Places we still need to find:

corner store
coffee shop
video rental store
dentist for Raven
afterschool program
eb games for Duncan
hockey team for Wes
gymnastics for Raven
gym for Allie
grocery store
movie theatre
big ass mall


Life here is almost perfect!

Punishing the children for the sins of the fathers (to the third and fourth generation...)

As reported in the Globe and Mail today, 70% of americans believe there is a link between Saddam Hussein and the 9-11 WTC attacks. According to the poll, conducted by the Washington Post, that means nearly 7 out of 10 americans actually believe that Saddam was personally responsible for the WTC attacks.


They actually do believe this… even though there has never been any evidence to support this claim (a claim that was thrown out there by Mr. Bush in order to garner american public support for an invasion of Iraq), to the contrary there has even been evidence to suggest the complete opposite – so why does this belief persist? If the american public is so easily convinced, which country (and which excuse) will be so easily swallowed next?


The Washington Post story suggests the reason for this groundless belief lay in the ease of which a shocked american public could demonize and blame Saddam for 9-11, a presumption which Mr. Bush happily exploited while manipulating public opinion with his pro war rhetoric. As an immediate respsonse, this can be understandable - yet this poll was taken two years after the fact... Is this connection, made, embraced and maintained by the american public indicative of a nation scared enough to place blame on any “evil doers” presented to them by their “president” – borne of a culture of adults spooked by random boogey men – or have they merely allowed themselves to suspend all intelligent skepticism and/or belief in order to have the satisfaction of revenge for the worst terrorist attack in their history?


Is it my imagination, or are the phrases “Land of the Free” and “You are either with us or against us” diametrically opposite?


Fear can be a good thing, if utilized properly it can mobilize a necessary response for survival, but it is a bad thing when it is open ended and undefined. The american public is afraid – but where does their fear transpire from? Do they know what they should be afraid of? Should they not fear the loss of their independent freedom? Should they not fear the loss of open and critical inquiry, imperative to the democratic process? Should they not fear a “president” that seems more intent on misleading and scaring the public he leads into perpetual war then actually empowering them?


Fear has long been used by undesirable governments to solicit control over their peoples. It is often used as a way of removing choices from a "free" people so that the only choice they logically see is the choice the government wishes them to support (think Germany, World War II). BUT, the american people still do have a choice. Their government is still “elected” (regardless of what happened in the last election). Lets hope they are both free and brave enough to make a choice. Let's hope that when Mr. Bush is long gone from the geo-political scene, that the american people were brave and strong enough to withstand what ever his antics have brought down upon them, and the generations to come.

Thank gods it's Friday!

Such a good day today! I got stuff done, so I feel productive! The house is all unpacked, and I have met my neighbours... We all went to West Edmonton Mall after the kids got out of school and watched the Dolphin for a while, and then Duncan took us to watch the fire breathing dragon at Silver City. We had to hurry home to meet Quynn, who was coming over for the evening with Pizza and his adorable dog, Mischief. We just got back from the park, where the kids exhausted themselves and the dog, running around playing frisbee. It's a huge field, and I decided that I would run around the field in the mornings (Duncan said that he would come with me too) for exercise!


Anyways, we are about to settle down to an evening of watching "Yes, Prime Minister", which Quynn brought Duncan as a birthday gift...


Awww, the month of Duncan's Birthday has begun...

It is nice to be home!

You know that feeling that occurs when everything seems like it is all planned out and confirmed but some little part of your instinct nags at the back of your brain, in some vain attempt at warning against the complacency you have allowed yourself to settle into?


Well, I have come to believe that every good moving story must begin with the following dialogue:


Me: “Hello. I’m here to pick up a moving truck”
Guy: blank stare
Me: (helpfully offering) “I have a confirmation number”
Guy: “You’re here to pick up… a truck?”
Me: looking around to see if I am somehow not at a U Haul outlet, “Yes”
Guy: “We don’t have a truck”
Me: (hopefully, insistent) “I have a confirmation number”
Guy: “That doesn’t mean anything to me”


Well see, it was pretty early in the morning that day, on a Sunday no less, and I hadn’t yet had my coffee. I had been packing and cleaning for days and there was no way I was leaving this U Haul outlet without a truck to get all our stuff to Edmonton. I was done with Calgary nonsense, I had places to be. So my darling friend Cathy and I pulled a good cop / bad cop routine on the guy (damn she is a great bad cop) and before he knew what had hit him I was driving out of the parking lot with a 26 foot U Haul truck for less then the price of the 17 foot I had originally “confirmed”. (Note to all movers: “confirmation” doesn’t mean to U Haul what it means to you…)



So like I said, all good moving stories start out with some sort of laughing matter. I think it is the law of moving. A teensy bit behind schedule, I finally got this (diesel sucking, manual shifting monstrosity) truck home, and we (thanks to friends) had all of our worldly possessions packed into Pig (as it lovingly became known) and ready for the road before 12:00. It was actually better to have a big truck, as it was easier to pack everything in, not having to be so precise to preserve space. I love the way everything works out in the end.


When we went to pick the kids up from their Dads house, my ex came out and helped us plot a route into Airdrie that would have us avoid the road side scales – with the truck being so huge we would have had to have submitted to the scales, and with the way we packed I was sure our load would be deemed unbalanced (and there was no way I was repacking that thing). So we took his advice (Thanks Mark! Thanks for not being a crazy Ex!) and avoided what we later learned was three hour line up at the scales. In Airdrie we met up again with Cathy and Dan (who came to Edmonton to help us unpack – what lovely and entirely incredible friends we have!) who took Raven in their car, leaving myself, Duncan, Wes and an unimpressed cat in the cab of Pig.


To make a long story short (and bygods it was a long story) it took Pig 5 (expletitve deleted) hours to drive to Edmonton. We were passed by motor homes driven by people three times my age even. Our moment of excitement and glory came when we actually passed one vehicle… (there must have been something wrong with it) - Much whooping and hollering ensued with that event!


It didn’t take us long to unpack the truck once here, and although Cathy and Dan couldn’t stay long enough to enjoy it, I can say it has certainly turned into our new home. I was really happy when I saw it, the walls are a gorgeous beige color, and all the trimmings are white. The kitchen is beautiful, we have two bathrooms and a dishwasher, and both the basement and front (fenced) yard are huge. The only thing that broke the whole time was some wine glasses, and all in all, I can say the move went perfectly! It is nice to be home.



The kids started school, which is right next door to where we live, and they are enjoying it. We got Wes registered for Hockey and Raven will be doing Gymnastics instead of Ballet. The transit system where we live is great – so many bus routes. We live very close to West Edmonton Mall, and the only thing we haven’t found close yet is a major food store. Things have worked out wonderfully!


I am enjoying my Edmonton friends, and looking forward to making new friends, but I am missing my Calgary friends (as you all know). I can’t wait to see everyone who are planning trips up here this month. I am so excited!

Last Post for a while...

I thought I would leave you with a picture of my new style to tide you over! Blogging will resume in September!


P.S. This great haircut just got me ID'd at the liqour store, but I didn't actually have my ID on me; so Duncan, who was drunk after too many Strongbow's consumed in the sun at Kilkenny's, was made to purchase our alcohol. So, as much as I am flattered to be considered young enough to ID (it's been ten years since I was ID'd), there must be some irony somewhere in liquor laws that allow a drunk Duncan (drunk enough to lose all train of thought to follow random dogs upon seeing them) to buy the alcohol while the sober one waits outside the store.

Girl welcomes South to her Blogosphere...

Everyone Applaud and Rejoice. South's Adventures is here!


Also, for a beautiful pictorial essay on China, please visit Mike's Blog, while he reflects on his first year in China.

Only 5 more to go...

My hit counter sits at 2995 visitors. Check it out... if you visit and you are number 3000, let me know! I don't know exactly what that will get you (yet), but even a little bit of fame is exciting is it not?

MARS MADNESS

We need a break, it's (finally) a lovely clear night, and Mars is visiting. So we shall go and entertain it.


UPDATE: 10:55pm: It is gorgeous! If you haven't seen it, talk a walk to admire it! It is the brightest, yellow-orange planet in the eastern sky! Duncan said "it's like you could just reach out and grab it". That about says it all.

My life with a Historian...

To understand what living with a (wonderful, beautiful, sexy, intelligent, amazing) historian means for a girl lost within the throngs of moving chaos, check out DUNCAN'S BLOG for his lovely and enlightening (note the hint of sarcasm) pictorial illustration of our packing. Well, our pre-packing state, admist the sorting of wanted and unwanted stuff. I asked him why he felt it was neccessary to take pictures of everything in absolute disarray when we had every opportunity to take pictures of our home in it's normal state of order and tidiness, but he said it was for historical purposes that he should document our moving in all its glorious and jumbled mess. He said he was the true state people get into when moving. I know I can't argue with that, so I just nod my head and smile prettily. Anything that makes him happy is fine with me...


It is worth some pondering over the portrayal of our lives through the pictures we take - and is it accurate - does any one take pictures of the things they don't want to remember? Or just everyday, mundane things that make up our experience but are overlooked when it comes to the documentry of our lives? I love pictures: they are, among many other important artifacts of my life, proof of my existance (and my enjoyment of) here. I love what I see within pictures, I love what pictures represent to each observer, I love how I can see so much of a common human condition in a shot that someone, sometime, was moved enough to capture on film. I even collect pictures other people have taken - and I am a big fan of how the intro to the film ONE HOUR PHOTO (a freaky website, check it out) describes the overall phenomenon of picture taking... "[Family] pictures depict smiling faces. Births, weddings, holidays, children's birthday parties. People take pictures of the happy moments in their lives. Someone looking through our photo album would conclude that we had led a joyous, leisurely existance, free of tragedy. No one ever takes a picture of something they want to forget..."


Or do they? I think maybe we do.


Anyways, I am soposed to be taking a "break" (today we have finished, incuding cleaning carpets and washing walls, the upstairs of the house) so I should hurry this up. We had lunch out at the Den today with Kim and Kirsten, and I had the most fabulous sandwich (Parmeson coated Avocado, Tomato and Red Onion Sandwhich.) It was DELICIOUS. Also, thanks to Kim, we did a Belief based quiz from Beliefnet, and it appears that we are to be (rolling eyes now) Unitarian Universalists. Hahaha. Also, Secular Humanists and buddhism were high, and they fit well into who I am spiritually. I guess it could be worse... Anyways, here are my results:


1. Unitarian Universalism (100%)
2. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (96%)
3. Liberal Quakers (96%)
4. Secular Humanism (82%)
5. Neo-Pagan (80%)
6. Mahayana Buddhism (76%)
7. New Age (75%)
8. Theravada Buddhism (74%)
9. Taoism (69%)
10. Bahá'í Faith (66%)
11. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (65%)
12. New Thought (61%)
13. Nontheist (57%)
14. Reform Judaism (56%)
15. Scientology (55%)
16. Orthodox Quaker (53%)
17. Jainism (52%)
18. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (47%)
19. Sikhism (45%)
20. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (42%)
21. Hinduism (37%)
22. Jehovah's Witness (33%)
23. Orthodox Judaism (30%)
24. Islam (23%)
25. Seventh Day Adventist (22%)
26. Eastern Orthodox (11%)
27. Roman Catholic (11%)

Take the test yourself. Warning: Belief-O-Matic™ assumes no legal liability for the ultimate fate of your soul.

At 0438 hours...

Whose to say whether or not it's time to go to bed, or just stay up for the rest of the night playing Civ III? I mean, isn't it the next day anyways?

And getting close...

To 3000 visitors. Who will it be?

Almost time for moving!

Today, while I packed my stuff in the bedroom into boxes, Duncan took the kids out on an adventure (to rent them some movies so they would stay out of our hair...). After a while, they came back bearing gifts; Raven brought me a chocolate bar, Wesley brought candy and Duncan gave me LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS (I also got Chicago as a gift the other night, right after I had been given Bowling for Columbine. I have been spoiled!).

Right now we are taking a LOTR intermission break - kids are outside making loud outside noises, Duncan is making ground beef into hamburgers which he will BBQ, and I'm, well... I'm blogging, obviously.

The packing is going well. Very well, actually. Yesterday I got the bathroom all cleaned up and ready and today we almost finished the Kitchen. Cathy hung out with us for a while yesterday, and Dan dropped off some boxes to aid in the packing efforts. I started a war against the Mongols, a tiny backwards civilization that has done little but build spearmen in the years since our game began. It's my "peace through superior firepower" strategy (inspired by the americans, ofcourse). It worked on the English and the Celts... now they are mere blots on the history of the world.

Good news is, our internet will be hooked up in Edmonton relatively soon after moving, so I will be back online soon. Just don't expect anything massively indepth or with any real substance until after I am unpacked and everything is settled. Then I can begin to really blog again.

There's no such thing as too much Civ III

I'm not sure which one of us decided that beer and packing go together, but I am happy to announce we have found a great beer... Big Rock's Honey Brown. Yummy. Between packing and among other things today (including our coffee ritual - likely our last in Calgary for a while) we played Civ III. I know, I know, we are sopposed to be packing, but it's soooo much fun, and we can play together (and take turns packing/playing) so it's perfect!

Damn Brits and Celts made me stay up until 2:20 am destroying and assimilating their meger cultures. It's bad enough being alive when nobody wants you...

That's it for me. I am following Duncan upstairs to our bed now. Sleepy time. Sweet Dreams Allie.

I a.m. tired...

As it's officially Sunday, I just missed blogging on Saturday by a few minutes. It was a busy and productive day today - packing, cleaning and other stuff that a couple does when home alone on the weekend - plus we played Civ III for quite some time as well. I'm tired. That's all I have to say, except to mention that the news about Kelowna (and the other forest fires) was shocking, and my heart goes out to the fire victims in BC. This is all getting out of hand. I don't remember a time ever in BC (or Canada) where 30,000 people were evacuated (with another 15,000 on Standby). Given that Kelowna's population is around 90,000, thats more then problematic.

Pray for rain.

Rain without Lightening.

Every new beggining comes from some other begginings end...

I have a quick chance to blog while on my lunch break, before a friend (Lincoln) comes by to say goodbye. However, that leaves me with the problem of what to blog about, and with all sorts of different things floating around in my head (and I surely mean to blog about them all), that is no small feat. The UN Bombing in Iraq; Bush (as always); The "war" in Iraq (and how americans continue to die over there daily but no longer recieve combat pay); Bowling for Columbine (which my glorious boyfriend surprised me with yesterday); the "prisoners/detainees" in Guantánamo Bay (as they approach their second anniversary in captivity still without trials); the capture of "Chemical Ali" (hey didn't they kill him a few months ago?); my annoyingly mild concussion; or even just my last day of work here at the University of Calgary. But I think what I really need to blog about is how my life is changing in these next couple of weeks, and how I have been feeling about those changes.


With my pending move, I have been in a state of nostalgia for this past little while; an odd observance of my world here as I prepare to engage an exciting, new world in Edmonton. In the due process of natural separation, I have already more then detached myself from many mundane aspects of Calgary (my school, my job, the place that I lived in, my hairdresser's, even some of my favourite hang outs) but there really are things that are harder to leave behind (mostly they are the things that aren't really being left behind, I am just adding distance between me and them). Saying goodbye to friends is obviously what is influencing my thought here, but I know that distance is not a true impediment to friendship and I welcome the warm thoughts and well wishes that our friends have graciously expressed, both from near and far.


I must admit, that it was with a tiny twinge of saddness that I came to realize that this summer, as it draws to a close now, will likely be the last summer that I ever stay home with my children. I have, for every summer since they have been born, stayed home with them (working minimally part time, if at all). In these treasured summers I have come to know my children as the individuals they are, gone many places with them and shared many of my own favoured childhood pass times. This year, Wesley turned 10, old enough to babysit and be home alone, and Raven 8. We have had a great summer this year, and I am so proud of how they have grown up.


Mixed in with all of these feelings is a pure, raw excitement. It's full of passion and expectation and a sense of danger with the unknown ahead. I am looking forward to making a home, with Duncan and our family, in Edmonton. Wish us luck!

Boing, Boing, BloG!

So yesterday... hmmm, where to start? See, I own this beautiful, almost new (read hardly ever used) blue and silver Giro bike helmet, that ran me about 100.00 (only the best for me!) a couple of summers ago. And if I had been wearing that helmet yesterday, (cue hysterical laughter) I totally would have wrecked it while executing my glorious three point landing (Shoulder, Knees, Head) while jumping various cement items in the local urban jungle (read mall parking lot). Wow. I left body parts behind with that one. Well, I ride my bike. And if you're not bleeding, you're just not really riding your bike!

And, today... a very full day indeed, one of those exhausting days where you welcome your bed at the end of the night. I travelled, care of Duncan's Dad (who drove me) to Edmonton for a big job interview. I was surprisingly more nervous then I have been in an interview in a while, but it went well. When I arrived home I changed very quickly as we were going out for dinner, and then off to Kim's house for a party. I am always surprised at Kim's party's by people attending (you just never know who is going to show up), subject matter (the potential for anything is there) and the varying level of attention that I get (Yes, it is all about me!). I was actually somewhat flattered by the fascination one of her friends showered my blog with, so I showed her a few different blogs as she wondered at the extent of the blogosphere. I guess, when you stand back from it a bit, it really is an amazing thing.

Its a nice day

I think we will go for a picnic.

Just Horsin' Around!

Todays adventure was brought to you by the letter "H"... "H" for Horseback Riding, a treat from Duncan's Dad (thanx Neil!). So much fun. I loved how quiet it was there in Fish Creek Park, like we were cocooned within a blanket of silence that somehow separated us from the city that was all around us. It was calming, beautiful and peaceful. Happy Trails indeed!

Remember, Smokey The Bear says only YOU can prevent forest fires!

Here's a pic of how our smoke filled skies look tonight - pretty enough, if it weren't for the flagrant unpleasantness of living with the smoke. A wee spat of rain yesterday managed to clear up our air quality a bit - but I hear the forest fires are still burning mostly out of control, and it's been almost a month now. I don't quite remember anything like this.

Packing it all in...

Boxes.

Our house is slowly but surely being reduced to a box store room. There are boxes everywhere. This particular house will never ever again exist for us without our things stacked in boxes. And it won't be until we unpack these boxes that our new house will become our home. The size of each box does not convey that enormous importance carried by its contents... but it is there neverless. Today we have mostly spent drinking coffee, watching movies, playing virtua fighter, and packing boxes. We will likely go for more boxes later when ready for a break. Yay boxes...

Went through the kid's special boxes today - brought back a lot of memories for me, and alot of opportunity to share with Duncan what kind of people my kids were before he met them, or really got to know them. It was hard to pare down their stuff (there was a lot of stuff), but I am pretty sure we are now moving mostly what is really important to them. You know, the mementos that make up somebody's life - like baby books, cards, old school pictures, first teddy, passports and art work. Life times are long these days though, I aim to make one rubbermaid box enough until they are ready to walk out the door. Then I hope to give it to them as a gift (but some of the stuff will be hard to part with, like their baby hats and booties...).

In other news, this moving business is getting very exciting! I am a little nervous about my upcoming job interview, but nervousness is only excitement and anticiaption in disguise.

We aren't in Kansas anymore, Toto

What's wrong outside?

When we woke up this morning, it was 8:30am - but it was still dark outside. Well maybe not dark per se, but this odd twlight type darkness and all the street lights were still on. Its still quite odd out there - and those aren't clouds blocking out the sky, its a big ass blanket of forest fire smoke. We've had to close all the windows cause when I woke up my eyes were all scratchy and my chest has this uncomfortable sensation occurring in it. It's all very eerie indeed.

I think we are going to stay inside until this goes away. We have more than enough to entertain us inside (we are afterall, Canadian) but it may mean that the big Shakespeare in the park outing doesn't happen today (Sorry all, but will keep you posted).

Tee Hee

I am drunk. And we have more alcohol now. Yay!

Long haired creepy people need not apply...

So, it (friendster.com) was referred to in The Onion (making fun of it ofcourse) and then the same day on a blog here in Calgary, so, as Duncan put it, why don't we check it out? Interesting. It turns out to be an internet popularity contest with a twist... you gain network contacts through your own contacts and so far, after 2 or 3 days, my web of people has spiralled to include a mere 5000 people. So far, its been fun, albeit somewhat trendy. I don't think it is a completely serious service but (yes, again agreeing with Duncan, better then Classmates). Ah, how I love the internet community. Let me know if any of you are involved in this scheme!

Anyways, it helped occupy some of my time today as the girls I have been daycaring didn't show up. It's good, it was nice to have an off day, even if Raven was a little sad. Tonight we are entertaining Joel and getting drunk on the patio. Thank god it's friday! Anyways, Duncan just walked in the door home from work, and he has a new game that I bought him (Virtua Fighter 4 Evolutions) so I am going to go play with him! I love playing with Duncan!

Oh yeah, and welcome Deven to the Blogosphere!

Guilty Pleasures?

Looting in Ottawa and Toronto? Pardon me, Canadians looting? Shame on you. Shame on us! We are better than this.

Update: After reading about Lilly's day in her blog I am heartened to hear the stories of ordinary Canadians dealing in positive ways with this crisis. It makes me feel a little better.

The lights aren't on...

New York and Toronto would not be cool places to be in (rush hour with no traffic lights) a major power outtage. Apparently, it maybe into the evening before the power in this part of North America comes back on. I feel for all my blog buddies and readers from the East... Ofcourse, you can't read this... and your phones apparently don't work either, so you will just have to feel the love. Can you feel the love??????

Martian Opposition

It's close encounters of the Martian Kind! I can't wait. Plus, a great Meteor Shower going on right now too. What a treat!

I have created Blog Monsters!

Out of the mouth's of babes... Wesley and Raven.

Come on Joel! Deven! Even my kids can do it!

Those artificial voice systems are becoming progressively more annoying

In the process of having our new utilities switched and/or set up, I unwittingly found myself tangled within Telus's new automated voice mail system. In this lovely experience, a calming electronic female voice (there is a reason why this needs to be calming, but I don't know it yet) informs me that "If I can't help you myself, I will find someone who can". Myself? Since when did an electric voice exist as a self aware entity? And are these others she refers to also self expressing electronic voices? I find the implications of the language being used disconcerting, and wonder briefly if I am the only person it annoys (my standards are sometimes high), but I don't really have any clue yet the extent of what awaits me...

I soon realize that this "system" must be the phone gods definition of a joke. I breifly consider the karma I must have incurred in a past life to have to endure this, but I perservere anyway. The voice asks me questions, and I am soposed to respond with preselected answers. Sounds easy enough, but "she" usually doesn't understand my response (even when I am clearly stating the required response in an elevated tone), which launches "her" into repeating the entire menu (after apologizing ofcourse) again before asking for my response. So I finally get to the point where I can tell "her" that I want my phone disconnected. She doesn't like this option, asking in a (yes small and pathetic) guilt inducing questioning manner "You want your service reconnected, right?" Shit. Damn voice making me feel sorry for it, like I am rejecting "her" personally (Personally? What am am saying???). After I say "NO!" for the umpteenth time, I am informed that "she" now knows who to direct me to (AMEN - this process has now taken 25 minutes of my life that I will never get back again) and I am put on hold. Eventually a recorded message tells me that the expected wait to talk to a service representitive (dare I hope, a real person?) is 20 minutes. Twenty minutes? I don't think so, not even the chance of a real person is worth another 20 minutes of my time. No really, I'll try the internet thanks.

Learn something new every day...

Somewhere in the back of my head I had this long held notion that dragonflies didn't live for very long. I think when I was a child, someone told me dragonflies lived only for a day. That would make every day mating season for a dragon fly (just like me). However, today I learn that Dragonflies are actually the longest living insect, sometimes living even years. And bonus, they are pretty too.

Lots happened today. As if the dog attack (see post below) didn't provide enough excitement for the day, in the afternoon we had Raven's Birthday Party. Her theme for the party was "Princess Party", which saw me doing the hair, make up and nails of each little girl in attendance. It was fun, once they had all sorted out which hair products and lipstick they desired (we had prepurchased all the stuff so they could have their own but you know, girls start to get a little catty at age 8). Raven has a picture on her blog.

Wesley spent the day at a Babysitting Course. My little boy is getting all grown up. He learned first aid and the best way to deal with all sorts of scenarios to get his certification. I am so proud of him. Tomorrow he goes to his home alone course. Time flies, I tell you, time flies.

Dog eat dog world?

Believe it or not, one of the four girls I am babysitting today just got bit by a dog. Serious. The only thing that stopped her from being hurt worse is she was wearing a costume. This dog bit the wrong kid (the daughter of an on duty Calgary Police Officer, who is now out looking for it). This dog, apparently, ran up out of no where and attacked her, then ran off. The neighbours who witnessed it and said the kids weren't even trying to get this dogs attention. It went after them. Now I have a little girl sitting beside me who can't go outside. I have to make sure the door is shut. And no honey, dogs can't jump very high.

Damn dog. Damn dog owners. Why are there people letting their (aggressive) dog run around biting small 5 year old children anyways?

The Cat's Meow

Just found this on a blog I read, and had to share.

Every one should start their day off with a smile! Thanks Kid Jacque!

Also, check out "The Cat Herders". Not everyone can do a job like that...

YAY!!!!

A little bit of hard work, a little bit of determination, a little bit of belief in ourselves and in the world around us - and look! Our place in Edmonton is secured (our perfect place). It has all worked itself out! Well, I worked it out with an email to the head office, but regardless - YAY! Duncan will be so happy! I can't wait to tell him! We rock. Look out world, here we come!

"Whats that smell...? It's the smell of victory, son..."

Somedays, just when you think life's a little harder that day than others, you realize you don't actually have it bad. You realize at least you don't live in a country that america (Yes, I think I am going to start addressing the USA as america, small a intentional) likes to drop napalm on.

Atleast not yet, anyways.

Assuredly this napalm dropping is likely actually the newer, more effective version of hyperbaric weapons that america used in the caves of Afghanistan, but in the end, still nasty. What about that 1980 United Nations convention banning the use of Napalm, you say... well guess who didn't sign the treaty.

Well, apart from some disappointment, today was a productive day. After having breakfast with Deven at Weeds (coffee) Cafe, we went to the dump to rid ourselves of excess appliances and did some shopping (beef prices are great here right now, go figure) in which we also scooped moving boxes! We are just about to enjoy the great steaks Duncan just BBQ'd, with wine, on the porch. It's a lovely evening indeed.

Life is good, hold the napalm.

Somebody left their manners at home...

Reading Warren Kinsella's blog (come on, you all know who he is, and if you don't I ain't gonna tell you) and he has posted this great example of some of that hate email we bloggers get once in a while that is soposed to slap us smart or something (according, ofcourse, to the sender of such drivel) but really just usually proves our point. In this case, this wonderful 60 year old "gentleman" out does himself. I have selected the tastier parts of his email for you:

"... By the way, you little fag... My only crime is that I’m a 60-year-old Canadian with a national memory, a perspective you don’t have because you’re a product of the T&C ideology. God help you. I advise my kids (34; 19; 13) to escape to the United States before you guys close the border forever."

Interesting perspective. What is that "word" he uses... "fag?" Well, I don't think this word means what he thinks it means. According to dictionary.com, the following definitions for fag can be found:

1. A student at a British public school who is required to perform menial tasks for a student in a higher class.
2. A drudge.
3. Fatiguing or tedious work; drudgery.
4. To work to exhaustion; toil (verb).

In middle english, "fag" was a word meant to express "droop" but this usage has become obsolete. Oh yeah, I found another interesting definition at dictionary.com, although I am unsure how it might fit into the conversation, but I will add it anyways...

bigot:

1. A bigot or hypocrite
2. A hypocrite; esp., a superstitious hypocrite.
3. A person who regards his own faith and views in matters of religion as unquestionably right, and any belief or opinion opposed to or differing from them as unreasonable or wicked.
4. A person who is intolerant of opinions which conflict with his own, as in politics or morals.
5. One obstinately and blindly devoted to his own church, party, belief, or opinion.

Oh, and in "unrelated news", Warren Kinsella is married with four children. Congratulations Warren!

Going for a break!

There is only so much sitting in front of a computer one can do, even if you are snuggled up on the love seat with your beau playing Civ III. We need a break. Our eyes need a break. We are going out - Mountain Equiptment Co-op bound we are. And maybe I will get my hair cut, and get treated to chocolate (that's a hint for the man reading over my shoulder). mmMMmmMMm chocolate.

The weather has turned bad, which is ok cause we are driving anyways - but puts a kink in my plans for mountain biking in the mountains. Well there is always tomorrow...

A little more sober now

Raven woke up with a bad dream, and I can't go back to sleep (she's fine - out like a log) so I thought I would blog. The past couple of days have been busy - Thursday with friends and Friday with job and moving preparations. Yesterday I had to write the longest resume I have ever written. It felt odd because for so long I have tried to limit my resume to one page of pertinent details, yet when I was invited to apply to this job they asked for a very detailed long resume. All in all it was an interesting experience.

Both Thursday and Friday mornings Duncan has woken me up to play with him (Civ III that is!) and we have played from the moment I have picked him up from work (since Wednesday night) until we are too tired to go any longer, forsaking most other activities (except there is always time for couples stuff) including all of our new movies. I really like the expansion for Civ III. I really like that I can play with Duncan. It was certainly worth the 30.00 Duncan paid for it, in entertainment value at least.

Friday night we celebrated Grandpa's birthday with a huge dinner. Everyone was there, the food was nice, the wine was beautiful and Grandpa was in a great mood! Afterwards we went to Lauren's house and we played for a while with her lizards (bearded dragons) but had to get the kids home for bed so we left early. W really liked the wine, so we picked up a bottle on the way home and drank it while playing Civ III (hence the drunk post below). I will have to see when I play this morning how being drunk affeted my few hundred years that I played through!

Deven will be here tonight for another all nighter - felt weird not having him here last weekend (he went away/we went away) so it will be good to see him. We thought about giving him a key but now that we are moving I guess he will just have to get a key to our new place! Anyway, I am tired now, so I am going to go crawl back into bed! Yay bed! Yay Weekend!

If you can't run with the big dogs, stay on the porch!

Maybe one really should't blog when drunk. But thats a big maybe.

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while (I feel minimally guilty) but Duncan and I have this great Civ III game going and thats all we have been doing in front of the computer since it began. It is much fun.

Otherwise life has been busy, but fun. I have taken a million pictures (ok, perhaps that is a slight exageration) and we have been diligently working towards getting our move all in order. But I can't say more cause my guy is drunk and needs to be taken to bed.

Drunking when blogged ain't so bad after all...

I don't always know what day it is...

It's not that I am losing my mind or anything, its just that I don't really have a job (besides parenting) right now so my main activities everyday have been to just enjoy the summer... so the concept of what "day" it is escapes me most of the time...

After a beautiful Alberta steak dinner at Nick's Steak House, we made it back to Calaway Park in time to ride the Roller Coaster before it closed. A fun time was had by all (it was Wesley's first time on a coaster). After that we headed into Kananasksis Country to sit at Barrier Lake while the sun went down. I love how peaceful it is out there, quiet yet full of it's own noises (like chipmunks). Duncan taught the kids to skip rocks on the water, we took some more pictures and then we drove home the long way - along a road that was mostly gravel, but it afforded us a glimpse of a Moose, as well as beaver dams and many cows (on/in the road). Our final stop before home was in Cochrane for ice cream at the Dairy Queen. All in all a very good and enjoyable day. Days like this is what summer is all about.

Now that the kids are sleeping Duncan and I are going to play some Civ III (lost our old game so we are going to start over). I will start considering the beginnings of a photoblog tomorrow, given that I have taken well over 100 pictures in a few short days.

I have the power!

So just now, my friends husband comes to pick up his daughter (she spent the day with us) and he is all totally nice to me and even offers to help us PACK our moving truck, AND drive up to Edmonton to help us UNPACK said moving truck... a very generous offer indeed. So, a little perplexed, I told Duncan how generous he had been while at the door, and Duncan smiled and said "I'm not surprised". To answer my quizzical look, he added "Allie, look down". So I did. I was wet and cold (story to follow) and my breasts were protruding nicely against my tank top. I sighed, Duncan laughed, and said "I'm surprised he didn't offer to MOVE to Edmonton".

Boys. Sigh, again.

So we spent a lovely day with friends at Callaway Park - Duncan, Wes, Raven, Dakota, Myself and Cindy, Jamie and Mackenzie. I love going on rides, and it is a relatively new activity for Duncan and I to do together (just waiting now for West Ed Mall). Sadly, while we were in the line up for the Roller Coaster (we had finally convinced Wes to try the Coaster) a huge storm came up and they closed the ride (believe it or not) right when we were next. They also closed the boat ride, so we spent some time with the smaller rides before the cold rain drove us from the park. Now we are home to dry off, get changed and go out again. The clouds have passed, so after dinner (I believe we are going out for steak) we will drive back to Calaway Park to partake in the Roller Coaster before the night is out.

I am having so much fun with this camera!

We are off to the river now. Maybe this being home during summer vacation isn't so bad after all!

How many of you can't really see my blog page?

I have a very good 19 inch monitor with amazing colour and resolution - and to me my blog page looks fabulous... but I have come to realize that on a lesser machine, at a smaller resolution, it might just look like ass.

I always have my settings on the highest quality, and as such, this page is best viewed at 1280 by 1024 (32 bit colour). I also have the monitor running at 75 hertz (I sit in front of it alot, I don't know how people have it any lower!).

So I am considering changing the background image a wee bit to enable people with smaller screens/lower resolutions to see more of the picture. Anyone with any ideas, let me know! I have a pretty busy day a head of me today (going to callaway park) so it might not get done right away, but feedback is always appreciated.

It's a Civ III expansionist marathon!

Yesterday I bought Duncan the Civ III expansion - it has a multiplayer option where we can both play against each other on the same computer... We are on our second game since beginning late this afternoon and still going strong!

Anyways, must go back to the battle!

I didn't ask to be a Princess... but hey, if the crown fits...

I am such a girl.

First, I love dancing, but its more than that - I love being in my man's strong arms. I love the way his skin is soft against my cheek, the way he smells, the gentle way he sings along, in my ear. I love the way my body fits into his, like it was meant to be. I love dancing.

Second, when we were out shopping yesterday Duncan found me this great nail polish colour... It's fabulous! Sally Hansen's Nail Prisms colour Amber Ruby. It has all sorts of exciting colours in it, fun stuff for summer days. Fit for a Princess!



As you can see, I am making good use of the new digital camera!

Well, it's been a super long weekend (I guess ours did start on Thursday with our trip to Edmonton), and it's not over yet! We are going in search of breakfast before meeting up with friends later.

Guess Who Has A Digital Camera?????????

Yay Digital! Our lovely friend Quynn lent us one of his Digital Cameras... so we have been busy bees taking pictures while learning how to operate our new toy, which has proven very fun. Soon I will consider the potentials of a photoblog of my very own...

Well, the coffee ritual began today, with Quynn joining us at Weeds for coffee. We attempted a bike ride this afternoon but part way into our ride we noted a problem with Duncan's back tire, which we ended up taking it to the shop to get it fixed - so no more bike rides until Tuesday... we came home to get roller blades, but ended up sidetracked and went to the mall instead. Duncan is very excited to try an new expansion that he got, so I need to vacate the computer for him to play. I hope everyone is having a good long weekend!

Evil Airline Loses the Stanley Cup

Sacrilege...
I don't know what to say about this. How can the Stanley Cup, accompanied by two big BodyGuards (whose sole job is to make sure the Cup is safe) get lost?

The Small Pleasures in Life

Sinking into a tub full of hot water to wash off the sweaty grime from our road trip this morning (we are back from Edmonton now) reminds me how wonderful the small pleasures in life actually are. Sometimes I am so caught up in the bigger pleasures and wonderments of my world that I forget the importance of merely relaxing in my bathtub.

Also wonderful was that realization that we still had almost the entire weekend (yay!). What should I do?

Sunny Days are Here Again...

This blog is coming at you from sunny Edmonton, where life is good! We have a place to live, we have a school for kids, we even have afterschool daycare. I have had two interviews today, and a serious inquiry. A very productive day indeed. We also had a quick lunch at Hooters in West Edmonton, a delight Duncan had never had before, and very much enjoyed. I think I might even throw his bday party there! I got spoiled today - I will talk a little bit more about it tomorrow when we are home.

After playing with the dog at the off leash area, and being treated to a wonderful meal of Buffalo at a delightful place called Sawmills, we are now settling down to enjoy the summer evening at Quynns house with Bellini's and episodes of Yes Minister. Does life get better then this? Well, therer could be air conditioning... rolling eyes now...

Where is this Hell you speak of?

"Prime Minister Jean Chrétien risks burning in hell if he makes same-sex marriage legal in Canada" says Bishop Henry (RC from Calgary).

Gimme a break. If this hell is where all people are equal and everyone shares the same rights then count me in.

It's Only Rock and Roll, but I like it!

We just got back from the Simulcast of the Toronto Rolling Stones Concert... it was great! I love the Rolling Stones! I love how sexy their music is! It looked like it would have been so much fun to be one of the 500 000 people there in TO - but as we had decided alot earlier not to go (given expenses coming up and all) this was the next best thing! Duncan says next time the Stones come to Canada we have a date to go!

Anyways, it was good - we saw ACDC as well, and the 90 minutes of the Rolling Stones... "we" (by we I mean the crowd) eventually "convinced" the security gaurds to let us dance on the floor of the Saddledome, which was soon full as we all spilled over the boards and began dancing (dancing at some point quickly turned into moshing and crowd surfing amongst clouds of ummm... flowery smoke...). WAY more fun to be out there and moving around to the music then sitting in a chair with the other more sedidentry people. Lots of cheering, singing, dancing and it almost felt like a real concert! I LOVE DANCING!

Duncan and I walked down 17th ave to find a place to eat after the concert let out and eventually settled on a wonderful Italian resturant by his old High School called Fiore. We shared the soup, which was Spinach Sambucha Bacon Soup. It was both delicious and interesting (the Sambucha gave it a very sweet taste). I had a half order of Fettuchini, but couldn't finish it. Not bad for someone who has been on liquids only-ish for 4.5 days. Was proud of myself.

We were going to go out dancing with a couple of friends (who I know are reading this...) and their plans changed at the last minute - so I am issuing fair warning that we are all going to reschedule for after Edmonton. Dancing, who can get enough of it? Anyways, it was actually a pretty full evening - so I am going to finish blogging and go get ready for bedtime!

Long Live the Rolling Stones!

Heritage Park

Today was a long day - we all saddled up to go to Heritage Park. We had a lot of fun... I haven't been there in years, and Duncan had a lot to show me. The kids went on all the rides, but Duncan and I decided that we would go on the Caterpillar. It's a circular ride that was designed with courting couples in mind - once the ride gets going a canopy lowers down over the riders so that they can't be seen by anyone else. It was semi difficult to "make out" on a circular up and down ride, but we sure gave it the old college try. It was fun. We spent some time after that trying to speculate what courting was like "back in the days" and how it is different from today's courting rituals (for example, Duncan and I played Diablo over the internet together).

We ate at the Wainwright Hotel - me still on my "liquid" diet ordered a French Onion Soup only to discover most of it actually more non liquid than not, but c'est la vie; it was too hot a day to eat anyway. The food was good, but the portions perhaps a little too large. We had some fun "girl watching" - or perhaps made fun at the lack of girl watching... I had suggested to Duncan earlier that day there might be some girls in bikini tops to admire out at the park today (he had enjoyed quite the treat the day before at Eau Claire) but we didn't see anyone even remotely close to that state of undress all day, even though it was so very hot.

The train ride home was a blast, we had so much fun, but I almost can't describe it here (you would have had to been there) so I might just skip it. I am pretty tired though from the day - feeling much better though - so I am about to go to bed. Good night everyone!

Sexercise!

According to this months Cosmopolitan, a 15 minute tryst with your man burns 64 calories! Don't the experts recommend getting your heart rate up for an hour 3 times a week? Thats 768 calories well spent!

Well, I did indeed survive the Blogathon. I am still a little sick - I have been on a mostly liquid diet ever since (Duncan has been taking very good care of me) and I have lost 8 pounds. Its ok, thats 8 pounds I am happy to see go, just wish the circumstances were a little different...

I must admit though, after Blogging for so much during the Blogathon, I am a little Blogged out. 48 posts, 48 topics, thats more then I usually do in a months time... so you may forgive me if it takes me a while to get back into the groove of things. It will happen, though, have no fear!

Having said that though, this post feels "unfinished". I am scheming in my head how to tempt my love to stay home with me tomorrow... I have been so sick that I miss him terribly... so I will take my leave to go and work my magic ;-)

Good Things Happen After a Summer Rain

Well this is it, the last post! I survived, and the Blogathon has been completed without me missing a post at all (although not all the posts are always coherent). I am proud of myself! I really want to say thank you to all my sponsors (I raised $77.00 in pledges for Doctors Without Borders), and thank you to my friends and family that supported me through out the 24 hours straight of blogging, even while I fought back surprise flu. It really was all of you that contributed to my success, and ultimately the success of Blogathon.

This was my first time with Blogathon, and I will certainly consider doing this again next year! I think next year I might have a themed blog like so many of the bloggers this year, but I have a long time to think about it.

Show of Hands Survey from Blogathon 2003

1. How many of you are tired?
(waving hand frantically)
2. How many of you are grumpy?
I am rarely grumpy. What’s the point of being grumpy? It’s over now, this is the last post! I made it! Grumpy is for someone else, not me!
3. How many of you have whined about this not going any faster?
Bleck. I would like to think I haven’t whined about it at all.
4. How many of you thought about giving up?
Giving up wasn’t an option to consider. People sponsored and supported me, and my charity deserved me to follow through on my commitment.
5. How many of you have napped?
I napped. I had the flu. When I was my most ill, I took a whole bunch of meds and they made me very sleepy. Felt better though, and didn’t miss a post.

Well looking back at the night in the cold light of day, the past 24 hours doesn't actually seem that long. I feel happy that I was able to raise money for a charity I believe in. It feels like in some small way I helped out today.

Stats available right now indicate that this years Blogathon was the most successful ever - we had 432 participants and 2991 sponsors, for a collective total of $86,386.95 raised for charity. Thats not a bad job for a 24 hour period. We should all pat ourselves on the back!

I am SO TIRED. I am going straight to bed after this post. Straight to bed.

World Breastfeeding Week is Aug. 1-7 2003

I am a huge supporter of Breastfeeding. I believe in giving your child(ren) the best possible start in life. I believe that the bond that forms between child and mother in a breastfeeding relationship is superior and unrivaled by those that mother baby couples that bottlefeed experience. Breastfeeding is about nurturing your children. My best friend Dawn can attest to this, she has had three kids and nursed them all to varying degrees, and found the most satisfaction in her breastfeeding.

My children never had bottles - we used cups for water and then later juice. Breastfeeding was very important to Wesley, whom I nursed until he was three years old (all the way through my pregnancy with Raven and after her birth). For Wes, breastfeeding provided comfort and security. My daughter nursed until she was 2 years old and then gave it up the moment I suggested we wean (I was thinking we both would take 6 months to wean, like Wes and I did). For Raven, breastfeeding was almost always about food and food only. She found her comforts somewhere else. Regardless of how different they both were, I really did enjoy my time and experience nursing my children. It is a time I cherish, a time I will never get back, a time I am happy to have used well.

Apparently, studies show that breastfed babies are healthier than bottlefed babies. Breastfed babies show lower rates of SIDS, meningitis, childhood leukemia, allergies and infections. The mother’s species-specific milk contains all the nutrients and fat that babies need for proper brain development and physical growth. Breast milk is produced to the exact needs of the age and stage of the nursing baby, something you can’t get from formula or cows milk. Human milk is for human babies (Our milk has a higher content of fat in it, which our babies need for their brain development in the first year of life, as opposed to cows milk, which has a high content of sugar because a baby cow needs to be able to get up and run as soon as it is born). Further, a study published in the October 2002 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (University of Kentucky) shows that breastfed infants tested 5.2 IQ points higher than formula fed infants (11 different studies and over 7000 children).

All in all, breastfeeding is the most natural and healthiest choice for your baby. Every parent wants to give their child the best start in life. Breastfeeding is a great first step and an easy gift to give.

Guestblog: Joel McNally's Night Out on the Town

The n00b:

My name is Joel and, if I were to get around to having a blog, this is what I would blog about. More or less. Hopefully mostly less loaded. Mostly.

Met a fellow at the bar today, and not in the usual sense that this person has similar genitals to myself; he was a fellow piercing afficianado. He was a fellow drinker. He was a fellow freak, I suppose you might say.

I met him as part of a package deal - two friends and I were at the pub talking about Transformers and He-Man and, at the precise moment in question, a puckered-ass growth on a friend's head that required that he not shave his rapidly balding melon. Poor bastard.

Anyway, two chicks, one Fat one Hot, walked up and pointed out that since the bar was empty except for us and them and that we might as well join them. We agreed.

Stuff happened. Names were exchanged. People got to know that these people were sloshed, that they worked at Starbucks, and that they were basically uninterested in people that weren't themselves except that Fat was maybe hoping to score. All barely interesting. All tangental to the story.

Not tangental was that Hot was dating a fellow in the group that we joined. A fellow whose moniker shall remain the same as my pops' and who shall be the focus of this slanderous ramble. The nOOb.

This guy had it all: He bragged about how much of a drinking problem he had; he mentioned a large variety of piercings. He claimed they hurt not at all and that, when pressed to choose between lying and insanity by a person (me, with an extremely painful piercing and no problem admitting exactly how much it genuinely hurt), decided that he just loved the feeling of things piercing his body.

Me had a serious internal struggle about whether or not to offer to pierce the n00b's manhood and dignity prison-style.

As events progressed, the nOOb and Hot spent a lot of time licking each others' tounge-studs and, as the topic of piercing popped up, made sure to wiggle their tounges in a freaky manner at the other people at the table.

What. A f**king. n00b.

I mean, for God's sake! I remember when the quantity of booze that I drank was not a source of embarassment. I remember when something like a piercing was hot shit to talk about. I remember when beautiful animals and ugly people wore fur. I remember when I thought I could freak out the normals.

What do you call that? Being young. Being green. Being pathetically, almost willfully, ignorant of the way that things work.

In l33ts-speak such a person is a n00b. A pathetic mouth-piece with no apparent knowledge about how things work. Someone making retarded claims designed in the restless depths of a friendless night to convey a wrong-headed inpression of coolness. Someone using every breath to make me question the notion that people are equal in any sense of the word.

All cleverness aside, I wanted to fold him in half because of how much he reminded me of myself as a callow youth.

Anyway, there is no moral to this little tale. There are no guiding answers except this: Don't brag like a retard to total strangers if you don't want to be exposed as one and extensively mocked in a public forum.

Joel McNally, BA., is a student at the University of Calgary, and was a little drunk when writing this.

Out Of The Strong Came Forth Summer Rain

In the depths of winter, I finally realized that deep within me there lay an Invincible Summer (borrowed from Albert Camus). Yes indeed, invincible.

I love quotes. I have collected them from the earliest time when I could both write and be aware of the quotes I was coming across. Most of my quotes were scribbled down on many thousands of pieces of scrap paper, and scattered through out my life to sometimes resurface. Later, when they did resurface, I would jot them down into books, and then I would have random quote books kicking around, almost just as scattered. I guess I sort of thought (when I was a kid) that I would eventually put them into useable book format and publish them. But little quote books were made obsolete byt the internet.

Today, being the grown up that I am, I have made web pages to display my Collection of Quotes. It is much better to type them into a web page then to write them into a book... and anyone who wants to see them can.

This Blogathon has been an eye opener. I am glad that I stuck with it. I know that alot of it wasa determination, but I do owe a lot to the supportive comments, blog posts and emails and instant messages I have got today.

I will save my book writing efforts for some other project.


"The willow knows what the storm does not, that the power to endure harm outlives the power to inflict it."
Inscribed on the Ancient Taoist Sword of Balance

The Crack of Dawn

The lighter it gets outside, the closer to sunrise I know we are, and henceforth the end of the Blogathon. Yet I look upon the encrouching dawn with mild indifference, perhaps something I shouldn't be doing, but nonetheless just wanting not to impede the passage of time.

My son told me the other day that if he ever found out he was dying, what he would really want to do is watch every sunset and get up for every sunrise. Thats a pretty big endorsment if you ask me. I wish I could feel his excitement and awe and the sunrise right now.

All hail the sunrise.

This is a crazy time of day to be awake. Ok, so maybe I am not completely awake. Maybe I am not awake at all. Who will wake me up?

My computer need a reboot or something

When I type, it is adding letters, extra letters, letters that don't make sense, letters that I am sure I am not meaning even though I am tired, as are my fingers. I should go and restart it.

Being Sick Sucks

I need to drink some water, but I am afraid it is just going to come up again. Am carrying around a bucket with me... our friend Deven is still here playing Zelda, and I don't want to puke while he is still in the house. I guess that is understandable.

What bad timing to get sick. I really had wanted to enjoy my Blogathon Experience.

I am hanging in there. Thanks for all your comments and notices of encouragement. There is only three more hours, and 5 more posts to go!

Mean People Suck

Mean People Suck

Summer Rain, Take Me Away

I love Hockey.

I think that Hockey and the Stanley Cup was why god sent me to live in Canada, the first nation of Hockey (and the best part of North America). There is something about Hockey which makes it part of who I am as a Canadian.

Maybe it is all that ice.

I nurse my flirtation of hockey as a cat rubs itself up against someone who pleases it.

I am tired. I feel my faculties, and my coherence, slipping away.

Check out Canadian Hockey.

Watching from a distance

Allie has been blogging for 19 hours straight and it has been a rather odd experience for me. I, for the most part, have no idea what she had been writing about. I am an observer to her physical state, bringing food and what not, but on the whole, I have been absent to the process. She has laid down for half an hour, and asked me to do a guest post, so here I am. Now, what to blog about...

Watching Allie do this, I am reminded of doing essays in university. Being the constant procrastinator that I am, I rarely worried about an essay until there was only hours left to do them. In fact, 10:00 the night before it was due was the traditional time I actually sat down to said essays. So it is a kind of odd trip to the past of sitting late at night, with some coke and in front of a computer writing when all of the lights in my townhouse complex are extinguished except for our own. Deven is still here, playing Zelda (he is about half way done the game, having come over before to play it overnight) but my cat has long since given up and passed out after a hefty catnip dose.

Regardless, this still isn't a real post. Hmm... reading Photojunkie's blog has made me think we need a real camera. I don't like my picture being taken but my Grandma came over today and shared some older photos of me and Allie shared her meagre collection of photos of me. I say meagre because as an adult I now feel enough ownership over me to stop photos from being taken and have cleverly shied away from cameras. I wonder if I am being too harsh. So with that in mind, perhaps I should get more on finding an appropriate camera for our family and get over my phobia of having my photo taken. Then the question becomes digital v. film. Being the geek I am, I am drawn to the wowee factor of a digital camera, not to mention virtually unlimited shots with no development costs for shots that can be stored on a computer and used for things like blogs. Then again, film cameras are ridiculously cheap and I am about to head back to university. Well, good ones aren't cheap, but ones that would more than suffice for our purposes.

I have blogged about this before (on my blog, silly). Perhaps this is a sign. Also, a new(-ish) camera would make Allie happy. And I am all about making Allie happy.

Taking a Break

Just a quick break. Will be back shortly.

He's got the Whole World in His Hands

Recently some studies were published by Australian scientists regarding men and masturbation, stating that frequent masturbation (especially in their 20/30's) help prevent the growth of Cancer in the prostrate gland.

"Australian scientists have shown that the more men masturbate between the ages of 20 and 50, the less likely they are to develop the disease that kills more than 500,000 men each year."

Apparently, the more you ejaculate the less chance you have of building up dangerous carcinogens inside the prostrate. The fight against prostrate Cancer is now in everymans hands...

So, well, do with that information as you please.

I Drive, Therefore I Am.

I have been driving since the day I turned 16, legally anyways.

Driving is an art, and something that not everyone should be doing. Some people think there are good drivers and bad drivers, but I think that the reality is that some people can drive well, while others can't. I personally believe that the latter shouldn't be on the road, yet I have found most of them are oblivious to their bad driving habits and near misses.

I love to drive. I believe that I can drive anything, and would never pass up an opportunity to drive something I havn't driven before. I have driven Army Trucks, tractors, luxury vehicles and even a Zamboni, which may be the coolest thing I have driven so far.

I like to drive fast. Sometimes very fast. I like to know the full capacity of my vehicle in accordance to road conditions and whatever else may contribute to the performance of the vehicle. I know lots of people like to drive fast and I witness people's fast driving sometimes and it is so obvious that they are not in control of their vehicle it is almost like the train wreck you can't help but watch.

A word of advice: If you can not keep your vehicle within the handy painted lines (yes they are there for a reason) on the roadway, then you are going too fast for your skill level. Back off a bit, or you will likely find yourself losing control of your vehicle.

Why do men think that women are after their money?

This is a challenging topic for me to write about, for a couple of reasons. First, and the most obvious, I am not a man and therefore have a limited understanding of why men think the way they do. Secondly, I don’t have a concept myself, as a woman, of loving someone, or being with them, just for their money.

So why write about it at all? One of my sponsors asked me to… and I am always up for a challenge.

So… Why do men think that women are after their money? Well… some of them are. Some women have been raised to believe that the man they marry will take care of them, and therefore believe that a man makes money to both spend on them and be spent by them. Other women are more malicious with their intentions and actually assume ownership over a man’s monetary resources and future earning potential.

I think that for men, the amount of money that they earn, save, invest, spend and ultimately associate with themselves becomes a part of their self identity and security. Most men earn more money then their partners, and therefore have more money to be nervous about losing. If a man doesn’t trust his partner, or has previously experienced a divorce where they have been monetarily “punished” they might begin to worry that every woman is potentially "out to get them just for their money."

However, thinking like this could ultimately be very detrimental to forming permanent trusting/romantic relationships with another human being. Lack of trust is both a serious impediment to the natural progression of a relationship, and perhaps a warning signal to the man that the relationship isn’t right for him in some way.

Each circumstance should be considered carefully as it arises, and depending on the consequences to the relationship, be dealt with on an individual basis. While a man worries that all women are after his money, he runs the risk of missing that perfect woman he would gladly give it all to anyways.

Closing Time?

Not yet! There is only 7 or so more hours to go! The Blogathon is more than half over now. Jessica, one of the blogathon monitors, says that she has heard from some Bloggers that they want to quit, and she has posted the Top 5 Reasons NOT to quit!

1. There is no experience like this in the world.
2. You feel WONDERFUL when you're done.
3. You're a part of something bigger than yourself.
4. Karma comes back to you in the end.
5. You already went half way. Why waste what you've already accomplished? Don't waste 12 hours blogging, spend 24 doing something GREAT. :)

Aw, I could use some good Karma right about now. If I can blog while feeling outright terrible I am sure that all of us can stick with it!

In other unrelated news, our friend Deven has just arrived and Duncan and him are watching Iron Monkey. Good movie.

Hmmm. I am hungry. Thats a good sign, if my body is ready (finally) for food.

The Trial of God

I was thinking of Agnoticism, the uncertainty that god exists, or does not exist. When I think of Agnoticism, I think of times of trial in somebody's religious life where they not just come to doubt the existance of god, but can't fit the existance of said god into their current experience.

Agnoticism shouldn't be confused with Atheism. People who are agnostic feel that there is something there, somewhere, but the just can figure it out, or they can't bring themselves to believe a strict set of religious dogma within the box of that dogma.

The book of Job is the ultimate text for addressing the the relationship between god and his people, but I think that the biggest and best real world example of justifiable agnostic tendencies would be the experience of the Holocaust for the Jews in World War II. Here is a people who have a long and rich history with their god, a god who's actual providence has been evidenced and chronicalled through their Holy Books and history. It is a belief that must have been challenged during the Holocaust. Where was god's providence then? Why did he chose to let his people suffer this horror? Did they deserve punishment, had they fallen from grace... or was god just not there? If he wasn't there, was he ever there? Where did he go? Didn't god say he would always protect his people?

While he was a young boy in the Auschwitz death camp Elie Wiesel witnessed three Jewish scholars?rabbis put god on trial. After much discussion and deliberations, this court found god guilty of crimes against humankind, guilty of not protecting his people.

Later, after surviving Auschwitz, Wiesel wrought a play based on this trial, called The Trial of God. In his play, Wiesel's absentee god never speaks for himself - rather Wiesel introduces an unlikely character to serve and present god's defence. This character is Satan.

In Prof David Diewert's review (see link above) he says:

"The critical difference between the Book of Job and Wiesel’s play is that he omits God’s presence. God never speaks for Himself and, therefore, no one responds to Him. Instead of God being the central and controlling character, it is Sam—the satan—who precipitates the trial with the original pogrom, saves the trial by coming to God’s defense, wins the judges over to his argument, and concludes the matter with the final destruction. God’s absence must be Wiesel’s intentional portrayal of his own experience. The rampant evil of the world, epitomized by the Holocaust, demonstrates that the satan is near and destructively active while God is distant and seemingly uncaring or impotent. Wiesel makes this clear when one of the judges points out that someone is missing from the court and Berish sarcastically responds, "Who is that? The defendant? He’s used to it" (p. 70).

Dreaming....

So I took a whole bunch of pills (a nice little assortment of Flu meds and Painkillers) and feel asleep on the couch, so I am feeling better already. I was dreaming about something when I was snoozing, but I can't remember what now. Its all hazy and the memory faded too fast. As I usually remember all of my dreams, I can likely attribute this to the drugs I just took.

Because of this little episode I was thinking about dreaming.

I always have the most interestingly vivid dreams, and lots of them have a real feel quality to them. Lots of my dreams cause me to ponder, atleast breifly, what it is that my mind is trying to tell me. I certainly am a dreamer (daydream all the time as well) and do work out all sorts of complex problems in my sleep or daydreams. I think maybe lots of people do, but they just don't remember their dreams long enough to get any benefit. I no longer keep a dream journal (did when I was a kid), but still recognize that dreams are an important tool of communication between my conscious and sub conscious minds.

I dream in color. I have never dreamt in anything else, and surprising enough I have discovered that this is not always the case with people - lots of people dream in black and white, or both. My dreams are usually intense, and despite having been told that you can't die in your dreams, I have dreamt of dying (all the way to the black out of death) about 6 or 7 times. These deaths are usually from falling or murder of some kind. Interetsingly enough, everytime I dream of nuclear war I survive.

I can dream lucidly, which means I can control my dreams and my actions in them (almost like a director in a movie). I can influence the outcome of a dream, or tell myself to just wake up - I did this alot as a pre teen when I was having scary dreams every night.

My dreams constantly challenge me to consider if I am awake or not. Where does the dream world end, and the "real" world begin?

I almost forgot!

Almost missed this post. Took a whole bunch a meds to make me feel better, so I hope with a little break I can get back onto track.

Looks like, if I am not better soon-ish, Duncan will have to go see the movie tomorrow with his Dad. We had planned to see Johnny English. We shall see what tomorrow brings.

Grandma was here earlier, over for tea. She brought photo's for me to look at. I love her photo albums. I love seeing Duncan's tracks as he grew up to be the Duncan I know today. It was a nice visit, but I sure hope I didn't give here this flu thing. Yikes. Well, Wesley was sick yesterday (threw up all over me so I guess I was doomed from the beginning to suffe through this...), and I phoned mark earlier to make sure he is ok (he is at his Dad's for the weekend) and he is still sick. Lets hope I kick this thing fast. I don't need it.

PS. I am excited to be almost done. Well, we are over half way any hows.

Exercise Ideas

I was asked to blog about excerise ideas... I had to think for a bit what that meant, given my earlier post on being active to loss weight.

I think, when some people just want excerise ideas, what they really need is a plan. When a "snack attack" is coming and you feel the munchies creeping up on you, get out of the house and away from the snack food temptations.

Go for a walk, grab the bike and ride 5 kms, slap on the roller blades and hit the path! Make sure you take plenty of water with you, and don’t go to 7-11 on your excursion! If it is winter time, have some free weights at home, a walker, or call a friend who talks for a long time!

The aim I guess is to replace the satisfaction of excersice with the satisfaction of "treats".

Thanks to my Sponsors!

I have a new sponsor! Thanks!

With my combined number of Sponsors at 4, my total is now $77.00 for Dr's Without Borders. Thanks to everyobe supporting me. If your reading, leave me a comment to keep me going! Yay me!

You can still pledge! Sponsor me in the 2003 Blogathon!

I just heard that The entire Blogathon collectively has now raised $80,000 for the charities represented.

Any time, Any place, Summerrain….

One of the best things about the internet is the glory of odd and crazy pages out there. It warms my heart to know that any cuckoo can have a page and share his or her opinion's with me. There are a lot of pages I come across by accident, and some that friends have shown me. Bless them.

A good three years ago I was working with this guy Eric. We were running an visitor information booth at the U of C together as co-cordinators. Our policy was really easy to write, and so was our training, and faced with the fact that we had hours left to be paid for, he booted up ol' internet explorer (actually, it likely was Netscape, shudder), and he showed me this page:

Land Over Baptist.

It's where the worthy pray. The "unsaved", such as myself, are not welcome (they even post a restraining order against the "unsaved").

I p**sed myself laughing for a couple of hours reading through this site. Save it for a day when work is slow, or you are looking for a gift for Allie.

West Nile...?

Ugh, I am sick. West Nile perhaps? Sigh. Am going to go deal with myself for a while.

"Many infected people have no symptoms and do not get sick or have only mild symptoms. When infection does cause illness, symptoms will usually appear within two to 15 days. The extent and severity of symptoms vary widely from person to person. In mild cases, there may be flu-like symptoms, including fever, headache and body aches. Some people may also develop a mild rash, or swollen lymph glands."

Well, atleast it doesn't say anything about the debilitating bowel movements I've been having. Thats promising...

48. My Favourite Onion Story: God Angerily Declares No Kill Rule

I love the Onion. Enough so that Duncan bought me every Onion story ever published for a Christmas gift last year. Its hard to pick just one story as a fav, but given my academic back ground in Religion and Politics (fundamental terrorism) this story is likely it!

GOD ANGERILY DECLARES NO KILL RULE

NEW YORK—Responding to recent events on Earth, God, the omniscient creator-deity worshipped by billions of followers of various faiths for more than 6,000 years, angrily clarified His longtime stance against humans killing each other Monday.

"Look, I don't know, maybe I haven't made myself completely clear, so for the record, here it is again," said the Lord, His divine face betraying visible emotion during a press conference near the site of the fallen Twin Towers. "Somehow, people keep coming up with the idea that I want them to kill their neighbor. Well, I don't. And to be honest, I'm really getting sick and tired of it. Get it straight. Not only do I not want anybody to kill anyone, but I specifically commanded you not to, in really simple terms that anybody ought to be able to understand."

Worshipped by Christians, Jews, and Muslims alike, God said His name has been invoked countless times over the centuries as a reason to kill in what He called "an unending cycle of violence."

"I don't care how holy somebody claims to be," God said. "If a person tells you it's My will that they kill someone, they're wrong. Got it? I don't care what religion you are, or who you think your enemy is, here it is one more time: No killing, in My name or anyone else's, ever again."
The press conference came as a surprise to humankind, as God rarely intervenes in earthly affairs. As a matter of longstanding policy, He has traditionally left the task of interpreting His message and divine will to clerics, rabbis, priests, imams, and Biblical scholars. Theologians and laymen alike have been given the task of pondering His ineffable mysteries, deciding for themselves what to do as a matter of faith. His decision to manifest on the material plane was motivated by the deep sense of shock, outrage, and sorrow He felt over the Sept. 11 violence carried out in His name, and over its dire potential ramifications around the globe.

"I tried to put it in the simplest possible terms for you people, so you'd get it straight, because I thought it was pretty important," said God, called Yahweh and Allah respectively in the Judaic and Muslim traditions. "I guess I figured I'd left no real room for confusion after putting it in a four-word sentence with one-syllable words, on the tablets I gave to Moses. How much more clear can I get?"

"But somehow, it all gets twisted around and, next thing you know, somebody's spouting off some nonsense about, 'God says I have to kill this guy, God wants me to kill that guy, it's God's will,'" God continued. "It's not God's will, all right? News flash: 'God's will' equals 'Don't murder people.'"

Worse yet, many of the worst violators claim that their actions are justified by passages in the Bible, Torah, and Qur'an. "To be honest, there's some contradictory stuff in there, okay?" God said. "So I can see how it could be pretty misleading. I admit it—My bad. I did My best to inspire them, but a lot of imperfect human agents have misinterpreted My message over the millennia. Frankly, much of the material that got in there is dogmatic, doctrinal bullshit. I turn My head for a second and, suddenly, all this stuff about homosexuality gets into Leviticus, and everybody thinks it's God's will to kill gays. It absolutely drives Me up the wall." God praised the overwhelming majority of His Muslim followers as "wonderful, pious people," calling the perpetrators of the Sept. 11 attacks rare exceptions.

"This whole medieval concept of the jihad, or holy war, had all but vanished from the Muslim world in, like, the 10th century, and with good reason," God said. "There's no such thing as a holy war, only unholy ones. The vast majority of Muslims in this world reject the murderous actions of these radical extremists, just like the vast majority of Christians in America are pissed off over those two bigots on The 700 Club."
Continued God, "Read the book: 'Allah is kind, Allah is beautiful, Allah is merciful.' It goes on and on that way, page after page. But, no, some assholes have to come along and revive this stupid holy-war crap just to further their own hateful agenda. So now, everybody thinks Muslims are all murderous barbarians. Thanks, Taliban: 1,000 years of pan-Islamic cultural progress down the drain."

God stressed that His remarks were not directed exclusively at Islamic extremists, but rather at anyone whose ideological zealotry overrides his or her ability to comprehend the core message of all world religions.

"I don't care what faith you are, everybody's been making this same mistake since the dawn of time," God said. "The Muslims massacre the Hindus, the Hindus massacre the Muslims. The Buddhists, everybody massacres the Buddhists. The Jews, don't even get me started on the hardline, right-wing, Meir Kahane-loving Israeli nationalists, man. And the Christians? You people believe in a Messiah who says, 'Turn the other cheek,' but you've been killing everybody you can get your hands on since the Crusades."

Growing increasingly wrathful, God continued: "Can't you people see? What are you, morons? There are a ton of different religious traditions out there, and different cultures worship Me in different ways. But the basic message is always the same: Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Shintoism... every religious belief system under the sun, they all say you're supposed to love your neighbors, folks! It's not that hard a concept to grasp."

"Why would you think I'd want anything else? Humans don't need religion or God as an excuse to kill each other—you've been doing that without any help from Me since you were freaking apes!" God said. "The whole point of believing in God is to have a higher standard of behavior. How obvious can you get?"

"I'm talking to all of you, here!" continued God, His voice rising to a shout. "Do you hear Me? I don't want you to kill anybody. I'm against it, across the board. How many times do I have to say it? Don't kill each other anymore—ever! I'm fucking serious!"
Upon completing His outburst, God fell silent, standing quietly at the podium for several moments. Then, witnesses reported, God's shoulders began to shake, and He wept.

My favourite Satire Wire Story: Axis of Just as Evil

Some people have tried to attribute this brilliance to John Cleese, but it was written by Satire Wires beloved Andrew Marlatt, the Oligarch of SatireWire.com

At first I was going to just present the link, But I think that I will post the entire story here, since I got such a kick out of it, and every subsequent reading of it. It's one of those things that gets better with age.

ANGERED BY SNUBBING, LIBYA, CHINA, SYRIA FORM AXIS OF JUST AS EVIL; Cuba, Sudan, Serbia Form Axis of Somewhat Evil; Other Nations Start Own Clubs

Beijing (SatireWire.com) — Bitter after being snubbed for membership in the "Axis of Evil," Libya, China, and Syria today announced they had formed the "Axis of Just as Evil," which they said would be way eviler than that stupid Iran-Iraq-North Korea axis President Bush warned of his State of the Union address.

Axis of Evil members, however, immediately dismissed the new axis as having, for starters, a really dumb name. "Right. They are Just as Evil... in their dreams!" declared North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. "Everybody knows we're the best evils... best at being evil... we're the best."
Diplomats from Syria denied they were jealous over being excluded, although they conceded they did ask if they could join the Axis of Evil.
"They told us it was full," said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. "An Axis can't have more than three countries," explained Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. "This is not my rule, it's tradition. In World War II you had Germany, Italy, and Japan in the evil Axis. So you can only have three. And a secret handshake. Ours is wicked cool."

THE AXIS PANDEMIC
International reaction to Bush's Axis of Evil declaration was swift, as within minutes, France surrendered.
Elsewhere, peer-conscious nations rushed to gain triumvirate status in what became a game of geopolitical chairs. Cuba, Sudan, and Serbia said they had formed the Axis of Somewhat Evil, forcing Somalia to join with Uganda and Myanmar in the Axis of Occasionally Evil, while Bulgaria, Indonesia and Russia established the Axis of Not So Much Evil Really As Just Generally Disagreeable.

With the criteria suddenly expanded and all the desirable clubs filling up, Sierra Leone, El Salvador, and Rwanda applied to be called the Axis of Countries That Aren't the Worst But Certainly Won't Be Asked to Host the Olympics; Canada, Mexico, and Australia formed the Axis of Nations That Are Actually Quite Nice But Secretly Have Nasty Thoughts About America, while Spain, Scotland, and New Zealand established the Axis of Countries That Sometimes Ask Sheep to Wear Lipstick.

"That's not a threat, really, just something we like to do," said Scottish Executive First Minister Jack McConnell. While wondering if the other nations of the world weren't perhaps making fun of him, a cautious Bush granted approval for most axes, although he rejected the establishment of the Axis of Countries Whose Names End in "Guay," accusing one of its members of filing a false application. Officials from Paraguay, Uruguay, and Chadguay denied the charges.

Israel, meanwhile, insisted it didn't want to join any Axis, but privately, world leaders said that's only because no one asked them.
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