BOO!

We went out to a haunted house tonight with a friend of mine from work (yes, I'm making friends!), her boyfriend and a couple of their friends. It was amazing! I didn't really get scared because all the people in front and behind me were getting the scary bits (jump up and say boo! scary, of course), but the neighbourhood puts it on for free and the time and effort put into it is incredible! The front yard was decorated with graves and a guillotine, hangman's noose, bugs, etc.etc. It was so well done! Halloween is actually a celebration out here. Fireworks are banned most of the time, but the 29-31st of October are included in the days when it's ok to set them off. I think tomorrow Remi and I will take a ride down Jingle Pot Road where people take their pumpkins post Halloween and line them up along the side of the road. The people that live on the road light them for a few nights after Halloween, so it might be cool to see.

Again, Happy Halloween!

The year there was no halloween

Happy Halloween ladies and gents,

You folks have the hono(u)r of being the only ones I'll probably say this to this year. Yeah, not only do I get to miss out on dressing up or going out or even just taking in a scary movie, I get to miss giving candy out to trick-or-treaters tonight, since I'm taking off to northern Indiana to pick up my folks after school. Won't be back until late tomorrow night. But really, if I can't celebrate halloween with you guys, then I might as well not even try.

Although, I guess you could say I've been celebrating, since I've been watching the consecutive nights of Most Haunted Live! Are they showing it up there? It's been pretty good. What it is is 4 nights of live telecast of the team going to 4 seperate locations in London, searching for Jack the Ripper. They haven't found him, but they have found several other interesting characters. The night before last, Derek was possessed by some guy named Jacob Hills, that was pretty cool. Anyway, the last installment is tonight, so check your local listings. I'm taping it, since I'll be on the road.

Okay, I'm running late for school. Enjoy the day!

Forgotten shots!

I tried to post these on my earlier post, but they didn't show up. Here they are and a:
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

I'd also like to take time (away from my lab report) to tell you a story about my friend Ben. Well, not so much a story, as something he used to say a lot.
He contended that if your name was Pasta, and you happened to be eating pasta, your friends could say: "Pass the pasta Pasta". Of course, alliteratively, this would sound like pasta-pasta-pasta.
A natural extension of this would apply to Pasta Pasta: "Pass the pasta Pasta Pasta".
Now, if you're so unfortunate as to have your middle name also be Pastam you'd end up with: "Pass the pasta Pasta Pasta Pasta."
And so on. Ad shitum.

Remi

P.S. Sarah, I know you'll read this soon... I just ate two packs of Rockets. HA!

The night of the devil... mwahahaha!

First of all, Amanda: you don't post for WEEKS and then you say that we're not posting enough! HA!

Anyway, as Remi mentioned, we did some carving tonight! Here are a few pictures.


I guess he also tried to post a picture of an anglerfish, but failed (DUMB), so here's one I found online:

Pretty freakin' ugly, eh?? Can you believe things like this actually live?? Good thing they spawn - would you have sex with that?? Even if you were one?

Anyway, in other news, I'm still working at both jobs (yay!) and it's going well. My school work (the one class I'm taking) is getting neglected, but no worries. It's quick catch up on a day off (if I ever get one!). The hours at HomeSense are getting chopped now because the store is open so they're down to regular staff. I guess they're hoping a bunch of people will quit because of the reduced hours.

That's all that's new. I have to work until 6 tomorrow, so hopefully I get home in time to see some trick or treaters! We've got the house sort of decorated (some lights and some kitty caution tape and a black light, and of course the pumpkins!) and I really want to see some kiddies in their little costumes! Scratch the black light! Remi just told me that it died in the rain or something. What a drag!

So today I really missed you guys. I was driving home from work and I heard the tail end of "Come on Eileen" and I was back in the trash. I could clearly see everyone dancing and drinking and boob-grabbing and bum-grabbing and having fun and my eyes watered and then the song was over and Roxette's "Dangerous" came on and I had to sing along, so I was un-sad. I really wish we could all be back in Guelph, 3rd year for just a minute... When the trash was still cool and actually called "The Trash" and when we were all together *sigh* Such is life, I guess.

On that 'happy' note, I love you guys and get posting :)

Hallow's eve!

I had the wonderous idea of carving my pumpkin into an (semblance of) anglerfish. For those of you who don't know, these are ugly motherfuckers, like in Finding Nemo. In fact, I'm pretty sure that's the name of that character. At any rate, I've included a picture here. We've taken pictures of the pumpkins, I'll leave it to Sarah to post them, she likes doing that kind of jazz. The only problem, as I can figure it, is that my carving will scare all the children away. At least I'll be able to eat all the candy.

Remi

Sue's Executive Summary

1. Got a co-op job for this winter back in Ottawa working with Public Works and Government Services Canada (the feds). Very excited but don't want to leave Guelph. But that does mean food on the table when I get home and laundry done for me. I'll take it!

2. Jamie and his gf Angela, Kevin and Landon came to Guelph for the weekend. Watched Team America (very funny), the hockey game (see #3) and partied at the e-bar (see #4).

3. Ottawa: 8 - Toronto: 0!

4. The Henrys were there! All of the Henrys!! I didn't even recognize them but Angela and I were ending onto the dance floor, and some sketchy looking, used car salesman like dude grabs my arm and says "hello." Well, well, if it wasn't Mr. Matt Henry! And yes, he was a used car salesman! So we had a nice chat, exchanged emails, he lives in TO now but still same job in Hamilton. Still a horny dog, enjoying his time in Peru this summer!

So thats a quick recap for the past two weeks I guess. Trying to work on an essay right now, so will post with more details soon.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Some muddy-headed thoughts

Well, I thought I'd stop at two, but I decided I could use a third cosmopolitan, so here I am, good and drunk and figured it was the perfect time to post a message to all you folks. By the way, I make a killer cosmo. Which reminds me that my dad wanted to try a killer kool-aid when we were at Delainey's, which seems funny to me, but I don't know why. I guess because it seems like such a girly drink. Hmm. Anyway, I really don't have anything to update you on, I just miss you guys, so I wanted to talk. I wish it was just a matter of a trip down the hall or a couple flights of stairs, but fiber optics will have to do.

I've listened to Bush's, er, Institute's album a couple more times. I don't know if I'm just biased or what, but it's starting to grow on me. It's nothing spectacular, but really, what is anymore? I think the problem is that Gavin is not angry enough anymore. Frankly, I think that's the downfall of many a band. I see the trend in Pearl Jam (I don't mean that as an insult, Dave). It may be why Rage Against the Machine broke up - the rage was gone. When I'm thinking clearer headed, I can think of many other examples, but the point is, to me, it seems the best music is made about issues that the musicians are just plain pissed about. I know that's not always true, for example, Donovan made lovely music that I don't get an angst vibe from and I just adore it. But the fact is, a lot of the music that I, and many other people, love is all about pain, suffering, and anger. Are musicians more creative when they are wounded, or is it that people want to relate to that more than happiness. Anyway, I digress... so, Institute's album is growing on me, whether I like it or not. I'm not impressed with it, but I'm not completely disappointed, either. I know Gavin can do better, as evident from past work, but it's as if this is his best try for where he is right now in his life. I don't know, maybe I just have a soft spot for him and he can do no wrong in my eyes. I just really wanted him to be amazing and stun the world, which this doesn't, but he doesn't disgust me so that I want to sell the album to a used CD store. But in his mediocreness, I'm still disappointed. So, in short, don't run out and buy his new album, but appreciate that he's still giving it the ol' 1,2 punch. And I agree, Sarah, the band's name just doesn't cut it.

...

I know this forum should be sacred from sad, self-pitying thoughts, but I'm drunk and alone, so that's what you get. I'll try to keep them upbeat. :) As I was making a grilled cheese sandwich (with shredded cheese, because I forgot to buy regular, but I find it tastes just the same) and drinking my first cosmo, I had the thought that this may be what my future holds - getting drunk and making dinner for myself with no one to share the evening with. Don't get me wrong, I love being independent and solitary, in fact, I can't survive without it, but I must say I'm not fond of the whole aloneness thing. It sucks.

So now is the time where the guy from the movie Saw comes and takes me away to a room to test me with a quiz that I may or may not live through, all because I'm not pleased with my life. That movie still creeps me out, and the fact that they are making a sequal creeps me out even further. Deep down, I suppose it's a good message, but jesus, those psychological thrillers get me. Did I just spell psychological right? Dude, I didn't even look it up! Score for me!

I better go check on my kitty, who's out on the screened porch, watching god knows what. My family always worries about her around Halloween, since she's all black. There are crazies out there, you know... Okay, she's okay.

Well, folks, you've done it again. Your memory has helped me make it through another night by myself. I hope you've felt like I was sitting on your bed, saying all this to you, because that's where I really wish I was. It time now, for me to get to my own bed. I hope you all sleep well tonight, and don't worry about me, because I'm drunk and it's a given that I will. Love to you all, even the comment spammers.

Promise fulfilled

I can't believe those other posts worked. I swear they didn't when I tried. Oh, well, maybe you guys will find it amusing.

So, here I am for an update. Like I said before, not really much new has gone on. I had a packed week last week. Between taking care of the house, Kayla's birthday, two midterms, and a fall festival at work, I was pretty strung out by last night. What's beautiful is that I think I may actually be able to relax a bit this week. Maybe do some things that have been on the ToDo list for a long time. We'll see.

I finally got my hands on Batman Begins today. I went to buy it last Wednesday, when I was trying to kill time, but of the four places I went, none of them had the deluxe edition. Yeah, I figure if I'm going to buy it, I might as well get all the bells and whistles instead of just the movie. Is anyone else let down when you open a dvd case and it's just the disc in there. It seems like such a build up for a dinky little disc. I know it's what's on the disc that counts, but still (hmm, sounds like a metaphor). So, the regular version of the movie wasn't good enough for me, so I bought the deluxe. Besides, I deserve a treat after acing my two midterms. :)

I also bought the album put out by Institute. Question: do you know why I would buy a disc from this band, seeing as it doesn't fulfill my two-song rule for buying CDs? Answer: Institute is Gavin Rossdale's new band, so it is excempt from said rule and I'm required to buy it. I listened to it on the way home from school. I'm reserving my verdict until I am able to listen to it a few more times, but I'm worried. I don't have high hopes, but I still have some hope that they can console me over the loss of my beloved Bush, but I have this nagging feeling that my giant has fallen... that the star has faded... I will leave this topic now.

Since it's almost November and I'm almost done with school, I figure it's about time I start thinking about what I'm going to do with myself after graduation. As much as I would love to return to the southern Ontario area immediately, there is too much of the world left to see, so I've been looking into the Student Conservation Association (SCA). It's an organization for students (duh!) that provides intern/work experience in the conservation field. You get a meager stipend for internships, but it's really the experience and opportunity I'm after. There's stuff all over the country (US, that is), so I have a lot of options. Nothing's finalized, but I'm actually pretty excited about the idea. There's this position in Oregon for a field researcher for IDing sea lions, etc. and birds on the Columbia river that I'm interested in. Then there's another one at Fire Island in NY. Oh, and turtle research along the NC, SC, or GA coast. Anyway, that's one route that I'm looking into.


I've been meaning to post this picture for some time. That's a baby milk snake that I hatched at work. One of the adult milk snakes that we kept at the nature center over the summer laid eggs, so I buried them in some mulch and kept them on a heat rock and made sure it stayed moist for about a month and a half. I didn't really expect them to survive, since no one has really had much success with hatching reptiles at the center. But when the due date came around, I checked under the mulch and saw a little head peaking back at me. Only one survived of the 9 or so that were laid, but that's one more than I hoped for. She's now, hopefully, hibernating somewhere in the park. Isn't she cute?

It's getting cold here. No snow, but lots of rain. It's time to go curl up under a blanket with some soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. I'll check in with you folks later.

We can hear the tinkle...

I can't believe I haven't told you all about this yet! Our bedroom is right below our neighbour's washroom and we can hear them peeing!! It practically sounds like we're in the same room as them, that's how clear it is. Picture this... You're sleeping cozily, curled up next to the one you love, dreaming lazily... *STOMP*STOMP*STOMP*tinkle*tinkle*tinkle*tinkle*FLLLLLUUUUUUUUUSSSSSHHHHH*

This is what we wake up to almost every morning around 6AM when our neighbour's drunken boyfriend gets up to go to "work". *sigh* The life we lead. I leave you with some candid peeing photos found online:

A big F you to I don't know who

I just wrote and tried to post, but it wouldn't load it, so let's see if this works. If it does, know that I will post more tonight, I just wanted to say hi and that you guys light up my life. Okie-dokie, here goes nothing.

You guys light up my life...

Yup, life's mediocre, but I don't have a lot to complain about. I really want to post more, but I have class in a bit. I promise I will post a longer message later tonight. It seems everytime I'm left home alone, I get into this rut where I just find something to eat and then plant myself in front of the tv every night. Not tonight folks, I'm posting on the blog! Well... at least until Prison Break comes on... then Medium... and by then I'll be too tired to do anything else. I'm pathetic.

On a side note, I have to say that I only like KD when it's fresh off the stove. It seems dingey or something, reheated, but that's just me. It causes problems, because I usually end up eating the whole pot and bloating myself in order to save myself from reheating it, because you know it takes a lot for me to throw out food.

Anyway, gotta go.

REO Speedwagon stuck in my head...

"And I'm gonna keep on lovin' you, 'cause it's the only thing I wanna do. I don't wanna sleep, I just wanna keep on lovin' yooooouuuu..." Ahh, classic.

Anyway, I was wrong about Empl0yment Insurance and I thought I should share that because you can't apply and expect that the government gives a rats ass that you were practically slave labourized by one company because that's not a good enough reason to quit your other, low-paying part-time job to move to a big city with a bigger job pool where you were able to successfully find full-time work. AND loving your partner is not a good enough reason to quit your job and move across the country, unless you have a marriage date set, own stuff together or have been living together long enough to be common lay, even though you found a part-time job within two weeks of being here and a second job within the first month... I'm bitter. FUCK EI!

In other news, our fish are STILL dying! It's incredible. We've banned the fish store that we've been going to and we're waiting for the last two fish to kick off so that we can dump the tank and start over. WTF?? Fish tank of death, round 2 - now taking bets! On a good note, the landlord has finally decided to take some action about the mice and fleas, although what, I'm not sure. If she doesn't get her act together soon, I'm calling an exterminator and having them bill her. And yes, I'm totally in my rights here. WTF??? I didn't read anything on the lease about the house coming with rodents and itch-inducing insects!!

Other than that, the jobs are both going well. Now if HomeSense could just get my schedule straight and maybe get a line of communication going between members of management, that would be great... (Lumberg voice may be used in the previous statement) But it's helping to pay the bills, or at least it will be as of this Friday when I finally get paid.

OOH! Very exciting, I have BC plates on my car!!! I went in yesterday and got insurance (it's quite a bit cheaper here) and new plates :) I think I can finally consider myself a BC resident! Yay!

Anyway, I hope all is well with everyone. I wouldn't know because no one is posting!! WTF? Get it together people! It takes all of five minutes to type up a quick "hi, i'm great, life's good, blah blah". COME ON! :)

Later gators!

Cold, windy, and snowy

I love this weather! I'd prefer a little more than just wet snow, but it's white and semi-fluffy and that's ok with me. I have baseball playoffs tomorrow night and hopefully it'll snow a little then.

It has been a pretty slow week; a midterm and a paper took up most of the time. I took in a Guelph Storm game with my housemates, some of their friends, and Sue. We won 6-3 in a pretty entertaining game. And while there were a few scrums on the ice, it was the off-ice scrum between six kids literally fighting for a t-shirt thrown into the crowd during the intermission. When I was at the Oasis concert, Liam threw a tamourine into the crowd and people went nuts for it and many ended up with cuts and bruises. But this was an over-sized maroune t-shirt that these kids will probably NEVER wear! And where where the kids' parents? Sitting and watching! Just watching them fight over a piece of material! I think it came down to two older girls and I swear one of them was going to lay a punch. On another note, I almost caught a frisbee. And by almost caught, I mean that it came in my direction and I got a little excited and then it tailed off into someone else's hands. I didn't want the stupid frisbee anyways. ....sniff

Is there anything better than taking a big gulp of a cold can of coke when you're really thirsty from a bowl of macaroni? I think not.

My housemates went to The Ranch for the past two nights so, needless to say, I stayed IN the past two nights! I watched The Big Lebowski again last night. I always laugh when Steve Buschemi keeps saying "I am the walrus" when Jon Goodman's character is clearly talking about VI "Lenin". And also any time he tells Donnie "you're outta your element, Donnie!" is priceless. I also watched "The Final Countdown", a pic from the 80's about a US battlecraft that travels through a timeportal sending them back to the day before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. They have to decide if they should change the course of history and pummel those industrialized bastards in Japan! It's a corny movie with a great premise and one of my favourite movie scores.

Also, is there anything better than reheated macaroni? It's just more palatable after microwaving.

OK, enough procrastinating.

Songs of the day:
Billy Talent - This Is How It Goes
Coldplay - Swallowed In The Sea
Pearl Jam - I Got Id
Sloan - Stand By Me, Yeah

Goood music :)

Dave

Cold, windy, and snowy

I love this weather! I'd prefer a little more than just wet snow, but it's white and semi-fluffy and that's ok with me. I have baseball playoffs tomorrow night and hopefully it'll snow a little then.

It has been a pretty slow week; a midterm and a paper took up most of the time. I took in a Guelph Storm game with my housemates, some of their friends, and Sue. We won 6-3 in a pretty entertaining game. And while there were a few scrums on the ice, it was the off-ice scrum between six kids literally fighting for a t-shirt thrown into the crowd during the intermission. When I was at the Oasis concert, Liam threw a tamourine into the crowd and people went nuts for it and many ended up with cuts and bruises. But this was an over-sized maroune t-shirt that these kids will probably NEVER wear! And where where the kids' parents? Sitting and watching! Just watching them fight over a piece of material! I think it came down to two older girls and I swear one of them was going to lay a punch. On another note, I almost caught a frisbee. And by almost caught, I mean that it came in my direction and I got a little excited and then it tailed off into someone else's hands. I didn't want the stupid frisbee anyways. ....sniff

Is there anything better than taking a big gulp of a cold can of coke when you're really thirsty from a bowl of macaroni? I think not.

My housemates went to The Ranch for the past two nights so, needless to say, I stayed IN the past two nights! I watched The Big Lobowski again last night. I always laugh when Steve Buschemi keeps saying "I am the walrus" when Jon Goodman's character is clearly talking about VI "Lenin". And also any time he tells Donnie "you're outta your element, Donnie!" is priceless. I also watched "The Final Countdown", a pic from the 80's about a US battlecraft that travels through a timeportal sending them back to the day before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. They have to decide if they should change the course of history and pummel those industrialized bastards in Japan! It's a corny movie with a great premise and one of my favourite movie scores.

Also, is there anything better than reheated macaroni? I think it's better than fresh macaroni because it's a little more drier and palatable.

OK, enough procrastinating. Back to work I go.

Dave

I just got this in my e-mail...

This is brilliant

Late last Saturday night; a young chap was walking home from a club.It was a cold, wet, windy evening, and he was tired and freezing. Most ofthe streetlights in the area were broken, and the silence was only broken bythe occasional sound of a stray cat sifting through a dustbin.Then suddenly he heard a strange noise.......
BUMP........
BUMP........
BUMP........
Startled by this, he turned, and to his amazement, through the driving rain,he saw the faint outline of a large box turning into his road.
BUMP........
BUMP........
BUMP........
He froze to the spot, he couldn' t believe his eyes, as the box approachedfrom the shadows, he was able to make out its shape more clearly....It was acoffin.Not wanting anything to do with this, he put his head down and startedwalking briskly home.
BUMP.......
BUMP........
BUMP........
He could feel the coffin gaining on him, he started walking faster.........
BUMP........
BUMP......BUMP........
BUMP..BUMP........
BUMP......
The coffin was closing with his every step, he started to jog, but he heardthe coffin speed up after him......
BUMP........
BUMP...
BUMP...
BUMP........BUMP...BUMP...BUMP........
BUMP...BUMP...
He started to sprint, but so did the coffin .......
BUMP...
BUMP...
BUMP...
BUMP.BUMP...BUMP...
BUMP...BUMP.....BUMP...
BUMP...BUMP...BUMP.
Eventually he made it to his front door, but he knew the coffin was onlyseconds behind. Fumbling around in his pocket, he pulled out his keys, Hishand trembling, he managed to open the lock, he dived inside slamming thefront door behind him. He shot into his front room, and slumped into hiscomfy chair. Suddenly there was a loud crash, as the coffin smashed its waythrough the front door. The force of the impact broke the lock off thecoffin allowing the lid to swing freely on its rusty hinges as it continuedits chase.....
BUMP...SCREECH...BUMP...SCREECH...
BUMP...SCREECH...BUMP...SCREECH...
BUMP...SCREECH...BUMP...SCREECH...
BUMP...SCREECH...BUMP...SCREECH...
In horror the young lad fled again, as fast as his shaking legs could takehim he bolted upstairs to the bathroom and locked the door........
BUMP...SCREECH...HOP..BUMP...SCREECH...HOP...
BUMP...SCREECH...HOP...BUMP...SCREECH...HOP...
BUMP...SCREECH...HOP...BUMP...SCREECH...HOP...
The coffin again gave chase up the stairs, across the landing and launcheditself at the bathroom door. With an almighty smash, the bathroom door flewoff its hinges..... The coffin stood in the doorway, then started toapproach the young terrified lad.
BUMP...SCREECH...BUMP...SCREECH...BUMP...SCREECH...BUMP.SCREECH...BUMP...SCREECH...BUMP...SCREECH...In a last ditch attempt to save his skin, he reached for his bathroomcabinet......He grabbed a bar of Imperial Leather soap and threw it at thecoffin.......still it came .......
BUMP...SCREECH...BUMP...SCREECH...
He grabbed his can of Lynx deodorant and threw it .....still it came......
BUMP...SCREECH...BUMP.SCREECH...
He grabbed his first aid kit and threw it ......still it came......
BUMP...SCREECH...BUMP...SCREECH...
He grabbed some Benelyn cough mixture and threw it........


The coffin stopped.

A shout-out to all the homemakers and working stiffs out there

The head of the household? That's me! Yup, while my parents are off frolicking in Quebec and Nova Scotia and all around the Gaspe, I'm back home here making sure that my Dad's tv channel runs as it's supposed to, try to find out what happened to my Mom's brother, mow the lawn, clean the house, pay the bills, decorate for Halloween/autumn and keep up with my homework and such. Sheesh, I thought I was going to be able to slack off while I had the house to myself (and kitty). I didn't realize I would be doing triple duty as a homemaker. So, needless to say, I've been staying busy as the interim head of the 4man household.

I need to go so I can study some for my art history exam that I was supposed to study for earlier today, but was too busy with chores to do. How do people do it? Just imagine if kids were added to this situation. Makes me think life won't get easier again until I'm put into a nursing home. Alas, sweet boredom, I knew you once.

The home run

This is the reaction from the play I described in my post below.

Flu's suck the party that...sucks the body.

It's 1:40am and I think I have da flu. I woke this morning with an achy all over feeling and then went to school and made things much, much worse. On top of that, I had a 10:30 tennis match with a guy who lives about two minutes from my new house. I actually played one of my better service games and won 8 games to 3. So now I'm 3-0 and I can boast that I won one game while very very sick. It's that congested cough as well...where you get that build-up in your chest and you hold in the cough because it hurts to cough and then when you go to order a soup from Tim Horton's you automatically cough because you've been holding it in for so long and the tickle is just so strong. It's one of those.

Hey Sarah, first off, congrats on the bump up to full-time. However, you say that working life sucks and then you say to stay in school which pretty much guarantees full time work. So...you know...what're you trying to say? :p

Speaking of school, I'm going to look into doing the four courses I need next fall to graduate over the summer. That way, I can always come back for an extra semester to take courses that just sound interesting and bump up (second time I've used those two works in succession...) my average. Also, it would give me more time to decide if I want to move to London for a while. Oh yeah, I want to move to London for a while. I've discussed it with my Mom for a while and now it's time to start getting the old proverbial ball rolling and start planning. It's possible my Mom would come and live in England for a while when I'm there which would make things a little easier. I'll keep you all posted on the transpirings.

Now, I know you all LOVE baseball. But for those who don't, something happened in a playoff game tonight that makes baseball/sports the greatest entertainment on tv. Houston needed one win to advance to the World Series for the first time in their existence (40-something years). They were leading by 2 runs. It was the top of the 9th inning. They needed 3 outs. They had the second-best closer in all of baseball on the mound. The last team to come back from 2 runs in the 9th inning in the playoffs was in 1992 and before that 1920-something. They got to 2 outs. There were two runners on base. 35,000 rabid Houston fans were going absolutely b-ana-nas. The pitcher delivered...and the St. Louis hitter crushed a game-winning home run that hit the very back of the stadium. I was actually stunned and my jaw simply dropped. Now, I don't know if I conjured up the best picture, but I just had to share. Never before have I seen 35,000 people go completely silent. Pure, unadulterated drama :)

OK it's now 1:54 and I'm ready to try and fall asleep again. Should we place bets if I'll make my 8:30 class? 10-1 for me making it. 1-30 for me not making it.

Goodnight:)

Employment Insurance!

I've been approved!! Finally Canada is doing something useful for me! If you're ever out of work for an period of time, make sure you apply to EI - they WILL very likely give you money! I've been approved for 25 weeks pay, probably at like $1.65/week, but that's better than nothing! So, I'm happy.

In other news, nothing's new. I've asked to be bumped up to permanent part-time at HomeSense instead of just a temporary until Xmas. Hopefully they'll hire me on. I need job security!

Man... Working life is DULL! So...

Flying high

Hey BCers, just a post from Guelph, to say hi. As I look back at the weekend, I won't deny that we had our share of fun, but I should say that your presence was missed in the quote department, there weren't nearly enough padworthy quotes. We did try, here's a few that I can remember:

"It's like Florida, with brimstone." - AV descibing hell

"You jerk!" -AV
"How?" -DL

"Hallowee Ass or e" -Party Factory sign

"They should just be called farfelkiterlycuddlyo." -AV on cats

"Let's just say that I resently enjoyed the presence of a hockey player." -SM
"Meaning?" -DL
(at least I found this one funny)

"Arrested Development!!!" -SM

There may be others, but that's all I can remember. Okay, I think it may be getting on to my bedtime. I have a long drive ahead. Keeping you updated and goodnight.

Again, DON'T change provinces!!

So I went in this morning to get my car safetied for insurance out here and it turns out, there's a lot wrong with it! Besides the front brakes being shot (which I already knew) I have to replace a broken mirrow (which I didn't think was a big deal), fix the fan for the heat, fix a wheel where I banged into a curb... on and on... It's insane how much is included in a safety in this damn province!! It's also insane considering the condition of a lot of cars on the road out here! Apparently, once you've had your car safetied once, you never have to do it again unless the cops pull you over about it! CRAZY! There are people driving around in Chevets from the late seventies and they wouldn't have had to have their car safetied since they insured it in 1970!! HONESTLY! So my total comes to somewhere around $600 for everything, and that's before paying insurance! CRAZY.


Anyway, I just need to rant. It could always be worse - $600 isn't THAT bad, I guess ;) I'm off to photograph Remi playing with 4 foot sturgeons (YUCK). Here's a picture of how ugly they are:


NASTY :P

Later!

I'm on my way!

"On the road again
Just can't wait to get on the road again
The life I love is makin' music with my friends
And I can't wait to get on the road again
On the road again"

Thanks Willie.

Endless source of amusement

I'm really in awe of all these long posts. So, in the spirit of minimalism, here it is:

http://www.big-boys.com/articles/presidential.html

P.S. If you're going to search this site in the future (worth it, it's funny), don't forget the hyphen, because if you type www.bigboys.com, you'll regret it... Unless you're into that kind of thing.

Delerious Blogging at 11:34pm in the T-dotter

It might be the fact the I'm hungry. It might be the fact that I've been staring at the computer screen for a while. It might also be the fact that I'm just really spacy. But I'm pretty sure it's also the fact that my family and I have been cleaning/packing my house to the point of ridiculousness for the past 48 hours. (It's also probably a little of the beer that I had last night.) We had our first open house from 2-4 this afternoon and according to our realtor/cousin people responded really well to the house...and they damn well better considering it's actually spotless. Not figuratively, but literally spotless. I think I cleaned clean things and reversed the cleanliness. Our neighbour was apparently the first one in the house and offerred $60,000 LESS what we are asking so he could knock down the walls and turn the semi-detatched house into one very large house. We never even talk to the guy and he wants to break down the walls for $60,000 less!! So poo on him.

I hope everyone's Thanksgiving was filling :) We've never had a Thanksgiving dinner. I don't really know why because it's not a religious thing. I think it might be because Rosh Hashana (2 massive dinners) takes place around the same time, and then we fast 10 days later which is followed by another massive dinner because you look forward to eating the whole day and end up cooking the whole day because you just want to be near food! But you can't taste your cooking so every so often the soup doesn't taste quite salty enough or its TOO salty. Not that I'm complaining or picky about my food or anything... I also really liked the photo essay. It was entertaining AND informative! Who'da thunk a turkey would have a nicer tan than me?! Man I reflect in that picture...it's much more embarassing than I thought.

Glad to hear you guys are doing well in your respective abodes, volunteering and working multiple jobs, etc. And Kat...New Foundland? You might as well have separated "land" to just make a sentence! hehe you're alllllllllllllright.

So getting back to the new hizzouse, I finally get to see the inside tomorrow. I'm going to be looking through the back window because the current owner is away, but at least I get a look-see! Honestly, it could be a three-bedroom box for all I care because the location is all that matters. The funny thing is that we really don't know what to do when we move. Four people, three rooms, two sisters who will be moving out by next September, and a son who would like a bed to sleep in when he visits. I know it sounds trivial, but one of us really won't have a bedroom and I'm the odd one out because I'm away the most! Anyhoo, I can't wait to move (less than three weeks) and that's really all that matters.

On a sad note, the looooong-time voice of the Blue Jays, Tom Cheek, passed away today. I never really care that much when celebrities pass on because I just don't have that connection with them, but every May, I'd turn on the Fan for the first pre-season game from Duneden, Florida and the moment Tom said "Welcome, Blue Jay fans", I would get the biggest smile on my face because just hearing his voice meant Summer was officially here (in my books) and he had a perfect voice for radio. You just wanted to kick back, grab some chips, and listen to baseball.

Alright, the deleriousness has turned into eyes closing, so everyone have a good week and "do doodoo loodoodoo...

-Dave

Happy Thanksgiving Canucks!

A pictoral photo essay for your Turkey day.





I hope you don't have to prepare as many turkeys as these guys.->







<- I hope your family is easier to be around than this family seems to be.







I hope that you don't have to take a quiz before you can eat...->






...or that you have to run through a maze to get to it. ->









<- I hope your dinner looks as good as this...







and not like this... ->

or like this. ^




I hope you enjoy your dinner as much as this guys enjoys his. ->








<- Or maybe you'll enjoy it this much: http://www.flowgo.com/index.cfm?action=view&id=6552&scid=0








I hope that you can take time to relax after dinner.

->









<- If all else fails, you can try this.










And when it's all over, I hope you feel this fantastic.->




But what I really hope is that you appreciated my photo essay, because it took forever to make. ;)

Have a good one folks. I'll be up there soon.

PS - A special Thanksgiving wish to Google Image Search for making this wish possible. Don't you love that you can find people's ridiculous candid shots online?

Happy Turkey!

Hey, guys! Just a little Thanksgiving wish to everyone :) I hope everyone eats too much turkey and pumpkin pie! Remi got stuck working today, so I'm doing the turkey by myself... Should be interesting ;) We have a feast planned tonight including turkey and stuffing (if it turns out), cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, salad, marshmallow salad and pumpkin pie with ice cream :) We thought we should go crazy since we're so far from home. If anything cures loneliness it's food!

Anyway, a little update... I start my new job this week. The people are whack, so far, so we'll see how it works out. I'm taking a first aid course in a couple of weeks and I need to book that time off work and they wouldn't let me do it over the phone. WTF? The store is like a 20 minute drive from here! I'm glad the pharmacy is out that way too or else it would be a major waste of gas and life to drive all the way out there to book on Saturday off! Idiots!! (I was just looking for a picture of an idiot on google and found this site - http://www.toothpastefordinner.com/archives-spr03.php )

In other news, I'm going to be volunteering starting this week as well. I have lots of time on my hands so I may as well do something with it! I'll be working with elderly patients suffering from dementia (most have Alzheimers). That's the plan anyway, I'm not sure what the position entails, but it should be interesting. I can't wait to start. I'm not completely altruistic of course. Volunteering will look good on my pharmacy application, especially something like this. I'm also really interested in psych disorders, so it'll be a good learning experience for me.

(Ooh Ronak's online from England! It's 8:40 PM there, 12:40 PM here and I guess 3:40 PM in Ontario and Indiana, where Kat is anyway... Three time zones represented by our little group!)

Other than that stuff, nothing's new here. I'm still pharmacying. I actually was able to work relief at another Save On Foods on Friday afternoon, which was nice. Hopefully I can get a few more shifts like that. We'll see how it works out with HomeCrap, I mean, HomeSense. Remi's working now too at a pawn shop just a couple of blocks from here. He's stuck working Thurs, Fri nights and Saturdays, but we're happy to have the money coming in. It's tough leaving home and having no real plans ;)

Anyway, I hope all is well with everyone on this wonderful holiday of food :)




I miss you guys, by the way. This was a great last weekend :) And look at Dave's farmer's tan! *sigh* Good times :)

Again, happy turkey!

11:45 in the G-Spot

Kat, you are deffinately on the right track with your getting buzzed at home and then blogging methods. I am too much of a nerd and pass up going out to stay home and do work way too often, so maybe I should start keeping some wine in the house to drink when I realize I should have gone out!

Boy, I wish I had an interesting life like you guys with your ocean sightings and kitten purchases and...stories from the States! Speaking of which, check out this Bush quote: http://www.dumpalink.com/media/1128506422

I've been spending my days on campus doing the Soduko, Jumble, and Crossword puzzles and drinking coffee...and occasionally doing some work! My classes are actually pretty interesting. My Modern Political Ideologies prof is really though-provoking and manages to make Poli-Sci interesting at 8:30 in the morning! I'm used to looking at things in a pretty black and white fasion, and he makes me look at things in a totally different perspective. Basic concepts like the definition of freedom and Communism and the like. And then there's my Gender and Environment class where I am surrounded by lots of girls who believe notions that men are destroying women's rights to enter certain industries. And Business History where my teacher appears to be completely cracked out because......he.........talks like.............this..............and......has a........massive belly............and.....looks like a mouse with............a.....beard. HE'S SO SLOW!!! The Industrial Revolution isn't exciting as it is, let along listening about it at an incredibly slow pace!!!

Apparently my house in Toronto is ready to be put on the market. We're having an open house on Sunday and I think our house now represents the model home in Arrested Development. All of our personal belongings are gone and in are generic pictures and different seating arrangements. It's like I'm not going home to my house, but to a shell of my house's former self. I'm going to see the inside of my new house for the first time on Saturday afternoon. I'm most excited to see the backyard because we finally have a deck! I mean, we have a very small one in our house now, but it looks onto a parking lot and the projects so it's not the nicest view. This deck can fit more than two people and looks onto our backyard! There are only three rooms in the house, but both of my sisters should be moved out by September (marriage and the other is moving our before marriage) so there won't be any cramping. I'm actually getting a little giddy right now just thinking of the location. Instead of hearing sirens every ten minutes (no joke...the sound of sirens is like the theme song for our area) we get to hear....sirens! But these are from the firehouse a block and a half away. Not police car sirens chasing down a car/person.

Well, I went to the Manor for the first time the other night, but I didn't even know we were going there! My housemate Greg asked if I wanted to grab a late drink (it was 11:30) so I figured why not! We got in the car and I asked which bar we were going to and he gave me this smug look and then I saw two of the other guys come out of the house and run to the car and I didn't even need him to tell me where we were going. I almost didn't go, but I figured I'd be going at SOME point over the year. And it really wasn't as classy as I figured! :p It was amateur night and these girls were just so...wrong...and should not have been on stage. They were just too young and should not be doing what they were doing. I wasn't 'complaining', but...well I don't want to turn this into an R-rated blog, so just imagine what the most explicit things five girls on stage could do and that is what they did. But hey, no cover! Oh, and there was a herse in the parking lot. I really didn't have anything to say about that...

A song just came on that I think you'd all like: "There Goes The Fear", by The Doves.

I had my first tennis match last Sunday against a guy who drove an hour and a half just to make the match. He said he didn't want to forfeit the $25 by missing the game, and yet I'm sure he spent over $30 in gas! So I felt sort of bad and didn't play my hardest for the first four games (out of eight) and eventually found myself in a tie. So then I decided to try and finally won after nearly two and a half hours of tennis in the heat. So I'm 2-0 now! Bring on Federer!

Hey I just heard a siren! Memories of home...

I'm heading home this weekend to watch some hockey with the guys and hit up the reference library. Is it sad that the biggest worry in my life right now is deciding which group of hockey fans to watch the game with? I worry over the silliest things!

Can't wait to see people next weekend. Sarah and Remi, we'll be sure to drink the equivalent of what you two would have had to make up for your absense! Orrrr you could hop on a plane...

Dave

Happily buzzed

Yes, that's right, I've been drinking wine, so bear with me if this post shows it. I really don't have much to talk about, so this is shaping up to be an interesting post, or not much of one. I guess that just depends on how you take it. We will see.

Hmmm... I spent the day doing some chores and reading magazines. I did laundry, some ironing, and cleaned my bathroom. Also moved some furniture around, since we finally are able to do that because all the flooring is laid and the new furniture has been delivered. Not very exciting, but it's nice how just getting some things done can make you feel good.

I'm really pumped to get to Guelph. I can't wait to see everyone, er, almost everyone. It'll be so nice to get away from home and the parents and actually have some friends around. I miss being able to share the big things, but it's really the little things that make me really miss you all. Like watching Days of Our Lives together, sharing a bottle of wine, or complaining about the ups and downs of roommates. Especially the time spent enjoying the wonders of weed and cracking each other up. I have not laughed as much as I have in that house. Anyway, Wednesday can't come any sooner.

And ER has started with a zombie looking guy running towards the hospital, so I'm going to go watch that now. I'll check in later.

-kcf

I got jealous

I got jealous of all the fun Sarah was having with this thing... So I'm here now. No news Sarah hasn't already shared. I just got a job in a pawn shop. Now I can watch people sell their lives away for crack first hand.

Remi

Analrapist

Tobias: "It's pronouced anaaaaaalrapist."
Buster: "It's not the pronounciation I'm worried about."

Hahahahahahahahahahaha! I'm still laughing about that - 3 days later!

That's all I had to say.

"For British eyes only..."

Hockey hockey hockey hockey hockey hockey

....HOCKEY:)

I had to post something concerning hockey, eh?!

Kat, Breckin looks really cute and I also love the pseudo-side burns. I know every baby looks the same, but some of them just stand out a little more.

Amanda, I don't know how you and Ronak survived after cleaning the car hole.

I have to run...incredibly short post, but it was really just to mention hockey.

LEAFS

Two things (for real this time)

First of all, Remi coined a new term that I really like: "fearocracy" - you can use this to define the way the US media likes to present the facts and the whole CNN way of reporting, etc.

Second of all, like Amanda and Dave I have a song to recommend. It's called "King of the Bongo" by Manu Chao. I recommend stuff in general from that band. They're french and they're a lot of fun :)

OK, off to the movies!

Two things:

That's him!

Well, the verdict is in and the name is in fact Breckin McConaughey. The funny thing is, I don't know how they spelled McConaughey, because Karsh said that when they filled out the paperwork, he checked the spelling online. Then later, they found what they had put down was wrong. But anyway, that is the name. I think maybe later on down the road, McConaughey will sound better when Matthew fades out of the spotlight a bit. In the meantime, it is his middle name, so it won't have daily use.

So, they're at home now and settling in. Good news is that my parents are really showing their excitement now. I figured they'd come around. I just hope it remains when they go down to visit later in October. I got to see a picture of Shelby, and she doesn't look anything like I thought she would. But now that I think about it, my brother hasn't really shown any trends in how his girlfriends look, just the fact that their names all end in "y" or "i." So, anyway, she is pretty, so the blend should be good for Breckin. You can't tell in the picture, but he apparently has a dark mop of hair. If you look close, you can almost see a sideburn. I love it!

Here at home, the house is a mess. And when I say mess, I mean it. Amanda knows what it looks like on a regular basis, so she'll understand. We've been moving furniture and stuff since my parents decided to have new carpet and flooring put in to the kitchen, pantry, family room, and porch. We've had to pack rooms full of stuff. So much so that I'm appreciating the fact that our floor boards seem to be quality stuff. Anyway, it's very aggitating, but it's finally over. It's all down, but we have to wait for some furniture to be delivered before we can move the stuff back. Penelope, my cat, has been freaked out by all the movement, strange men, and new smells. It's cute, though, because she is so hesitant to walk on the new stuff. When you think about it from her standpoint, it's like a new world for her, since she's only a few inches of the ground.

Well, I'm starting to babble, and I have some schoolwork to do. For those of you who have expressed regret over the loss of school, do you miss the work or is it just the friends, atmosphere, and activities? If it isn't the work, then don't envy me, because I have all the work without the other benefits. But, I did find some florite and glauconite on my mineralogy class' field trip to a quarry. That helps, plus the fact that there is a nice piece of eye candy in that class... Anyway, I'm starting to babble again so I'll take my leave here. Check in with you folks later!

Oh, one more thing, my parents changed their plans, so I'm going to be in Guelph on the night of the 11th now. I don't know if that'll make a big difference, but I thought I should let everyone know. Okay, bye!

-kcf

Greetings fellow bloggers

Do I really have the authority to say that though, since I clearly am the least frequest blogger. My apologies yet again. Not too much going on here. I have been reading the blogs but my computer's been giving me problems and not letting me sign in. So I'm on a laptop (sitting right on it in fact!) in the lib killing time til a project partner gets here. We were supposed to meet at 11am but when he didnt show up, I checked my messages and he'd changed the time to 12pm.
I've been following grey's Anatomy and i think I'm in love! But not as much as AD of course! I've been taping every episode since I have night class cuz there's no way I can miss it. Did anyone see Medium last night - very cool. The ads looked kinda creepy but well worth it. Next weeks looks pretty good too.
I can't say I have anything as exciting to say as the rest of you. No sea lions, or even just the sea or lions, no mouse poop, no third eyeball from all the chemicals, or even a new member to my family - Congrats Kat! But I do have to say that Dave and I have our first official hockey showdown tomorrow night!! Can't wait!!
Shit! Got to go. Urban economics project awaits me! If I don't blog again before Thanksgiving, and with my lovely track record, I don't see that as too likely, I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and eats turkey till their buttons pop! I know I will!!!

Sue

Trying my new bloggy!

I don't have anything to write... Just checking this out. Can you believe that "westicle" was not available as a user name??? Who else calls themself that??

SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICK!

First of all, for anyone who has not done so, please look at the pictures Amanda has posted of her and Ronak cleaning up the garage! NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASTY! Thank you sooooooooooooooo much for cleaning up that shit! LITERALLY! Was that mouse POOP??? That's gro-didly-oss! Here's a hand for your fabulous work:

Anyway, amazing things seen today in BC! Remi and I went to a hike in Nanaimo (there are soooooo many cool hikes close to home!) called Cable Bay Trail. The hike was through a thick, beautiful, lush, green, big-treed forest with the ocean at the end. It was really nice. When we got to the end we played by the water for a bit, doing our usual geeking around - looking in tide pools and trying to spot other marine wildlife - and what did we see?? Sea lions! The tide was coming in and it comes through a narrows creating a bit of a rapids which I postulate pushing fish into the bay that we were sitting at, ergo, the sea lions go there to feed when the tide changes (I would like to point out that Remi, the marine biologist, did not think of this). It was amazing! Kat, you would have died. They were jumping out of the water, as far as their big bodies would let them, and splashing about and there were birds circling (our first indication something cool was going down) around them to pick up the scraps. We took some video of it which I'm going to try to edit so I can post some of it online for you guys to watch. I've never seen anything like it! When you guys visit, we're definitely going there. I guess it's common to see sea lions there this time of year. We also saw a couple of otters and some seals. VERY COOL!

Other than that, nothing is new to speak of. I was at a 7 hour orientation session for HomeSense on Friday night (boring!) and found out that so far they are giving me NO hours. I have none this week and only 8 next. The manager promises the hours will go up once the store opens though. They better!

In other news, Remi's parents are flying out here for Christmas! It'll be nice to have family here for xmas, that's for sure. Remi promises quiche and champagne on Christmas morning (Masson tradition).

Nothing else new here :) I'll see about editing that video this afternoon and getting it online!

Take care all!

-westicle