of butterflies and whimsy

so, i've recently moved. one of the greatest things about the move is that i am now within walking distance to work - no more reliance on that not so reliable rocket that is the ttc subway (hooray!)

as a result, i've been arriving home much earlier - somewhere around 5:30, which means that i'm in time for the second half of the gilmore girls reruns that the women's channel plays at 5 every day. it's been wonderful! they're in the jess days - my favourite times! i forgot how much i loved jess. this was the good ol' days before he started getting super popular and they decided that they had to write him off the show so he could attempt his own spin-off (which didn't fare too well) ... although, him being written off the show was inevitable since with him around loralei and luke could never have gotten together.

so the best jess line, the moment i fell in love with him ... is when he returns a book to rory and she looks through it and sees all the notes he's written in the margins ... so she then says "i thought you said you didn't read much" .. he looks at her, and as he walks away he says "but what is much"

*swoons*

it's really sad that i'm this emotionally charged over a television character, i know. but he's just so .... *sigh*

so now i'm on the quest to find my jess. i think i need to have one of them in my life ... just for the experience of it. although, i'm not on a quest - b/c when you go on a quest for something like that, you rarely find it. but maybe i already have.

in other news - http://www.pulse24.com/News/Top_Story/20041027-017/page.asp

that house was like 2 blocks from my old apartment (that i moved out of last sunday). nothing shady is supposed to happen on balliol street! it's like a stars hollow street!

ok, that's it - no more gilmore girls talk ... for now ...

nibbling

ode to toilet paper.

your neatly quilted flowers,
all rolled up neat and white.
always there when you need it,
morning, noon or night.

but tp, i must ask you -
where do you disappear?
i know you get used up, it's true
i don't expect you to last a year.

yet, this morning i renewed you.
a soft, full fluffy roll.
and this evening you were empty,
were the sheets stolen by a mole?

or better yet a rat,
but why would she stow you away?
tp is for one thing ... unless ...
is she eating you? she must think you're hay!

*the end*

p.s. i apologize for the awful poetry. but ... i had to make something out of a joke. a whole roll of toilet paper was used up today ... melissa was rather confused ... and then she came up with the solution - no one, i.e. melissa3, uses that much toilet paper in one day - unless of course, they're eating it. mmm ... bleached, fibers-y goodness!

confessions

do you ever feel like you're not quite getting all you can out of life? that there's something that seems so achievable ... but when you reach for it, it's like the millionaire (see c. montgomery burns) that's tied a dollar to a string and keeps pulling it just inches from your fingertips.

anyways, i don't think i should really continue on that train of thought. i really should have learned by now that blog entries after an evening at the bar are rarely a good thing - either i can't type, or i pursue a train of thought that i wouldn't normally. and b/c it's something i wouldn't want to share normally, i try to be as vague as possible, which just confuses people.

i know with communication you are supposed to be concise, clear - to the point. but there are some things that i just can't do that with (heck, when am i ever concise and to the point in my ramblings ... that's why they are just that, i.e. ramblings - i like to meander through my thoughts. gotta love applying that whole stream of consciousness thing). anyway ... my vagueries sometimes even confuse me, but i know that there are certain subjects that i would never wish to touch upon. even this is a subject i don't wanna go too deep into .. but i'm enjoying the feeling of tapping the keyboard right now and since no one seems to be replying to my msn messages, writing a diary entry will have to suffice.

so back to the vagueries ... they're my wall ... my protective wall. if i ever admit to you that you've figured them out, or tell you what they're referring to ... you know you're special. and really, there aren't that many special ones out there.

oh yeah, and i don't mean special as in riding the little bus to school, just to clarify.

advertising and education

so there's a current advertising campaign that really ... makes me squirm ... i would almost go as far to say that it actually disgusts me. maybe not disgusts, but upsets at least

now, you might think that this is due to the graphic nature of the campaign, the taboo subject matter, the political incorrectness of it all ... and i suppose in a way that's true - but it's not as overt as one might imagine.

so what could this campaign be?

it's an ad campaign extolling the virtues of the catholic school board. and saying what a wonderful loving and caring environment it is. i don't doubt this. but, the insinuation is that the other public system is the exact opposite. ok, so i understand that. you highlight your virtues relative to the competition when you're advertising.

but ... why is there competition b/w the school boards that are both funded by taxpayers? why is a board that is funded by the taxpayers using those funds in order to buy advertising space? especially when the other public school board seems to be so short of funds (although, those who rely on funds provided by the government must always play the oliver, must always ask for more)

maybe i'm just overreacting though ... and perhaps i just can't properly express my feelings about this

in other remarks, i hope that denmark doesn't decide that now is the time to strike and claim the disputed land and thus trigger a war. our [canada's] sub is currently on the fritz. and while we work on getting that back up and running, we're open to attack! but still, who would win that battle? unarmed canada or armed denmark?

l&o

over the years, myself, like many others, have become a victim of l&o addiction. i used to watch it all - every one, every rerun i could tune into. as of late, i've found that they've become more and more sensationalised - drawn on real life inspiration much more. or maybe it's that the real life inspiration is so much more obvious to me now. (or maybe it is more obvious b/c they're choosing the most sensational stories).

slowly, my favourite has changed from the original to svu, and lately even ci has been ranking ahead of the original in my mind. (vinnie dinofrio is growing on me - he's come a long way since full metal jacket) anyways, sadly, jerry orbach (my favourite talking candlebra) left the original series - you'd think that perhaps he was retiring, but no, he's starting in another l&o (they need another in the franchise to stay ahead of csi, seeing as the crime & punishment string didn't quite pan out) . and jerry's replacement? one dennis farina. i don't know if i can handle it.

it's so hard to respect someone who takes their inspiration for hairstyle (and facial hair style) from a movie entitled somewhere along the lines of good will humping or glad he ate her*

oh yes, in other news - why did they kill off rory in csi: miami?!?

(apparently i watch too much tv)

* courtesy of thai. although, it *may* be real. he does have access to a rather large video library. i don't know what kind of films they are though.

hot and not

hot:

• sand between my toes
• fall days that feel like summer
• good wine (red or white) and good eats (mmm, bbq)

not:

• cold showers (when the hot water decides to be ... well, not)
• leaving on lights and leaving the door unlocked when you leave the apartment
• rats
  

nature boy

so, apparently rogers has decided to punish me for whatever reason ... i'm quite unsure why; the madness has gone on for two full tv nights so far (the repairman was supposed to come tonight, and he didn't) - it's quite sad

luckily, we get one channel (ctv) without cable; cbc comes in too, but it's rather fuzzy. i think the worst part is that i keep trying to channel surf during commercials, and i can't. i must now subject myself to a full commercial break of advertising. i am at the mercy of the marketers! i am their slave! i am their prisoner! if i cry uncle, will they let me go?

so, i have been subjected to canadian idol for the last two hours. fortunately, they can sing! they are amazing! their singing is moving me so much, making me so emotional. when kalan sang nature boy, i was his (i think kalan should be careful that he doesn't become a sex-symbol to the 25 - 40 year old women of canada ... i know too many ppl in their mid-late twenties that are in love with him; technically, this is ok, since he is 18 and of age - but, he looks like he's 12 - 14, which really is a little frightening). theresa has been my girl from the start. i'm quite sad that i haven't been a dedicated fan and didn't get a chance to show all their stuff. in just a few moments, ben says that one of them will rise victorious (i'm betting it's kalan, he's just so amazing)

but you never know, there can always be surprises!

but in the end, i will miss the show. mostly b/c i'll miss ben. i'm in love with ben, i can't explain it. there's this strange attraction to the epitome of canadian smarminess. ben, if you're reading this, i'm yours!

p.s. this week in pictures contest will be on hiatus. i was unimpressed by last week's entries.

the contest: week 2

after the wonderful success of last week, i decided that we'd try it again. i really must take this moment to thank my cousin for the wonderful source material ... both for week 1 and week 2.


insert witty caption: week 2

a day for firsts

so time to announce the winner(s) to the contest:

in first place, "outbreak of lime disease hits feline population" (i think that's what it said, i can't remember word for word right now, so if i misquoted you brad, my sincerest apologies)

and an honourable mention goes to "just call me snatch sister number 5" from some anonymous entrant, you know who you are (and you definitely didn't get any extra points just for being you)

and in other firsts today ... well, i have quite the list of them ...

today was:

• my first time sailing
• my first time swimming out to "sea" (i.e. the lake) to try to rescue a sailboat that apparently wasn't anchored as well as originally thought (and no, the anchoring duty was not mine)
• my first cob of corn for the summer
• my first margarita of the summer (don't know how that happened)
• my first time on a bicycle built for two
  
• my first time pumping my own gas (i did attempt once before but couldn't figure out how to work the darn doo-hickey and the gas wouldn't come out .. so i just discreetly replaced the nozzle in its little holder and left the gas station ... )
• my first time swimming in lake urine ... er i mean huron this year... heck in about 3 or 4 years, i think.
• my first time using the bullets in my blog ... how wonderful! i like bullets, i must keep this in mind for the future!

and perhaps that is it ...but still, overall, that's a pretty big day of firsts, don't you think?

but now, i must be off to bed ... too much food ... ah, gotta love sundays at the cottage, the home of the eating marathon

contest: week #1

so, i've decided to have a contest. of course i'm not being original with my contest .. and contrary to what "week #1" implies, this won't necessarily be a weekly event .. it may be more often or, more likely, less often .. and also, i think contest implies that there is some sort of prize. i'm unsure as to what this prize is ... other than perhaps bragging rights. so here we go, week number 1 .. the witty caption contest:

here's your picture:

insert witty line here

now let's hear your captions!

just a musing

note: if you're easily offended by religious talk and issues that generally fall under religion's purview, you may not want to read the next couple lines ... so cover your eyes!


if you became impregnated by immaculate conception, how wrong would it be to get an abortion?

just wondering

yeah,i have no idea where that thought came from.

confrontations

so .. living with girls there it is almost inevitable that there will be drama ... we made it almost a year, well, more like 8 months without too much but on tuesday night the poo hit the proverbial fan

now, i'm not a fan of confrontation ... i'm not good at initiating it, not good at being on the receiving end and definitely not good in the aftermath ... which is the reason that i've been avoiding it for months

unfortunately, i was in the wrong place at the wrong time on tuesday evening and received the brunt of the anger and now must live in the insufferable silence that follows

i'm comfortable in silence, i'm not always a talker and often prefer to just laze in silence ... but this is uncomfortable silence ... and so i have hidden in the comfort of my room where no one can bother me .. but really, how much longer can this go on? how much longer can i stay a prisoner, a prisoner of my own room? really, i am also the jailer, so i guess as long as i decide.

oh sarah, how we love thee

last night, for the first time in many years, i got the opportunity to see sarah perform live once again ... and she was amazing!

sarah who, you ask? well, sarah mclachlan of course! (i'm on a first-name basis with all my favourite singers .. sarah, lauryn, jill, alicia ... etc ... either that or i'm just to lazy to say full names, it can be exhausting you know ... there's a reason why we don't call each other by our first and last names all the time - in an aside, i was bored at work the other day and decided to start looking up what my last name meant ... at one time i had found my last name used as a first name in a baby name book and it said that it meant "bean farmer" ... well, that wasn't very cool .. i know last names are often a derivation of what a person used to do ... but bean farmer? there's a reason that i moved away from the country ... so anyway, i couldn't find anything that said my name meant bean farmer ... however, much to my surprise, i could find no internet source that told me that my last name meant "bean farmer" ... instead, it said that it was a different version of the french-name equivalent to "smith" ... not equivalent of smith due to its popularity but instead due to its literal meaning ... but still, smith is a popular name ... i want to me more original! in the words of bridget [jones, if you have to ask ... yet another "person" i'm on a first name basis with], i want something more extraordinary than that)

anyway, back to how great she was ... the control, the maturity of her voice, the strength, the clarity, the flexibility, the instrumentations ... i can only wish that i had that kind of talent.

so i would like to say thank you sarah ... thank you for your music and thank you for sharing it with us!

(my only complaint is that there were no songs sung from touch or solace ... now i can understand why there'd be not much from touch ... but solace had some good, solid songs on it ... and one of my favourites too ... but that's ok ... she has so much great material that she can just really concentrate on a couple of her cd's ... and i'm really glad there were so many from fumbling b/c that is definitely my favourite cd ... so many great songs!)

so as a final kind of wrap up ... here's what we heard ...

from fumbling:
- possession
- waiting
- hold on
- ice
- elsewhere
- ice cream
- fear
- fumbling towards ecstacy

from surfacing:
- building a mystery
- adia
- angel
- witness
- sweet surrender
(i think that's it)

from movie sound tracks:
- i will remember you
- black bird

from afterglow:
- fallen (opening song)
- world on fire
- stupid
- drifting
- train wreck
- push
- answer
- dirty little secret (final encore)

t'was wonderful! please come back again soon, sarah!

crazy daisy

so my illustrious partner in crime and i have been pug-sitting this week ... pugs, for those of you don't know are one of the ugliest dogs ... but they're so ugly they're cute (http://www.akc.org/breeds/recbreeds/pug.cfm).. anyways, this dog is a ball of energy and rather ... well, crazy (which works out rather well b/c it rhymes with daisy which is the dog's name)

anyways, the pug-sitting isn't the real story here, but she features in it

so ... the other night, daisy was sleeping on my bed with me .. but then she sat up on the corner of my bed and looked out the door that was open just a crack or so (well, about a foot) and starts growling ... for a long long time ... i glance out the door and there's nothing there ... nothing there at all ... but she continues to growl ... it was really unnerving

i told my room mate (she would be the partner in crime) about it and she said that crazy daisy did the same thing on her last night ... and again, there is no one out in the hall for her to be growling out

and what does this lead a paranoid person like this to believe? well, that we have a spirit living with us! (i think i've been reading torontoghosts.com too much) ... animals are supposed to be good at sensing these things, so it makes sense right?

at least she seems like a nice spirit! not too mischeivous or anything ... and now if i hear strange noises i can blame it on the spirit rather than on the rapists and robbers i always imagine are breaking into the house. wonderful!

mid-summer crisis

so mary kay letourneau got out of jail today .. who is she, you ask? well, to catch you up, she's the elementary school teacher that had a relationship with a grade 6 student about 8 or 9 years ago (i can't remember the perfect timeline) ... was charged (while carrying his child) and sentenced ... and then when she got out on parole (i think it was) was caught having sex with him again in the back seat of a car (and was then impregnated with her second child by him) ... so now she's out, and he's no longer 12, but now is 21 and is fighting to try to strike down a court order that bars them from having any contact with each other. apparently, he's still in love with her .. and perhaps she's still in love with him (she's been rather mum on the whole issue)

there is a definite icky factor in this whole situation ... one must really wonder what a woman of 34 could see in a boy of 12 (heck, i'm pushing 24 and i don't think i could handle a 22 year old ... and if i was with a guy who was 22, he better be darned mature) ... so what is there between a 12 year old and a 34 year old? great challenging conversation? exciting sex? perhaps that's it ... but you have to remember that a grade 5 student shouldn't (although, you never know these days) be that experienced - although, then she could mold him into exactly what she wanted.

still, i think it's a little icky.

but there still seems to be this ... i won't say romantic ... but ... fascination in our society with the woman seducing the young boy situation ... it appears every once in a while - pacey in dawson's creek , irving's widow for one year (recently the centre of the movie the door in the floor based on the same book), etc ... and it's treated as it's ok ... even something for others to be jealous of, to yearn for themselves ... i think this is part of the fascination with the real-life occurrence of this fantasy ...

there's even a debate as to whether it's ok or not, if it's romantic or just pedophilic

if the genders were reversed, and it was the male teacher seducing the female student, there would be no debate, it would be straight perversion and pedophelia

but in the end, i think it's just another example as to how geared towards men the media is (aside: media is the plural of medium, i.e. one medium or many media ... but when you refer to "the media", is this treated as singular or plural ... by all rights it should be plural, but it just doesn't seem right that it would be plural ... anywya, i digress) ... many of the images on tv, movies, yadda yadda yadda (you must excuse all my yaddas ... i was watching seinfeld tonight and it was the "yadda, yadda yadda" episode) are geared towards what men would like to see ... older woman seducing younger man ... average/overweight guy with beautiful, skinny wife ... etc etc (i think the average / overweight guy married to the beautiful, skinny wife is especially perpetuated on sit-coms which i suppose makes sense as we generally find pleasantly plump men as jolly, jocular, amusing yet women in the same condition are slobs, unattractive ... but this is starting to change and kirstie alley is certainly pulling her weight in that struggle)

but in the end, it does serve its purpose ... i am entertained, and that's all i ask for, isn't it?

je ne sais quoi

i really like to think that marketers do not have a hold on me ... that i can simply dismiss their schemes and advertisements as pure manipulation ...

but ... they come up with some of the best slogans! wonderful slogans! things that i wished i had come up with myself.

my current favourites are:

nothing to justify (diet coke)

and

remember, your laugh lines are your sexy lines (khalua)

funny enough, i drink neither of these beverages and have no desire too .. but man, i sure do remember their slogans!

new beginnings

well .. after years (years plural ... how scary) of being a happy resident of diaryland, i have decided it is finally time to migrate .. time for a new beginning so to speak

i have two reasons for this ...

1. i really really want a comment section
2. i figured that if i started anew, started afresh i might find some new inspiration ... and maybe, even for just a little while, i might become a good blogger again, and update more than once every two or three months

so, fasten your seatbelts and secure all loose objects ... we're in for a bumpy ride!