a little touchy

in my den i have a tri-light that's activated by touch. it's a floor lamp, and you can touch it anywhere and it gets turned on (ooooooh, kinky). i rarely go in the den right now (i'm trying to root myself into my couch, become the ultimate couch potato, you know) - but, almost every time i walk by, the light's on. now, you might think that i'm just complaining about the light always being on ... but .. i turn it off every time. and then next time ... it's on again. i first thought it was my adorable little munchkins (kittens will be kittens, afterall) - but, it appears that the light goes on even if the kittens haven't been in the room. i'm confused. and it being hallowe'en eve ... a little concerned and spooked out.

melpie, the bubble tease

if i were to write an autobiography, it would most likely be entitled "adventures in embarrassment" - or that's what i've decided at least. snippets from my life that would provide endless entertainment to others. and of course, would make them feel better at their relatively low levels of klutziness.

so, today's episode? well, it has to do with bubble tea. after a happy fun day of medicinal discoveries, i was sitting down for this delightful treat with a friend. i hadn't had this scrumptiousness for some time- and it brought back wonderful memories of university.

sucking back the bubbles is of course the essence of the bubble tea experience. these balls were dewy with honey goodness (please - no laughing - this is completely innocent, completely pg ... well, so far ...). how delicious!

anyway - we were chatting, sipping our teas and enjoying the tapioca pearls. i made them dance up the straw, marvelling at the movement. but then, somehow .. one popped out. heck, it didn't just pop out, it popped out of the top of the straw and landed smack dab into the middle of my cleavage. right down the front of the shirt. of course, the only reasonable thing that i girl could do in this situation is to .. well, fish the thing out. sadly - it was a slippery little sucker.

so there i was - in the middle of the tea shop - hand down my shirt - searching in vain for a tapioca pearl. but, i exaggerate. it wasn't in vain. in less than a minute (but probably close to - i found it! now i know how the pirates felt when they found the buried treasure.

the challenged-ling

i've been re-reading some old entries. it suddenly occurred to me that i used to tell much better anecdotes. what has happened to these light-hearted tales of my endearing klutziness? am i just lazy? am i more self-conscious? is my mind wanting to write things that are much too serious and close to the heart? in the 30 seconds that i've been pondering, i've decided that i should write down some more of these stories.

the first of which, i shall call "adventures of the wide-legged pants" or perhaps, "lessons learned, off the cuff" ... anyway - it's not really important. the title can come later. now this is a story that combines one of my great loves - shoes - with my every day goal of walking without tripping. of course, i've finally managed to get pretty good at staying upright (while sober, at least) in shoes of all styles, heel heights and on all sorts of surfaces - flat, stepped, slanted, rocky, smooth, etc. so - once you've mastered something, it's good to throw in a new twist, a challenge, if you will - to keep things interesting.

my challenge - unbeknownst to myself - is the wide leg pant with the large bottom cuff. they seem innocent enough, swaying no the hanger - but once you get these suckers on ... er, i should say, once *i* put these suckers on ... you never know what's going to happen. the first such incident happened one day as i was descending the stairs at work. to ensure my pants weren't dragging on the ground, i was wearing a sizeable heel, a very slender pretty one at that. i was navigating the stairs with much skill when, without knowing, i stepped into my pants - the heel sliding neatly into the small fold between the pant leg and the cuff. of course, i found out very quickly as i went to take the next step down and ended up hurtling head first down the last few stairs. luckily, my reflexes aren't horrible and i was able to cling for dear life onto the bannister. but, even with my cat-like quickness, i ended up bruised and battered. (sadly, i was unable to wear skirts for a while - and i do love my skirts - and they're apparently much less dangerous for me).

sadly - i did not learn from the first mishap. i've had a couple more going down steps (once in the subway station - again - my amazingly quick bannister-grasping ability saved me) ... and more recently one time walking up steps. all of these incidents involved the stiletto. but ... yesterday - i reached new heights. i was wearing ballet flats and managed to trip in my cuffs. not because i stepped on my pants - but because i stepped in my pants.

so ... lessons learned?

1. stop wearing dangerous pants;
2. stop wearing dangerous pant/shoe combinations; or
3. wear knee pads under dangerous pants.

i think i may adopt number 3 ...

senseless

i thought they were overreacting at work. suddenly the boardroom is locked and you can only access by asking for the key. there are few supplies in the supplies room - you have to go and ask permission to get a new notebook, for crying out loud! but ... apparently there's a reason. (i'm always somewhat reassured when there is actually a reason) - apparently things have been going missing. moreso - chairs from the boardroom have been disappearing. i know they have wheels - but they don't spin on their own. and these aren't even nice chairs! i just can't understand - and as one who embraces logic with every ounce of her being - well, it just boggles.

this takes me to what i really want to talk about - people with signs supporting the liberals have been targeted in two toronto ridings. there's been some vandalism - but on top of this, slashed tires and cut brake lines. one great thing about canada is the freedom we have, our democratic process (no matter how laughable the current times may make it) - violence is something completely unexpected. and further - violence against the centrist party? what kind of sense does that make? the liberals sit on the fence to not offend anyone and they somehow managed to offend someone so much that it resulted in cut brake lines? but still - this violence worries me. we need more open dialogue and discussion about the policies that could perhaps once again really stir people to pride in their leaders .... and instead, we get the opposite. (more alarmingly, they are targeting federal liberals while complaining about mcguinty - if your'e that angry about politics, at least get your enemy right)


(as a final aside - it's wrong when my reaction to a conservative commercial is laughing out loud, right?)

happy birthday, mr. keith

if you change the b's and g's in blogger (the route of the blogspot site), you get globber. how do i know? well - i switched the letters ... where did it take me? well ... no where, really. but - if i wanted to spice this post up ....

but, i won't go there. we gotta keep this place disney-friendly, right?

the second of two days of my writing exercises - and the second of two where i have nothing to say. let's cross our fingers for something good for day three.

turning, turning

when i'm driving somewhere by myself, i like to listen to music. but - not just any music - music that i can sing along to. but when i say sing - i mean like, belt out at the top of my lungs. and when i say music - i mean show tunes.

specifically - i've been focused on les miserables. i used to listen to this incessantly (often while cleaning up the kitchen) when i was younger - and still, all the words are there at the tip of my tongue.

now the dilemma comes - i am going to be taking the thanksgiving weekend. however - i will not be alone. can i still bring the show tunes? or should i be talking to my road trip mate? with two- we could do duets and plays different parts! it would be so fun. perhaps i should forward him the music and lyrics now so that he can learn for the weekend ....

(ok - so this is all pointless - but i'm trying to make myself write again... so dribble that's more useless than usual will likely be the norm for the next while).