gah! Squirrels! or maybe Jean Luc doing something weird, and I’m trying to let the logic brain win out, but a little while later the scratching was in my room and I couldn’t see the cat and I’m pretty sure I had been dreaming about the maggots, and I was definitely freaked out.
I turned on the bedside light and looked around the bed like one does at the age of 5 when there’s the distinct possibility that there are dragons or crocodiles on the floor. I found Jean Luc at the bottom of the bed, staring at me. There might have been a sardonic grin. I was not happy with the spooky scratching and told him to get on the bed and/or stop f*ckin’ around.
Fell back to sleep until about a minute before the alarm was supposed to go off, thanks to Mr Jean Luc again, who had realized it was time to get up and celebrated by head-butting me.
Meme stolen from miserablebliss
YES OR NO
Only two rules– and you MUST follow them then repost this:
1. You can only say Yes or No.
2. You aren’t allowed to explain anything unless someone asks you.
1. Taken a picture fully naked? Yes
2. Painted your room? Yes
3. Made out with a member of the same sex? Yes
4. Drove a car? Yes
5. Danced in front of your mirror? Yes
6. Have a crush? Yes
7. Been dumped? Yes
8. Stolen someones heart? Yes
9. Gotten in a car with people you just met? Yes
10. Been in a fist fight? Yes
11. Snuck out of your house? Yes
12. Had feelings for someone who didn’t have them back? Yes
13. Been arrested? No
14. Made Out With A Stranger? Yes
15. Left your house without telling your parents? Yes
16. Had a crush on your neighbor? No
17. Ditched school to do something more fun? Yes
18. Slept in a bed with a member of the opposite sex? Yes
19. Seen someone die? No
20. Been on a plane? Yes
21. Kissed a picture? No
22. Slept in until 3? Yes
23. Love someone or miss someone right now? Yes
24. Laid on your back and watched cloud shapes go by? Yes
25. Made a snow angel? Yes
26. Played dress up? Yes
27. Cheated while playing a game? Yes
28. Been lonely? Yes
29. Fallen asleep at work/school? Yes
30. Yelled at a friend? Yes
31. Felt an earthquake? No
32. Touched a snake? Yes
33. Ran a red light? Yes
34. Been suspended from school? No
35. Had detention? Yes
36. Been in a car accident? Yes
37. Hated the way you look? Yes
38. Witnessed a crime? Yes
39. Pole danced? No
40. Been lost? Yes
41. Been to the opposite side of the country? Yes
42. Felt like dying? Yes
43. Done something you told yourself you wouldn’t? Yes
44. Laughed until something you were drinking came out your nose? Yes
45. Caught a snowflake on your tongue? Yes
45. Sang in the shower? Yes
46. Made out in a park? Yes
47. Had a dream that you married someone? Yes
48. Glued your hand to something? No
49. Got your tongue stuck to a pole? No
50. Ever gone to school partially naked? Yes
51. Been a cheerleader? Yes
52. Sat on a roof top? Yes
53. Didn’t take a shower for a week? No
54. Too scared to watch scary movies alone? No
55. Played chicken? Yes
56. Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on? Yes
57. Been told you’re hot by a complete stranger? Yes
58. Been easily amused? Yes
59. Mooned/flashed someone? Yes
60. Cheated on a test? No
61. Forgotten someone’s name? Yes
62. Slept naked? Yes
63. Gone skinny dipping? Yes
64. Blacked out from drinking? Yes
65. Played a prank on someone? Yes
66. Gone to a late night movie? Yes
67. Made love to anything not human? No
68. Failed a class? No
69. Choked on something you’re not supposed to eat? No
70. Played an instrument for more than 10 hours? Yes
71. Cheated on a girl/boyfriend? Yes
72. Thrown strange objects? Yes
73. Felt like killing someone? Yes
74. Felt like running away? Yes
75. Have you ever ran away? Yes
76. Made a parent cry? Yes
77. Cried over someone? Yes
78. Had sex more than 3 times in one day? Yes
79. Dated someone more than once? Yes
80. Had/Have a dog? Yes
81. Own an instrument? Yes
82. Been in a band? Yes
83. Drank 25 sodas in a day? No
84. Broken a CD? Yes
85. Shot a gun? Yes
86. Had feelings for one of your best/good friends? Yes
Got a call from my sister about 4:15. Turns out she and the kids and Gramma (or my mother) were at African Lion Safari and thought dinner with me might be more fun than driving the 401 during rush hour (I feel so loved).
I had to take a shower (work-at-home = Jammie Day) and they were ready to eat at 4:45! Must have been some really bad hotdogs. I’m not sure if we violated a dinner law by eating during “old people time” or what. And maybe I should have kept my pink velour tracksuit on?
My niece was thrilled to be able to tell me that there were monkies “foolin’ around” on the sunroof when they drove through the safari. My nephew was more excited by the cotton candy. Both are pretty happy about the activities they have this Fall – guitar lessons, singing lessons, swimming lessons, Karate, making fertilizer bombs, Junior Artist…
In any case, it was a nice surprise for a Tuesday evening :)