31.8.00 9:12 AM ]

Today is my last day of work. Nice. And they've already taken away all access codes on my pass card - I had to wait for someone to let me into the building this morning and for someone to let me out of the building last night.

 

29.8.00 1:19 PM ]

Brad decided to give storytelling a try. I must say, I liked it.

 

28.8.00 1:23 PM ]

Okay, I just discovered this site recently, but what she blogged today moved me. Here is someone who is trying to use her blog to help another.

I wish you luck in your endeavor Patti. And I send my wishes to Sandy.

 

26.8.00 9:39 PM ]

I don't quite know how it happened, but somehow, I have started liking IE. Overexposure? Maybe, but why would that start affecting me now? Peer Pressure? Nope, I did this on my own. I have no explaination for my change of heart on this matter.

I'm now really begininng to think it *must* be something in the water ...

7:29 PM ]

I swear, I don't think I've ever made this many changes (small or large) to my web site in such a small period of time before. Must be something in the water ...

Anyhoo, I'm impatient and wanted to get these changes up, so I might have missed a few things here or there. If you see any glaring errors, feel free to drop me a line.

6:24 PM ]

Wow, I must say that I really do love the way that the web opens up my world. Not only am I exposed to a multitude of people and experiences that I would otherwise be blind to, but other people are exposed (sometimes at their own regret) to all the things coming out of my head.

A few weeks ago, I got an e-mail from Bane commenting on my writing, and just today I got another e-mail from Kenyon with more nice words. So, I'd like to say thanks to both of you, for taking the time to let me know that my words are not being lost in cyberspace but are actually reaching people. It really makes my day.

{ BTW, I think I have now fixed that JS error you mentioned. Thanks for telling me about it! }

1:05 PM ]

I had a weird dream this morning. I was sitting in a cafe with my friends and I kept trying to pick up my glass with my left hand to drink, but every time I would drop it and it would shatter. They'd bring me a new one, and the same thing would happen. I couldn't hold anything, my fingers just wouldn't close around it. I finally got up to leave, but my left leg was asleep, so I ended up falling down. It was at this point that I awoke and realized that I had been sleeping on my left side and my arm was numb from it, as was my left leg.

It's funny that, even in sleep, my mind realized that it had no control over my left side and incorporated that into the dream.

Hmm ... so what on earth does it mean then when I dream I am being eaten by a giant crab?

 

24.8.00 3:47 PM ]

After relating my little tanning closet story to a co-worker, I was told you are only supposed to stay in those things for 5 to 10 minutes. That really doesn't seem long to me at all. But that would explain why I am so pink today. And why even the already previously tanned parts of me are feeling burnt.

2:20 PM ]

I have just become the marketing lackey's lackey. Can I possibly sink any lower? Good thing he's a friend of mine.

9:29 AM ]

Having spent the summer working indoors, the majority of my skin is still a pasty white. My face and lower arms get tanned on the drive to and from work, my shoulders get a little sun on the weekends, but the rest of my body is, as I said, quite white.

As my vacation comes closer and closer, I thought it would be a good idea to try and get some sun so that my legs and stomach don't look quite so startling when I put on my bathing suit. But with a little more than a week left until I leave, I have not managed to find the time to do this. So, last night I decided to give our tanning closet a try.

Just to give a brief explaination, when our townhouse complex was built, what is now our house was used as a model home. So we have mirrors everywhere, a nice 'cold room' for storage, a sauna, and yes ... a tanning closet. Not a tanning bed, but a tanning closet. When we moved in, my brother took the basement as his room and used the tanning closet as a clothes closet. When he moved out and I moved downstairs, I too used the tanning closet as a clothes closet. So when I decided to give it a try last night, I wasn't actually convinced it would work. We are not the original owners of the house, so I did not know if the lights in there were even tanning lights, but I decided I had nothing to lose. I emptied out my closet, got naked and stood in there with the lights on for about 15-20 minutes (it has a timer). I felt nothing and went to bed.

This morning, I rolled over and was greeted with some pain. So I rolled over again and was greeted with even more pain. I got up, and found a very pink body in the mirror. Parts of me that probably haven't seen the sun since I was 3 years old are now a wee bit burnt.

At least I know our tanning closet works. Now I just have the problem of where to put all my clothes ...

 

23.8.00 4:52 PM ]

My computer at work emits a low-level, but constant buzzing sound. Everyone who walks by my desk is momentarily confused as to the source of this sound. The looks on their faces when I tell them it's my computer are quite amusing. On the other hand, the sound is annoying enough to make me resort to listening to net radio all day, which again, isn't really such a bad thing.

3:00 PM ]

Only a little more than 6 working days remain of my time here. Good stuff.

I think the lasting memory I will have of this place also happens to be the word of the day for today: scourge. It means "A source of widespread, dreadful affliction and devastation such as that caused by pestilence or war." Which really isn't that funny. But the context in which it was used by one of my co-workers on a lunch-time drive to McD's was: "Minivans are the scourge of the road!" Now, every time I see a minivan, that thought goes through my head.

9:52 AM ]

I was all bitter about coming to work today,

  1. because it is raining, and
  2. because..well, it's work.
But as I pulled onto the street my building is on, I encountered a line of cars, waiting for a group of little geese to cross. It was so funny to see all these big hunks of metal waiting for these tiny little things waddling along. It only took about a minute for them to cross, but it instantly perked me up. Until I got to work at least. :)

 

22.8.00 2:48 PM ]

I know I haven't been posting much lately. I want to blog. I really do. I just don't have much to say. So Sorry.

 

19.8.00 10:41 AM ]

And, as promised, here is Fudge. I told you going away for the weekend was good for the creative juices. Imagine what I'll write when I go on vacation soon for a week.

 

18.8.00 11:17 PM ]

One down, one to go.

I offer you Tag, You're it to pacify those of you (you know who you are) who bug me that I don't write enough.

3:08 PM ]

Oh my. I have yet another story for you. *Two* new stories in one day. Almost a record.

But, as before, you must wait until I get home. Don't you fret, it'll be worth the wait. { grin }

12:01 PM ]

There'll be a new story posted either late tonight or sometime tomorrow. I have only one more thing to finish for it first, which I can't do here at work.

9:27 AM ]

Words overheard across the cubicle wall:

"Where *is* that garbage truck? I'm starving!"

 

16.8.00 11:21 AM ]

Okay. Confession Time.

I love reading Cosmo.

Every month I watch the newstands like a hawk ... waiting ... watching ... ready to pounce the minute the new issue arrives. I read it in one sitting. I love it. It entertains me like no other.

But the latest issue was by far the most entertaining in quite a while. The front cover screams out "Kama Sutra 3". 12 New Sex Positions. Well now, this should be interesting. So, I grab a seat in the living room and start reading. I get to the KS3 part. I start laughing. It has little pictures to illustrate the postions. I laugh even more. By this time, I am laughing so hard, I must stop reading the article. My mother asks me what I am reading. I tell her. She gives me a funny look. She thinks I am weird. I cannot finish the article.

Last night, needing something to read while eating dinner, I pick up the magazine again. I managed to finish the article this time, but not without a few more minutes of uncontrollable laughter. My mother looks up, sees what I am reading and gives me another one of those looks. She now thinks I am *really* weird.

It was the pictures. If they mearly described the positions, I wouldn't have had such a strong reaction. But pictures ... they were too much too handle.

 

15.8.00 9:34 AM ]

Not only is today my wonderful brother's birthday, I discovered this morning that it is also Relaxation Day. So ... HAPPY RELAXATION DAY. May you do absolutely nothing all day.

7:45 AM ]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

TIM!

 

11.8.00 3:04 PM ]

I need to stop using the word 'just'. Why? For two reasons:

  1. I use it too much
  2. Every time I use it, I spell it 'jsut', and it's beginning to bug me.

11:32 AM ]

Wednesday night I went out for sushi. { mmm.... sushi.... } I thought this would satiate the sushi need that had been growing inside me, taking over my mind. But no. Today, again, I am craving sushi. Can I convince my co-workers to get sushi with me for lunch? Maybe, but I somehow doubt it. What's a girl to do?!?

{ Terry, we will *definitely* have to learn how to make sushi next term. Or get in real good with the sushi place. This cannot go on the way it is. }

 

10.8.00 9:23 AM ]

This is a warning. I'm about to go on a minor rant. You might want to remove impressionable children from the room.

In the past two days, I have twice faced traffic jams. Tuesday as I was driving home, the radio informed me that an entire section of the highway was closed down because of a "pothole". Three lanes of the busiest highway in Ontario closed because of a pothole. In rush hour traffic. The highway remained closed for almost 24 hours. For a pothole.

Last night, it took me 2 hours to get to my friend's place instead of the usual 30 minutes. Again, an entire section of a (different) highway was closed because of a "broken down truck". At least this time it wasn't in the middle of rush hour traffic - I can't even begin to imagine what that would have been like. They have almost reopened it, 18 hours later.

Why am I ranting? Because if you look at the facts above, you begin to think someone is not doing their job. Close an entire highway and take 24 hours to fix a pothole?!? Close another major highway for a broken down truck and wait 18 hours until you reopen it!?! Where are these people's brains?

Ah, but those aren't the facts. This morning I read about both incidents in the newspaper. The first was not a 'pothole', but a hole 2.5 metres (about 2.5 yards) deep, 2 metres long and more than a lane wide. That ain't no pothole. And the reason it took so long to fix it? They had to fix the problem causing the hole, make sure the other side of the highway was not going to do the same thing, and then fix the actual hole. The second was not a 'broken down truck', but a transport truck that had split completely in two, dumping its entire contents onto the highway. The contents were barrels of a slightly toxic liquid, which had to be cleaned up by men in protective suits.

Now, when I was in these traffic jams, the only information available was the first set of info. All the radio stations were giving the same info: pothole, broken down truck. And people were steaming mad that it was taking so long. And they were wondering why the entire highway was closed for what seems like a minor and everyday occurance. And it is understandable, because given the information we were, it's hard to see why it this would be.

Now that I have read the true reasons, it makes so much more sense. In fact, looking at the situations, I think everyone involved worked quite quickly to resolve things. So again, why the rant? Lack of information. If the proper information had been relayed in the first place, people would have been more understanding, perhaps even more patient, not as likely to exhibit road rage (I saw it numerous, numerous times). And I really don't think it would have been hard to get the right info out. They took the time to get the wrong info out.

I'm done.

7:42 AM ]

Dammit. I'd like to sleep through the night. Is it too much to ask that I not wake up 5 times a night? In the past two months I've only had three uninterrupted sleeps. I think I'm way overdue for one, don't you?

 

9.8.00 9:54 PM ]

Tonight as I was driving home I happened to notice one of those electronic road conditions signs - the ones that tell you about accidents ahead and the like. This one however had the very simple message "Watch Out for Children". Huh?!? I'm in the middle of a 6-lane highway and you're telling me to watch out for children? I wasn't even allowed to play in the (very quiet) street in front of my house when I was a kid, never mind a major highway.

Kids these days ...

3:49 PM ]

My 3:00 chocolate bar (which really hasn't seen 3:00 for at least a month now) actually made it to 3:30 today before being devoured. I'm pretty impressed with myself.

 

7.8.00 4:32 PM ]

Being in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do is good for writing, quantity-wise at least. While I was camping I finished one writing, worked on few others, and started yet another.

I had trouble coming up with a name for Reality. In the end I figured, this was as good as any. In some ways, reality is just a state of mind anyway.

12:35 PM ]

I survived my camping expedition. And it didn't rain until last night, which is a *very* good thing - apparently my mother decided that at 22 I am old enough to pack my own camping stuff, while I thought that since all the camping stuff was *together* she would pack a raincoat for me as well (oops). The hiking was great, the campsite was ... um, well let's just say that when we got there we discovered that our site was literally 50 feet away from the highway, and that was just the beginning. But in the end, the hiking and exploring that we did made up for it all.

 

4.8.00 6:27 PM ]

Well, I'm off camping for 3 days. I *really* hope it doesn't rain. I love playing in the rain, but only when I know that afterwards I can change into dry clothes. Otherwise, it's just not all that much fun.

4:21 PM ]

According to Microsoft Word, a synonym for lie is "be economical with the truth". That amuses me. Being economical is generally considered a good thing, or at least that is the connotation that it has. Lying, on the other hand, is not generally considered a good thing.

2:35 PM ]

I want to know how some people get (or keep) their jobs.

Case 1: A few days ago, a friend and I went to see a movie. Now, it's a bit of a rush to get home from work, change, eat and get to the theatre, but we managed to make it there with about half an hour until the movie started. No Problem. A 5 minute wait in line and we had our tickets. Going Great. Now we only had to get food. Bad Idea. With five minutes until the movie began, we were still in line for food. We wondered what the problem was. As we came closer and closer to the cash, we found it. Or *him* to be exact. Now, I know that movie theatre personnel are trained to always ask people if they want to "up-size" their popcorn, drinks, etc., ("For only 25 cents more, you can get a 'super-extra-extra large!'"), but this guy was taking it to the extreme. Every single time someone ordered something, he would ask if they wanted to upsize it. Then he would get one of the items, come back and ask "Are you sure you don't want to upsize (the other thing)?" Every single item. Every single time. Multiple times per order. With 2 minutes until the movie began we finally got to the front and ordered, making sure to specifiy the sizes we wanted and *no larger*. But he still managed to ask us three times if we wanted to upsize our order. The only thing that this accomplished was to make us late for our movie and *very* annoyed. Nothing more. Not one person up-sized their order while we were in line. Not one person. But everyone walked away annoyed. How is that good customer service?

Case 2: We went out for lunch today. Being the quasi-vegetarian that I am, I ordered a veggieburger. When it came time to tell the garnisher what I wanted on my burger, it became apparent that the cashier had rung in a 'value' burger instead. Okay, 'veggie' could sound kinda like 'value', no big deal. I (politely) pointed out to the error to the server. She called her manager. After 5 minutes of back-and-forth conversation they had finally settled the fact that I had ordered a veggieburger but had gotten a regular hamburger

"The bill says valueburger."

"Yes, but I ordered a veggieburger."

"You didn't order a valueburger?"

"Nope. I ordered a veggieburger."

"You see the bill here, it says valueburger."

"Yes, but I ordered a veggieburger."

... etc.

Finally the lady said, "So you want to change? You want a veggieburger instead? You don't want a value burger?" Wow! How on earth did you get to that conclusion?!?

Grrrrrr.

 

3.8.00 10:57 PM ]

Added some pictures. My favourite is Steve and Craig (and Kurt).

10:57 PM ]

The Tribe Has Spoken.

My last redesign was greeted with ... um, well, let's say anything but fanfare. The comments ranged from the noncommittal ("It's fine") to the direct ("I hate it"). And everyone liked the blog better on the left than on the right. So, here's yet another design. It has been passed by a few people, and has received slightly better marks this time, even garnering a "It kicks ass". It might still go through a few minor architectural changes (too much white?) but hopefully this will be the end of the revamps. For a while.

enjoy.

10:24 AM ]

I've spent 3 months at work without a stapler. I finally found one in the supply closet today. All nice and new, wrapped and in a box, like a present waiting to be opened. As soon as I put the staples in, it broke.

Is this a sign? Should I not be trusted with a stapler? Really, I can't do damage to anyone but myself ...

8:04 AM ]

Dammit. I just found out BT is playing in Toronto on August 6. But I already have plans to go camping (in the rain) instead.

 

2.8.00 9:23 PM ]

{ sigh } The sushi cravings were strong today. But I must see if I can hold off for just a little longer ...

4:30 PM ]

uh oh. I think this may be a challenge.

Maybe I shouldn't have used up so many words yesterday.

Well, FYI, I do have a word of the day today. It's punted. Perhaps not as exciting (or tongue-twisting) as yesterday's words, but a good word none-the-less. Lemme see ... "For some unknown reason, I keep getting punted out of Paint Shop Pro today."

{ BTW, I'm glad you are posting more ... {grin} I think mayhaps we have unwittingly unleashed a monster ... }

 

1.8.00 2:59 PM ]

Ick.

I like lychee nuts.

I like KitKats.

I do not like lychee-flavoured KitKats.

1:43 PM ]

Today's words are: obsequious, exacerbates and quandary. As in " I am in a quandary as to how to change the design of my site without exacerbating my already frustrated state of mind". I couldn't fit obsequious in there. It's a hard word to use. It'd have to be something like : "I found him to be a bit obsequious the way he followed me around like a lost puppy." But I think I used them correctly. Who cares if I didn't? I'm not an English major or anything ... I just like the sound of them.