28 November 2013
New Roommate!
Yay I am now relaxed on the roommate issue! Her boyfriend just came by to drop off the deposit (she lives in San Diego or San Something) so I feel like the issue is resolved! Woot!
New Roommate?
Looks like we have found a new person, a Sarah this time. She said she would get her deposit to us soon, and we are just waiting to hear when that is. Hopefully we will get it very soon. Until we do, I'm still a little worried. Just want to have the certainty. AAARG! New person hunting is stressful!
Troy Chapter 2 (II)
Alex was glad he was sitting down, for otherwise he would surely have fallen over. The heat must be getting to him. He drank some more water, and splashed a little on his face, hoping the sweet, cool liquid would sharpen his senses. The man before him still looked resplendent and golden. Godly. Alex was speechless.
“I am called Hermes,” Hermes began, then realized the boy was gaping and stunned. “But please--let us not stand on ceremony, we’ve already been talking, you and I, and I don’t mean to frighten you.” Alex remembered himself at that, and tried to muster his courage.
“Why--why are you here?” Alex asked, confused. Hermes sat himself down again so that he wouldn’t be towering over the boy. Humans and dogs always seemed to prefer interaction at eye level; it set them at ease.
“I have come at Zeus’ behest, with a message for you.” Hermes said, noting that Alexandros suddenly looked pale. “Are you ill?”
Alex swallowed once and shook his head.
“Good,” Hermes continued, “it would seem that there is a dispute. An event transpired at wedding last week at which three of the goddesses each laid claim to a title. I’m sure you know how women can get,” (Alex nodded) “and so they asked Zeus to judge between them in a contest. Zeus of course refused, knowing how dangerous it is to take sides with your relations, and so we debated how we could best decide between them when it was suggested that we find an outsider. The terms are this: You judge fairly, and give the title to the one most deserving of it. In return we swear to accept your verdict. Zeus of course will compensate you for your troubles with enough gold for you and your family to live very comfortably for the rest of your days.”
“So I could pay my father back for the bull?” Alex asked, eyes wide.
“Fifty bulls.” Hermes stated. Alex sat back on his heels, imagining what that would mean.
“And all I have to do is award a title?”
“That’s all!”
“I’ll do it,” said Alex.
“Wonderful!” Hermes exclaimed. He had Alex swear to the judgement, telling the boy they would come to him the next day.
Alex gathered his belongings, and gave the whistle for the dog to start bringing the sheep home. By the time he had them all gathered in their hut, he was brimming with excitement to tell his father. He ran to their home where his mother would have supper waiting and told the whole story, barely noticing in his excitement that his father grew paler and more solemn with every word. His mother ate slowly, as though she was having trouble swallowing her food.
“You must be careful when striking bargains with the gods, my son,” his father said. “They will always become angry with you in some way, and always try to hurt you.”
“But I will have the protection of the winner, don’t you see, nothing can go wrong! And father, the gold! You will be comfortable for the end of your days!”
“You’re a good lad, Alex, and I know you mean well. We love you for it. Now off to bed, you need to be rested tomorrow.” His mother added.
“I just don’t understand why they would choose me,” Alex continued, “it’s strange for the gods to ask a favour of a lowly shepherd.”
“To bed, Alex! We shall talk more tomorrow,” said his father. Alex obliged and kissed his parents goodnight, retiring to his pallet.
His parents cleaned up from the meal, fed and watered the animals, and undressed for the night.
“We’ll tell him tomorrow,” they agreed. “We will tell him who he really is.”
“I am called Hermes,” Hermes began, then realized the boy was gaping and stunned. “But please--let us not stand on ceremony, we’ve already been talking, you and I, and I don’t mean to frighten you.” Alex remembered himself at that, and tried to muster his courage.
“Why--why are you here?” Alex asked, confused. Hermes sat himself down again so that he wouldn’t be towering over the boy. Humans and dogs always seemed to prefer interaction at eye level; it set them at ease.
“I have come at Zeus’ behest, with a message for you.” Hermes said, noting that Alexandros suddenly looked pale. “Are you ill?”
Alex swallowed once and shook his head.
“Good,” Hermes continued, “it would seem that there is a dispute. An event transpired at wedding last week at which three of the goddesses each laid claim to a title. I’m sure you know how women can get,” (Alex nodded) “and so they asked Zeus to judge between them in a contest. Zeus of course refused, knowing how dangerous it is to take sides with your relations, and so we debated how we could best decide between them when it was suggested that we find an outsider. The terms are this: You judge fairly, and give the title to the one most deserving of it. In return we swear to accept your verdict. Zeus of course will compensate you for your troubles with enough gold for you and your family to live very comfortably for the rest of your days.”
“So I could pay my father back for the bull?” Alex asked, eyes wide.
“Fifty bulls.” Hermes stated. Alex sat back on his heels, imagining what that would mean.
“And all I have to do is award a title?”
“That’s all!”
“I’ll do it,” said Alex.
“Wonderful!” Hermes exclaimed. He had Alex swear to the judgement, telling the boy they would come to him the next day.
Alex gathered his belongings, and gave the whistle for the dog to start bringing the sheep home. By the time he had them all gathered in their hut, he was brimming with excitement to tell his father. He ran to their home where his mother would have supper waiting and told the whole story, barely noticing in his excitement that his father grew paler and more solemn with every word. His mother ate slowly, as though she was having trouble swallowing her food.
“You must be careful when striking bargains with the gods, my son,” his father said. “They will always become angry with you in some way, and always try to hurt you.”
“But I will have the protection of the winner, don’t you see, nothing can go wrong! And father, the gold! You will be comfortable for the end of your days!”
“You’re a good lad, Alex, and I know you mean well. We love you for it. Now off to bed, you need to be rested tomorrow.” His mother added.
“I just don’t understand why they would choose me,” Alex continued, “it’s strange for the gods to ask a favour of a lowly shepherd.”
“To bed, Alex! We shall talk more tomorrow,” said his father. Alex obliged and kissed his parents goodnight, retiring to his pallet.
His parents cleaned up from the meal, fed and watered the animals, and undressed for the night.
“We’ll tell him tomorrow,” they agreed. “We will tell him who he really is.”
25 November 2013
Troy Chapter 2 (I)
Splitting things up so it doesn't get to be too much at once.
I thought maybe to make it so that when the gods spoke to humans directly their language would be a little jumpy, I mean gods don't often talk directly to people, so they wouldn't have a very modern speech pattern; but they do try to blend in. So I thought I'd throw in some old English words and Elizabethan phrasing here and there, as they struggle to sound normal but forget themselves once in a while. but I'm not sure if it works or if just makes them sound weird and takes away from the story; so let me know your thoughts.
Alexandros sat in the shade of an ash tree. The heat and the sun had dried most of the grass in the field. In the distance, his sheep lazily ate and napped; and his old dog slowly but stubbornly circled the sheep to keep them together and watch for predators. He wanted to join the sheep in napping but knew his father would skin him alive if he dozed off and lost the creatures. Struggling to stay awake, he bit into an apple, chewing slowly, letting the bitterness and tartness of the apple invigorate him.
“Good ofernon, Alexandros,” said a voice from beside him.
Alex jumped and gasped. His view encompassed most of the valley and he had not seen the man approach him. His dog was old but sharp as ever and would have barked as the man came near.
Covering his shock, he boy stood quickly, not wanting to be rude, and was surprised at the man’s height. Alex was tall for his age, the only one of his 12-year-old peers to be taller than most girls, but he had not reached his full height yet. Alex knew he would likely grow a foot taller yet, as he was still shorter than his father. Even so, the stranger was a good two feet taller than Alex, fit and tan. He wore a casual toga but the cloth was exquisite. There was a helmet tucked under his arm (Alexandros knew not what for, when the man had no other armour), and he had large, clean, sturdy feet wrapped in leather sandals.
“Afternoon, sir,” Alex replied, knowing it would be rude to inquire who the man was, how he knew Alex’s name, and what the helmet was for. “Will you share the shade with me? You must be hot and tired, having approached me so quickly,” he said instead, noting that the man did not look hot or tired at all, though Alex himself was coated in a thin sheen of sweat just from sitting under a tree.
“I would be grateful for your hospitality!” replied the man, as if the tree and the shade and field somehow belonged to Alex. He seemed to remember something then, and suddenly looked very tired and sweaty indeed. Alex gaped at the sudden change, then remembered himself and offered the man some water from his water skin and a slice from his apple. They sat in silence while the man ate and drank, Alex all the while trying his best to muster all of his 12-year-old patience and play the host instead of bombarding the man with questions. After what seemed like an eternity to Alexandros, a polite amount of time to pretend to enjoy a bitter apple to the stranger, and only a few moments in reality, the stranger spoke again:
“You are very thoughtful, young man, abounding in kindness to share your food and water with a tired old man,” he said, though Alex noted that the man was looking oddly fresh again, and not old at all. His eyes were sharp and clear, his skin smooth and youthful. “I have heard of your honesty and fairness, and see from your gifts to me today that thou art of good character and have true values. You know not what a chore it is to find a man who takes hospitality seriously. Did you ever hear about Philemon and Bacchus?” The man shook his head, as if lost in a memory. Alex, meanwhile, was pleased to have been referred to as a man, if confused by the man’s occasional slip into a more archaic dialogue. “I am here because a friend of mine recommended you. He said that you were the most honest person he had met, and...”
“Now, wait!” Alexandros interrupted, leaping to his feet, “if this is about that bull...do you know how much trouble I’m still in because of that man? I’ve been working extra hard for a year and still am not close to paying my father back for his loss! I gave him up because your pal won fair and square, but if you’ve come to try taking advantage of me...”
The man startled Alexandro by laughing. Alex blushed. He was being rude, and he was very angry, and he didn’t know if the man was laughing with him or laughing at him.
“Please sit back down with me, good fellow, and listen well, for I have a great many things to tell you. I will begin with my name,” he said as Alex settled himself, “and regard me closely.” The boy did, squinting his eyes a little. He wasn’t sure what the man meant or what he was looking for, but some fibre of his being was screaming that this was no regular person. Perhaps he was royalty? Then, as Alex watched, the man became even more handsome and tall and clean. His skin was clear and flawless, glowing as if the man had just been bathed and oiled. His robes were trimmed with gold, his sandals brushed clean, his hair smoothed down, and his face looked very young and smooth. It was the man’s eyes that caught Alexandros’ attention, for despite the stranger’s youthful appearance, his eyes looked like they had seen too much, or maybe as if they saw everything. Then, as he put on his helm, is seemed as if Alex’s vision cleared. There was no better word for it. Before, he had seen the man and not thought much of it except that the man was a little strange. But suddenly the man was sharp, as if Alex had been looking at the man without focusing on him. He saw not a man but a god before him. A god with winged sandals.
I thought maybe to make it so that when the gods spoke to humans directly their language would be a little jumpy, I mean gods don't often talk directly to people, so they wouldn't have a very modern speech pattern; but they do try to blend in. So I thought I'd throw in some old English words and Elizabethan phrasing here and there, as they struggle to sound normal but forget themselves once in a while. but I'm not sure if it works or if just makes them sound weird and takes away from the story; so let me know your thoughts.
Alexandros sat in the shade of an ash tree. The heat and the sun had dried most of the grass in the field. In the distance, his sheep lazily ate and napped; and his old dog slowly but stubbornly circled the sheep to keep them together and watch for predators. He wanted to join the sheep in napping but knew his father would skin him alive if he dozed off and lost the creatures. Struggling to stay awake, he bit into an apple, chewing slowly, letting the bitterness and tartness of the apple invigorate him.
“Good ofernon, Alexandros,” said a voice from beside him.
Alex jumped and gasped. His view encompassed most of the valley and he had not seen the man approach him. His dog was old but sharp as ever and would have barked as the man came near.
Covering his shock, he boy stood quickly, not wanting to be rude, and was surprised at the man’s height. Alex was tall for his age, the only one of his 12-year-old peers to be taller than most girls, but he had not reached his full height yet. Alex knew he would likely grow a foot taller yet, as he was still shorter than his father. Even so, the stranger was a good two feet taller than Alex, fit and tan. He wore a casual toga but the cloth was exquisite. There was a helmet tucked under his arm (Alexandros knew not what for, when the man had no other armour), and he had large, clean, sturdy feet wrapped in leather sandals.
“Afternoon, sir,” Alex replied, knowing it would be rude to inquire who the man was, how he knew Alex’s name, and what the helmet was for. “Will you share the shade with me? You must be hot and tired, having approached me so quickly,” he said instead, noting that the man did not look hot or tired at all, though Alex himself was coated in a thin sheen of sweat just from sitting under a tree.
“I would be grateful for your hospitality!” replied the man, as if the tree and the shade and field somehow belonged to Alex. He seemed to remember something then, and suddenly looked very tired and sweaty indeed. Alex gaped at the sudden change, then remembered himself and offered the man some water from his water skin and a slice from his apple. They sat in silence while the man ate and drank, Alex all the while trying his best to muster all of his 12-year-old patience and play the host instead of bombarding the man with questions. After what seemed like an eternity to Alexandros, a polite amount of time to pretend to enjoy a bitter apple to the stranger, and only a few moments in reality, the stranger spoke again:
“You are very thoughtful, young man, abounding in kindness to share your food and water with a tired old man,” he said, though Alex noted that the man was looking oddly fresh again, and not old at all. His eyes were sharp and clear, his skin smooth and youthful. “I have heard of your honesty and fairness, and see from your gifts to me today that thou art of good character and have true values. You know not what a chore it is to find a man who takes hospitality seriously. Did you ever hear about Philemon and Bacchus?” The man shook his head, as if lost in a memory. Alex, meanwhile, was pleased to have been referred to as a man, if confused by the man’s occasional slip into a more archaic dialogue. “I am here because a friend of mine recommended you. He said that you were the most honest person he had met, and...”
“Now, wait!” Alexandros interrupted, leaping to his feet, “if this is about that bull...do you know how much trouble I’m still in because of that man? I’ve been working extra hard for a year and still am not close to paying my father back for his loss! I gave him up because your pal won fair and square, but if you’ve come to try taking advantage of me...”
The man startled Alexandro by laughing. Alex blushed. He was being rude, and he was very angry, and he didn’t know if the man was laughing with him or laughing at him.
“Please sit back down with me, good fellow, and listen well, for I have a great many things to tell you. I will begin with my name,” he said as Alex settled himself, “and regard me closely.” The boy did, squinting his eyes a little. He wasn’t sure what the man meant or what he was looking for, but some fibre of his being was screaming that this was no regular person. Perhaps he was royalty? Then, as Alex watched, the man became even more handsome and tall and clean. His skin was clear and flawless, glowing as if the man had just been bathed and oiled. His robes were trimmed with gold, his sandals brushed clean, his hair smoothed down, and his face looked very young and smooth. It was the man’s eyes that caught Alexandros’ attention, for despite the stranger’s youthful appearance, his eyes looked like they had seen too much, or maybe as if they saw everything. Then, as he put on his helm, is seemed as if Alex’s vision cleared. There was no better word for it. Before, he had seen the man and not thought much of it except that the man was a little strange. But suddenly the man was sharp, as if Alex had been looking at the man without focusing on him. He saw not a man but a god before him. A god with winged sandals.
21 November 2013
Update III
And scratch the last one, French Julie has cancelled her request to move in with us and we have to begin our search all over again, with just 10 days left in the month. GAH! Apparently I am no good at reading omens. I also had believed the Hyatt was a good omen when my employee number began with the same 4 digits as my high school student number. Next time I see a good omen I will turn tail and book it out of there.
Update II
Also, I forgot to mention the other thing that's been taking up time/worries is that my roommate Kailey is moving out. Eric and I have been looking for a new person to take her spot. We found a girl from Toulouse named Julie (a good omen, I think! Julie was my first ever room mate and I love her immensely). She seems okay but it's always a gamble. We'll miss Kailey a lot she's a very positive person. So Julie2 will be moving in on Dec 1. We raised the rent a bit so we can lower ours (also helpful when I need a job lol). She works at a bakery on Granville Isl and promises to bring home treats. (not that I need the extra fat since I bake so much but hey, no complaints.) I think we should get along pretty well since she seems relatively normal. She reminded me of me a bit, awkward and non-genuine. Lol kidding, she was a little shy looking at a new place but knows what she wants. So now that we have her on board it's one less worry, and one new path we will start on. I'm glad to have met and lived with Kailey though. She's a big personality for sure, but very positive, accepting, and meets challenges and change head-on. I hope to have taken some of that from her. Anyway really need to get going with my day! Kisses everyone :)
Oh and PS I will also be using all of my free time to work on my projects that I have started and never finished. Kyle-your three musketeers painting is now completely sketched out and would be half painted except that I can't find where i stashed the actual paint. But I anticipate it will be done within the next month. With the roommate changeover I can pull extra furniture out of the closet and get to my things in the back which I think is where the paint is at. For reals this time! Although your weight loss and new fit body have proved to be a pain in the ass because I had to re-draw you from the forehead down. I kept your feet too. But you look great, so I shouldn't complain too much.
And I'm working on my stories that I'm writing as well, so at least I am not a complete sloth.
And in very un-slothlike behaviour, I am actually hopping into the shower now.
Oh and PS I will also be using all of my free time to work on my projects that I have started and never finished. Kyle-your three musketeers painting is now completely sketched out and would be half painted except that I can't find where i stashed the actual paint. But I anticipate it will be done within the next month. With the roommate changeover I can pull extra furniture out of the closet and get to my things in the back which I think is where the paint is at. For reals this time! Although your weight loss and new fit body have proved to be a pain in the ass because I had to re-draw you from the forehead down. I kept your feet too. But you look great, so I shouldn't complain too much.
And I'm working on my stories that I'm writing as well, so at least I am not a complete sloth.
And in very un-slothlike behaviour, I am actually hopping into the shower now.
Update
Sorry for not updating in a bit, been in a funk. I got fired from my Hyatt job because "You don't have a genuine personality" and I'm "a bit awkward" so I've been down about that. Never been fired before. Spent the last week being lazy and feeling sorry for myself. Now I have to get back in the game and start putting out resumes. It's hard though because I feel like I've been taken down a notch and so I'm worried about what to look for and what to do. I'll be back to school soon so I'll need a part-time gig, maybe 4 days/week. I felt like I was finally on track with things in my life and it all fell apart on me. Giant pain in my asshole. But I really need to force myself to get back out there before I let myself get into a downward spiral. I'm even a week late with my library book for the first time since I moved here! When you sit around at home all day moping and don't want to go out or shower or whatever it gets dangerous. So into the shower I go and job searching is to be done! Everyone keeps telling me to look at it as a blessing in disguise, and I need to start doing that. Eventually I will find something I enjoy more and get back to working with people who aren't fake and irritating. Financially, my folks said they would help me out if I need it, so that's awesome too. It's motivating to know that people are able and willing to back you, because it means they know you are capable of getting your shit together. If I was a lost cause, I'd be one of those people with parents who are all "You messed up again? You are cut off!" whereas my folks said "those people are idiots! everybody we know thinks you are a lovely person! go get 'em, tiger!"
Also, thinking I should invest in a printer. Going to the library whenever I need to print out more resumes is a little bit annoying. But the question in my tiny living space is always where the hell would I put it?!
So send all your pleasant and lucky thoughts my way, I need it!
Also, thinking I should invest in a printer. Going to the library whenever I need to print out more resumes is a little bit annoying. But the question in my tiny living space is always where the hell would I put it?!
So send all your pleasant and lucky thoughts my way, I need it!
09 November 2013
Murder Mystery Party!
Today was crazy.
I worked from 6-230, then I came home and was exhausted. Took a nap for a couple of hours. Then I woke up (barely) and threw myself into the shower so I could wake up properly. By the time I got wet and soapy I was wide awake, I don't know why showers always wake me up, but then I was ready to go toooooooo (suspense as if you hadn't already read the title) my friend from Indigo's murder mystery party!! I was Takey Takerton, a first class mooch. Then I realized my getting showered had taken too long coz I didn't wake up quickly enough, and I missed the bus etc so I hailed a taxi. This is kind of a big deal because Van to North Van in a taxi is gonna be $40, but I didn't want to be half an hour late to a party that you can't really be late to. So I had a ride that was, all in all, much more pleasant and comfortable than the bus regardless of the price tag, and enjoyed being back in North Van (she lives right by Lynn Valley Library) since I haven't been up that way in some time. As soon as I walked in the door I realized I had no cell phone. So that put a damper on my night. Heliya lent me hers since she's the perfect hostess and so I phoned all the taxi companies in vancouver that are yellow in colour and they all told me I was crazy. Especially Yellow Cabs who told me that they wouldn't know anyway until Tuesday (monday 11 nov is a civic holiday in BC LOLZ)since the offices will be closed and in slightly (but not much) more polite terms told me not to bother them. So i was bummed out, but the party was super fun.
Everyone is given a character beforehand. You are given an idea of who you are and what to do. I will copy and paste my character info here in case you have not encountered a murder mystery party before (i had not).
HELPFUL HINTS ON HOW TO PLAY A MYSTERY PARTY
GUEST INSTRUCTIONS
You’ve been assigned a character and you’ve come to the party dressed in the most awesome costume and have been told to play your role. Now what?
The mystery is separated into three main rounds of party play. During the party, you will receive an envelope that contains the clues necessary for your character for the round. The clues for the characters at the party provide everything that you need to solve the mystery. However, during the investigation segment of the game, you will need to ask the right questions and pay close attention to everyone’s clues to get the whole picture of what has happened.
In each of your clue cards, there will be some information that you can reveal in casual conversation with other guests. It is just like real life! You can elect to have some of those clues as information that you should be ‘asked’ by other guests in order to reveal. You can hide the truth but do not lie and make up clues. This could alter the mystery for the other guests. Some of the information in your clue cards might be for actions to perform during certain rounds or it might give you personal information to explain to you how your character feels about certain issues involving other characters or situations. This personal information is given to you to enable you to act as the real character. As in real life, each character should know a little more about their character above the rest of the group. Therefore, these types of clues do not need to be revealed to the other guests - unless you want to tell your secrets! Don’t worry, others will figure your secrets out on their own in later rounds if it is vital to the mystery.
Just as with any normal dinner party, most of the party play will involve mingling with the other characters and finding out about each other's characters and the clues you all have received. As the game progresses, you should have quite a bit of information to filter through to figure out the motive and whodunit! Read your clue cards thoroughly and take your time discussing issues with other guests. Make sure you speak to all guests in each round. Any guests that you feel might be hiding something - make sure to ask him or her loads ofor her loads of questions! You will be asked to submit a guess of ‘whodunit’ and why they did it at the end of round two. Watch out…YOU could even be the murderer and won’t know it until the end. Therefore, if you feel you are the guilty party by the end of Round Two – by all means, accuse yourself!
From this point forward, you are to remain in character until the mystery is solved. If you are playing a ‘hypocritical police officer,’ then that is who you are until the end! Undoubtedly, your host cast you into a character that you are comfortable playing. Some characters are designed to be played more reserved than other characters. Feel free to play your role in any manner that you feel comfortable. Embellish your character’s personality if you would like. However, if you are feeling more reserved tonight, you can opt to allow the other guests to approach you or you can simply listen in on others’ conversations to get your information.
your character: Takey Takerton has been unemployed ever since s/he inherited his/her great grandmother’s home years ago. Takey borrows money for living experiences and everyone is paranoid of Takey asking them for a loan. As ducks fly with ducks, Takey is rarely seen without his/her swarm of fellow mooches. This lazy group of friends has an irritating habit of getting joy out of impersonating animals.
costume:Too-sizes too small white sleeveless t-shirt with stains on it and jeans. An empty wallet as an optional prop.
round one clue: READ THIS BEFORE YOU COME!!
*Remember you are a lazy, unemployed moocher who borrows money from everyone…so have fun with that!
USE THE FOLLOWING TRIVIA QUESTIONS AS AN ICE BREAKER
Question: ‘Blackjack’ disease is caused by the felt on casino tables. What toxic substance is historically found in this fabric? Answer: Chromium.
Question: What is ‘CODIS?’ Answer: The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s database of DNA evidence.
CLUES TO REVEAL DURING THIS ROUND
During this round, mingle with other guests to discuss the following information with whomever you choose:
• Talk to everyone about how much you can’t stand Fiona Collins. She is annoying when she calls your house everyday and tries to sell you things. She should know you do not have any money.
• Ask everyone at the party if you can borrow some money or some items that they don’t need because you’re going to have another garage sale. Anything that they are not using is a welcome donation and a great cause.
• Confide in a few people about how you know that Betty Berger likes to blackmail people. She used to blackmail your late great grandmother before she died. You think the stress may have contributed to her death.
• This round, you (and your group) should randomly impersonate tarantulas and see if people can guess what you are.
PERSONAL CLUES TO CONCEAL You cannot stand Fiona Collins or Betty Berger. Do your best to ignore them. During the mystery, your character must be honest and not make up any potentially mystery-altering clues in addition to those provided to you. You do not, however, have to share the clues that you collect with other guests.
So that's pretty cool. The games are usually pre made and bought or you can find free ones online. A couple of things I found was that nobody really knew that much, for example me and some of the others didn't find out until later that we were supposed to be at a mardi gras party and that's how all our characters ended up together. Also there were no real 'clues' that we found, everything in the clue envelopes was basically telling you to confront someone or tell something about yourself (you gave us food poisoning! she's marrying my brother!) rather than getting to find clues around which would have been cool. of course all of us had a grudge with the girl who died (betty berger) so it was interesting trying to figure out who killed her. i got screwed up coz wil thought it would be fun to put fake blood on his face and i didn't know if it was part of the mystery or not so i said he did it but it wasn't part of the mystery at all. sigh. and yes, daddy, if you are reading this, one person did in fact blame the butler even though there was no butler. Heliya made us a feast of a dinner and desert which was amazing. she said not to bring anything so i brought an apple crumble. by around 1030 i was wiped and also anxious about my phone, especially since i couldn't text chris and pester him which is my general idea of fun most of the time. So i headed out.
The bus ride was great except between phibbs exchange and abbot st where all the drunkies were to get from north van to downtown. I was trying to read and they were noisy. Inexcusable.
Finally got myself home and hopped on facebook and checked my phone messages and lo and behold! Chris had messaged me worried because people were phoning him and Eric had left me a voicemail about having the taxi driver call him and return my phone! They were the last two I had texted so I guess the driver called them. And eric was worried about where I was and phoning Chris and Kailey and everyone was glad when I returned their messages. So it was a good feeling to be worried about, and I felt badly for putting everyone out, but was elated at the return of my cell phone/portable internet machine/alarm clock/game consul/everything in one device. i sent a message to the taxi company that their driver is great, not mentioning that he brought my phone to Eric because the dispatcher said I would have to wait til the lost and found office opened on tuesday and pay $50 for it's delivery; I think the driver just did it on his own and wasn't supposed to have. He asked Eric for $15 which sure beats the $50 and probably he can pocket all of it that way instead of the company. So i just wrote that he went above my expectations and he is surely a valuable asset to their company. Working in customer service teaches you how important it is to your job security to get good feedback.
So then I ate more halloween candy and need to be asleep by now. Tomorrow is karate and working at night, so another busy day. Today was great but I could have done without the hassle. But it worked out so no complaining and jinxing it, right?
Merry friday to all and to all a good night.
I worked from 6-230, then I came home and was exhausted. Took a nap for a couple of hours. Then I woke up (barely) and threw myself into the shower so I could wake up properly. By the time I got wet and soapy I was wide awake, I don't know why showers always wake me up, but then I was ready to go toooooooo (suspense as if you hadn't already read the title) my friend from Indigo's murder mystery party!! I was Takey Takerton, a first class mooch. Then I realized my getting showered had taken too long coz I didn't wake up quickly enough, and I missed the bus etc so I hailed a taxi. This is kind of a big deal because Van to North Van in a taxi is gonna be $40, but I didn't want to be half an hour late to a party that you can't really be late to. So I had a ride that was, all in all, much more pleasant and comfortable than the bus regardless of the price tag, and enjoyed being back in North Van (she lives right by Lynn Valley Library) since I haven't been up that way in some time. As soon as I walked in the door I realized I had no cell phone. So that put a damper on my night. Heliya lent me hers since she's the perfect hostess and so I phoned all the taxi companies in vancouver that are yellow in colour and they all told me I was crazy. Especially Yellow Cabs who told me that they wouldn't know anyway until Tuesday (monday 11 nov is a civic holiday in BC LOLZ)since the offices will be closed and in slightly (but not much) more polite terms told me not to bother them. So i was bummed out, but the party was super fun.
Everyone is given a character beforehand. You are given an idea of who you are and what to do. I will copy and paste my character info here in case you have not encountered a murder mystery party before (i had not).
HELPFUL HINTS ON HOW TO PLAY A MYSTERY PARTY
GUEST INSTRUCTIONS
You’ve been assigned a character and you’ve come to the party dressed in the most awesome costume and have been told to play your role. Now what?
The mystery is separated into three main rounds of party play. During the party, you will receive an envelope that contains the clues necessary for your character for the round. The clues for the characters at the party provide everything that you need to solve the mystery. However, during the investigation segment of the game, you will need to ask the right questions and pay close attention to everyone’s clues to get the whole picture of what has happened.
In each of your clue cards, there will be some information that you can reveal in casual conversation with other guests. It is just like real life! You can elect to have some of those clues as information that you should be ‘asked’ by other guests in order to reveal. You can hide the truth but do not lie and make up clues. This could alter the mystery for the other guests. Some of the information in your clue cards might be for actions to perform during certain rounds or it might give you personal information to explain to you how your character feels about certain issues involving other characters or situations. This personal information is given to you to enable you to act as the real character. As in real life, each character should know a little more about their character above the rest of the group. Therefore, these types of clues do not need to be revealed to the other guests - unless you want to tell your secrets! Don’t worry, others will figure your secrets out on their own in later rounds if it is vital to the mystery.
Just as with any normal dinner party, most of the party play will involve mingling with the other characters and finding out about each other's characters and the clues you all have received. As the game progresses, you should have quite a bit of information to filter through to figure out the motive and whodunit! Read your clue cards thoroughly and take your time discussing issues with other guests. Make sure you speak to all guests in each round. Any guests that you feel might be hiding something - make sure to ask him or her loads ofor her loads of questions! You will be asked to submit a guess of ‘whodunit’ and why they did it at the end of round two. Watch out…YOU could even be the murderer and won’t know it until the end. Therefore, if you feel you are the guilty party by the end of Round Two – by all means, accuse yourself!
From this point forward, you are to remain in character until the mystery is solved. If you are playing a ‘hypocritical police officer,’ then that is who you are until the end! Undoubtedly, your host cast you into a character that you are comfortable playing. Some characters are designed to be played more reserved than other characters. Feel free to play your role in any manner that you feel comfortable. Embellish your character’s personality if you would like. However, if you are feeling more reserved tonight, you can opt to allow the other guests to approach you or you can simply listen in on others’ conversations to get your information.
your character: Takey Takerton has been unemployed ever since s/he inherited his/her great grandmother’s home years ago. Takey borrows money for living experiences and everyone is paranoid of Takey asking them for a loan. As ducks fly with ducks, Takey is rarely seen without his/her swarm of fellow mooches. This lazy group of friends has an irritating habit of getting joy out of impersonating animals.
costume:Too-sizes too small white sleeveless t-shirt with stains on it and jeans. An empty wallet as an optional prop.
round one clue: READ THIS BEFORE YOU COME!!
*Remember you are a lazy, unemployed moocher who borrows money from everyone…so have fun with that!
USE THE FOLLOWING TRIVIA QUESTIONS AS AN ICE BREAKER
Question: ‘Blackjack’ disease is caused by the felt on casino tables. What toxic substance is historically found in this fabric? Answer: Chromium.
Question: What is ‘CODIS?’ Answer: The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s database of DNA evidence.
CLUES TO REVEAL DURING THIS ROUND
During this round, mingle with other guests to discuss the following information with whomever you choose:
• Talk to everyone about how much you can’t stand Fiona Collins. She is annoying when she calls your house everyday and tries to sell you things. She should know you do not have any money.
• Ask everyone at the party if you can borrow some money or some items that they don’t need because you’re going to have another garage sale. Anything that they are not using is a welcome donation and a great cause.
• Confide in a few people about how you know that Betty Berger likes to blackmail people. She used to blackmail your late great grandmother before she died. You think the stress may have contributed to her death.
• This round, you (and your group) should randomly impersonate tarantulas and see if people can guess what you are.
PERSONAL CLUES TO CONCEAL You cannot stand Fiona Collins or Betty Berger. Do your best to ignore them. During the mystery, your character must be honest and not make up any potentially mystery-altering clues in addition to those provided to you. You do not, however, have to share the clues that you collect with other guests.
So that's pretty cool. The games are usually pre made and bought or you can find free ones online. A couple of things I found was that nobody really knew that much, for example me and some of the others didn't find out until later that we were supposed to be at a mardi gras party and that's how all our characters ended up together. Also there were no real 'clues' that we found, everything in the clue envelopes was basically telling you to confront someone or tell something about yourself (you gave us food poisoning! she's marrying my brother!) rather than getting to find clues around which would have been cool. of course all of us had a grudge with the girl who died (betty berger) so it was interesting trying to figure out who killed her. i got screwed up coz wil thought it would be fun to put fake blood on his face and i didn't know if it was part of the mystery or not so i said he did it but it wasn't part of the mystery at all. sigh. and yes, daddy, if you are reading this, one person did in fact blame the butler even though there was no butler. Heliya made us a feast of a dinner and desert which was amazing. she said not to bring anything so i brought an apple crumble. by around 1030 i was wiped and also anxious about my phone, especially since i couldn't text chris and pester him which is my general idea of fun most of the time. So i headed out.
The bus ride was great except between phibbs exchange and abbot st where all the drunkies were to get from north van to downtown. I was trying to read and they were noisy. Inexcusable.
Finally got myself home and hopped on facebook and checked my phone messages and lo and behold! Chris had messaged me worried because people were phoning him and Eric had left me a voicemail about having the taxi driver call him and return my phone! They were the last two I had texted so I guess the driver called them. And eric was worried about where I was and phoning Chris and Kailey and everyone was glad when I returned their messages. So it was a good feeling to be worried about, and I felt badly for putting everyone out, but was elated at the return of my cell phone/portable internet machine/alarm clock/game consul/everything in one device. i sent a message to the taxi company that their driver is great, not mentioning that he brought my phone to Eric because the dispatcher said I would have to wait til the lost and found office opened on tuesday and pay $50 for it's delivery; I think the driver just did it on his own and wasn't supposed to have. He asked Eric for $15 which sure beats the $50 and probably he can pocket all of it that way instead of the company. So i just wrote that he went above my expectations and he is surely a valuable asset to their company. Working in customer service teaches you how important it is to your job security to get good feedback.
So then I ate more halloween candy and need to be asleep by now. Tomorrow is karate and working at night, so another busy day. Today was great but I could have done without the hassle. But it worked out so no complaining and jinxing it, right?
Merry friday to all and to all a good night.
26 October 2013
Halloween
Halloween is coming!! You know this in Vancouver because people start selling fireworks. (????) Gotta carve some pumpkins up! Or rather...draw something on pumpkins and make Chris to the work part. What? I get rashes when I touch them!
Working on chapter 2 of my story. Judgement of Paris. Paris always has two names in myth, Paris and Alexander (Alexandros in the Greek). I've decided that to make sense of this, he's Alex the shepherd, and once he finds out his true lineage as prince of Troy he regains his birthright and is given back his princely name, Paris. I don't know if this is right, I can't find anything, but it's how I make sense of two names. Now I just have to finish the dialogue between Paris (Alexandros) and Mercury. I haven't figured out what I want for Mercury yet; how serious/well spoken/youthful etc that he should act. So I keep rewriting it because I'm not happy with him. But soon it will be posted!
Work is going okay, hard tho. Long hours and early mornings. At least all my shifts are at the same time of day lately. That really helps.
Gotta figure out how to book time off too, so I can get to Boston for x-mas and by x-mas I mean January sometime since that's the closest time I'll get off probably. We'll see what happens. OOh and I gotta sign up for school soon too..So much to doooooooo!
Working on chapter 2 of my story. Judgement of Paris. Paris always has two names in myth, Paris and Alexander (Alexandros in the Greek). I've decided that to make sense of this, he's Alex the shepherd, and once he finds out his true lineage as prince of Troy he regains his birthright and is given back his princely name, Paris. I don't know if this is right, I can't find anything, but it's how I make sense of two names. Now I just have to finish the dialogue between Paris (Alexandros) and Mercury. I haven't figured out what I want for Mercury yet; how serious/well spoken/youthful etc that he should act. So I keep rewriting it because I'm not happy with him. But soon it will be posted!
Work is going okay, hard tho. Long hours and early mornings. At least all my shifts are at the same time of day lately. That really helps.
Gotta figure out how to book time off too, so I can get to Boston for x-mas and by x-mas I mean January sometime since that's the closest time I'll get off probably. We'll see what happens. OOh and I gotta sign up for school soon too..So much to doooooooo!
16 September 2013
Troy story opening
Dearest Muses, Goddesses wise, fill our hearts with passion, and our words with beauty. Sing to us of days long past, of great love and great hatred; of the bravest heroes and wisest men. Tell us of the most beautiful woman ever seen. Tell us of the Gods of Olympus and the war they wrought among men. Let not the tale be forgotten of the nine-year war at Ilium, called Troy.
“Are you going?” Eris demanded, eyes sparkling with anger.
“Yes, of course I am. Everyone is going.”
“I am not going.”
Ares, god of war, did not look up from sharpening his knife before responding. “Dear sister, why so angry now? This wedding will be the greatest we have seen in many years, and the greatest for a long time to come. It would not be proper to spurn them on this day. You really must go. If you don’t care to celebrate the bride and groom, will you at least come as a favour to me?” He put his knife down and reached for his sisters hand, holding her delicate fingers in his calloused ones. With her other hand Eris picked at her wings, preening, pretending indifference. She looked at her brother, at his stern, hard face, and sighed.
“If it means so much to you, Ares, that I come, then I will. For you, of course.”
“Thank you, sister.” Ares leaned back, relaxed, and sipped at his nectar. They sat in silence, listening to the night. After a few moments, Ares spoke again. “Out of curiosity, my lovely maker of strife, why is it that you did not want to go? Did Thetis offend you in some way? Or Peleus? It is unlike you to miss a good wedding.”
“No reason, War-maker, to cause any alarm,” Eris said delicately. Ares laughed.
“Now I know you have something planned. What is it? Why did you want to miss that wedding?”
“It’s silly, really, now that I think about it. But I had thought to miss it because I was not invited,” she smiled innocently. Ares laughed again.
“So, darling Discord, you used me! Now you have given me your word that you are coming, and you would not break your word once given. So tell me--what is your plan?”
Eris smiled dryly, knowing her brother was smarter than that. He had smelled her trap the moment she invited him over, walking into it willingly. The God of War could not be fooled by the tactics of others, but accepted or rejected them as he pleased. She wondered why he would go along with her now? Did he feel he owed her a favour, or debt? Was he growing bored of things and hoping for a little amusement? Perhaps he was just being nice. It was a rare thing, for Ares to have no other motive, but she was his sister, so occasionally he did humour her. Still, Eris thought, something felt different about this. Ares was too comfortable, too happy. Could her will to play a little trick at a wedding possibly lead to something bigger? She could not see how.
“It’s just a small thing, brother, that I would like to do. I won’t ruin the wedding, or harm anyone, I promise. Peleus and Thetis have invited everyone. Every god, every halfling, every celebrated mortal. Absolutely everyone has been invited except for me,” Eris said bitterly, stamping her little for on the floor for emphasis. “What were they thinking? Is there a worse way to offend a person? My pride is hurt. Clearly, Thetis was hoping to avoid trouble. But to spurn me? I can’t allow that. Perhaps I am not so cared for as you, brother, nor as popular as most of out kin; but I am not to be trifled with and mean to impress that fact upon her. Thetis wants this day to be all about her, and thinks that I am a threat to her. I will teach her who the real threats are in Olympus.”
“Very well,” Ares replied, “I see you do not wish to tell me your plan, if you have one. In that case, sister, know that i wait in suspense to see what you come up with.” Now it was Eris’ turn to laugh. Her brother’s good cheer spread through her, quickly abating her anger. Perhaps he was just having some fun after all.
As the evening grew darker and the moon brighter, Ares made his excuses and left rather than stay the night. He was eager make his report to Zeus that Eris would plant the seed at the wedding. Ares shivered with anticipation. He had sat idle for too long, and was ready to bring war to men once again.
***
The wedding went smoothly as Thetis, daughter of Neptune, and Peleus, son of Aeacus, son of Zeus, took each other’s hands and swore to honour each other as long as they might live. The Nereid’s silver feet glistened on the sandy shores as they led the way to the banquet, her chin held high with pride at the thought of the elaborate feast they would have in her honour.
It’s match could only be met in the houses of gods. Servants carried in tray after tray of roasted lamb, boar, and venison. The guests chatted and gossiped about the stories they had heard of Peleus’ hunting party. They say he took down a boar all alone. Perhaps this is the one? The meat was flavoured with garlic and spices from the east, served with lentils and chick peas. The tables were heavy with barley bread, olives, grapes, and honeycomb, cheeses, sweet dates, and plums. Wine flowed quickly and freely.
Each of the guests, god and human, took their turn to congratulate the newly weds, laying glorious gifts at their feet. Tapestries, wine, livestock, armour for Peleus and dresses for Thetis. They in turn played the gracious hosts and returned the favours with gifts of their own. Gold and silver goblets, bowls, and pottery. The ambiance was so perfect and so festive. Ares had a faint smile on his lips as the line for gift giving grew shorter, sure his sister Strife would act soon. And as the guests resumed their seats for another toast, he saw a movement among the shadows--barely perceptible if one had not been watching. A moment later, from behind a pillar at the end of the hall, came an apple, rolling across the floor into the centre of the room.
How very simple, Ares thought to himself. An apple, symbol of fertility, youth, and health. He sat back and waited. The room turned silent as one by one the guests noticed the apple sitting in the middle of the floor. It was perfect. Not a scratch or bruise. And it wore a golden skin. Clearly, a product of Olympus, and a fitting gift for such a wedding. Finally, Aphrodite stood from her cushions and went to retrieve the shining object. She picked it up, gracefully, of course, and held in sensually in front her lips as she inhaled its sweet smell. Ares wondered if it came from the garden of Hesperides.
“Oh my,” she said. “I have never seen anything quite like this.” She turned it slowly in her hands, examining its perfection, and was about to hand it to Thetis, but then she stopped.
“What is it, sister?” Ares asked, quite intrigued now.
“There’s an inscription,” Aphrodite replied. “It says, ‘to the fairest’ on one side.” Ares allowed himself a small smile. Clever, Ares thought.
“Then it can’t be meant for me,” Thetis said humbly, although everyone in the room knew it to be false modesty, a way to pretend to reluctantly accept a wedding gift without offending the gods. She thought, perhaps, that it was a couples gift from Peleus, but when she looked at her bridegroom his face was puzzled. Thetis’ modest approach did not work with Aphrodite.
“Then clearly it was meant for me!” the goddess replied, giggling.
“For you?” came the challenge. Athena. “How ridiculous. You may govern love, and lust, and beauty. But fairness, dear sister, comes from within. It is mine.”
“Fair of complexion, of manners? These things I am, Athena, and you are lacking in them. All you do is hunt and fight. I govern fairness, not you.”
“Outside of my golden armour, I too am fair. And I believe my complexion is nicer than yours.” A few feet away, Thetis leaped to her shining feet. She may only be nymph, but it was her wedding, and not to be ruined. But before she could speak, someone else did.
“Enough!” A cool voice echoed through the halls as Hera stood, tall and strong, her golden hair hanging in curls down to her fair arms. “I am wife of Zeus, stronger, more beautiful, more lovely than either of you. If that apple belongs to anyone, it is mine.” Aphrodite’s eyes narrowed as she looked to Zeus. Only one man could settle this now. Ares had to hide his grin behind his goblet.
Zeus thought, carefully, catching Ares’ eye as he did so. Finally, he spoke. “I cannot decide between you. If I choose, I risk the wrath of my wife and my daughters. My friends and brothers may be offended as well. If I choose you, Hera, they will say it was an obligation, that the contest was not fairly judged. Yet if I do not choose you, you will never speak to me again! This is not a fair question to ask of me.”
“Then who on earth and in heaven could possibly decide fairly between us?” The women demanded.
“We will have to choose an outsider. Someone small and insignificant, someone who does not risk your wrath, or mine, but will be rewarded for doing us this favour so long as we promise not to seek vengeance on him for his choice.”
And thusly was Thetis the river nymph forgotten on her wedding day, and Eris pleased with her vengeance.
***
The gods found a shepherd in the Troad who minded the livestock for his parents. The boy was young and beautiful, and sat in the shade of a tree playing the lyre to himself. He was stubborn, proudful, and a little too self-centred; but had a reputation for being fair and unhesitating to do the right thing.
Ares recommended the young man to Zeus, telling the Cloud-gatherer of his recent escapade as a bull. The shepherd, Alexandros, had a prize bull more beautiful than any in the Troad. This bothered Ares who wanted the bull for himself, and thought a mortal should be less proud. So he challenged Alexandros to a contest saying that his bull was nicer. They set the stakes so that the winning party would keep the loser’s bull. Ares won, of course, but was startled by how quickly Alexandros admitted defeat and handed his prize bull over to Ares. Most men would have argued and tried to get out of the deal altogether rather than lose such a prize animal; and Ares had not forgotten the fairness shown to him by the mortal Alexandros.
Zeus decided that Ares’ candidate won out the others, and promptly sent Hermes to escort the women to the poor shepherd who would undoubtedly face the wrath of the losing goddesses, despite all their protestations.
“Are you going?” Eris demanded, eyes sparkling with anger.
“Yes, of course I am. Everyone is going.”
“I am not going.”
Ares, god of war, did not look up from sharpening his knife before responding. “Dear sister, why so angry now? This wedding will be the greatest we have seen in many years, and the greatest for a long time to come. It would not be proper to spurn them on this day. You really must go. If you don’t care to celebrate the bride and groom, will you at least come as a favour to me?” He put his knife down and reached for his sisters hand, holding her delicate fingers in his calloused ones. With her other hand Eris picked at her wings, preening, pretending indifference. She looked at her brother, at his stern, hard face, and sighed.
“If it means so much to you, Ares, that I come, then I will. For you, of course.”
“Thank you, sister.” Ares leaned back, relaxed, and sipped at his nectar. They sat in silence, listening to the night. After a few moments, Ares spoke again. “Out of curiosity, my lovely maker of strife, why is it that you did not want to go? Did Thetis offend you in some way? Or Peleus? It is unlike you to miss a good wedding.”
“No reason, War-maker, to cause any alarm,” Eris said delicately. Ares laughed.
“Now I know you have something planned. What is it? Why did you want to miss that wedding?”
“It’s silly, really, now that I think about it. But I had thought to miss it because I was not invited,” she smiled innocently. Ares laughed again.
“So, darling Discord, you used me! Now you have given me your word that you are coming, and you would not break your word once given. So tell me--what is your plan?”
Eris smiled dryly, knowing her brother was smarter than that. He had smelled her trap the moment she invited him over, walking into it willingly. The God of War could not be fooled by the tactics of others, but accepted or rejected them as he pleased. She wondered why he would go along with her now? Did he feel he owed her a favour, or debt? Was he growing bored of things and hoping for a little amusement? Perhaps he was just being nice. It was a rare thing, for Ares to have no other motive, but she was his sister, so occasionally he did humour her. Still, Eris thought, something felt different about this. Ares was too comfortable, too happy. Could her will to play a little trick at a wedding possibly lead to something bigger? She could not see how.
“It’s just a small thing, brother, that I would like to do. I won’t ruin the wedding, or harm anyone, I promise. Peleus and Thetis have invited everyone. Every god, every halfling, every celebrated mortal. Absolutely everyone has been invited except for me,” Eris said bitterly, stamping her little for on the floor for emphasis. “What were they thinking? Is there a worse way to offend a person? My pride is hurt. Clearly, Thetis was hoping to avoid trouble. But to spurn me? I can’t allow that. Perhaps I am not so cared for as you, brother, nor as popular as most of out kin; but I am not to be trifled with and mean to impress that fact upon her. Thetis wants this day to be all about her, and thinks that I am a threat to her. I will teach her who the real threats are in Olympus.”
“Very well,” Ares replied, “I see you do not wish to tell me your plan, if you have one. In that case, sister, know that i wait in suspense to see what you come up with.” Now it was Eris’ turn to laugh. Her brother’s good cheer spread through her, quickly abating her anger. Perhaps he was just having some fun after all.
As the evening grew darker and the moon brighter, Ares made his excuses and left rather than stay the night. He was eager make his report to Zeus that Eris would plant the seed at the wedding. Ares shivered with anticipation. He had sat idle for too long, and was ready to bring war to men once again.
***
The wedding went smoothly as Thetis, daughter of Neptune, and Peleus, son of Aeacus, son of Zeus, took each other’s hands and swore to honour each other as long as they might live. The Nereid’s silver feet glistened on the sandy shores as they led the way to the banquet, her chin held high with pride at the thought of the elaborate feast they would have in her honour.
It’s match could only be met in the houses of gods. Servants carried in tray after tray of roasted lamb, boar, and venison. The guests chatted and gossiped about the stories they had heard of Peleus’ hunting party. They say he took down a boar all alone. Perhaps this is the one? The meat was flavoured with garlic and spices from the east, served with lentils and chick peas. The tables were heavy with barley bread, olives, grapes, and honeycomb, cheeses, sweet dates, and plums. Wine flowed quickly and freely.
Each of the guests, god and human, took their turn to congratulate the newly weds, laying glorious gifts at their feet. Tapestries, wine, livestock, armour for Peleus and dresses for Thetis. They in turn played the gracious hosts and returned the favours with gifts of their own. Gold and silver goblets, bowls, and pottery. The ambiance was so perfect and so festive. Ares had a faint smile on his lips as the line for gift giving grew shorter, sure his sister Strife would act soon. And as the guests resumed their seats for another toast, he saw a movement among the shadows--barely perceptible if one had not been watching. A moment later, from behind a pillar at the end of the hall, came an apple, rolling across the floor into the centre of the room.
How very simple, Ares thought to himself. An apple, symbol of fertility, youth, and health. He sat back and waited. The room turned silent as one by one the guests noticed the apple sitting in the middle of the floor. It was perfect. Not a scratch or bruise. And it wore a golden skin. Clearly, a product of Olympus, and a fitting gift for such a wedding. Finally, Aphrodite stood from her cushions and went to retrieve the shining object. She picked it up, gracefully, of course, and held in sensually in front her lips as she inhaled its sweet smell. Ares wondered if it came from the garden of Hesperides.
“Oh my,” she said. “I have never seen anything quite like this.” She turned it slowly in her hands, examining its perfection, and was about to hand it to Thetis, but then she stopped.
“What is it, sister?” Ares asked, quite intrigued now.
“There’s an inscription,” Aphrodite replied. “It says, ‘to the fairest’ on one side.” Ares allowed himself a small smile. Clever, Ares thought.
“Then it can’t be meant for me,” Thetis said humbly, although everyone in the room knew it to be false modesty, a way to pretend to reluctantly accept a wedding gift without offending the gods. She thought, perhaps, that it was a couples gift from Peleus, but when she looked at her bridegroom his face was puzzled. Thetis’ modest approach did not work with Aphrodite.
“Then clearly it was meant for me!” the goddess replied, giggling.
“For you?” came the challenge. Athena. “How ridiculous. You may govern love, and lust, and beauty. But fairness, dear sister, comes from within. It is mine.”
“Fair of complexion, of manners? These things I am, Athena, and you are lacking in them. All you do is hunt and fight. I govern fairness, not you.”
“Outside of my golden armour, I too am fair. And I believe my complexion is nicer than yours.” A few feet away, Thetis leaped to her shining feet. She may only be nymph, but it was her wedding, and not to be ruined. But before she could speak, someone else did.
“Enough!” A cool voice echoed through the halls as Hera stood, tall and strong, her golden hair hanging in curls down to her fair arms. “I am wife of Zeus, stronger, more beautiful, more lovely than either of you. If that apple belongs to anyone, it is mine.” Aphrodite’s eyes narrowed as she looked to Zeus. Only one man could settle this now. Ares had to hide his grin behind his goblet.
Zeus thought, carefully, catching Ares’ eye as he did so. Finally, he spoke. “I cannot decide between you. If I choose, I risk the wrath of my wife and my daughters. My friends and brothers may be offended as well. If I choose you, Hera, they will say it was an obligation, that the contest was not fairly judged. Yet if I do not choose you, you will never speak to me again! This is not a fair question to ask of me.”
“Then who on earth and in heaven could possibly decide fairly between us?” The women demanded.
“We will have to choose an outsider. Someone small and insignificant, someone who does not risk your wrath, or mine, but will be rewarded for doing us this favour so long as we promise not to seek vengeance on him for his choice.”
And thusly was Thetis the river nymph forgotten on her wedding day, and Eris pleased with her vengeance.
***
The gods found a shepherd in the Troad who minded the livestock for his parents. The boy was young and beautiful, and sat in the shade of a tree playing the lyre to himself. He was stubborn, proudful, and a little too self-centred; but had a reputation for being fair and unhesitating to do the right thing.
Ares recommended the young man to Zeus, telling the Cloud-gatherer of his recent escapade as a bull. The shepherd, Alexandros, had a prize bull more beautiful than any in the Troad. This bothered Ares who wanted the bull for himself, and thought a mortal should be less proud. So he challenged Alexandros to a contest saying that his bull was nicer. They set the stakes so that the winning party would keep the loser’s bull. Ares won, of course, but was startled by how quickly Alexandros admitted defeat and handed his prize bull over to Ares. Most men would have argued and tried to get out of the deal altogether rather than lose such a prize animal; and Ares had not forgotten the fairness shown to him by the mortal Alexandros.
Zeus decided that Ares’ candidate won out the others, and promptly sent Hermes to escort the women to the poor shepherd who would undoubtedly face the wrath of the losing goddesses, despite all their protestations.
11 September 2013
Life Stuff
So I'm getting used to the Hyatt. It doesn't suck as much as it did on my first day, where I was cranky and migrainy and nauseous and couldn't get my locker open for five minutes and wanted to cry lol. Now it just stinks because I'm the bottom of the food chain, and I hate being on probation for the first three months of new jobs, and I still don't know everything and have to ask people stuff all the time. I'm also doing two jobs there now. Got the hostessing thing going, and then also serving for room service. That's descent too, pays better and gets tips, but I'm really slow at it. A) I'm no good at carrying those heavy trays and opening doors at the same time, and B) I'm still triple checking everything constantly to make sure I get everything right. This slows me down big time. But, it's also earned me big points with the guys that work it (they've been there 23, 24, and 27 years respectively; wtf, eh?) because they notice that I'm not making any mistakes. Slow and steady wins the race indeed, as long as you learn to do things quicker down the line haha. Pretty much, I'm good at both jobs, but still get flustered and a bit lost when things get really busy and I have trouble keeping up. It'll get better, I know, it already is, but...not there yet. Also, I really miss working around books. It was dusty, but I really enjoyed it. Damn you, Indigo, for not paying well! Oh, and C) Do you know how superstitious I am? And do you know how often I knock the salt over on these stupid trays?! Not the glasses of water, not the wine or beer or food, it's always the salt I spill. My shoulder devil should be crying for a month with the amount of salt I threw in his eyes. I wish I had some of the same days off as Chris gets, though. I really want to do fun things with him like hiking and see the Lynn Valley Suspension Bridge (we did the Cap bridge with Kyle, that was sooo awesome I forget if I blogged about my Ewok experience or not), and walking along the sea wall, and visiting museums and gardens. Once I've been at work a bit longer I can work something out but I don't want to ask for things yet it's too early still. Couple more weeks and I will try to get Tuesdays off, since Chris' schedule is changing from weekends off to Sundays and Tuesdays off.
The new housemate has been here for a couple of months now and all is going well. I like her, (Kailey) she's really chill. My only complaint is that she doesn't clean enough, so that's fine. Could be much worse.
Eric on the other hand... I can hear from my living room the smooching noises coming from his bedroom. Can't he close the door? I came home earlier and went to say hello and walked into his room and almost said "Wow, you cleaned it! Looks great!" and noticed just in time that there was a girl there and I kept the comment back haha didn't want to ruin the date for him by implying that his room is usually messy. Oh...there goes the door! (They closed it) hahaha mentally sending out my thanks to Eric.
Just finished book 2 of the Dragon Brigade series by Margaret Weiss and Robert krammes. Super fun and exciting, but I then realized that book two just came out in July. So I have no idea how long until book 3. Grrrr.
Side note about work, had a funny moment when one of the servers was complaining that I was giving her too many tables (I said the other girl has more than you do, there's nothing else I can do but give it to you)and being bitchy and five minutes later she spilled a tray of drinks on herself. I was like (in my head of course) "ooooh, karma's a bitch!" and then realized I was being a bitch by enjoying someone else's bad moment and immediately regretted thinking that because I don't want to be a bad person and I don't want to get bad karma for thinking that.
Zsuzsi is moving to Vancouver (the girl from Ottawa who was dating Krisztian for a while a few years back)! She's been doing arty things for school in California and is now done and coming here to look for work because apparently has better opportunities for design or whatever it is than Toronto does. That will be awesome. She's one of those people who is always cheerful and kind and has nothing bad to say about anybody, but has always let me rant and rave about my crap. She's a truly kind and wonderful person and I'm excited to be able to hang out with her again.
I think I was going to make a clever comment about something else too but I'm sleepy and forget. Tomorrow gonnae try to get my eyebrows threaded and go to karate, and enjoy my day off. Hopefully it will be nice weather again because usually it rains on my days off and is sunny on my work days. I want to go to the beach a couple more times before it's too late!
Over and out.
The new housemate has been here for a couple of months now and all is going well. I like her, (Kailey) she's really chill. My only complaint is that she doesn't clean enough, so that's fine. Could be much worse.
Eric on the other hand... I can hear from my living room the smooching noises coming from his bedroom. Can't he close the door? I came home earlier and went to say hello and walked into his room and almost said "Wow, you cleaned it! Looks great!" and noticed just in time that there was a girl there and I kept the comment back haha didn't want to ruin the date for him by implying that his room is usually messy. Oh...there goes the door! (They closed it) hahaha mentally sending out my thanks to Eric.
Just finished book 2 of the Dragon Brigade series by Margaret Weiss and Robert krammes. Super fun and exciting, but I then realized that book two just came out in July. So I have no idea how long until book 3. Grrrr.
Side note about work, had a funny moment when one of the servers was complaining that I was giving her too many tables (I said the other girl has more than you do, there's nothing else I can do but give it to you)and being bitchy and five minutes later she spilled a tray of drinks on herself. I was like (in my head of course) "ooooh, karma's a bitch!" and then realized I was being a bitch by enjoying someone else's bad moment and immediately regretted thinking that because I don't want to be a bad person and I don't want to get bad karma for thinking that.
Zsuzsi is moving to Vancouver (the girl from Ottawa who was dating Krisztian for a while a few years back)! She's been doing arty things for school in California and is now done and coming here to look for work because apparently has better opportunities for design or whatever it is than Toronto does. That will be awesome. She's one of those people who is always cheerful and kind and has nothing bad to say about anybody, but has always let me rant and rave about my crap. She's a truly kind and wonderful person and I'm excited to be able to hang out with her again.
I think I was going to make a clever comment about something else too but I'm sleepy and forget. Tomorrow gonnae try to get my eyebrows threaded and go to karate, and enjoy my day off. Hopefully it will be nice weather again because usually it rains on my days off and is sunny on my work days. I want to go to the beach a couple more times before it's too late!
Over and out.
10 September 2013
Happy Trails
Sometimes when I'm walking home at night I see the trails of snails and slugs on the sidewalk. At times I see the slug too, and at times it's just the slimy tracks. I've noticed that they aren't usually in a straight line. In fact, when I see one that is a straight line, I generally stop and stare for a moment, silently commending the slug who dun it; but usually it's a squiggly line that bends and turns and makes many figure eights and no conceivable sense. Sometimes, I get really confused when I can see the track suddenly leave off somewhere. Where'd the snail go? Get eaten up by a birdy? Then, once in a while, i see a track that has TWO ends, and no slug. Shit, son! What did them snails go and do, invent teleportation?! Well I would too if I was that slow. I believe we need to study these creatures more closely.
28 August 2013
It's the Weekend!
After the back to back of working all the time, I finally have three glorious days off! Squandered most of it going to the library (got the wrong book--book two in a series not bk 1. damn. Reading it anyway hopefully it will still make sense because i'm too lazy to go back), sitting in a cafe drinking hot chocolate, coming home and trying to nap for a couple of hours which didn't work even though I'm really tired, layed around, read some more graphic novels (fables series, which is awesome), and now doing laundry (in my new portable washing mashine woot!). I SHOULD be cleaning the house, grocery shopping, doing the foodsafe work, sewing my patch onto my karate uniform (Gi i think it's called), studying the menu for work, and all the other important stuff. Three days is lovely but does go fast if I'm not careful.
Got to do a food tasting for work yesterday. That was nice. Most of the food there is actually really good, I was impressed. I forgot my notebook and favourite pen in the drawer though, I hope nobody jacks it. My pockets are too small to carry things without them sticking out so I had to pop them in the drawer at the hostess stand. I never usually leave things behind but I was so psyched for my 3 day weekend lol. I'm not enjoying work, but it becomes better with familiarity, as most things do. The people are really friendly. Not much to do though but stand around mostly it's pretty quiet at dinner so I get bored. I'm nervous for the breakfast shifts, they are the busiest time and tables come and go quickly I hope I've got everything down.
Been having low energy and stomach aches lately, probably because I'm working and stressing too much but I figured I'd try a bentonite clay and psyllium just cleanse for a month or so and see if that helps my tummy. Also if I can handle drinking psyllium husks every day for a whole month haha. It's supposed to be very good for you, cleaning everything out of you and even helping allergies which I am desperate to get over. Also you supposedly absorb nutrients after colon cleanses. We shall see. It's not too expensive as long as you get the whole psyllium husks from the flour section of the super market. It's more expensive in the bulk section for some reason...
Maybe I will read and relax for the rest of the day? Not sure it's already 4. Maybe I'll clean one thing and go to karate? It's hard being tired and lazy I keep telling myself it's okay to be lazy but then I'll miss exercising again and my energy will just get lower! Maybe I'll read and go to karate and then draw something pretty. Or work on my story...or start a new one. What do you think of an ex-men type or harry potter type scenario but they have powers that affect only one thing. Based on fairy tale and myth people's powers (reading too much fables I guess.) so there's someone who looks at you and sees every sin and regret that you have, someone who cannot lie and can always tell when another person lies, someone who can speak to ghosts, who will kill anyone who she kisses if it isn't her true love, and things that would be in the form of a curse. maybe also a little "a spell for chameleon"-esque. Too many ideas in my head.
Got to do a food tasting for work yesterday. That was nice. Most of the food there is actually really good, I was impressed. I forgot my notebook and favourite pen in the drawer though, I hope nobody jacks it. My pockets are too small to carry things without them sticking out so I had to pop them in the drawer at the hostess stand. I never usually leave things behind but I was so psyched for my 3 day weekend lol. I'm not enjoying work, but it becomes better with familiarity, as most things do. The people are really friendly. Not much to do though but stand around mostly it's pretty quiet at dinner so I get bored. I'm nervous for the breakfast shifts, they are the busiest time and tables come and go quickly I hope I've got everything down.
Been having low energy and stomach aches lately, probably because I'm working and stressing too much but I figured I'd try a bentonite clay and psyllium just cleanse for a month or so and see if that helps my tummy. Also if I can handle drinking psyllium husks every day for a whole month haha. It's supposed to be very good for you, cleaning everything out of you and even helping allergies which I am desperate to get over. Also you supposedly absorb nutrients after colon cleanses. We shall see. It's not too expensive as long as you get the whole psyllium husks from the flour section of the super market. It's more expensive in the bulk section for some reason...
Maybe I will read and relax for the rest of the day? Not sure it's already 4. Maybe I'll clean one thing and go to karate? It's hard being tired and lazy I keep telling myself it's okay to be lazy but then I'll miss exercising again and my energy will just get lower! Maybe I'll read and go to karate and then draw something pretty. Or work on my story...or start a new one. What do you think of an ex-men type or harry potter type scenario but they have powers that affect only one thing. Based on fairy tale and myth people's powers (reading too much fables I guess.) so there's someone who looks at you and sees every sin and regret that you have, someone who cannot lie and can always tell when another person lies, someone who can speak to ghosts, who will kill anyone who she kisses if it isn't her true love, and things that would be in the form of a curse. maybe also a little "a spell for chameleon"-esque. Too many ideas in my head.
27 August 2013
Found the Rogue One
Found the rogue spider that escaped me when I came home from work last night. He was just chillen on my wall. So I killed him. That might be bad karma for me. I hope not. I left my windows open all night for him to escape and he didn't do it. These are the thoughts that possess me. I think they're out to get me. Chris exploded one with his lighter the other day (boys.), but it came back to life and attacked my foot. So I killed him proper. Now they are seeking revenge by setting their biggest and baddest after me. Also, it's been raining every day. Coincidence?
I think I ought to go to the dentist. The BC water makes me grow lots of plaques. Also, I don't floss. Always thought it took too long. But My teeth are plaquey (could be a real word if we used it enough) and getting sensitive so somethings gotta give--I can come up with the money and visit the overpriced cleaning lady I mean dental technician, or I can start flossing regularly. My new job has benefits but the health plan doesn't kick in until I pass the three month probation, and dental is after 7 months. Odd number. I don't get it.
Yesterday was my first shift alone, and today will be my second shift alone. Then I work Sat and Sun at 615 AM-245PM. I can't remember if I mentioned that. It's kind of a big deal. I hate having my schedule effed with. I don't know if it's temporary so I can experience the busy chaos of a hotel breakfast, or if they will regularly be flitting me back and fort. I suppose we will wait and see. Although not very far in advance what with the one-week-at-a-time scheduling. I need to learn the hotel better. It's taking me too long walking back and forth to the locker room and up to the restaurant. I'm afraid of taking the passages though in case I get lost and end up late to work lol. I'll figure it out eventually. I just don't like hanging around before and after work so I'm not leaving myself much exploring time. It's just--oops gotta run and catch my bus!Anyway I'm obviously procrastinating again, so off I go.
I think I ought to go to the dentist. The BC water makes me grow lots of plaques. Also, I don't floss. Always thought it took too long. But My teeth are plaquey (could be a real word if we used it enough) and getting sensitive so somethings gotta give--I can come up with the money and visit the overpriced cleaning lady I mean dental technician, or I can start flossing regularly. My new job has benefits but the health plan doesn't kick in until I pass the three month probation, and dental is after 7 months. Odd number. I don't get it.
Yesterday was my first shift alone, and today will be my second shift alone. Then I work Sat and Sun at 615 AM-245PM. I can't remember if I mentioned that. It's kind of a big deal. I hate having my schedule effed with. I don't know if it's temporary so I can experience the busy chaos of a hotel breakfast, or if they will regularly be flitting me back and fort. I suppose we will wait and see. Although not very far in advance what with the one-week-at-a-time scheduling. I need to learn the hotel better. It's taking me too long walking back and forth to the locker room and up to the restaurant. I'm afraid of taking the passages though in case I get lost and end up late to work lol. I'll figure it out eventually. I just don't like hanging around before and after work so I'm not leaving myself much exploring time. It's just--oops gotta run and catch my bus!Anyway I'm obviously procrastinating again, so off I go.
26 August 2013
Busy Bee
UUUUUgh so busy these days. Put my GMO-free Organic lifestyle on hold this week for pop tarts and danishes. The danishes I got suck. What a waste. Also missed don jitsu all week long since I haven't had any days off for it. Soooo getting tubby :p
Finished my career at Indigo and started hostessing at the Hyatt. So far I don't like it much. But the pay is good and will get me through school when I start in January. Getting nervous about back to school as well, even though I'm starting the first year in college and it will be easy. Most likely once I transfer to uni it will still be easy (everything will seem a breeze after U of T) but you know how I worry about EVERYTHING. Anyway so I'm a hostess now. Gotta learn the menu and the wine list and all that jazz, even though most of it will be meaningless to me (seeing as how I hate seafood and hate wine...guess I'll be recommending the Australian lamb) (I hear NZ lamb is better but the head chef is an Aussie so...). This week I'm working 3-1030 and 330-11, but next weekend will be 615-245. Gross! I hope the busses are running by then.
Meanwhile, I'm also trying to get my Foodsafe BC crap done. Leaning modules and whatnot so I can take the test next week. Not sure what it will be like. A girl I worked with at Indigo said she took it but it was online and multiple choice. Now I have to go and meet somebody who watches me take the test. Ridiculous. I suppose they want to be sure it's me taking the test and I'm not having someone else write it for me. Or maybe they don't want me cheating. Either way it's quite silly, in my opinion. Giant pain in the butt.
So my first shift at the Hyatt was Saturday. It was horrible. I'm already exhausted from working a whole week without a day off (I had Tuesday off Indigo and Hyatt had me come in for orientation, then I had Wednesday off but I ran around all day looking for black pants and then cleaned the kitchen and bathroom=not considered a day off). Then I got a massive headache and turned into a migraine and I started feeling nauseous. It was far too hot in the hotel for me to be wearing a full suit and jacket but that's the uniform, so the heat made me feel sicker. And then obviously I was trying to learn everything but having trouble paying attention; and I needed to be happy and all that but just wanted to throw up on somebody's shoes. It was like being hung over but without the fun night of drinking first.
Then yesterday, Sunday, was a little better. I wasn't feeling as bad, just tired and a little headachy, so I managed to get my act together a little bit and learn some more. Today and tomorrow night I'm on my own and have no more training, so hopefully I'll figure out how to make everything go smoothly.
Woke up at 2am for some reason and my room was full of spiders. Six giant daddy longlegs. That's pretty full to me. Usually I see one spider and give it the "This room 'aint big enough for the both of us" speech. Maybe I'm exaggerating. Five giant spiders and a tiny one. So I smooshed them all against the wall with my trusty slipper except one of the giant ones who was on this weird angle that I couldn't smoosh him properly at without him most likely escaping unscathed. So I hoped he'd still be there in the morning and I could figure something out but, alas, he has gone missing in action. I am proud of myself for being able to fall asleep with a spider beside my bed. Obviously I pulled the pillows up so nothing was touching the wall. He has to work to come eat me.
Now I have spider guts all over my walls to clean up. Maybe I should leave it as a warning.
I guess this is long enough, I should get to work and do the next unit for the food safe crap. Peace, dogs.
Finished my career at Indigo and started hostessing at the Hyatt. So far I don't like it much. But the pay is good and will get me through school when I start in January. Getting nervous about back to school as well, even though I'm starting the first year in college and it will be easy. Most likely once I transfer to uni it will still be easy (everything will seem a breeze after U of T) but you know how I worry about EVERYTHING. Anyway so I'm a hostess now. Gotta learn the menu and the wine list and all that jazz, even though most of it will be meaningless to me (seeing as how I hate seafood and hate wine...guess I'll be recommending the Australian lamb) (I hear NZ lamb is better but the head chef is an Aussie so...). This week I'm working 3-1030 and 330-11, but next weekend will be 615-245. Gross! I hope the busses are running by then.
Meanwhile, I'm also trying to get my Foodsafe BC crap done. Leaning modules and whatnot so I can take the test next week. Not sure what it will be like. A girl I worked with at Indigo said she took it but it was online and multiple choice. Now I have to go and meet somebody who watches me take the test. Ridiculous. I suppose they want to be sure it's me taking the test and I'm not having someone else write it for me. Or maybe they don't want me cheating. Either way it's quite silly, in my opinion. Giant pain in the butt.
So my first shift at the Hyatt was Saturday. It was horrible. I'm already exhausted from working a whole week without a day off (I had Tuesday off Indigo and Hyatt had me come in for orientation, then I had Wednesday off but I ran around all day looking for black pants and then cleaned the kitchen and bathroom=not considered a day off). Then I got a massive headache and turned into a migraine and I started feeling nauseous. It was far too hot in the hotel for me to be wearing a full suit and jacket but that's the uniform, so the heat made me feel sicker. And then obviously I was trying to learn everything but having trouble paying attention; and I needed to be happy and all that but just wanted to throw up on somebody's shoes. It was like being hung over but without the fun night of drinking first.
Then yesterday, Sunday, was a little better. I wasn't feeling as bad, just tired and a little headachy, so I managed to get my act together a little bit and learn some more. Today and tomorrow night I'm on my own and have no more training, so hopefully I'll figure out how to make everything go smoothly.
Woke up at 2am for some reason and my room was full of spiders. Six giant daddy longlegs. That's pretty full to me. Usually I see one spider and give it the "This room 'aint big enough for the both of us" speech. Maybe I'm exaggerating. Five giant spiders and a tiny one. So I smooshed them all against the wall with my trusty slipper except one of the giant ones who was on this weird angle that I couldn't smoosh him properly at without him most likely escaping unscathed. So I hoped he'd still be there in the morning and I could figure something out but, alas, he has gone missing in action. I am proud of myself for being able to fall asleep with a spider beside my bed. Obviously I pulled the pillows up so nothing was touching the wall. He has to work to come eat me.
Now I have spider guts all over my walls to clean up. Maybe I should leave it as a warning.
I guess this is long enough, I should get to work and do the next unit for the food safe crap. Peace, dogs.
17 August 2013
Goodbye, Inheritance
Yah so they did it. My parents officially sold the house. Good for them I guess. *glare.* I really liked that house. After not liking it for several years. After I unhaunted my room I liked it. I don't understand why they did it though. They keep saying something like their retirement fund. I think they forgot the part that they can't sell it and spend the money, it's for me for after they die and stuff.
I tried.
Oh PS-Kyle my mom says don't worry they look like they'll be living in the house for a while. Your efforts hauling the new bathtub up the stairs were not for naught.
http://www.theinvidiatateam.com/Listings/2202/1109LinbrookRoad/ there in case anyone wants to see it how it looks after we had to paint it beige. Although the bathrooms dont seem to have pics. Sorry Kyle. For the rest of you, imagine the heaviest bathtub ever. Then imagine me talking Kyle and Holden into lugging it up the stairs. Then trying to wiggle it into place. Then taking the old bathtub out. Such good friends :) Glad I was born a girl :P Didn't you guys put the toilet in too? Handy to know Kyle can do all that, eh guys?
I tried.
Oh PS-Kyle my mom says don't worry they look like they'll be living in the house for a while. Your efforts hauling the new bathtub up the stairs were not for naught.
http://www.theinvidiatateam.com/Listings/2202/1109LinbrookRoad/ there in case anyone wants to see it how it looks after we had to paint it beige. Although the bathrooms dont seem to have pics. Sorry Kyle. For the rest of you, imagine the heaviest bathtub ever. Then imagine me talking Kyle and Holden into lugging it up the stairs. Then trying to wiggle it into place. Then taking the old bathtub out. Such good friends :) Glad I was born a girl :P Didn't you guys put the toilet in too? Handy to know Kyle can do all that, eh guys?
rawr
oOOOOh so busy! Getting a new job at the Hyatt hotel, hostessing. Quitting the book store. Having to get my "food safe bc" certificate(...why?! hostesses don't touch food!) for $110. lots of course programs to go through for that. Also, I'll be back to school in January for archaeology. Going to Langara college. Seems to be a thing in BC you can do college and then transfer to Uni before you graduate...courses are transferable here. I asked the guy at SFU "So why does anyone go to your school for the first two years of a degree then? If they can go to college and pay half the money and get much better grades?" and he says "Prestige. That's it." and I said "Ah!"
So anyway I got a sandwich at starbucks and it was all rice. And my phone wasn't working properly so I complained to Vonage who said they fixed it so I called my parents to test my phone and ended up complaining about my sandwich.
Miss everyone at home.
Miss my doggy. I always wish I would have recorded her sleeping. She was so peaceful in her sleep she had such nice deep breaths and mild snore. everyone always got sleepy listening to her. I thought it would be a great thing to cure insomnia. We have a stuffed sheep for sale at the bookstore that's called a sleep sheep and it plays waves and rain sounds, but not as good as sleeping dog.
My thought order makes no sense today and I'm too tired to organize my head better! Study! Heat food to 60 degrees to kill bacteria!
Oh but my phone works!
So anyway I got a sandwich at starbucks and it was all rice. And my phone wasn't working properly so I complained to Vonage who said they fixed it so I called my parents to test my phone and ended up complaining about my sandwich.
Miss everyone at home.
Miss my doggy. I always wish I would have recorded her sleeping. She was so peaceful in her sleep she had such nice deep breaths and mild snore. everyone always got sleepy listening to her. I thought it would be a great thing to cure insomnia. We have a stuffed sheep for sale at the bookstore that's called a sleep sheep and it plays waves and rain sounds, but not as good as sleeping dog.
My thought order makes no sense today and I'm too tired to organize my head better! Study! Heat food to 60 degrees to kill bacteria!
Oh but my phone works!
05 August 2013
Book Review: The Fort
Just read "The Fort" by Bernard Cornwell. IIIIII loved it! Historical fiction about Fort George and the worst naval disaster in US history except for Pearl Harbour. Or is it Harbor? anyway.
1) Revere, the guy who was made famous in that poem about his patriotism and warning the rebels that the British were coming, is a total yellow bellied sap sucker. That's a bird. Actually. But the characters in the book always call each other yellow to mean cowardly and I didn't want to be racist so I thought I would be anti-avian instead. They also say fart-catcher. harhar. I digress. Revere is annoying as hell! He doesn't listen to anybody, doesn't follow orders, screws everything up. By the end, even Peleg Wadsworth, who seems to be a real upstanding and fair guy, gets so pissed off he yells after the deserting Revere that he's going to have him court marshalled. This is after the entire book of him standing up for Revere and trying to work with him and not put him down in front of people. It says in the end of the book what the real things were that happened, what happened after the battle etc; and Cornwell explains that the poem that made Revere famous as a patriot was actually written by Wadsworth's grandson. He says
"A final note, and this strikes me as the supreme irony of the Penobscot Expedition: Peleg Wadsworth, who promised to have Paul Revere arrested, and who was undoubtedly angered by Revere's behaviour at Majabigwaduce, was the maternal grandfather of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the man who singlehandedly made Revere famous. Wadsworth's daughter Zilpha...was the poet's mother. Peleg Wadsworth would have been appalled, but, as he surely knew better than most men, history is a fickle muse and fame her unfair offspring." All this about America's great patriot hero, how easily history is forgotten.
2) Super funny parts. I know it's a war book and stuff, but seriously, this writer has great humour. For example, Sam Adams is introduced by shouting for ale.
3) Totally learned a lot about history from that time period, too. It's different learning only Canadian history growing up and then reading this stuff. And if I hadn't been to Boston recently a lot of it wouldn't even had made sense. Even silly things, like I never really noticed how close boston was to Halifax.
4) It's also interesting that this writer was born in London but lives in the states now. As a writer, how do you balance your allegiances? He gives accounts from both sides equally without favouring anyone, except for certain characters. Like among the Americans he clearly favours Wadsworth and the soldiers in the Marines, while he likes McLean and Moore on the British side. All in all he portrays the British as the better side because they had better leaders and more experienced men, not because he picks one nation over the other. In that, he reminds me a little bit of James Clavell, where you learn to appreciate and respect every side of the story and try to understand it from all angles.
5) And finally, as a battle story, obviously it's pretty exciting too. Especially, since not knowing any American history, i didn't really know what to expect or who won.
So super fun book and I highly recommend it :)
1) Revere, the guy who was made famous in that poem about his patriotism and warning the rebels that the British were coming, is a total yellow bellied sap sucker. That's a bird. Actually. But the characters in the book always call each other yellow to mean cowardly and I didn't want to be racist so I thought I would be anti-avian instead. They also say fart-catcher. harhar. I digress. Revere is annoying as hell! He doesn't listen to anybody, doesn't follow orders, screws everything up. By the end, even Peleg Wadsworth, who seems to be a real upstanding and fair guy, gets so pissed off he yells after the deserting Revere that he's going to have him court marshalled. This is after the entire book of him standing up for Revere and trying to work with him and not put him down in front of people. It says in the end of the book what the real things were that happened, what happened after the battle etc; and Cornwell explains that the poem that made Revere famous as a patriot was actually written by Wadsworth's grandson. He says
"A final note, and this strikes me as the supreme irony of the Penobscot Expedition: Peleg Wadsworth, who promised to have Paul Revere arrested, and who was undoubtedly angered by Revere's behaviour at Majabigwaduce, was the maternal grandfather of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the man who singlehandedly made Revere famous. Wadsworth's daughter Zilpha...was the poet's mother. Peleg Wadsworth would have been appalled, but, as he surely knew better than most men, history is a fickle muse and fame her unfair offspring." All this about America's great patriot hero, how easily history is forgotten.
2) Super funny parts. I know it's a war book and stuff, but seriously, this writer has great humour. For example, Sam Adams is introduced by shouting for ale.
3) Totally learned a lot about history from that time period, too. It's different learning only Canadian history growing up and then reading this stuff. And if I hadn't been to Boston recently a lot of it wouldn't even had made sense. Even silly things, like I never really noticed how close boston was to Halifax.
4) It's also interesting that this writer was born in London but lives in the states now. As a writer, how do you balance your allegiances? He gives accounts from both sides equally without favouring anyone, except for certain characters. Like among the Americans he clearly favours Wadsworth and the soldiers in the Marines, while he likes McLean and Moore on the British side. All in all he portrays the British as the better side because they had better leaders and more experienced men, not because he picks one nation over the other. In that, he reminds me a little bit of James Clavell, where you learn to appreciate and respect every side of the story and try to understand it from all angles.
5) And finally, as a battle story, obviously it's pretty exciting too. Especially, since not knowing any American history, i didn't really know what to expect or who won.
So super fun book and I highly recommend it :)
11 July 2013
Boston/Tdot
It was suuuper awesome to see my folks again! And tres bizarre to see their furnishings in a strange house. Glad to see my doggy too, even though she cries a lot and isn't doing well. She cried less after I walked her. Think she was exhausted. That must be the trick. Wear out the dog and the dog has no energy left to wear you out.
Their place is beautiful. Old house maybe 100 years old or a bit more? So probably expensive upkeep but they're just renting. It's a very nice quiet neighbourhood. Boston and the area is solo European looking, like you just stepped into London or something. Wide streets and boulevards, statues, old buildings, so nice and historical. I kind of want to move there now. But I want to get back to school first for a bit, and obv no way can I afford school in the States. Plus I have one of those boyfriend things. Would have to figure that out and it's easier to not go anywhere. Also, my furniture is here and too expensive to move unless I'm damn sure about it. And, the most obvious reason of all, I'm too lazy. Plus I'm sure my folks would love to have me, but would eventually get tired of a 27 year old leeching offa them.
(Even though I'm the favoured child.) (Right mumzy and daddy? :) )
But it was nice and I want to go back at least to visit. Once I win the lottery I'll visit more frequently.
Tdot is sort of false advertising seeing as I stayed in Oakville but hey. It was great being back. Lovely to see everyone. I really miss Toronto a whole whole bunch but although I loved seeing people I don't miss Oakville much except I had forgotten how huge and lovely my parents backyard is. So amazing and so don't want to lose access to that house. I had finally gotten rid of the ghost in my bedroom too! (I used to be so so sure there was a ghost in my room at night, I'd wake up and see someone standing there or see movement from the corner of my eye; one day I told Tina and she told me to yell at it to go away and the next time I saw it I just said "Go away! Leave me alone!" and it did. I never saw it again. Whether it was actually a ghosty thing or a psychological break I didn't care, it was gonners.) So I stopped hating the house and started liking it after that and now it's almost out of my grasp! So I walked around the yard with Kyle and said goodbye.
It's another page to turn over I guess, another chapter done and a new one I need to find!
Their place is beautiful. Old house maybe 100 years old or a bit more? So probably expensive upkeep but they're just renting. It's a very nice quiet neighbourhood. Boston and the area is solo European looking, like you just stepped into London or something. Wide streets and boulevards, statues, old buildings, so nice and historical. I kind of want to move there now. But I want to get back to school first for a bit, and obv no way can I afford school in the States. Plus I have one of those boyfriend things. Would have to figure that out and it's easier to not go anywhere. Also, my furniture is here and too expensive to move unless I'm damn sure about it. And, the most obvious reason of all, I'm too lazy. Plus I'm sure my folks would love to have me, but would eventually get tired of a 27 year old leeching offa them.
(Even though I'm the favoured child.) (Right mumzy and daddy? :) )
But it was nice and I want to go back at least to visit. Once I win the lottery I'll visit more frequently.
Tdot is sort of false advertising seeing as I stayed in Oakville but hey. It was great being back. Lovely to see everyone. I really miss Toronto a whole whole bunch but although I loved seeing people I don't miss Oakville much except I had forgotten how huge and lovely my parents backyard is. So amazing and so don't want to lose access to that house. I had finally gotten rid of the ghost in my bedroom too! (I used to be so so sure there was a ghost in my room at night, I'd wake up and see someone standing there or see movement from the corner of my eye; one day I told Tina and she told me to yell at it to go away and the next time I saw it I just said "Go away! Leave me alone!" and it did. I never saw it again. Whether it was actually a ghosty thing or a psychological break I didn't care, it was gonners.) So I stopped hating the house and started liking it after that and now it's almost out of my grasp! So I walked around the yard with Kyle and said goodbye.
It's another page to turn over I guess, another chapter done and a new one I need to find!
CNN Live Drama!
I was really disappointed when I was in Boston watching CNN with my Dad. He kept flipping between it and Fox (hasn't subscribed to other stations yet) and although I expected it from Fox I had thought better of CNN. He was looking for updates on the situation in Egypt and all that was playing on the news was the Zimmerman trial. The worst part is that CNN was airing it as if it were some sort of reality TV show. "Next on CNN, they're presenting the evidence. After this commercial break." "Don't miss! our full coverage of the Zimmerman case." Really sad that people don't complain. Although I guess I didn't. Probably wouldn't matter either.
24 June 2013
MAWWIAGE
WOOOOOOHOOOOOO MY BEAUTIFUL COUSIN MEL IS GETTING MARRIED!!!!!!!!!!!!! Steve finally popped the question!!!!!! HAAAAPPPYYYYY!!!!
19 June 2013
101 Dalmatians
Remember the movie that starts off with the dog looking out at all the people walking their dogs, you notice how similar people look to their dogs?
In case not:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vv1FlfdJxho
I think of this every time I see a dog/human pair that look very alike.
Like 5 minutes ago, the lady in a white frilly outfit with small pink flowers on it and the tiny white dog with small pink bows on it. Sometimes it's hard not to laugh out loud.
In case not:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vv1FlfdJxho
I think of this every time I see a dog/human pair that look very alike.
Like 5 minutes ago, the lady in a white frilly outfit with small pink flowers on it and the tiny white dog with small pink bows on it. Sometimes it's hard not to laugh out loud.
Panic! (Tuesday Morning's Don Jitsu Lesson)
*Final Fantasy X music plays* ("I want to tell you everything")
Me: Isn't that nice.
*keeps playing.*
Me: hmm hm hmmmm. Oh shit that's my alarm now, isn't it? But I don't wanna wake upppppppp I'm not ready to face the day! Damn it, FFX wins again, I'm up, I'm up.
20 minutes later:
Nice Mexican Lady Who's Name I Forget: Good morning, Jackie!
Me: Oh hiiii! How are you this morning!
Lady: I'm well thank you! I was so tired though, I didn't feel like coming this morning!
Me: Me too, I knew I'd be okay once I got here, but I just didn't want to get up.
Sensei: Okay everyone line up!
10 minutes later:
Sensei: Okay good warm up, everyone. Let's get the white belts over here, please. Okay, Jackie you'll be practising your Form 1 on ------ (lady who's name I forget) (me, not the sensei) and ----- you can practise your Form 7 on Jackie.
Lady: Oh, Sensei, is that a good idea? I can't do that to Jackie!
Me: *impending feeling of doom*
Sensei: Oh yes, Jackie's going to have to learn to cope with pain, it's part of training!
Me: *doom* *doom* *doom* *doom*
Sensei: Okay, go ahead, start on Jackie; Jackie, lunge forward and grab -----'s wrist. Okay, hajime!"
Lady: (whispers) I think you had the right idea about not coming today! sorry!
Jackie: *doom* *doom* *doom*
Lady: (does something to my elbow and I'm on my knees. slight push followed by sharp pain.)
Me: (taps my leg to let her know i can feel it. a lot.)
Lady: (grabs my collar and throws me to the ground, swings her leg over my neck and bends my arm backwards)
Me: (tap! tap!)
Lady: (does 4 more variations of this move, then: ) okay now you need to punch me!
Me: Here? (punches at stomach )
Lady: yup. (bends my whole arm around again by barely touching me)
Me: owowowowow! that is so cool! ow!
Lady: I'm sorry I'm sorry! I hate doing this!
Me: (I still think it's cool)
aaand etcetera. and then I had to do somersaults for a half hour.
anyway I'M GONNA LEARN THAT ONE DAY! IT WAS SOO COOL SHE BARELY TOUCHED ME AND I WAS ON THE GROUND LIKE WOOAH!
the end
Me: Isn't that nice.
*keeps playing.*
Me: hmm hm hmmmm. Oh shit that's my alarm now, isn't it? But I don't wanna wake upppppppp I'm not ready to face the day! Damn it, FFX wins again, I'm up, I'm up.
20 minutes later:
Nice Mexican Lady Who's Name I Forget: Good morning, Jackie!
Me: Oh hiiii! How are you this morning!
Lady: I'm well thank you! I was so tired though, I didn't feel like coming this morning!
Me: Me too, I knew I'd be okay once I got here, but I just didn't want to get up.
Sensei: Okay everyone line up!
10 minutes later:
Sensei: Okay good warm up, everyone. Let's get the white belts over here, please. Okay, Jackie you'll be practising your Form 1 on ------ (lady who's name I forget) (me, not the sensei) and ----- you can practise your Form 7 on Jackie.
Lady: Oh, Sensei, is that a good idea? I can't do that to Jackie!
Me: *impending feeling of doom*
Sensei: Oh yes, Jackie's going to have to learn to cope with pain, it's part of training!
Me: *doom* *doom* *doom* *doom*
Sensei: Okay, go ahead, start on Jackie; Jackie, lunge forward and grab -----'s wrist. Okay, hajime!"
Lady: (whispers) I think you had the right idea about not coming today! sorry!
Jackie: *doom* *doom* *doom*
Lady: (does something to my elbow and I'm on my knees. slight push followed by sharp pain.)
Me: (taps my leg to let her know i can feel it. a lot.)
Lady: (grabs my collar and throws me to the ground, swings her leg over my neck and bends my arm backwards)
Me: (tap! tap!)
Lady: (does 4 more variations of this move, then: ) okay now you need to punch me!
Me: Here? (punches at stomach )
Lady: yup. (bends my whole arm around again by barely touching me)
Me: owowowowow! that is so cool! ow!
Lady: I'm sorry I'm sorry! I hate doing this!
Me: (I still think it's cool)
aaand etcetera. and then I had to do somersaults for a half hour.
anyway I'M GONNA LEARN THAT ONE DAY! IT WAS SOO COOL SHE BARELY TOUCHED ME AND I WAS ON THE GROUND LIKE WOOAH!
the end
12 June 2013
Birthdays and Other Thoughts
My bro's bday reminded me how old I'm getting. How depressing. I probably wouldn't mind if I had something in life, like a job, or a house. But minimum wage doesn't count as a job I don't care how you look at it. And renting doesn't count as a house. Especially when shared with roommates. I guess I need to be thankful that I decided last year to start aging backwards and turn 25 instead of 26. That means I'll only be turning 24. So it's not so bad. I mean I still get IDed buying lotto tickets which you need to be 18 for, so, I think I can do 24.
Looking forward to visiting home. Well. Boston and then Oakville where I have no house. I miss my dog. And my parents too, of course. But they're not as likely to die soon. Macko's turning 15 in a couple of weeks. So she gets missed more by proxy. Plus she smells like corn chips which I find endearing in a weird way. And she cuddles better because she doesn't get annoyed when I throw myself on her. Well, she sighs a bit. And I miss her snore. It's cute. My dad's snore from the next room, not so cute. Anyway, it's sad wondering how many more times I can see my dog. She's getting slow and lost and just old. Anyway gotta stop talking about that coz I'm a cry baby and making myself teary.
But Boston will be fun. I have never been before, so lots and lots to see! It's still weird that my parents are living in the states now. My mom was finally going to get her Canadian citizenship, too! Maybe some day. I secretly think she's just holding out until she's a senior because you don't have to swear allegiance to the Queen then, and the American in her won't let herself do it.
Busy weeks coming up, looking for a serving job because it pays more and i don't have a real job yet. Hopefully I'll find one. Looking into going back to school but not sure what they'll say about getting in with my poopy marks and if I can afford it. Maybe with that serving job.
My boss gave me some movie tix. We get them at work sometimes for free. So next Wednesday is prescreening of Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing. Really close to my house! I didn't know there was a theatre there haha. Not sure what it is all about yet, but the maker of Firefly and Buffy hasn't let me down yet. Hopefully Chris can come with me! (Hurry to my house after work, ok? You can even use my shower to get the car grease off you!)Soo that's the Jackie update for now! Gotta get to bed (AKA make a hot chocolate, read, eat, pass out)
Looking forward to visiting home. Well. Boston and then Oakville where I have no house. I miss my dog. And my parents too, of course. But they're not as likely to die soon. Macko's turning 15 in a couple of weeks. So she gets missed more by proxy. Plus she smells like corn chips which I find endearing in a weird way. And she cuddles better because she doesn't get annoyed when I throw myself on her. Well, she sighs a bit. And I miss her snore. It's cute. My dad's snore from the next room, not so cute. Anyway, it's sad wondering how many more times I can see my dog. She's getting slow and lost and just old. Anyway gotta stop talking about that coz I'm a cry baby and making myself teary.
But Boston will be fun. I have never been before, so lots and lots to see! It's still weird that my parents are living in the states now. My mom was finally going to get her Canadian citizenship, too! Maybe some day. I secretly think she's just holding out until she's a senior because you don't have to swear allegiance to the Queen then, and the American in her won't let herself do it.
Busy weeks coming up, looking for a serving job because it pays more and i don't have a real job yet. Hopefully I'll find one. Looking into going back to school but not sure what they'll say about getting in with my poopy marks and if I can afford it. Maybe with that serving job.
My boss gave me some movie tix. We get them at work sometimes for free. So next Wednesday is prescreening of Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing. Really close to my house! I didn't know there was a theatre there haha. Not sure what it is all about yet, but the maker of Firefly and Buffy hasn't let me down yet. Hopefully Chris can come with me! (Hurry to my house after work, ok? You can even use my shower to get the car grease off you!)Soo that's the Jackie update for now! Gotta get to bed (AKA make a hot chocolate, read, eat, pass out)
05 June 2013
Note to Self
Next time I want something with chocolate chips in it, I must remember not to make it whilst hungry. The result is that I don't wait for it to cool before putting in the chips, making them melt and everything chocolatey. Not too bad, because of how much I like chocolate, but really not what I was going for.
Karate stuff
So, two months in, and I'm getting better! I know two ways to knock somebody to the ground; a couple combo moves for defensive attacks; a bit of rolling; I can do 40 pushups before I have to stop, breathe a bit, and do 20 more; and she only corrects me half the time now! The hardest part is putting things together smoothly. I know, for example, how side kick and how to forward punch, but landing the sidekick into the forward stance while punching and keeping my guard up at the same time is a lot harder than it looks when I don't have time to pause and think it through in the middle! Of course just as I learn something well enough to start forming muscle memory for it, we move on to something completely different (thanks, Monty Python) and I don't have time to really start getting good at anything. I just need to keep working hard and practise a lot.
The more I do things, the more confident I get though. I think my punches are less wimpy than they were.
I always struggle with the yelling thing. You need to yell "kya!" or make some "hyuh!" kind of noise every time you kick or punch, and by the time I've remembered all the moves properly I've forgotten to yell anything. Plus, I keep imagining my kindergarden teacher yelling "USE YOUR INDOOR VOICES!" so I'm not very good at being loud when I'm actually not confident in what I'm doing.
I'm starting to get a little muscle showing in my arms again, though, which is nice. I think it's all the pushups.
They use torture tactics at my dojo. Warm-ups consist of fooling you into thinking "I can do this, it's not too bad!" and quickly changing your mind to thinking "holy crap I'm going to fall over and pass out in a second!" For example, there are often sequences of walking from one end of the room to the other on your feet and hands with your bum straight up in the air, dropping into a pushup and walking backwards in the same fashion to the end of the room you started from. Then they're like "now come back and do two pushups! and then three!" and I want to cry a little. By the time they get to 10 I can hardly manage to walk back with my hands on the ground. Then it's reverse sit ups (lifting your legs) and jumping over ropes. As soon as you can't move anymore the actual training part starts. But I really feel so good after, and need someone kicking my butt because I don't motivate myself to exercise. And you can bet I sleep well that night.
In fact, I never have insomnia nights anymore. I think i've had two or three nights that I couldn't sleep in the last three months whereas it used to be every night or every other night.
ANyway, making some snack bars now, with hemp seeds, almonds, dates, honey and butter. nom nom! Maybe some chocolate chips since Chris suggested I melt chocolate on top but I'm too lazy :p
The more I do things, the more confident I get though. I think my punches are less wimpy than they were.
I always struggle with the yelling thing. You need to yell "kya!" or make some "hyuh!" kind of noise every time you kick or punch, and by the time I've remembered all the moves properly I've forgotten to yell anything. Plus, I keep imagining my kindergarden teacher yelling "USE YOUR INDOOR VOICES!" so I'm not very good at being loud when I'm actually not confident in what I'm doing.
I'm starting to get a little muscle showing in my arms again, though, which is nice. I think it's all the pushups.
They use torture tactics at my dojo. Warm-ups consist of fooling you into thinking "I can do this, it's not too bad!" and quickly changing your mind to thinking "holy crap I'm going to fall over and pass out in a second!" For example, there are often sequences of walking from one end of the room to the other on your feet and hands with your bum straight up in the air, dropping into a pushup and walking backwards in the same fashion to the end of the room you started from. Then they're like "now come back and do two pushups! and then three!" and I want to cry a little. By the time they get to 10 I can hardly manage to walk back with my hands on the ground. Then it's reverse sit ups (lifting your legs) and jumping over ropes. As soon as you can't move anymore the actual training part starts. But I really feel so good after, and need someone kicking my butt because I don't motivate myself to exercise. And you can bet I sleep well that night.
In fact, I never have insomnia nights anymore. I think i've had two or three nights that I couldn't sleep in the last three months whereas it used to be every night or every other night.
ANyway, making some snack bars now, with hemp seeds, almonds, dates, honey and butter. nom nom! Maybe some chocolate chips since Chris suggested I melt chocolate on top but I'm too lazy :p
31 May 2013
Another Pet Peeve
Dear people who wear shoes with individual toe space things,
1) You look like a knob.
2) Seriously. Giant door knob.
3) Your toes will probably get cold. Like how mittens are better than gloves because gloves let your fingers get cold.
4) Knob.
5) Is that even comfy?
6) Please just wear shoes. If you really want to feel special and gay, wear toe socks. Under your proper shoes.
7) I laugh to myself every time I see you step in a puddle and get your feet wet.
From, Jackie.
1) You look like a knob.
2) Seriously. Giant door knob.
3) Your toes will probably get cold. Like how mittens are better than gloves because gloves let your fingers get cold.
4) Knob.
5) Is that even comfy?
6) Please just wear shoes. If you really want to feel special and gay, wear toe socks. Under your proper shoes.
7) I laugh to myself every time I see you step in a puddle and get your feet wet.
From, Jackie.
13 May 2013
Dear Bacon,
You really piss me off when I'm trying to cook you and you keep folding over on yourself to prevent me from getting you all nice and crispy. I would appreciate any effort that you can make to stop this behaviour.
--Jack
--Jack
ONLY the Leafs...
...Can blow a 3 point lead in the last few minutes of a playoff game. UNimpressed.
06 May 2013
My Giant Poop (actually, that's all I'm talking about here)
I just had a dump. One of my poops was literally longer than one foot. I swear. I would have busted out the camera and measuring tape to post it on that poop website except that one end of it was partially down the back of the toilet and I don't want my measuring tape to get that close to my poop. I would guess it was between 1 and 1/4 and 1 and 1/3 of a foot long. It was probably the most incredible looking poop that I have ever had. Funny thing is my stomach still feels full. How does all that fit in me? No wonder I've been so bloated! Poo baby!
05 May 2013
Reading Star Wars
So I got meself a Kobo, figuring all the free books I can download on it will pay for it. So far that's already more than true, but now I want books that I can only dl from the internet or library and I haven't figured out the sync Kobo to Laptop thing yet. I dled the adobe e reader software, but that's it.
So I've read a bunch of classics, and got halfway through Utopia before I wanted something with spaceships in it, and there are some ebooks on the Kobo free book site that are about "the lost tribe of the sith" that I got into. Finished that pretty quickly before thinking I should read more! So now I got Starwars the Trilogy borrowed from work, New Hope to Return. So far I'm only where Luke buys Artoo and See Threepio, but it's okay. Figured it would be the same as the movies since it was written after, only I'd get more detail out of it. There we go, reading smart books and classics for too long and I need a break I guess.
Also read the latest Dresden novel, that was exciting! The formula is getting a little...well...formulaic, though. I can't tell you what will happen in each book before reading it, but I can tell you how it will happen in each book. They've all got the same way of building up to the final battle and quick wrap-up. Otherwise, i totally love those books. They make me laugh a lot.
Been writing a little bit too, was thinking about maybe posting some stuff? I don't know tho, always a little shy about that. Anyway, Artoo's just run away from Luke's farm, so I'm gonna go read ^________^
So I've read a bunch of classics, and got halfway through Utopia before I wanted something with spaceships in it, and there are some ebooks on the Kobo free book site that are about "the lost tribe of the sith" that I got into. Finished that pretty quickly before thinking I should read more! So now I got Starwars the Trilogy borrowed from work, New Hope to Return. So far I'm only where Luke buys Artoo and See Threepio, but it's okay. Figured it would be the same as the movies since it was written after, only I'd get more detail out of it. There we go, reading smart books and classics for too long and I need a break I guess.
Also read the latest Dresden novel, that was exciting! The formula is getting a little...well...formulaic, though. I can't tell you what will happen in each book before reading it, but I can tell you how it will happen in each book. They've all got the same way of building up to the final battle and quick wrap-up. Otherwise, i totally love those books. They make me laugh a lot.
Been writing a little bit too, was thinking about maybe posting some stuff? I don't know tho, always a little shy about that. Anyway, Artoo's just run away from Luke's farm, so I'm gonna go read ^________^
Summer is Here!
So I know I already bragged about this on my fb and stuff, but, like, Summer is here in Vancouver. I'm really only enjoying this for 3 reasons: 1)I like the rain, but rain EVERY DAY FOR 6 MONTHS really started to get to me. Summer means the rainy season is finally done with! 2) I hate looking like a Canadian. When somebody can look at me and tell what country I'm from simply because I'm obviously too pale to live anywhere else in the world excepting maybe Greenland and Siberia, that is not fair. I prefer looking healthy and slightly bronze. Like a bronze statue of a goddess, as opposed to a marble one. Since I'm that pretty and all. (Note: this is the kind of thing that I expect my avid readers to comment affirmatively on.) Reason no. 3) Obviously the last reason is bragging rights. Most of you guys are on the East Coast (that's right, B.Columbians think that Toronto is on the East Coast) where, as Kyle informed me earlier today, it is only 22 degrees out. (That's really odd, it shouldn't be that hot yet until June.) Not only is my temperature 6 degrees higher, but I live a few blocks away from a sandy beach on which I can frolic in my spare time. It also has a mountain view. And it's on an ocean. =)
Aside from that, you all know how much I hate the hot weather. It's all well and good when you can escape into the air conditioning later, but they don't seem to have that here, or at least it's not in use yet. Which drives me mad, I was up all night sweating. I hate sweating. I also hate not being able to sleep, but I can't ever sleep if I'm not a little bit cold. My house should ALWAYS be at the ideal 20.5/69 degrees. That is what I'm comfy in. It would be better if I could open the window, but Vancouverites don't seem to believe in the all important window screens, and I don't believe in inviting spiders and mosquitos into my abode, so we'll see how long I can hold out for. I give me two days before I give in to the elements and coat my window ledges in soap to keep the spiders out. Eric will also be home in a couple of weeks, which is good. It's important to live with a man. Women are less likely to kill spiders for you.
I'm excited to spend my summer with Eric this year. It's been a few years since we had a whole summer together. Of course I'll miss the rest of the crew, but it's nice to have at least one old friend here. We used to get together with people like Colin, J.C. and Brian and go to the drum circles in Trinity Bellwoods Park, or just hang out with some beers. Gotta see if the hippies in BC have drum circles in the summer, those were good times. One of my favourites was the year of the many thunderstorms when the park got flooded and they had a drum circle anyway, and half of it was knee deep in water. Luckily the park was pretty clean and nobody seemed to step in any broken glass or anything under that water, it could have been dangerous, but it was just plain fun.
Other news is I'll be home for a visit in July! I'll let you know the dates when I get them, only about 2 or 3 days I'm afraid. But I miss everybody! I'll be spending a week in Boston too, visiting the parental units and canine. I'm pretty excited because I miss them and have never seen Boston before! I'll cut this off here before it gets so lengthy that it deters everyone from reading it!
xoxoxo
Aside from that, you all know how much I hate the hot weather. It's all well and good when you can escape into the air conditioning later, but they don't seem to have that here, or at least it's not in use yet. Which drives me mad, I was up all night sweating. I hate sweating. I also hate not being able to sleep, but I can't ever sleep if I'm not a little bit cold. My house should ALWAYS be at the ideal 20.5/69 degrees. That is what I'm comfy in. It would be better if I could open the window, but Vancouverites don't seem to believe in the all important window screens, and I don't believe in inviting spiders and mosquitos into my abode, so we'll see how long I can hold out for. I give me two days before I give in to the elements and coat my window ledges in soap to keep the spiders out. Eric will also be home in a couple of weeks, which is good. It's important to live with a man. Women are less likely to kill spiders for you.
I'm excited to spend my summer with Eric this year. It's been a few years since we had a whole summer together. Of course I'll miss the rest of the crew, but it's nice to have at least one old friend here. We used to get together with people like Colin, J.C. and Brian and go to the drum circles in Trinity Bellwoods Park, or just hang out with some beers. Gotta see if the hippies in BC have drum circles in the summer, those were good times. One of my favourites was the year of the many thunderstorms when the park got flooded and they had a drum circle anyway, and half of it was knee deep in water. Luckily the park was pretty clean and nobody seemed to step in any broken glass or anything under that water, it could have been dangerous, but it was just plain fun.
Other news is I'll be home for a visit in July! I'll let you know the dates when I get them, only about 2 or 3 days I'm afraid. But I miss everybody! I'll be spending a week in Boston too, visiting the parental units and canine. I'm pretty excited because I miss them and have never seen Boston before! I'll cut this off here before it gets so lengthy that it deters everyone from reading it!
xoxoxo
03 May 2013
Wedding Bells are Ringing!
HAPPY WEDDING DAY TO JOHN KAY AND STEPHANIE...uhm...well...it's Kay now, so phew guess it's okay to forget! I wish you all the joys life might carry for a married couple, whatever those are. Dogs, kids, houses, that kinda thing. Sounds tedious! :p Love you John!
Purple Dragon Don Jitsu Ryu
I am a purple dragon student! I have a white belt! (I'm a bottom-feeder!) It's super fun! Except that I can't seem to summersault in a straight line. And my thighs hurt a ton. Like, a TON. Like, I'm walking and afraid they might stop working all together and I'll collapse hurt a ton. The etiquette is hard to get used to. Bowing at all the higher ups, bowing at the floor every time you get on or off of it, bowing several times just to get in the front door. Every time you bow you say "Ush." After nobody could explain this to me and I knew it wasn't the Japanese word for "yes" as they claimed, I googled it. It seems to be a bastardization of the word "osu," or "os" as the 'u' is often silent on the end of Japanese words. One internet source says: " When you enter or leave the dojo, you bow and say "Osu". When you greet a fellow Kyokushin Karateka 空手家, you say "Osu" instead of "hello". When you respond to an instruction or question in class, you say "Osu" instead of "yes" or "I understand". When performing Kihon Waza 基本技 (basic techniques) in class, each technique is often accompanied with a loud "Osu". When practicing Jiyu Kumite 自由組手 (free fighting) in class and your opponent lands a good, hard technique, you say "Osu" to acknowledge your opponent's skill. As a measure of respect, knockdown fighters at a tournament bow and say "Osu" to the front, to the referee and to each other, before and after the fight." (http://www.uskyokushin.com/osu.htm) Another has a similar explanation: "In Japanese the word oss is written as a two-character combination. The first character means “to push,” and the second means “to suffer.” Together they symbolize the importance of pushing, striving and persevering while suffering through whatever difficulties, pains and hindrances are encountered along the way. So, at the literal level, oss is simply an affirmation of the positive attitude, high spirits and refusal to quit that all karate people seek to develop as they train. On a deeper and more general level it might be translated as “keep the faith,” in the sense of karate philosophy and goals. " (http://www.minrec.org/wilson/pdfs/Language%20-%20The%20'oss'%20greeting.pdf)
So basically, every time I walk in the door I have to say "ush professor (his style everyone is learning, runs everything), ush shihans (seconds-in-command), ush sensei (owns/runs individual dojo), ush senpai (sensei's second), ush instructors, and ush san, bowing each time. I hate this, too. First of all, professor in Japanese is kyoju, and hanshi is grand master, so why is he called professor? and why are the black belts called instructor? Can we stick to one language maybe? pet peeve. Other than silly things like that, I really do like it. Even though it makes me work hard. I guess that's the point, a little hard work and discipline are good for me! So wish me luck while I try to ignore the mixing of languages and work my butt off for the yellow belt! Hopefully another month or so!
So basically, every time I walk in the door I have to say "ush professor (his style everyone is learning, runs everything), ush shihans (seconds-in-command), ush sensei (owns/runs individual dojo), ush senpai (sensei's second), ush instructors, and ush san, bowing each time. I hate this, too. First of all, professor in Japanese is kyoju, and hanshi is grand master, so why is he called professor? and why are the black belts called instructor? Can we stick to one language maybe? pet peeve. Other than silly things like that, I really do like it. Even though it makes me work hard. I guess that's the point, a little hard work and discipline are good for me! So wish me luck while I try to ignore the mixing of languages and work my butt off for the yellow belt! Hopefully another month or so!
17 April 2013
Seaplane
So for Chris' birthday, we went on a seaplane tour! It was so much fun! Check the pics on my fb page. My favourite things were the mountains from above, the ski hills, ocean and beaches. It was kind of neat seeing the familiar landmarks from the sky. The bridges look a lot cooler from up high, more impressive, I think. Grouse Mountain was neat, like "oh I was up there," and the whole sunshine coast was breathtaking. I was a bit nervous beforehand, and getting onto the 6-seater deHavilland Beaver was odd (I've never been in a seaplane, and it's like getting into a boat). The take-off was a little nerve-wracking as well, but only because I've never been in a plane that takes off from the water. Once we were up it was great! The sun shining on my face relaxed me too, I felt like I was going for a drive or something, but with a better view. Then it was all "oohs" and "ahs" for a while, passing the camera back and forth. We were pretty quiet, both from the shock of the views and the awkwardness of talking over the engine noise. The landing wasn't scary at all, very smooth. By the time we landed I was sad to go. All in all it was a worthwhile adventure!
11 April 2013
eyeballses
I was reading Julie's blog and it's black with white type. Somehow, even though this has never happened before, I am now it on my screen still. Like when you look at a light for too long. Also, in response to Julie's waking up on the wrong side of the bed, do you ever get that thing where you wake up in the morning and it's like "huh, that's weird, I'm on the wrong side of the bed," as you stare at your ceiling, then after blinking a couple of times the ceiling spins around and it turns out you're on the right side of the bed after all but your eye-to-brain-sensors forgot to wake up when you did and you were seeing upside down? Coz I hope you have. Otherwise, it's actually me who's crazy. If that made no sense at all then just pretend this post doesn't exist.
Also, trying to figure out who's been reading my blog other than, say, Julie and my parents. "Dee Emm" commented on Julie's post about having learned of her blog from me posting that it should be read. Who's Dee Emm? Who reads this crazy crap I sporadically spout? What does D.M. stand for, or is Dee Emm not initials? You have me puzzled! Tellll Meeeeeeee!!!!!
Also, trying to figure out who's been reading my blog other than, say, Julie and my parents. "Dee Emm" commented on Julie's post about having learned of her blog from me posting that it should be read. Who's Dee Emm? Who reads this crazy crap I sporadically spout? What does D.M. stand for, or is Dee Emm not initials? You have me puzzled! Tellll Meeeeeeee!!!!!
spring is here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhuMLpdnOjY
I know I've posted this a hundred times before but spring is here, spah-ring is here!
All the wildlife is out and about, eagles and hawks and odd birds you don't see in Ontario. Like the pretend bluejay,
http://www.vancouverisland.com/wildlife/?id=85
for example. Raccoons that are enormous. Like 3 Ontario raccoons in one. All the vermin are about too (cats) now that the rainy season is mostly done. Still had a few days of rain in the last couple weeks, but it's at least 60% sunny now.
Signed up for martial arts lessons. I'm-a gonna be able to kick ass. Human hiney, I mean, not donkey. Who would kick a donkey? A human hiney hole that's who.
Got a big fun day planned for Sunday! Planned a surprise birthday date for Chris. I can't say what it is yet, though, in case he's reading this. (Are you?? huh?? You better read my blog, it's super cool.)
Watched a sweet docu series on the Medici family.
http://www.youtube.com/channel/SW7JPZboRLQjc
I like it because it talks a lot about religion and the art world at the time. I was always a sucker for art/architectural history when it comes to the renaissance era. So I highly recommend this one. It's pretty basic, not too much detail on specific people, but it covers all the main artists of the time. It also made me wonder how the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were chosen.
The great artists of the time were all under Medici patronage. Brunelleschi (architect, engineer), Fra Angelico (painter), Donatello (sculptor, bas relief), Michelangelo (sculptor, painter, architect, poet, engineer, snob), Leonardo (mental case), Raphael (painter, architect) and Sandro Botticelli (painter). So how do you break this group down to a mere four turtles? Seriously.
Anyway if you watch the docu and can't find what order they come in, I will tell you. I think. "Birth of a Dynasty" is obv part 1, 2 is the 'Magnificent Medici.' 3 is the 'Pope' and 4 is "Power v. Truth."
AAAnyway hot chocolate time XD
I know I've posted this a hundred times before but spring is here, spah-ring is here!
All the wildlife is out and about, eagles and hawks and odd birds you don't see in Ontario. Like the pretend bluejay,
http://www.vancouverisland.com/wildlife/?id=85
for example. Raccoons that are enormous. Like 3 Ontario raccoons in one. All the vermin are about too (cats) now that the rainy season is mostly done. Still had a few days of rain in the last couple weeks, but it's at least 60% sunny now.
Signed up for martial arts lessons. I'm-a gonna be able to kick ass. Human hiney, I mean, not donkey. Who would kick a donkey? A human hiney hole that's who.
Got a big fun day planned for Sunday! Planned a surprise birthday date for Chris. I can't say what it is yet, though, in case he's reading this. (Are you?? huh?? You better read my blog, it's super cool.)
Watched a sweet docu series on the Medici family.
http://www.youtube.com/channel/SW7JPZboRLQjc
I like it because it talks a lot about religion and the art world at the time. I was always a sucker for art/architectural history when it comes to the renaissance era. So I highly recommend this one. It's pretty basic, not too much detail on specific people, but it covers all the main artists of the time. It also made me wonder how the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were chosen.
The great artists of the time were all under Medici patronage. Brunelleschi (architect, engineer), Fra Angelico (painter), Donatello (sculptor, bas relief), Michelangelo (sculptor, painter, architect, poet, engineer, snob), Leonardo (mental case), Raphael (painter, architect) and Sandro Botticelli (painter). So how do you break this group down to a mere four turtles? Seriously.
Anyway if you watch the docu and can't find what order they come in, I will tell you. I think. "Birth of a Dynasty" is obv part 1, 2 is the 'Magnificent Medici.' 3 is the 'Pope' and 4 is "Power v. Truth."
AAAnyway hot chocolate time XD
26 March 2013
Anything Julie Does I Can Do Better
Soooooo I don't really have much to say today...but Julie's been doing so well keeping up on her blogging and I have...not so much. So I'm sort of just blogging today to say "I blog too!" and not let Julie win. (Her blog is awesome, btw, check out incrediblecrust.blogspot.com ...I guess...Kyle...who reads my blog aside from Julie haha check her blog out, it's awesome!) Anyway, so aside from attempting to one-up Julie, I need to come up with something good to discuss today. So! I will post a photo. 
they finally rearranged the shelves at work, but i managed to snag this shot first. ahahha. good placement.
I guess that's all I've got. Oh I got a local phoneline via vonage. that's being mailed out to me and in 5 business days when i receive and install it i will let you all know the number even though my cell phone still works and you all generally text rather than phoning. i am no longer capitalizing my letters in the necessary places. this post is an enormous waste of your time.
Walked along kits beach today with Chris! It's been a beautiful primarily sunny week, and it was nice to "catch some rays." Of course I've been indoors ever since colouring and watching big bang theory, but I did get outside for a couple hours! I need to start exercising again, I let the rain keep me indoors too long. I think the spring has finally arrived here in Vancouver, though. I was overly warm today in my sweater and down vest, except when we were walking along the water when I felt just comfy because of the wind. I think it was a high of about 13. Got some pics of the view which I will post on fb soon. Miss y'all! (I said y'all.) (I'm a cool cat.)
they finally rearranged the shelves at work, but i managed to snag this shot first. ahahha. good placement.
I guess that's all I've got. Oh I got a local phoneline via vonage. that's being mailed out to me and in 5 business days when i receive and install it i will let you all know the number even though my cell phone still works and you all generally text rather than phoning. i am no longer capitalizing my letters in the necessary places. this post is an enormous waste of your time.
Walked along kits beach today with Chris! It's been a beautiful primarily sunny week, and it was nice to "catch some rays." Of course I've been indoors ever since colouring and watching big bang theory, but I did get outside for a couple hours! I need to start exercising again, I let the rain keep me indoors too long. I think the spring has finally arrived here in Vancouver, though. I was overly warm today in my sweater and down vest, except when we were walking along the water when I felt just comfy because of the wind. I think it was a high of about 13. Got some pics of the view which I will post on fb soon. Miss y'all! (I said y'all.) (I'm a cool cat.)
23 March 2013
Kyle's Visit
The rest of Kyle's trip was super fun. We didn't get to see Jenny (boo)but that just gives me a reason to get back to Seattle (yay). We also missed the underground tour (come on, people, when I tell you I'm going somewhere can't you tell me what to see while I'm there instead of telling me after I get back??) but we walked around a lot, did the pike place, the first Starbucks (obv I had tea, who wants that coffee), and found a restaurant that Jenny recommended (Machiavelli's, at least that one wasn't an illusive restaurant haha) which was super good. We basically just explored and relaxed. Our hotel was quite nice, we stayed at the Fairmont. I didn't want a dingy cheap hotel (it's vacation!) and I also didn't want something off the charts (but one day I WILL!) and the Fairmont was reasonable. Also, I wanted to be right downtown and it's in a great spot.
Once back in Canada (where there are almost no black people and almost all East Asian people) we went adventuring here, too. Kyle and I went to the Aquarium (obviously) (this is me). I showed him Deep Cove and we climbed the Baden Powell with Chris. Afterwards we went to do the Capilano suspension bridge. That was really cool. The bridge was a little freaky but the view was enormous. Once we reached the safety of the opposite side, I steered us toward the signs that said "Treetops Adventure." It was like an EWOK VILLAGE AND I GOT TO BE AN EWOK AND I HAD SO MUCH FUN AND IT WAS AWESOME! I think the guys liked it, too. Chris was trying to collect the stamps that said he had visited every station (if you catch'em all [blatant Pokemon reference] they give you a certificate at the end) but we didn't figure out until the end that the big metal things everywhere were actually embosser seals and they didn't actually give you stamps, they just suck at English and meant that you need to emboss your paper at each station. So Chris didn't get enough 'stamps.' We also went around the cliff side...hangy...stair...bridge...path. It was really cool but I thought I might die at any moment.
On another day we three plus Eric went atop Grouse and dined at the Observatory. That was quite nice. We made it about half-an-hour before the fog rolled in, so luckily we got all the beautiful view. The food was the best I've had in Vancouver. That's not saying a lot, the food here is terrible generally, but it was pretty delightful food. It wasn't quite worth the cost, but I guess you pay extra for the "free" cable car ride. It was also quite cold and snowy! Except for the fact that we were on a mountaintop with a beautiful view, I felt almost like I was home. (You know, -15 degrees, snowing.) All in all, I had a good Vacation with Kyle! MISS YOU!
Once back in Canada (where there are almost no black people and almost all East Asian people) we went adventuring here, too. Kyle and I went to the Aquarium (obviously) (this is me). I showed him Deep Cove and we climbed the Baden Powell with Chris. Afterwards we went to do the Capilano suspension bridge. That was really cool. The bridge was a little freaky but the view was enormous. Once we reached the safety of the opposite side, I steered us toward the signs that said "Treetops Adventure." It was like an EWOK VILLAGE AND I GOT TO BE AN EWOK AND I HAD SO MUCH FUN AND IT WAS AWESOME! I think the guys liked it, too. Chris was trying to collect the stamps that said he had visited every station (if you catch'em all [blatant Pokemon reference] they give you a certificate at the end) but we didn't figure out until the end that the big metal things everywhere were actually embosser seals and they didn't actually give you stamps, they just suck at English and meant that you need to emboss your paper at each station. So Chris didn't get enough 'stamps.' We also went around the cliff side...hangy...stair...bridge...path. It was really cool but I thought I might die at any moment.
On another day we three plus Eric went atop Grouse and dined at the Observatory. That was quite nice. We made it about half-an-hour before the fog rolled in, so luckily we got all the beautiful view. The food was the best I've had in Vancouver. That's not saying a lot, the food here is terrible generally, but it was pretty delightful food. It wasn't quite worth the cost, but I guess you pay extra for the "free" cable car ride. It was also quite cold and snowy! Except for the fact that we were on a mountaintop with a beautiful view, I felt almost like I was home. (You know, -15 degrees, snowing.) All in all, I had a good Vacation with Kyle! MISS YOU!
08 March 2013
Seattle
SO far, Seattle adventures involve being stopped at the border (they must search our rental car, you know, we look very suspicious and probably are trying to import fruits and vegetables and...maybe even...a LIVE ANIMAL! So that took around 35 minutes or just enough time to make sure we caught rush hour and took an extra 1.5 hours to get to the city. Anyway then we were kind of bummed coz our plans were put off, but we walked around a tiny bit, saw a gum wall and a weird pier with taxidermy and a carousel. We tried to go for dinner at a place Jenny Bathelt recommended called the pink door but couldn't find it. Instead we went to the Hard Rock. Kyle's fish was good, my fajita's tasted poopy. Too much salt and pepper on the beef (why, is it old?) and there was *shudder* cilantro. I hate cilantro. So then we went to the original starbucks and back to the hotel for chillen and sleepin. It's been good to see Kyle again! Tonight we're hoping to meet Jenny and Lee for dinner. Well, off to shower and hit the market!
22 February 2013
Line of the Day
I actually said this. That's the best part.
"Have you ever smelled your armpits only to find that they smell like somebody else's armpits?"
"Have you ever smelled your armpits only to find that they smell like somebody else's armpits?"
12 February 2013
Catching Up
Mommy and Daddy have made it to Boston! Congrats and good luck with the crazy snow storm. Apparently their temp place is on the 8th floor of a building and my dog is confused by the elevator. haha! I miss that dog. *sad face.*
On other news, John Kay is getting married in May! wtf! All my friends are making me feel old! (But congrats Johnny and I love you!) I wish I could go but ??? who knows if I'll have a job yet. Likewise I'm missing the birth of Tina's baby girl. Sigh. Sure chose a great time to move away, didn't I? To be honest I figured I'd be working by now. I mean at a job that actually pays me money as opposed to Indigo who pays me enough to not die of starvation but that's about it, and no medical plan included until you've been there for a year. I could waitress, make a crap-ton of quick cash, but then I'd be unhappy and the hours are awful. Still I need to figure something out because I need a grown-up job that gets me experience and stuff to make my resume look good so that eventually I can work my way up the food chain and be some high up and people will pay me tons and tons of money because isn't that everyone's goal in life?
Otherwise I've been super happy lately and aside from being mostly stuck indoors with the last of the winter rains (I CRAVE the mountains I can't wait to be able to go hiking again it's just too wet now, and kayaking again too) and looking forward to being able to go out exploring and camping and such.
Kyle is coming to visit in a few weeks which I'm totally psyched for as well. Should be just in time for the spring blossoms. Booked time off work for the visit but not sure how much time I'll actually get. I'm sure they'll give me a few days, though, so we can go exploring a lot.
Bought myself a red Le Creuset tea kettle with my xmas money. It's beautiful. It's also made in Taiwan. I was pretty pissed about that. If you're going to charge me that much money for a freakin' tea kettle at least make it in France like I expected. But I still love it anyway and aside from writing them a letter (expressing my disappointment that they would charge such exorbitant amounts of money for something that cost them very little to make in a factory where the working conditions, hours, and wages don't meet human rights standards and the environmental implications are horrendous we all know how factories pollute over there dumping waste into fresh water and burning dirty coal...and it's horrible to outsource anyway when your own economy isn't up to par) I still love it and it looks very nice in my kitchen.
My house is nearly clean. By the end of the month it should no longer have such a greyish hue. Of course I ran out of bleach cleaner on Sunday night so I have to go buy more. Otherwise I'm looking forward to not lugging buckets of black water around from the dirt and dust everywhere. I apologize for my hiatus on here, but you really don't understand how dirty this house was/still half is. But it's getting there!
Anyway I gotta get back to it, off to the laundromat, and to mail T's baby shower gift (that I keep forgetting to do) and buy bleach things! I love and miss you all so much! For those of you near the snow I hope your power's still working! xoxo
On other news, John Kay is getting married in May! wtf! All my friends are making me feel old! (But congrats Johnny and I love you!) I wish I could go but ??? who knows if I'll have a job yet. Likewise I'm missing the birth of Tina's baby girl. Sigh. Sure chose a great time to move away, didn't I? To be honest I figured I'd be working by now. I mean at a job that actually pays me money as opposed to Indigo who pays me enough to not die of starvation but that's about it, and no medical plan included until you've been there for a year. I could waitress, make a crap-ton of quick cash, but then I'd be unhappy and the hours are awful. Still I need to figure something out because I need a grown-up job that gets me experience and stuff to make my resume look good so that eventually I can work my way up the food chain and be some high up and people will pay me tons and tons of money because isn't that everyone's goal in life?
Otherwise I've been super happy lately and aside from being mostly stuck indoors with the last of the winter rains (I CRAVE the mountains I can't wait to be able to go hiking again it's just too wet now, and kayaking again too) and looking forward to being able to go out exploring and camping and such.
Kyle is coming to visit in a few weeks which I'm totally psyched for as well. Should be just in time for the spring blossoms. Booked time off work for the visit but not sure how much time I'll actually get. I'm sure they'll give me a few days, though, so we can go exploring a lot.
Bought myself a red Le Creuset tea kettle with my xmas money. It's beautiful. It's also made in Taiwan. I was pretty pissed about that. If you're going to charge me that much money for a freakin' tea kettle at least make it in France like I expected. But I still love it anyway and aside from writing them a letter (expressing my disappointment that they would charge such exorbitant amounts of money for something that cost them very little to make in a factory where the working conditions, hours, and wages don't meet human rights standards and the environmental implications are horrendous we all know how factories pollute over there dumping waste into fresh water and burning dirty coal...and it's horrible to outsource anyway when your own economy isn't up to par) I still love it and it looks very nice in my kitchen.
My house is nearly clean. By the end of the month it should no longer have such a greyish hue. Of course I ran out of bleach cleaner on Sunday night so I have to go buy more. Otherwise I'm looking forward to not lugging buckets of black water around from the dirt and dust everywhere. I apologize for my hiatus on here, but you really don't understand how dirty this house was/still half is. But it's getting there!
Anyway I gotta get back to it, off to the laundromat, and to mail T's baby shower gift (that I keep forgetting to do) and buy bleach things! I love and miss you all so much! For those of you near the snow I hope your power's still working! xoxo
19 January 2013
17 January 2013
BC is...better?
Okay okay, so I complain all the time about the health insurance here, (it's $60/month!!) (well, it would be except I'm WAY under the poverty line so personally I don't pay) and how nothing is covered under health insurance anyway. And I miss the pretty Ontario drivers license. And insurance is more expensive here b/c the province runs it. BUT omg BC actually got one thing right that Ontario can't ever do (because they sell everything off that was provincially run e.x. drivers licensing) is that I just, on one website, changed my address for my license, AND health insurance. THEN they were like "click here to forward this information to the voter registry system" and I was like "whaaaaaat?!?" that is way to efficient. I think now that maybe it was a scam website and I just gave some random people my new address and DL number and the last half of my SIN. Hmmmm...
06 January 2013
Book Review: Through the Eye of a Needle Part 2
The next section of the book discusses where the churches began accumulating their wealth from. Brown compares early Christian churches with Synagogues. Many commoners who could afford it made donations to the churches, often through sections of mosaic or small pieces of statuary or even just the pavement outside. These sections would be small and not significant on their own, however "middle class" people of the time gave as much as they could and frequently. Brown says that donating to churches or temples was seen as equal to giving to the poor. You were making an offering to God. Of course most of the money came from bigger sources like the super rich who offered patronage. Once Constantine declared for the Christian faith he began giving donations as well, but in return, he expected that the Christians would continue their at that time 300 year old tradition of giving to the poor, and essentially to provide services to the poor of the empire. Of course about halfway through the 4th century people started taking more noticeable advantage of the church and the power it's positions offered. Senators became bishops for the wealth and privilege without previous training or knowledge, and as the religion grew in popularity it became important to become Christian in order to be in the "in" circles or the powerful political circles. This is especially true as all but one of the emperors after Constantine were Christians. Kind of like how nowadays to be a conservative or republican you need to be super religious, even though those parties initially were based on a totally different set of beliefs.
04 January 2013
Book Review: Through the Eye of a Needle Part 1
Peter Brown, "Through the Eye of a Needle: Wealth, the fall of Rome, and the Making of Christianity in the West 350-550AD"
This book review will in parts because I'm only done Ch.1 and there's lots of material.
So, as a writer, strictly as far as writing is concerned, Brown's kind of annoying. He's got that journalistic style where he gives you odd one liners and weird phrases that don't really sit well with me in history. you can be funny and clever and all those things when you write history, but the way he does it seems to take away from the facts sometimes.
The intro is kind of boring, i guess he's trying to set up for the reader an idea of what class structure was like in the late Roman empire and the reality of being stuck in one class/difficulty of moving between classes. So he starts off by talking about this guy they call the harvester of Mactar. He's called the harvester because he wrote a big thing about his life and how he got lucky and worked really hard and moved up the social ladder. he ended up owning some farmland and just making the cut to be a town leader, which just means you need to be a free man, landowner, and have a certain amount of liquid assets. he went from a farmhand to a town councillor, rare and difficult, so he wrote a big thing about it that they found in his tomb i think it was. anyway he's called the harvester rather than his name because there's no name on the inscription. Brown doesn't say whether the harvester forgot to sign it or it wore away over time.
Anyway the point of this book is to explore wealth in late Rome, who had wealth, how they acquired it, what the levels of being rich were like--being a town councillor, for ex, is good because you now have more legal rights, but it's not being rich. rich is you have a ton of gold at your disposal. so it's supposed to explore what vast wealth was like and how christianity and wealth became intermingled and what effect this wealth had on the development of the religion.
Some cool facts, and i'm not going to list who he cites because it's too much work:
-the eco footprint left behind from this era of Rome is the bottom of the mediterranean is littered with more shipwrecks than any other era produced before or since excepting modern times.
-also the lakes in sweden and icecaps in greenland show deposits of lead dating to the 1st and 2nd centuries due to an unprecedented amount of emissions from mining and purifying silver in Roman Spain.
-granaries were a symbol of wealth. it meant you could afford to store your grain and didnt need it immediately. this meant you could wait until a few months before the next years harvest to sell it, by which point everyone else was out of food. so you could sell it for 2x the original price.
The rest of the chapter is more background, how the economy worked, how 80% of the people were labourers, 60% of the wealth came from harvests. Thus obviously a good harvest was important, and in the odd years of bad weather famine struck.
What did you do then? Jews, christians and followers of the old gods all had religious ceremonies and tried to please their gods in order to bring good weather and good harvest and keep the locusts away.
Later when Constantine was emperor he invented the gold coin called the solidus. soldiers and high officials were paid in this currency. soon the bureaucracy demanded taxes be paid in gold rather than grain. this created a greater class gap-many flourished, many couldn't keep up. the average person could only barter with food or bronze coins, and the wealthier middle class might have had silver. i guess here his point was how even among the rich there were giant class gaps if some could have their assets in gold and others dealt grain.
anyway that's it for this instalment!
This book review will in parts because I'm only done Ch.1 and there's lots of material.
So, as a writer, strictly as far as writing is concerned, Brown's kind of annoying. He's got that journalistic style where he gives you odd one liners and weird phrases that don't really sit well with me in history. you can be funny and clever and all those things when you write history, but the way he does it seems to take away from the facts sometimes.
The intro is kind of boring, i guess he's trying to set up for the reader an idea of what class structure was like in the late Roman empire and the reality of being stuck in one class/difficulty of moving between classes. So he starts off by talking about this guy they call the harvester of Mactar. He's called the harvester because he wrote a big thing about his life and how he got lucky and worked really hard and moved up the social ladder. he ended up owning some farmland and just making the cut to be a town leader, which just means you need to be a free man, landowner, and have a certain amount of liquid assets. he went from a farmhand to a town councillor, rare and difficult, so he wrote a big thing about it that they found in his tomb i think it was. anyway he's called the harvester rather than his name because there's no name on the inscription. Brown doesn't say whether the harvester forgot to sign it or it wore away over time.
Anyway the point of this book is to explore wealth in late Rome, who had wealth, how they acquired it, what the levels of being rich were like--being a town councillor, for ex, is good because you now have more legal rights, but it's not being rich. rich is you have a ton of gold at your disposal. so it's supposed to explore what vast wealth was like and how christianity and wealth became intermingled and what effect this wealth had on the development of the religion.
Some cool facts, and i'm not going to list who he cites because it's too much work:
-the eco footprint left behind from this era of Rome is the bottom of the mediterranean is littered with more shipwrecks than any other era produced before or since excepting modern times.
-also the lakes in sweden and icecaps in greenland show deposits of lead dating to the 1st and 2nd centuries due to an unprecedented amount of emissions from mining and purifying silver in Roman Spain.
-granaries were a symbol of wealth. it meant you could afford to store your grain and didnt need it immediately. this meant you could wait until a few months before the next years harvest to sell it, by which point everyone else was out of food. so you could sell it for 2x the original price.
The rest of the chapter is more background, how the economy worked, how 80% of the people were labourers, 60% of the wealth came from harvests. Thus obviously a good harvest was important, and in the odd years of bad weather famine struck.
What did you do then? Jews, christians and followers of the old gods all had religious ceremonies and tried to please their gods in order to bring good weather and good harvest and keep the locusts away.
Later when Constantine was emperor he invented the gold coin called the solidus. soldiers and high officials were paid in this currency. soon the bureaucracy demanded taxes be paid in gold rather than grain. this created a greater class gap-many flourished, many couldn't keep up. the average person could only barter with food or bronze coins, and the wealthier middle class might have had silver. i guess here his point was how even among the rich there were giant class gaps if some could have their assets in gold and others dealt grain.
anyway that's it for this instalment!
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