Oh my dear lord... will you check THIS out? I'm not sure if I should be laughing or crying.
Tuesday, April 30, 2002
***Okay, this is what I could not post YESTERDAY***
Last night was the Nick Cave concert. I was so excited ! Of course,I'd bought the pair of tickets for Rick as an anniversary present and after waiting for three months, I was finally going to see Nick Cave. I made myself so pretty - silver and black tank with my bondage pants, make-up done to perfection. Rick would meet me at the store and we'd get dinner before heading to the Kool Haus (the stupid rename of the Warehouse).
Unfortunately, this was not going to work as planned. I got to work and, despite a crappy day outside, everything was fine. Until the migraine set in. Ya. Migraine. I took one med and phoned Sandra to let her know what was up. She told me that if it got worse, I was free to close early, since there were few people braving what had turned into thunder storms.
It got worse.
I left work and from the store door to the alley behind the store where my car was parked, I got thoroughly soaked. And even with the more powerful second medication in my system, my head only got worse. Had I been able to sleep when I got home, I would have been able to attend the concert, but around 4:30pm I had to phone Rick. No, I'd not been able to sleep. No, the migraine was far from getting better. No, I'd not be able to go. I cried on the phone.
Several hours later, after an hour of dry-heaves and fitful sleep at best, I finally fell into a deep sleep that cleared my head. Sadly, I woke up at midnight, around the time the show was ending, without the pain. I was extremely disappointed. So much so, that when I phoned Rick to see how it was, I told him I didn't want details, and then I started to cry again.
It was a bad end to what had been a wonderful weekend. Friday night was a super D&D session with Al & Carrie, myself and Rick, and Ryan at the helm. It was a lot of fun, and very roleplay intensive. Al and Rick's characters stuck to the strategy, while Carrie and I held to our rp guns. Carrie and I were passing notes and at one point she passed the note back to me and in it was written: "Want to be a bridesmaid?" I said that I would be honoured, and then I had to try not to cry. I was greatly touched. THANKS CARRIE !
Saturday, I worked at Heretic, then went to Derek's house for dinner and movie fun. We watched "Shaolin Soccer" (sp?) which was hysterical, and LOTS of Muppets ! It seems he bought the several-dvd set of Time Life Video "Muppet Show" episodes. Some high points were the Peter Sellers episode and the Marty Feldman episode, both which were classically ridiculous and on-the-floor-laughingly funny. It's weird, because I told Derek that night, "tomorrow, I'll probably have a migraine." I hate it when I'm right about things like that. Anyway, it was good fun at his house, and the Thai food was great.
Today, at the ROM, the branch took out Sara for her goodbye lunch. We managed to cram thirteen people around a table that had been set for ten. It was fun, since it's been forever that all of Membership has done anything together (not including the site-sellers, who never get included anymore). I'm really full. Yummy fried noodles.
Last night was the Nick Cave concert. I was so excited ! Of course,I'd bought the pair of tickets for Rick as an anniversary present and after waiting for three months, I was finally going to see Nick Cave. I made myself so pretty - silver and black tank with my bondage pants, make-up done to perfection. Rick would meet me at the store and we'd get dinner before heading to the Kool Haus (the stupid rename of the Warehouse).
Unfortunately, this was not going to work as planned. I got to work and, despite a crappy day outside, everything was fine. Until the migraine set in. Ya. Migraine. I took one med and phoned Sandra to let her know what was up. She told me that if it got worse, I was free to close early, since there were few people braving what had turned into thunder storms.
It got worse.
I left work and from the store door to the alley behind the store where my car was parked, I got thoroughly soaked. And even with the more powerful second medication in my system, my head only got worse. Had I been able to sleep when I got home, I would have been able to attend the concert, but around 4:30pm I had to phone Rick. No, I'd not been able to sleep. No, the migraine was far from getting better. No, I'd not be able to go. I cried on the phone.
Several hours later, after an hour of dry-heaves and fitful sleep at best, I finally fell into a deep sleep that cleared my head. Sadly, I woke up at midnight, around the time the show was ending, without the pain. I was extremely disappointed. So much so, that when I phoned Rick to see how it was, I told him I didn't want details, and then I started to cry again.
It was a bad end to what had been a wonderful weekend. Friday night was a super D&D session with Al & Carrie, myself and Rick, and Ryan at the helm. It was a lot of fun, and very roleplay intensive. Al and Rick's characters stuck to the strategy, while Carrie and I held to our rp guns. Carrie and I were passing notes and at one point she passed the note back to me and in it was written: "Want to be a bridesmaid?" I said that I would be honoured, and then I had to try not to cry. I was greatly touched. THANKS CARRIE !
Saturday, I worked at Heretic, then went to Derek's house for dinner and movie fun. We watched "Shaolin Soccer" (sp?) which was hysterical, and LOTS of Muppets ! It seems he bought the several-dvd set of Time Life Video "Muppet Show" episodes. Some high points were the Peter Sellers episode and the Marty Feldman episode, both which were classically ridiculous and on-the-floor-laughingly funny. It's weird, because I told Derek that night, "tomorrow, I'll probably have a migraine." I hate it when I'm right about things like that. Anyway, it was good fun at his house, and the Thai food was great.
Today, at the ROM, the branch took out Sara for her goodbye lunch. We managed to cram thirteen people around a table that had been set for ten. It was fun, since it's been forever that all of Membership has done anything together (not including the site-sellers, who never get included anymore). I'm really full. Yummy fried noodles.
Thursday, April 25, 2002
I forgot to mention one very odd, out-of-the-blue incident that happened yesterday. I checked my cell phone messages, as I generally do every couple of days, and found a message from a fellow named Chris. Heturns out to be the step-grandson of the man who lived with my Nana in the last seven, or so, years of her life. He was phoning for information regarding Nana's death. Chris's step-grandfather, John, had passed away in the summer, something that was a surprise to us, though something of a sad one, and he'd left the condo he'd bought for Nana (in Florida) to Chris. Because Chris was adopted, the Kings County folks in the records office, wouldn't release the death certificate that proves the initial heir was dead.
I phoned him back and spoke to him for a bit, then decided it would be better to hand him over to Mom, who had a little more recollection of events, at least the ones from my earlier childhood. This led to me going into the creepy cold-storage room in the basement and digging out a records box that had been sent to us after Papa's death. It mostly contained photographs that had been in Nana's hands and had passed to Papa. Naturally, this meant that I had to go through just about every picture in the box, which must have been hundreds. To make a long story short, I dug up the records of Nana's death, Zaida's death, various report cards of my father and uncle, their own certificates, Zaida's military service documents, and Nana's original immigration papers from Russia, which I absolutely cannot read. I learned her last name was Belanski (I think that was how it was spelled), but upon naturalisation into the U.S.A., it became Bell. Interesting stuff.
Mom called Chris back, and promised to mail him a photocopy of Nana's death cert. and ended up talking to him for quite a long time. There's a very sad story of his mother (John's daughter) breaking contact with John, which led to Chris losing contact with John for 18 years. It's a real shame how stupid families can be. John was a wonderful man, and while he was never a replacement for my Zaida, he was as good a man as I could have as an almost-grandpa.
I'm actually in Toronto now. Imagine that. I got the tire fixed and Mom was generous enough to pay for it, even though she's only marginally more financially able. Frigging strike ! I have to get a job. A real job. I can't go on like I am; June will see OSAP knocking at my door for payments, and I'm dreading it. I applied to the job in Montreal, which meant writing a covering letter for the first time in ages. Thanks to a little tweaking on the part of Mom, it stopped being a so-so letter and became an awesome letter. Thanks Ma ! I attached it, and my resume, to an email that I wrote in French (since the job description is in French and the job is in Montreal), that required just a little help from the old bilingual dictionary, and sent it off. Hopefully, I'll hear something. I don't imagine that I will. But I'd really LIKE to hear from them. :)
Anyway, on a final note, Willi is having some trouble acclimatising to the new home. This is to be expected, of course, in that this is neither Mom's house or the old place on Manning (which is presently being rented for $1500 a month !). She walks around and yells a lot, sometimes calling out for the other cats (I suspect), and sometimes to located me. She's very unsure of herself, that is certain. Hopefully, she will get used to the place quickly and together we can start thinking of it as home. It helps that I got a bit of art onto the walls tonight and started to seriously fix up the kitchen - even if the microwave stand came with two (B) panels instead of an (A) and (B). Good thing Mom leant me her wonderful drill. Willi's currently half sleeping on my bed, so I think I'll go join her and we can both fully sleep.
I phoned him back and spoke to him for a bit, then decided it would be better to hand him over to Mom, who had a little more recollection of events, at least the ones from my earlier childhood. This led to me going into the creepy cold-storage room in the basement and digging out a records box that had been sent to us after Papa's death. It mostly contained photographs that had been in Nana's hands and had passed to Papa. Naturally, this meant that I had to go through just about every picture in the box, which must have been hundreds. To make a long story short, I dug up the records of Nana's death, Zaida's death, various report cards of my father and uncle, their own certificates, Zaida's military service documents, and Nana's original immigration papers from Russia, which I absolutely cannot read. I learned her last name was Belanski (I think that was how it was spelled), but upon naturalisation into the U.S.A., it became Bell. Interesting stuff.
Mom called Chris back, and promised to mail him a photocopy of Nana's death cert. and ended up talking to him for quite a long time. There's a very sad story of his mother (John's daughter) breaking contact with John, which led to Chris losing contact with John for 18 years. It's a real shame how stupid families can be. John was a wonderful man, and while he was never a replacement for my Zaida, he was as good a man as I could have as an almost-grandpa.
I'm actually in Toronto now. Imagine that. I got the tire fixed and Mom was generous enough to pay for it, even though she's only marginally more financially able. Frigging strike ! I have to get a job. A real job. I can't go on like I am; June will see OSAP knocking at my door for payments, and I'm dreading it. I applied to the job in Montreal, which meant writing a covering letter for the first time in ages. Thanks to a little tweaking on the part of Mom, it stopped being a so-so letter and became an awesome letter. Thanks Ma ! I attached it, and my resume, to an email that I wrote in French (since the job description is in French and the job is in Montreal), that required just a little help from the old bilingual dictionary, and sent it off. Hopefully, I'll hear something. I don't imagine that I will. But I'd really LIKE to hear from them. :)
Anyway, on a final note, Willi is having some trouble acclimatising to the new home. This is to be expected, of course, in that this is neither Mom's house or the old place on Manning (which is presently being rented for $1500 a month !). She walks around and yells a lot, sometimes calling out for the other cats (I suspect), and sometimes to located me. She's very unsure of herself, that is certain. Hopefully, she will get used to the place quickly and together we can start thinking of it as home. It helps that I got a bit of art onto the walls tonight and started to seriously fix up the kitchen - even if the microwave stand came with two (B) panels instead of an (A) and (B). Good thing Mom leant me her wonderful drill. Willi's currently half sleeping on my bed, so I think I'll go join her and we can both fully sleep.
Wednesday, April 24, 2002
Well, it's not quite what I had in mind, but it seems fate has conspired to keep me in the Petes one night longer. It turns out that Scarlette has a rather serious lasceration to her left front tire, probably made when something dinged my car on the 401 (since it wasn't there when I left Toronto). So serious, in fact, that I have to take her in to have the tire replaced. This is NOT something I can afford. Mom can't help either, because, well, she's been on strike for six weeks. So, anyway, getting Willi into the carrier and as far as the gas station and back was like a practice run. I have to get up in four hours to take in my car. Goodnight.
Tuesday, April 23, 2002
It seems that my going out to visit Mom in the Petes has left my journal ignored. I have no excuse other than my own disinterest, as coming home means lovely distractions. That and the fact that Mom has something of a monopoly on the computer here. It still makes me blink when she says, "Just let me check my email." I'm just not used to her being an email junkie ! This makes it sound like she's checking every ten minutes, but really, when she's on the computer, she's dealing with strike stuff. It seems she's no longer just in charge of the ministry stuff, but has taken to putting the spin on other releases from various ministries, province wide. You can read her releases, of course, at littlesquares. She's really enjoying it, though at the same time, it's exhausting. She's working hard, as are the vast majority of the strikers, but it's really frustrating to make next to no money, week after week. I wish I was in a position to help her out, but I'm so broke, it's painful.
I've had a pile of positive feedback from the people who have seen my website, which is very nice. I'd like to get its browser issues fixed by tomorrow night so that I can get back to fixing Ray's site. I think I'm going to give it a visual overhaul, too, though nothing drastic. Also, tonight I'm going to start sending out my application to jobs. I wish they weren't all out in Montreal, but if that's the way it is, then there's nothing for it but to apply to work in Montreal.
Anyway, let me talk a little bit about my weekend. On Friday, driving out to the Petes, I saw the Aurora Borealis glowing in beautiful green stripes in the sky. By the time I'd found a place to pull over to look at them, the clouds had already covered them. Saturday, I helped Mom work the subscription renewal table at the Peterborough Symphony. I handed out roses to the people who were renewing their seats. It was fun, and I'm such a good shmoozer sometimes. The symphony, itself, was ... FANTASTIC. The guest soloist was Alistair Kay, a trombonist of excellent proportions. The treat for me, however; was the conductor. He was ... dynamic ! I told him after the concert at the reception, "You absolutely rocked the orchestra out." He LOVED that. Anyway, what a nice man, and his parents were there, too, and they were very nice. He really did rock the orchestra out, too. The last time I saw the PSO, I had a nice time, but they had some serious togetherness issues. He has them playing complex, dramatic music, and it's clear that they love him.
Sunday, Mom was on television helping to host the PSO TV Dream Auction. It was such a bizarre sort of community TV event, with next to no script, malfunctioning monitors and screens, and yet, it was clear Mom had fun. I accompanied her to the hardware store to pick up fixings to make my room in Toronto look nicer. Tonight I'll be hanging up the window fixtures, while helping Willi to become accustomed to her new home. I also did a bit of miniature painting, which was very necessary, I must say. I finally painted a miniature for Rick to use in our Toronto gaming sessions. I think he'll like it, I put a lot of work into it.
Oh, and did I mention that it snowed? Yes, that's right, yesterday was full of snow. This led to a rather interesting conversation of what astrologers and soothsayers might have said about things were these the years of Roman rule. To list the weirdness, there was the weekend's rather unlikely earthquake (which I sadly slept through), snow after a week of 30 degree weather. Then there were the odd celestial happenings: aurora borealis, the five planet alignment, as well as the comet. The final conclusion? Things are going to get worse before they get better. How did I deal with these depressing thoughts? I painted more miniatures.
Anyway, I must get my laundry folded and into my suitcase. I plan to be leaving here in the next couple of hours. I really don't want to leave, but... I can't run away from real life, at least, not for long.
I've had a pile of positive feedback from the people who have seen my website, which is very nice. I'd like to get its browser issues fixed by tomorrow night so that I can get back to fixing Ray's site. I think I'm going to give it a visual overhaul, too, though nothing drastic. Also, tonight I'm going to start sending out my application to jobs. I wish they weren't all out in Montreal, but if that's the way it is, then there's nothing for it but to apply to work in Montreal.
Anyway, let me talk a little bit about my weekend. On Friday, driving out to the Petes, I saw the Aurora Borealis glowing in beautiful green stripes in the sky. By the time I'd found a place to pull over to look at them, the clouds had already covered them. Saturday, I helped Mom work the subscription renewal table at the Peterborough Symphony. I handed out roses to the people who were renewing their seats. It was fun, and I'm such a good shmoozer sometimes. The symphony, itself, was ... FANTASTIC. The guest soloist was Alistair Kay, a trombonist of excellent proportions. The treat for me, however; was the conductor. He was ... dynamic ! I told him after the concert at the reception, "You absolutely rocked the orchestra out." He LOVED that. Anyway, what a nice man, and his parents were there, too, and they were very nice. He really did rock the orchestra out, too. The last time I saw the PSO, I had a nice time, but they had some serious togetherness issues. He has them playing complex, dramatic music, and it's clear that they love him.
Sunday, Mom was on television helping to host the PSO TV Dream Auction. It was such a bizarre sort of community TV event, with next to no script, malfunctioning monitors and screens, and yet, it was clear Mom had fun. I accompanied her to the hardware store to pick up fixings to make my room in Toronto look nicer. Tonight I'll be hanging up the window fixtures, while helping Willi to become accustomed to her new home. I also did a bit of miniature painting, which was very necessary, I must say. I finally painted a miniature for Rick to use in our Toronto gaming sessions. I think he'll like it, I put a lot of work into it.
Oh, and did I mention that it snowed? Yes, that's right, yesterday was full of snow. This led to a rather interesting conversation of what astrologers and soothsayers might have said about things were these the years of Roman rule. To list the weirdness, there was the weekend's rather unlikely earthquake (which I sadly slept through), snow after a week of 30 degree weather. Then there were the odd celestial happenings: aurora borealis, the five planet alignment, as well as the comet. The final conclusion? Things are going to get worse before they get better. How did I deal with these depressing thoughts? I painted more miniatures.
Anyway, I must get my laundry folded and into my suitcase. I plan to be leaving here in the next couple of hours. I really don't want to leave, but... I can't run away from real life, at least, not for long.
Friday, April 19, 2002
It's a ROM day today. I hate being cooped up in this unhealthy-aired, stuffy building on beautiful days. It is beautiful today, too, because despite the still ridiculously high temperatures, there's a pleasant, cool breeze blowing. The trees are already coming into leaf, which is just... stupid. It's supposed to be a high of 10 tomorrow, which is about 17 degrees cooler than it is today, and they're talking about going below freezing Saturday night. Oh, and did I mention snow? Ya. The high on Sunday is supposed to be... 3 degrees. I think there are some seriously crossed wires.
In other news, unrelated to weather, one of Canada's favourite topics, I finally got my portfolio online last night. Sure, there are some MAJOR browser issues, for instance, it's only viewable in later versions of icky Internet Explorer, but I'll have that finished soon. Find it here. It's great ! (I hope my link works. I'm not used to having to type in my html to blogger, it usually gives me the little make-link button.)
Also, here's something nifty - I did indeed get my cartoon up and posted on Mom's union strike site and it looks nifty. Scroll down and hit the "Back to the table?" link. I think it might get put in the newsletter, too. Go me !
Anyway, I'm getting remarkably little done at the ROM today, so I think it's best if I, you know, went back to work. ;)
In other news, unrelated to weather, one of Canada's favourite topics, I finally got my portfolio online last night. Sure, there are some MAJOR browser issues, for instance, it's only viewable in later versions of icky Internet Explorer, but I'll have that finished soon. Find it here. It's great ! (I hope my link works. I'm not used to having to type in my html to blogger, it usually gives me the little make-link button.)
Also, here's something nifty - I did indeed get my cartoon up and posted on Mom's union strike site and it looks nifty. Scroll down and hit the "Back to the table?" link. I think it might get put in the newsletter, too. Go me !
Anyway, I'm getting remarkably little done at the ROM today, so I think it's best if I, you know, went back to work. ;)
Thursday, April 18, 2002
Tonight, Rick and I saw Atanarjuat, the fast runner. It was an absolutely incredible film. Poignant, beautiful, horrible, funny - it's all these things and so much more. And, in case you think that some film about Inuit people sounds dumb (you should be spanked, but nevermind) it has all the makings of a great film: jealousy, deceit, anger, love, lust, nudity, murder, friendship, magic, and ancestors.
Rick and I walked and talked our way to the theatre, which was very nice. It's been a really deep day for me, with lots of emotional discussion and whatnot. Rick and I had another talk about The Future, and all its scariness, and I've come to the conclusion that things will be as they must be. I know it's not a satisfying answer to anything, but it is the only way I can conceive of the things to come, and the possibilities that we will face, together, or alone. The end.
Before meeting up with Rick, I spent the afternoon with Ryan talking about, over lunch at MoMo's on Harbord, Isreal, war, defense, and generally our pessimism over the insanity that this world is spiraling into. Ryan, who comes at the world from a right-of-centre view point, and I, who comes at it from the left-of-centre, don't often agree, but in this we did. Completely. We talked of other things, too, as we walked from up there down to Queen St., and then all along the lake front. It was a long overdue visit.
Anyway, I ran into my exboyfriend, Neil, on the street car. He's still a loser. I win ! How uncharitable of me. Hah.
I'm going to eat some yogurt that Rick just brought me, and try not to scratch my sunburn now. Goodnight.
Rick and I walked and talked our way to the theatre, which was very nice. It's been a really deep day for me, with lots of emotional discussion and whatnot. Rick and I had another talk about The Future, and all its scariness, and I've come to the conclusion that things will be as they must be. I know it's not a satisfying answer to anything, but it is the only way I can conceive of the things to come, and the possibilities that we will face, together, or alone. The end.
Before meeting up with Rick, I spent the afternoon with Ryan talking about, over lunch at MoMo's on Harbord, Isreal, war, defense, and generally our pessimism over the insanity that this world is spiraling into. Ryan, who comes at the world from a right-of-centre view point, and I, who comes at it from the left-of-centre, don't often agree, but in this we did. Completely. We talked of other things, too, as we walked from up there down to Queen St., and then all along the lake front. It was a long overdue visit.
Anyway, I ran into my exboyfriend, Neil, on the street car. He's still a loser. I win ! How uncharitable of me. Hah.
I'm going to eat some yogurt that Rick just brought me, and try not to scratch my sunburn now. Goodnight.
Tuesday, April 16, 2002
Okay, so the walk took one hour and fifteen minutes. I am STILL a sweat ball and I got home at quarter past seven. I need a shower.
I just tried to call my half-sister, Gina, as today is her birthday, except that the phone number has been disconnected. I'm worried. I haven't heard anything from them, and I'm not even sure Gina would remember to call Peterborough; she might only have my old phone number. Of course, if she dials it, it will still send her to my cell phone number. Grr. I had better write and mail a card tomorrow, then.
Oh, and here's a treat... enjoy the weather while you can... it's going to below freezing again over the weekend.
I just tried to call my half-sister, Gina, as today is her birthday, except that the phone number has been disconnected. I'm worried. I haven't heard anything from them, and I'm not even sure Gina would remember to call Peterborough; she might only have my old phone number. Of course, if she dials it, it will still send her to my cell phone number. Grr. I had better write and mail a card tomorrow, then.
Oh, and here's a treat... enjoy the weather while you can... it's going to below freezing again over the weekend.
Today is a glorious day. I'm not typically one for extreme heat, but since this is the first real hot day of the season, I can get away with feeling some wonderfulness. It's about 30 degrees out (which for you Imperialists is about 85 farenheit). It's more with the humidex. Oh, and it's bright and sunny.
I went for lunch with Christian (one of my old pals from when I worked site sales downstairs at the ROM) and we went to Ned's, a little cafe restaurant that is, I believe, affiliated with Victoria College. We ate outside and proceded to burn in the sun. Yes, within half an hour, we were decidedly pinker than when we initially sat down. We strolled about, and I treated us both to our first soft ice cream cones of the season, which, while not as delicious as real ice cream, is satisfying and delicious in its own way.
We made the mistake of sitting beside a crazy woman who insisted on talking to herself and spitting beside her - long drooly threads of spittle. She didn't -look- crazy, just a little eccentric, but we realised how wrong we were. She took out a tiny bottle of Crown Royal and proceded to drink, spit, drink, spit, and at that point, we left her for another bench. Christian said, "Why would anyone, even a crazy person, spit out Crown Royal?" Good question. Christian was also the first person of the year to make those two absurd comments, "Hot enough for ya?" and "It's not the heat, it's the humidity." Inside, back at the desk, he added to Stacey that it was a "real swelter out there." Christian is awesome. It was nice to actually see him, even for only an hour. He's a good kid.
Anyway, I am feeling somewhat better today than I was last night, but we'll see how I am this evening. I think I'll walk home from the ROM, just to see how long a walk it really is. I figure it must be close to an hour.
Tomorrow I'm going to lunch with Ryan and then we're going to walk around, then I'm seeing Rick and spending the night at his place. Tonight, though, I -must- do my webpage.
I went for lunch with Christian (one of my old pals from when I worked site sales downstairs at the ROM) and we went to Ned's, a little cafe restaurant that is, I believe, affiliated with Victoria College. We ate outside and proceded to burn in the sun. Yes, within half an hour, we were decidedly pinker than when we initially sat down. We strolled about, and I treated us both to our first soft ice cream cones of the season, which, while not as delicious as real ice cream, is satisfying and delicious in its own way.
We made the mistake of sitting beside a crazy woman who insisted on talking to herself and spitting beside her - long drooly threads of spittle. She didn't -look- crazy, just a little eccentric, but we realised how wrong we were. She took out a tiny bottle of Crown Royal and proceded to drink, spit, drink, spit, and at that point, we left her for another bench. Christian said, "Why would anyone, even a crazy person, spit out Crown Royal?" Good question. Christian was also the first person of the year to make those two absurd comments, "Hot enough for ya?" and "It's not the heat, it's the humidity." Inside, back at the desk, he added to Stacey that it was a "real swelter out there." Christian is awesome. It was nice to actually see him, even for only an hour. He's a good kid.
Anyway, I am feeling somewhat better today than I was last night, but we'll see how I am this evening. I think I'll walk home from the ROM, just to see how long a walk it really is. I figure it must be close to an hour.
Tomorrow I'm going to lunch with Ryan and then we're going to walk around, then I'm seeing Rick and spending the night at his place. Tonight, though, I -must- do my webpage.
Well, deary me. Tanya has been doing fun and exciting socialite activities. I am very pleased at how her life has developed since leaving Peterborough and... uh... cutting out the deadwood, so to speak. I really must go and visit her in London sometime soon, which leads me to wonder whether she'll be staying there over the summer. Also, she's apparently been counting the words in my web entries, and one, probably the BIG one from Philly, had a whopping total of something like 1900 words. Yes, that IS an essay. And to think, the web entry, at LEAST as interesting as half of my papers and probably three times more entertaining than most, only took an half hour to write, rather than two days and a night.
Anyway, I'm going to visit my oldest friend (not age-wise, but duration-wise), Kristina, who recently had her baby (Emma Jane). Kris lives out around my cottage, up the next road, in fact. I'm pleased to be going to visit her, which presently seems like it will be over the second weekend of May. I was -supposed- to visit Tracy at the end of April, too, but since she's driving to Florida with Tammy (and not me - *sniff*), she said it wouldn't be worth it. Lord knows I don't see her when she is living in Toronto, so I suppose I'll make due with some time around our birthdays.
Ya, I'm feeling a little sarcastic. It's a pervailing attitude I'm suffering from today, as I'm not in the best of head spaces. I had my tarot cards read, too, by John at Heretic, too, and the reading took an hour. It was very deep, or thick, as John said. It was heavy, is what it was. He simply confirmed all the crap going on in my head and then gave me ways to clear out my junk. And it was about me. It was entirely about my own issues, not those around me, which automatically makes it harder to listen to, and even harder to follow.
Our job description came in at the ROM, and Sara and I have already gone to the president of the union local in order to find out what our options are. In regrading our job, it seems we fell short of the income raise by less than 2 points. Ya. Ask me if I'm pleased. I'm not ! It was quite clearly a situation where they bumped up certain factors that had little weight, rather than those that actually matter, despite what we -actually- do. Imagine that. Gah.
Another thing that didn't please me was that I have been working steadily on my webpage, finally getting it near posting tonight... only it died ! I mean, half-way through the portfolio page I was working on, it ... crashed? No, it just, disappeared. It seems in some moment of lesser concentration, I did something I ought not to have done, and lost the changes I had made. I couldn't recall them, either. The 'undo' button was unselectable, and no amount of digging brought the file back. Frig. Oh well, at least I remember what I'd been doing, and I'd already done the finicky scaling of images, so I'm not too upset. It will be done tomorrow night, before bed, hopefully. I'm only focusing on the portfolio just now, because there are jobs I need to apply to that REQUIRE a webpage for visiting. If things don't work by tomorrow, I'll take my images to Kinkos and print them out for mailing.
Anyway, I see that my cartoon is STILL not up on my mom's union local page. I drew it because I was being pressured for cartoons. It's been a week and a half since it was done. Nevermind. But I'm certainly not going to concentrate on any more requests. That aside, I am very pleased with the webpage, as it's so well written and so... devoid of rhetoric. A nice, fresh change in the world of politics.
This entry is all over the place, so I'm just going to go take myself to bed. I need the sleep or I'll end up even crabbier tomorrow.
Anyway, I'm going to visit my oldest friend (not age-wise, but duration-wise), Kristina, who recently had her baby (Emma Jane). Kris lives out around my cottage, up the next road, in fact. I'm pleased to be going to visit her, which presently seems like it will be over the second weekend of May. I was -supposed- to visit Tracy at the end of April, too, but since she's driving to Florida with Tammy (and not me - *sniff*), she said it wouldn't be worth it. Lord knows I don't see her when she is living in Toronto, so I suppose I'll make due with some time around our birthdays.
Ya, I'm feeling a little sarcastic. It's a pervailing attitude I'm suffering from today, as I'm not in the best of head spaces. I had my tarot cards read, too, by John at Heretic, too, and the reading took an hour. It was very deep, or thick, as John said. It was heavy, is what it was. He simply confirmed all the crap going on in my head and then gave me ways to clear out my junk. And it was about me. It was entirely about my own issues, not those around me, which automatically makes it harder to listen to, and even harder to follow.
Our job description came in at the ROM, and Sara and I have already gone to the president of the union local in order to find out what our options are. In regrading our job, it seems we fell short of the income raise by less than 2 points. Ya. Ask me if I'm pleased. I'm not ! It was quite clearly a situation where they bumped up certain factors that had little weight, rather than those that actually matter, despite what we -actually- do. Imagine that. Gah.
Another thing that didn't please me was that I have been working steadily on my webpage, finally getting it near posting tonight... only it died ! I mean, half-way through the portfolio page I was working on, it ... crashed? No, it just, disappeared. It seems in some moment of lesser concentration, I did something I ought not to have done, and lost the changes I had made. I couldn't recall them, either. The 'undo' button was unselectable, and no amount of digging brought the file back. Frig. Oh well, at least I remember what I'd been doing, and I'd already done the finicky scaling of images, so I'm not too upset. It will be done tomorrow night, before bed, hopefully. I'm only focusing on the portfolio just now, because there are jobs I need to apply to that REQUIRE a webpage for visiting. If things don't work by tomorrow, I'll take my images to Kinkos and print them out for mailing.
Anyway, I see that my cartoon is STILL not up on my mom's union local page. I drew it because I was being pressured for cartoons. It's been a week and a half since it was done. Nevermind. But I'm certainly not going to concentrate on any more requests. That aside, I am very pleased with the webpage, as it's so well written and so... devoid of rhetoric. A nice, fresh change in the world of politics.
This entry is all over the place, so I'm just going to go take myself to bed. I need the sleep or I'll end up even crabbier tomorrow.
Sunday, April 14, 2002
So, let's go back and revisit the wedding from a week past - more even. I worked the store that day with a great feeling of fun and frivolity. There was a big sign about the early closing due to the wedding, so people kept coming in and congratulating... me. Duh. People are silly, but I did pass the congratulations onto Sandra later. Rick met me at the store and at 5pm I closed up. We dressed in the store and got everything together. Boy, did we ever look fancy. We cabbed it to the Women's Club of UofT where we saw the wedding party returning from a photo shoot. Inside, there were several tables set up around a largish room, and many people wearing varying degrees of masques - some drugstore costume variety, others more complex, others made by hand to all levels of skill and creativity. Rick and I definitely stood out.
Dinner was good. No, dinner was excellent. Imagine that ! A wedding where we were served a rack of lamb ! Each ! There was wine on the tables, and a cash bar for those more alcoholically inclined, for instance, Melissa, one of the store's jewellers, who got trashed. The speeches went on a bit long, as the floor was opened for all sorts to offer their congratulations and best wishes. Naturally, after the wedding party did their speeches, I got singled out to make the first "open" speech. I think I handled it quite smoothly, with grace, wit, and silliness - that is not an oxymoron, really. I finished it by kissing the bride and groom before returning to my seat.
Dancing was fun, and many more people arrived to participate in the reception, including all the girls from the Children's Own Museum where John (the groom) works. It was fun, though weird to dance on carpeting, but the dj had to close it down a bit early when the fraternity house next door was raided by the police. Hah. People asked to take my photo; apparently my masque simply rocked *blushes demurely*, and I shelled out the money for the photographer to take pictures of me and Rick. It's amazing how good a person can look when you get posed as though you were a real model. Rick's not all satisfied, but I think the photos are amazing. One day, when I figure out how to do it, or rather, take the time to try, I'll put photos into my weblog. Tonight is not that night.
Sadly, following the wedding, I had to pack. That sort of put a damper on things, but overall it was an enjoyable time.
Rick and I saw Julius Caesar on Friday, put on by the Canadian Opera Company. It was good, though I felt the stage direction ... lacked. I would have made it a good deal more visual than it was, with a more creative use for all the screens that were used. Considering it's so costly to attend, it really makes me wonder whether it was quite worth it to attend in body. Not enough, I suspect. The woman playing Caesar was a somewhat limited actress, but her voice was unbelievably rich. One of the countertenors, the fellow playing Cleopatra's brother, Tolomeo, had a voice that caused goosebumps. Yum ! Cleopatra, herself was quite delightful. We did both enjoy it. And it seems there were claques (sp?) in operation in the upper balcony. They shouted ONLY for certain people, regardless of that particular scene/aria was worth it. *laugh* But JEANS? People wore JEANS to a Friday night production. Okay, Wednesday matinee, sure, I'll accept it, but Friday? Christ ! Save me from the unwashed masses ! I mean, people are killing themselves on stage, putting forward their best abilities, the least people can do is dress up.
This just in, Maya's a snob.
Dinner was good. No, dinner was excellent. Imagine that ! A wedding where we were served a rack of lamb ! Each ! There was wine on the tables, and a cash bar for those more alcoholically inclined, for instance, Melissa, one of the store's jewellers, who got trashed. The speeches went on a bit long, as the floor was opened for all sorts to offer their congratulations and best wishes. Naturally, after the wedding party did their speeches, I got singled out to make the first "open" speech. I think I handled it quite smoothly, with grace, wit, and silliness - that is not an oxymoron, really. I finished it by kissing the bride and groom before returning to my seat.
Dancing was fun, and many more people arrived to participate in the reception, including all the girls from the Children's Own Museum where John (the groom) works. It was fun, though weird to dance on carpeting, but the dj had to close it down a bit early when the fraternity house next door was raided by the police. Hah. People asked to take my photo; apparently my masque simply rocked *blushes demurely*, and I shelled out the money for the photographer to take pictures of me and Rick. It's amazing how good a person can look when you get posed as though you were a real model. Rick's not all satisfied, but I think the photos are amazing. One day, when I figure out how to do it, or rather, take the time to try, I'll put photos into my weblog. Tonight is not that night.
Sadly, following the wedding, I had to pack. That sort of put a damper on things, but overall it was an enjoyable time.
Rick and I saw Julius Caesar on Friday, put on by the Canadian Opera Company. It was good, though I felt the stage direction ... lacked. I would have made it a good deal more visual than it was, with a more creative use for all the screens that were used. Considering it's so costly to attend, it really makes me wonder whether it was quite worth it to attend in body. Not enough, I suspect. The woman playing Caesar was a somewhat limited actress, but her voice was unbelievably rich. One of the countertenors, the fellow playing Cleopatra's brother, Tolomeo, had a voice that caused goosebumps. Yum ! Cleopatra, herself was quite delightful. We did both enjoy it. And it seems there were claques (sp?) in operation in the upper balcony. They shouted ONLY for certain people, regardless of that particular scene/aria was worth it. *laugh* But JEANS? People wore JEANS to a Friday night production. Okay, Wednesday matinee, sure, I'll accept it, but Friday? Christ ! Save me from the unwashed masses ! I mean, people are killing themselves on stage, putting forward their best abilities, the least people can do is dress up.
This just in, Maya's a snob.
Wow, it dawned on me today, as I was helping Nicole and Mark move the studio to their new place, that I never wrote about the wedding. Well, it was damn cool, if a little weird. You know what, I'm going to hold that thought until tomorrow. I don't feel particularly texty tonight.
Nick is cooking us dinner and it smells fantastic. I know, it's a bit late for dinner, but well, I was out until nearly 10pm and then we were both doing stuff.
Nick is cooking us dinner and it smells fantastic. I know, it's a bit late for dinner, but well, I was out until nearly 10pm and then we were both doing stuff.
Friday, April 12, 2002
It's time, now that I've had a full night of sleep, to recount the fun of Wednesday. After D&D, which was worthy of a comic - an idea that Ali and I are quite keen on producing - Ali and I retired to her room where she showed me many of her sketchbooks, and then I showed her my demo reel. She was quite excited about it, which was very nice, and it was much fun sharing art and ideas, and talking in grand terms of the future. Sleep was good, especially since she didn't steamroller me again, but not quite as long as I would have liked, since we went to bed very late, and I didn't want to sleep through my last day.
Ben was kind enough to loan me five bucks to see me through the day, and I headed to the Art Museum of Philadelphia, a fine, classically styled, established museum of no mean proportions. I think it is the best museum I've ever attended, or one of. I went into rooms I hadn't been before, for instance the armoury - WOW, only making limited use of the map as I rather enjoy being surprised, so some of the exhibits I found were ones I'd seen last year, but others were quite new and exciting. I happened into the temporary Barnett Newman exhibit, which isn't something I normally would have sought out, as he's one of those stripes-on-canvas artists from the '50s and '60s and I have little in the way of patience for such things... normally. I found myself in a large, sparse, pure hall, with enormous windows with white gauze over them, and fourteen or so equally massive canvases hanging on the vast walls. It was his "Stations of the Cross", in its entirety. I've seen a lot of art portraying the Passion, in many styles, but never in my life have I been so moved as I was by this one. He used the canvas in its natural state as a colour which he juxtaposed with black and white in lines, some rough, some smooth, that ran vertically over the broad pieces. It was so simple, so meditative...
That was not the only awesome surprise I beheld, either. I found, to my utter joy, one particular piece that I've studied many times in various classes. It was Roger van der Weyden's Crucifixion Diptych, which was painted around 1460. You can find it here, but they list it as separate left and right panels. Irritating. Anyway, I was happily stroling through some early Renaissance works of both Northern and Southern styles, when I turned a corner and passed through a salvaged piece of gothic cathederal only to be stopped dead in my tracks by this awesome work. It hangs alone on a section of wall that rises from the centre of the room in which it is located, with stools sitting before it should the viewer wish to contemplate it. The first thing that struck me was the awesome intensity of the red drapery that hangs behind each character set. Then I realised what I was beholding. It was so much larger than I'd imagined it could be, and it was completely breath-taking. There was no one in the room but a security guard so I wept in solitude. The power of the work, in person, was awe-inspiring. The magnificence was unbelievable. No work has ever made me weep. Especially beautiful animation has, at times, been known to cause such a response, but never before a painting. Words cannot express how I felt.
I bought half of the books offered on the sales table, and then quite spontaneously, I bought a student membership ! I figure, I've been there twice in a year, and if I can make it back once more, I'll get my money's worth. There's a massive Degas exhibition coming next winter/spring, so perhaps I'll make it for that one. I chatted with the women at the membership desk, and every one of them was Jewish. Crazy, in fact, one was telling me that their new Rabi was a woman who comes from Toronto. Nifty. Anyway, I returned to Ben's and proceded to pack my bags. Ali decided she would treat me to dinner, though I'd planned to treat them thanks to the Master of the Card, but she didn't let me. We went to a retro-styled malt/burger joint where we had excellent milkshakes and slightly less excellent burgers. Following that, we hoofed it to the station, and let me tell you, this was a lot of walking considering we were alternating my luggage full of artbooks and covering many, many blocks in very warm weather.
The busride home was long, but not obnoxiously so, and I finished my excellent book, Anne Bronte's "Tenant of Wildfell Hall", which so engrossed me that I lost four hours of bus time to flipping its pages. I also slept on and off quite a bit more than I did on the way down. My only complaint rests at Canadian Customs where the officers were officious and assholey beyond any good reason. I am pleased that I'm a citizen and white of skiin at times like that. They took quite a bit longer than we'd expected, so it was a good thing that the bus was only half full. I had the pair of seats to myself the whole trip and I was able to roll myself up and sleep with some level of comfort. Upon arriving in Toronto, I went straight to Heretic and slept for an hour and a half in the changerooms before working my full eight hours. Following that, I couldn't yet go home to sleep. No, I went to Julie's in order to celebrate her 70th birthday ! Mom was there, but sadly suffering from a migraine, but otherwise, thanks to renewed energy in the form of a fifth and sixth wind, I had quite an animatedly fun time. I hope my mom's feeling better today.
Tonight, Rick's taking me to the opera. I'm looking forward to it.
Ben was kind enough to loan me five bucks to see me through the day, and I headed to the Art Museum of Philadelphia, a fine, classically styled, established museum of no mean proportions. I think it is the best museum I've ever attended, or one of. I went into rooms I hadn't been before, for instance the armoury - WOW, only making limited use of the map as I rather enjoy being surprised, so some of the exhibits I found were ones I'd seen last year, but others were quite new and exciting. I happened into the temporary Barnett Newman exhibit, which isn't something I normally would have sought out, as he's one of those stripes-on-canvas artists from the '50s and '60s and I have little in the way of patience for such things... normally. I found myself in a large, sparse, pure hall, with enormous windows with white gauze over them, and fourteen or so equally massive canvases hanging on the vast walls. It was his "Stations of the Cross", in its entirety. I've seen a lot of art portraying the Passion, in many styles, but never in my life have I been so moved as I was by this one. He used the canvas in its natural state as a colour which he juxtaposed with black and white in lines, some rough, some smooth, that ran vertically over the broad pieces. It was so simple, so meditative...
That was not the only awesome surprise I beheld, either. I found, to my utter joy, one particular piece that I've studied many times in various classes. It was Roger van der Weyden's Crucifixion Diptych, which was painted around 1460. You can find it here, but they list it as separate left and right panels. Irritating. Anyway, I was happily stroling through some early Renaissance works of both Northern and Southern styles, when I turned a corner and passed through a salvaged piece of gothic cathederal only to be stopped dead in my tracks by this awesome work. It hangs alone on a section of wall that rises from the centre of the room in which it is located, with stools sitting before it should the viewer wish to contemplate it. The first thing that struck me was the awesome intensity of the red drapery that hangs behind each character set. Then I realised what I was beholding. It was so much larger than I'd imagined it could be, and it was completely breath-taking. There was no one in the room but a security guard so I wept in solitude. The power of the work, in person, was awe-inspiring. The magnificence was unbelievable. No work has ever made me weep. Especially beautiful animation has, at times, been known to cause such a response, but never before a painting. Words cannot express how I felt.
I bought half of the books offered on the sales table, and then quite spontaneously, I bought a student membership ! I figure, I've been there twice in a year, and if I can make it back once more, I'll get my money's worth. There's a massive Degas exhibition coming next winter/spring, so perhaps I'll make it for that one. I chatted with the women at the membership desk, and every one of them was Jewish. Crazy, in fact, one was telling me that their new Rabi was a woman who comes from Toronto. Nifty. Anyway, I returned to Ben's and proceded to pack my bags. Ali decided she would treat me to dinner, though I'd planned to treat them thanks to the Master of the Card, but she didn't let me. We went to a retro-styled malt/burger joint where we had excellent milkshakes and slightly less excellent burgers. Following that, we hoofed it to the station, and let me tell you, this was a lot of walking considering we were alternating my luggage full of artbooks and covering many, many blocks in very warm weather.
The busride home was long, but not obnoxiously so, and I finished my excellent book, Anne Bronte's "Tenant of Wildfell Hall", which so engrossed me that I lost four hours of bus time to flipping its pages. I also slept on and off quite a bit more than I did on the way down. My only complaint rests at Canadian Customs where the officers were officious and assholey beyond any good reason. I am pleased that I'm a citizen and white of skiin at times like that. They took quite a bit longer than we'd expected, so it was a good thing that the bus was only half full. I had the pair of seats to myself the whole trip and I was able to roll myself up and sleep with some level of comfort. Upon arriving in Toronto, I went straight to Heretic and slept for an hour and a half in the changerooms before working my full eight hours. Following that, I couldn't yet go home to sleep. No, I went to Julie's in order to celebrate her 70th birthday ! Mom was there, but sadly suffering from a migraine, but otherwise, thanks to renewed energy in the form of a fifth and sixth wind, I had quite an animatedly fun time. I hope my mom's feeling better today.
Tonight, Rick's taking me to the opera. I'm looking forward to it.
Tuesday, April 09, 2002
Much more fun was had today, after much sleep. I won't go into details because I think we're going to have a random dungeon crawl with first level characters, but here's the low-down. Last night, after a nice long nap, I accompanied Ali (the official spelling) and Ben to the video store where we rented many things. I watched some Rowan Atkinson comedy with them, and then on Ali's recommendation, Fantasia 2000, which turned out to be excellent and beautiful, if a little hokey.
I shared the bed with Ali, which was a fun time, almost like a sleep-over, and then passed out. It was a wonderful sleep, even if Ali did nearly steamroller me at some point around six in the morning. I got up with her and as the two of them got ready for class, I got ready to meet up with Megan for Philly phun. We made a pilgrimmage for coffee, which was good, and then we headed to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology. What can I say, it was a fantastic museum. Amazingly good. It had excellent information within every exhibit with language that treated the reader as though they might have a) a mind and, b) something resembling basic intelligence. It reminded me of the older archaeology exhibits of the ROM, which haven't been modernised, happily. Their Egyptian galleries were extensive and fascinating, they had a massive exhibition on the peoples of the Americas. It was completely not patronising and it was very beautiful. Much fun was had.
The one thing that amazed me was that the Arch. Museum had windows that were open, and fans blowing the air around. They don't seem to care how the atmosphere is maintained. It was so very old fashioned that it amazed me. And it was lovely, too. There was an ageless quality to the museum that just made it seem... perfect. It was exactly as it should be.
We walked around South St some, which was sort of fun, though not as extensive as Queen St. back in Toronto. There are some very good shops, though, and many places of food. Terry and Rho joined us (old buds from the Depeche Mode chat) and we went for Indian food on South St. The food was surprisingly good, since the place had the feeling of a pizzaria, even right down to the candy striped tables. We went off for coffee, afterwards and entered into a long, long conversation about all sorts of things, including Bush's stupid war and Canada/US relations. Rho, who is black, entered with me into a wonderful conversation about race and prejiduces and class distinctions - what a smart, awesome woman !
Now I'm back at Ben's and Ali's looking unimpressed with George Carlin on TV, and actually, I'm not finding it so funny, either. Well, okay, I am, but it's more offensive than usual. Wow, he says a lot of stuff we already think and don't ever have the guts to say. Go George ! Anyway, time for D&D. Tomorrow I'm going to the Art Museum. Much fun. Then another horrible bus ride and then straight to work. Crazy !
I shared the bed with Ali, which was a fun time, almost like a sleep-over, and then passed out. It was a wonderful sleep, even if Ali did nearly steamroller me at some point around six in the morning. I got up with her and as the two of them got ready for class, I got ready to meet up with Megan for Philly phun. We made a pilgrimmage for coffee, which was good, and then we headed to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology. What can I say, it was a fantastic museum. Amazingly good. It had excellent information within every exhibit with language that treated the reader as though they might have a) a mind and, b) something resembling basic intelligence. It reminded me of the older archaeology exhibits of the ROM, which haven't been modernised, happily. Their Egyptian galleries were extensive and fascinating, they had a massive exhibition on the peoples of the Americas. It was completely not patronising and it was very beautiful. Much fun was had.
The one thing that amazed me was that the Arch. Museum had windows that were open, and fans blowing the air around. They don't seem to care how the atmosphere is maintained. It was so very old fashioned that it amazed me. And it was lovely, too. There was an ageless quality to the museum that just made it seem... perfect. It was exactly as it should be.
We walked around South St some, which was sort of fun, though not as extensive as Queen St. back in Toronto. There are some very good shops, though, and many places of food. Terry and Rho joined us (old buds from the Depeche Mode chat) and we went for Indian food on South St. The food was surprisingly good, since the place had the feeling of a pizzaria, even right down to the candy striped tables. We went off for coffee, afterwards and entered into a long, long conversation about all sorts of things, including Bush's stupid war and Canada/US relations. Rho, who is black, entered with me into a wonderful conversation about race and prejiduces and class distinctions - what a smart, awesome woman !
Now I'm back at Ben's and Ali's looking unimpressed with George Carlin on TV, and actually, I'm not finding it so funny, either. Well, okay, I am, but it's more offensive than usual. Wow, he says a lot of stuff we already think and don't ever have the guts to say. Go George ! Anyway, time for D&D. Tomorrow I'm going to the Art Museum. Much fun. Then another horrible bus ride and then straight to work. Crazy !
Monday, April 08, 2002
Hey ho, I'm in Philadelphia. This is my first entry from a foreign (sort ot) country. So far, it's been a blast, though I must say, there is something to recommend flying even if it costs more, just because fifteen hours in travel time is a really, really, really long time to sit in a bus. Okay, so there were a couple of hours of stops thrown in, but you get the idea.
The first segment of the trip, from Toronto to Niagara Falls, Ontario, was greatly enjoyed thanks to the lovely Scottish fellow who sat with me. I met him in the line at the terminal and ask whether I could trust him to look after my things while I ran to buy snacks. His answer was, "I dennoo, cahn ye trust meh?" I just grinned and offered to buy him a snack too. Anyway, I came back and he said, "Ye really shoo not trust strange men," with a big smile. Instant friends ! We sat together and soon enough, the two hours were over and I had to wish him a good journey home, since after seven months of world travel, he was finally returning to Glasgow on Wednesday. He did offer that if I wasn't in a rush to get to Philly, I could stay and wander around Niagara Falls with him and take the night bus to New York (good travel company is hard to find, apparently) but I explained the cause of my journey and he understood my need for speed. We didn't exchange emails, which is sort of a shame as he was quite interesting, but if he ever stumbles on this log, GOOD LUCK, KEN !
I was, naturally, not even bothered at Customs. "You were born in New York State?" "Yes, I absolutely was." "Have a nice trip." Oh well, I'm not sure why it was disappointing, but it was a bit of a let down. I'd hoped for metal detectors or something, hell, even having one bag opened would have been somewhat fun. Shucks.
At Buffalo, I was horribly disappointed to discover that the greasy spoon I like, the one at the back of the terminal that ISN'T the official restaurant, closes at 3pm on Sundays, and naturally, it was 3:30pm when we pulled in. I had a flabby cheeseburger from the restaurant and then got back on the bus. It was suggested I ried the express to NYC, but I declined, as Megs was going to pick me up at 4am in Philly, and I could either sleep on a bus, or sit for four hours at the New York Port Authority. Uh. Ya. Anyway, it afforded me a scenic ride through the Finger Lakes, principally Geneva, where our neighbours at the cottage have a farm - it was a beautiful spot ! Also, I saw Ithica for the first time, and though dusk was setting in, it was still quite a lovely town, full of old, eccentric homes. I had been disappointed by the lame skater that had sat next to me from Buffalo to Ithica, but he got off there, and I had the pair of seats to myself for the rest of the trip into New York.
I slept a bit, on and off, though hardly in any decent way, but by the time we were an hour out of NYC, I woke up and there was no putting me to sleep again. I just got so excited to be gonig home, even if it was only through the Port Authority. I sat bolt upright, watching for that first glimpse of the skyline, and though I knew it would look... wrong, I was quite surprised when the tears rolled down my cheeks. It was that first glimpse, fleeting, over the top of a hill that did it, and when it rematerialised five minutes later, the shock was over. The sight of the city, my home, the greatest city in the world (in my opinion), so changed just by the lack of two buildings remains difficult to describe. Later, in Philly, I told Megan about it and she nodded and said that she felt that way every time she saw the skyline. The city itself was bustling, though, and the terminal was buzzing with thousands of people transfering to buses all over the continent. It was sort of amazing.
The line at the Philly gate afforded me another bonding experience, with a fellow named Vincent, who commutes every month back and forth to school in New Hampshir, from Little Rock, Arkansas. Amazing ! It seems, their masters programme in community development is ranked number one in the US, so he makes the 37 hour bus ride there, stays for three days, and the same bus ride back, monthly He'd fly, only he hates flying. He was quite interested in Canada's take on Bush's 'war' and while I'm not sure of the feelings of the entire country, I was able to tell him that many people were disturbed by the thought of Bush trying to take Canadian soldiers into Iraq, including the Prime Minister. I also explained that Canada hasn't fought active combat since Korea and we weren't entirely keen to be doing it now. We like being peace-keepers. He was very interested in politics and world issues, and his opinions on how communities must act in order to pull out of poverty were quite interesting. He did give me his email and I will write him. He was interesting.
On the bus to Philly, I conked out soundly for most of the trip, thankfully, and before I noticed, my Stephane Grapelli album had played two and a half times and we were pulling into the ctiy. Megan was there to pick me up (bless her !) and we went to the South St Diner. I ate scrapple. It's some sort or pork thing, and after much contemplation and thoughtful chewing, I realised it was a lot like a flat slab version of a Dutch crogeette. Needless to say, it was delicious and probably very bad for me. Yum ! We sat and talked over much coffee and finally, around 7am, she deposited me at Ben's house. I managed to get another hour of sleep (and had a GREAT dream about my mother being given this awesome job in Louisisana where she had to make this old plantation mansion into a viable resort in order to pay for it's renovation. The dream was in vivid 'technicolor' and was something of an Agatha Christie mystery crossed with "Showboat").
I woke up at 9am and dragged myself into the bathroom to change my clothes and make myself presentable in order to go to the Franklin Mint Museum for the Brom exhibition. I was sooooo excited ! We got there late, and I was worried we had caused anxiety to Anthony, but, as it turned out, he too, was substantially late. Let me just express here how FANTASTIC the exhibit was. It was full of his works over the last seven years, or so, up to 2001, and gave a varied spectrum of his talents. I admit that I envy him his talent. He is simply fantastic. What is even more amazing is that so much of his work comes straight out of his head, though it is clear he has studied form and figure, as well as looked at the past masters, and I don't just mean in his genre. He understands that veins show green and blue through translucent skin and that there is solidity beneath flesh. He uses light and shadow to great effect and has an innated understanding of the human figure - and not simply in a comic art sort of way. There was one piece where he'd drawn extensively on the PreRaphaelite tradition, only without the sugary romanticism, yet as evocative of a story as any "lady of Shalot" ever was.
Brom was there, himself, of course. There was much pressure from Anthony and Ally (sp?) - Ben's housemate, and Ben for me to talk to him. It's amazing how none of them thought that THEY should talk to him. Anyway, I finally dug up the courage, mostly because Anthony threatened to approach Brom himself on my behalf and went up to him. He automatically reached for the book of his art that I was holding, and I explained that I had come down from Toronto, Canada just to see this exhibition and meet him. He was pretty impressed with that. Heck, it even beat out the couple that had come from Montreal. They only had to travel 11 hours which is nothing compared to my 15 and a half ! I proceded to ask him some questions, including those on behalf of Ally who had managed to just barely avoid clamming up completely, and he answered readily. He did want to know how I'd heard about his exhibit and I said that it was through his webpage and he got all excited and started to talk about how he wanted to do more with it and he was slowly learning the webdesign programme that would allow him to take over the site himself. Anthony mustered up the courage to jump into the conversation, too, and the three of us had a rather animated discussion about the influences his work was having on industries beyond traditional illustration, etc., and we amassed a rather large group of people who were listening to the discussion. I did not have the nerve to ask him if I could send him some of my work, but his email is on the site and he does read it, so chances are, he'll remember the girl from Canada. He had lots of advice for us wee artists apsiring to his level and we lapped itup. And he signed my book in a most excellent way.
Anthony treated the three of us to lunch because we're poor and he isn't, and he remembers all too well the pain of artschool and the confusion that comes after. Anthony is a lovely guy and Ally and Ben thought so too. He also looked at our sketchbooks and gave us all good advice for what to do to improve our skills and portfolios. To Ben and Ally he said they HAVE to work from life, and from the masters, and he was disgusted at how little life drawing was offered at their school. To me he said that it was time I took some of the stuff in my book and start 'working it up'. I know what he means, and I will.
Anyway, now my two hosts have gone off to their evening classes and I'm going to phone my mom and then take a nap. There is a rumour we might play some D&D tonight, since I never go anywhere without my dice. Tomorrow, Megan and I (and maybe Terry) are going to hit the Archaeology Museum and have dinner. As for Wednesday, I'm not sure if I'll go to the Art Museum or to the Afro-American Art Museum. Maybe I'll do the former and save the latter for the next time I'm out, because there WILL be another time.
The first segment of the trip, from Toronto to Niagara Falls, Ontario, was greatly enjoyed thanks to the lovely Scottish fellow who sat with me. I met him in the line at the terminal and ask whether I could trust him to look after my things while I ran to buy snacks. His answer was, "I dennoo, cahn ye trust meh?" I just grinned and offered to buy him a snack too. Anyway, I came back and he said, "Ye really shoo not trust strange men," with a big smile. Instant friends ! We sat together and soon enough, the two hours were over and I had to wish him a good journey home, since after seven months of world travel, he was finally returning to Glasgow on Wednesday. He did offer that if I wasn't in a rush to get to Philly, I could stay and wander around Niagara Falls with him and take the night bus to New York (good travel company is hard to find, apparently) but I explained the cause of my journey and he understood my need for speed. We didn't exchange emails, which is sort of a shame as he was quite interesting, but if he ever stumbles on this log, GOOD LUCK, KEN !
I was, naturally, not even bothered at Customs. "You were born in New York State?" "Yes, I absolutely was." "Have a nice trip." Oh well, I'm not sure why it was disappointing, but it was a bit of a let down. I'd hoped for metal detectors or something, hell, even having one bag opened would have been somewhat fun. Shucks.
At Buffalo, I was horribly disappointed to discover that the greasy spoon I like, the one at the back of the terminal that ISN'T the official restaurant, closes at 3pm on Sundays, and naturally, it was 3:30pm when we pulled in. I had a flabby cheeseburger from the restaurant and then got back on the bus. It was suggested I ried the express to NYC, but I declined, as Megs was going to pick me up at 4am in Philly, and I could either sleep on a bus, or sit for four hours at the New York Port Authority. Uh. Ya. Anyway, it afforded me a scenic ride through the Finger Lakes, principally Geneva, where our neighbours at the cottage have a farm - it was a beautiful spot ! Also, I saw Ithica for the first time, and though dusk was setting in, it was still quite a lovely town, full of old, eccentric homes. I had been disappointed by the lame skater that had sat next to me from Buffalo to Ithica, but he got off there, and I had the pair of seats to myself for the rest of the trip into New York.
I slept a bit, on and off, though hardly in any decent way, but by the time we were an hour out of NYC, I woke up and there was no putting me to sleep again. I just got so excited to be gonig home, even if it was only through the Port Authority. I sat bolt upright, watching for that first glimpse of the skyline, and though I knew it would look... wrong, I was quite surprised when the tears rolled down my cheeks. It was that first glimpse, fleeting, over the top of a hill that did it, and when it rematerialised five minutes later, the shock was over. The sight of the city, my home, the greatest city in the world (in my opinion), so changed just by the lack of two buildings remains difficult to describe. Later, in Philly, I told Megan about it and she nodded and said that she felt that way every time she saw the skyline. The city itself was bustling, though, and the terminal was buzzing with thousands of people transfering to buses all over the continent. It was sort of amazing.
The line at the Philly gate afforded me another bonding experience, with a fellow named Vincent, who commutes every month back and forth to school in New Hampshir, from Little Rock, Arkansas. Amazing ! It seems, their masters programme in community development is ranked number one in the US, so he makes the 37 hour bus ride there, stays for three days, and the same bus ride back, monthly He'd fly, only he hates flying. He was quite interested in Canada's take on Bush's 'war' and while I'm not sure of the feelings of the entire country, I was able to tell him that many people were disturbed by the thought of Bush trying to take Canadian soldiers into Iraq, including the Prime Minister. I also explained that Canada hasn't fought active combat since Korea and we weren't entirely keen to be doing it now. We like being peace-keepers. He was very interested in politics and world issues, and his opinions on how communities must act in order to pull out of poverty were quite interesting. He did give me his email and I will write him. He was interesting.
On the bus to Philly, I conked out soundly for most of the trip, thankfully, and before I noticed, my Stephane Grapelli album had played two and a half times and we were pulling into the ctiy. Megan was there to pick me up (bless her !) and we went to the South St Diner. I ate scrapple. It's some sort or pork thing, and after much contemplation and thoughtful chewing, I realised it was a lot like a flat slab version of a Dutch crogeette. Needless to say, it was delicious and probably very bad for me. Yum ! We sat and talked over much coffee and finally, around 7am, she deposited me at Ben's house. I managed to get another hour of sleep (and had a GREAT dream about my mother being given this awesome job in Louisisana where she had to make this old plantation mansion into a viable resort in order to pay for it's renovation. The dream was in vivid 'technicolor' and was something of an Agatha Christie mystery crossed with "Showboat").
I woke up at 9am and dragged myself into the bathroom to change my clothes and make myself presentable in order to go to the Franklin Mint Museum for the Brom exhibition. I was sooooo excited ! We got there late, and I was worried we had caused anxiety to Anthony, but, as it turned out, he too, was substantially late. Let me just express here how FANTASTIC the exhibit was. It was full of his works over the last seven years, or so, up to 2001, and gave a varied spectrum of his talents. I admit that I envy him his talent. He is simply fantastic. What is even more amazing is that so much of his work comes straight out of his head, though it is clear he has studied form and figure, as well as looked at the past masters, and I don't just mean in his genre. He understands that veins show green and blue through translucent skin and that there is solidity beneath flesh. He uses light and shadow to great effect and has an innated understanding of the human figure - and not simply in a comic art sort of way. There was one piece where he'd drawn extensively on the PreRaphaelite tradition, only without the sugary romanticism, yet as evocative of a story as any "lady of Shalot" ever was.
Brom was there, himself, of course. There was much pressure from Anthony and Ally (sp?) - Ben's housemate, and Ben for me to talk to him. It's amazing how none of them thought that THEY should talk to him. Anyway, I finally dug up the courage, mostly because Anthony threatened to approach Brom himself on my behalf and went up to him. He automatically reached for the book of his art that I was holding, and I explained that I had come down from Toronto, Canada just to see this exhibition and meet him. He was pretty impressed with that. Heck, it even beat out the couple that had come from Montreal. They only had to travel 11 hours which is nothing compared to my 15 and a half ! I proceded to ask him some questions, including those on behalf of Ally who had managed to just barely avoid clamming up completely, and he answered readily. He did want to know how I'd heard about his exhibit and I said that it was through his webpage and he got all excited and started to talk about how he wanted to do more with it and he was slowly learning the webdesign programme that would allow him to take over the site himself. Anthony mustered up the courage to jump into the conversation, too, and the three of us had a rather animated discussion about the influences his work was having on industries beyond traditional illustration, etc., and we amassed a rather large group of people who were listening to the discussion. I did not have the nerve to ask him if I could send him some of my work, but his email is on the site and he does read it, so chances are, he'll remember the girl from Canada. He had lots of advice for us wee artists apsiring to his level and we lapped itup. And he signed my book in a most excellent way.
Anthony treated the three of us to lunch because we're poor and he isn't, and he remembers all too well the pain of artschool and the confusion that comes after. Anthony is a lovely guy and Ally and Ben thought so too. He also looked at our sketchbooks and gave us all good advice for what to do to improve our skills and portfolios. To Ben and Ally he said they HAVE to work from life, and from the masters, and he was disgusted at how little life drawing was offered at their school. To me he said that it was time I took some of the stuff in my book and start 'working it up'. I know what he means, and I will.
Anyway, now my two hosts have gone off to their evening classes and I'm going to phone my mom and then take a nap. There is a rumour we might play some D&D tonight, since I never go anywhere without my dice. Tomorrow, Megan and I (and maybe Terry) are going to hit the Archaeology Museum and have dinner. As for Wednesday, I'm not sure if I'll go to the Art Museum or to the Afro-American Art Museum. Maybe I'll do the former and save the latter for the next time I'm out, because there WILL be another time.
Saturday, April 06, 2002
Oh wow, one more before I go.
I just checked my email and found an amazing link to an image of Earth at night. Here's the explanation that came with it, which may, or may not, have been written by someone I know.
The image below is a panoramic view of the world from the new space station. It is a night photo with the lights clearly indicating the populated areas. You can scroll East-West and North-South. Note that Canada's population is almost exclusively along the US border. Moving east to Europe, there is a high population concentration along the Mediterranean Coast. It's easy to spot London, Paris, Stockholm and Vienna. Note the Nile River and the rest of the "Dark Continent." After the Nile, the lights don't come on again until Johannesburg. Look at the Australian Outback and the Trans-Siberian Rail Route. Moving east, the most striking observation is the difference between north and South Korea. Note the density of Japan. It is a picture of the Earth taken from the Space Station last November on a perfect night with no obscuring atmospheric conditions.
Awesome, isn't it? Too think, in one hundred years we may have utterly destroyed it. However, we can all safely go on merrily through life knowing that it won't be completely devestated within our lifetime, so who cares? Hah, ratify the Kyoto accord? Why? Short-term economics are so much more important.
I need sarcasm tags.
Oh, and for anyone interested in the current OPSEU situation, once again, let me direct you to 362's site. Apparently they're all back at the bargaining table this week, but whether anything will come of it, we'll see. Here's hoping for a breakthrough.
I just checked my email and found an amazing link to an image of Earth at night. Here's the explanation that came with it, which may, or may not, have been written by someone I know.
The image below is a panoramic view of the world from the new space station. It is a night photo with the lights clearly indicating the populated areas. You can scroll East-West and North-South. Note that Canada's population is almost exclusively along the US border. Moving east to Europe, there is a high population concentration along the Mediterranean Coast. It's easy to spot London, Paris, Stockholm and Vienna. Note the Nile River and the rest of the "Dark Continent." After the Nile, the lights don't come on again until Johannesburg. Look at the Australian Outback and the Trans-Siberian Rail Route. Moving east, the most striking observation is the difference between north and South Korea. Note the density of Japan. It is a picture of the Earth taken from the Space Station last November on a perfect night with no obscuring atmospheric conditions.
Awesome, isn't it? Too think, in one hundred years we may have utterly destroyed it. However, we can all safely go on merrily through life knowing that it won't be completely devestated within our lifetime, so who cares? Hah, ratify the Kyoto accord? Why? Short-term economics are so much more important.
I need sarcasm tags.
Oh, and for anyone interested in the current OPSEU situation, once again, let me direct you to 362's site. Apparently they're all back at the bargaining table this week, but whether anything will come of it, we'll see. Here's hoping for a breakthrough.
Well, goodness, but my fans have been vocal about my lack of updates. While I don't necessarily feel I -must- explain, I will. It's pretty simple. Until today, we had no Internet connexion at the house. So, my last, lame entry from Tuesday was a sorry excuse to tide people over the course of four days.
I ran lots of errands on my day off (Wednesday), which while not entirely relaxing, did serve to get many things out of the way. In fact, I even made it to the US Consulate for a social security number. There was much security, and they even took my phone for the duration of my stay within the building, but they were all extremely nice and even humourous. They liked me. :) I'm such a polite and personable young woman. Apparently. I bought more fabric in order to cover Rick's masque, and I got money from the bank (so exciting, I know). I met Rick at Moores (the suit people) and I helped him pick out a suit, though my aid was practically unnecessary thanks to the excellent salesman that was helping him. I did, however; encourage him to buy a new pair of dress shoes, since his old ones did not fit him properly at all.
Rick took me out to dinner, which was very nice, and we went to our favourite sushi place, Tokyo Sushi on Bloor just west of Spadina. Everyone should go there, it's great ! Also, the waitresses are adorably sweet. We got to sit in one of the closed-off booths where they sit parties and such - quite fun ! Dinner was, of course, delicious. It gave me a bit of time to talk to Rick in a way that helped my state of mind significantly. Part of my depression has been related to my feeling of stasis. I know I need to get away, to make something of myself, to take some risks, but there are a lot of things holding me back; namely, Mom, friends, and Rick. It's hard to pick up and leave the ones you love and I've been putting it off for so long. Now, though, I've got a social security number coming to me, sometime in the next couple of months, which was my first obstacle in avoiding my future. It was strangely comforting to talk to Rick about these fears. Whatever happens, will happen, and we will do what must be done.
Speaking of getting away, my trip to Philly is a GO ! I have my tickets so it really must be happening. I'll be leaving at 12:30pm on the Greyhound and I'll be arriving around 4am the following day. Oh groan, but what can you do? This is what I must do in order to see BROM on Monday at the Franklin Mint Museum. Megan will meet me in the morning (she's threatening to come in her peejays) and together we shall break our fasts, probably in some divey all-night diner or something. Fun ! Some time later, I'll turn up on the doorstep of Ben's and we'll head for the museum. I'll probably change my clothes between the doorstep and the exhibition, mind you, because there is nothing attractive, or even remotely presentable, about walking around in clothes you slept on a bus in. Uhg. Other highlights will be seeing Anthony as well as visiting the Philly Art Museum again, and going to the Museum of Archaeology. By the way, Anthony is responsible for the fantastic look and art of Unreal 2.
Tomorrow is Sandra and John's masquerade wedding, and tonight, officially, the masques are complete ! Nick took some pictures of the mostly completed masques, and then of the finished pieces modeled by yours truly, and without tooting my own horn too hard, they are FANCY. Nicole lent me her long black gloves, which wouldn't fit except that she cut the ends off the digits. Afterall, she's as long fingered and large handed as I am. Actually, the effect of having the fingers cut off at the halfway mark gives the feeling of talons, which is completely appropriate since I'm going as a black dragon. It's going to be fun. I hope. *bounce*
Anyway, my room is a mess and I smell like a man. A big, fat man, who's sat in the sun for three hours after doing heavy labour. I stink ! Time for a shower, and then maybe I'll get some basic things together in my room for tomorrow. Oh, and don't forget that the clocks go FORWARD at 2am Sunday morning.
I ran lots of errands on my day off (Wednesday), which while not entirely relaxing, did serve to get many things out of the way. In fact, I even made it to the US Consulate for a social security number. There was much security, and they even took my phone for the duration of my stay within the building, but they were all extremely nice and even humourous. They liked me. :) I'm such a polite and personable young woman. Apparently. I bought more fabric in order to cover Rick's masque, and I got money from the bank (so exciting, I know). I met Rick at Moores (the suit people) and I helped him pick out a suit, though my aid was practically unnecessary thanks to the excellent salesman that was helping him. I did, however; encourage him to buy a new pair of dress shoes, since his old ones did not fit him properly at all.
Rick took me out to dinner, which was very nice, and we went to our favourite sushi place, Tokyo Sushi on Bloor just west of Spadina. Everyone should go there, it's great ! Also, the waitresses are adorably sweet. We got to sit in one of the closed-off booths where they sit parties and such - quite fun ! Dinner was, of course, delicious. It gave me a bit of time to talk to Rick in a way that helped my state of mind significantly. Part of my depression has been related to my feeling of stasis. I know I need to get away, to make something of myself, to take some risks, but there are a lot of things holding me back; namely, Mom, friends, and Rick. It's hard to pick up and leave the ones you love and I've been putting it off for so long. Now, though, I've got a social security number coming to me, sometime in the next couple of months, which was my first obstacle in avoiding my future. It was strangely comforting to talk to Rick about these fears. Whatever happens, will happen, and we will do what must be done.
Speaking of getting away, my trip to Philly is a GO ! I have my tickets so it really must be happening. I'll be leaving at 12:30pm on the Greyhound and I'll be arriving around 4am the following day. Oh groan, but what can you do? This is what I must do in order to see BROM on Monday at the Franklin Mint Museum. Megan will meet me in the morning (she's threatening to come in her peejays) and together we shall break our fasts, probably in some divey all-night diner or something. Fun ! Some time later, I'll turn up on the doorstep of Ben's and we'll head for the museum. I'll probably change my clothes between the doorstep and the exhibition, mind you, because there is nothing attractive, or even remotely presentable, about walking around in clothes you slept on a bus in. Uhg. Other highlights will be seeing Anthony as well as visiting the Philly Art Museum again, and going to the Museum of Archaeology. By the way, Anthony is responsible for the fantastic look and art of Unreal 2.
Tomorrow is Sandra and John's masquerade wedding, and tonight, officially, the masques are complete ! Nick took some pictures of the mostly completed masques, and then of the finished pieces modeled by yours truly, and without tooting my own horn too hard, they are FANCY. Nicole lent me her long black gloves, which wouldn't fit except that she cut the ends off the digits. Afterall, she's as long fingered and large handed as I am. Actually, the effect of having the fingers cut off at the halfway mark gives the feeling of talons, which is completely appropriate since I'm going as a black dragon. It's going to be fun. I hope. *bounce*
Anyway, my room is a mess and I smell like a man. A big, fat man, who's sat in the sun for three hours after doing heavy labour. I stink ! Time for a shower, and then maybe I'll get some basic things together in my room for tomorrow. Oh, and don't forget that the clocks go FORWARD at 2am Sunday morning.
Tuesday, April 02, 2002
Oh my God. I wrote a whole long spiel about all sorts of things, including my upcoming trip to Philly to meet Brom (and visit friends), as well my depression and how I am battling feelings about taking risks... and also about how I won't have a proper internet connexion until Thursday....
And Blogger went down. For a long, long time. Oh well. Maybe some of the stuff I said was better left unspoken.
I get to leave now. Trudging home, through the snow. Hah. It's April.
And Blogger went down. For a long, long time. Oh well. Maybe some of the stuff I said was better left unspoken.
I get to leave now. Trudging home, through the snow. Hah. It's April.
Monday, April 01, 2002
I was so sure that I'd have lots of time to be on then 'net and whathaveyou, and I'd get on the MUD, and I'd do all these things... and then I hardly had time for it at all. Gadzooks. I've been keeping a bit busier than I'd thought I would, and I've accomplished less than I'd hoped. Heh, no real surprise there. There are just so many other good things that I can be doing with my time, you know?
For instance, there was the fruitless search for evening gloves with Carrie on Saturday. We trouped all over the place, including to the best second-hand store in the city, to no avail. There were plenty of cool things, but no gloves. At least, none that fit my gigantor hands. Apparently hair attachments and things are in fashion. It was a bit repulsive heading into an accessories store to find a wall of hair. Ew. On a different note, we did walk past Chris' store, Eyeball Soup, and read his special closed sign: We are closed for Good Friday, Excellent Saturday, and Ultimate Sunday. Very cute, Chris, we love you.
Another thing that was not as successful as it ought to have been, was working on my masque. The horns are done, but the fins are not, nor is the rest of it covered. Yeesh. Six days to go. *flogs self* That said, I did get online long enough to bring my main character on Realms of Despair back to life after a five month (real time) death. That was AWESOME. I am looking forward to getting online more in order to play her. I missed her very much.
We had company last night, the Muttons came over, as well as Ray, for a kosher Passover feast. It wasn't a seder, but it had all the elements of the plate set out, as well as some symbolic hand washing and so forth. It was a good time, as it always is with the Muttons, especially because this time Wayne brought the puppy. He's an adorable border collie cross named Buster. He was so much fun, though we had to lock the cats upstairs for fear of their coniptions. He's just been fixed, though, and very interested in licking his stitches (ew) so he had to have his Elizabethan collar put on. So, for half of the night, Buster walked around like a hairy lamp.
Today, speaking of hairy, I went riding at Kerri's. I haven't been on a horse since last summer and I got to ride her new hourse, Tarquin, a most excellently wide beast with the longest, thickest mane I've ever had occasion to brush. We're not talking about using a piddly mane comb on him, either, I mean a real, hardcore hairbrush that can rip through tangles and make the most unruly head look decent. Believe me, his needed some serious brushing. We rode first in the ring, myself on Tarquin and Kerri on Ryven, and then we took them up the rode. Tarquin is a wimp and he spooked a lot, but I barely noticed because, unlike most horses that prance and shy away from things, he mostly just sort of tanked upward and then stopped on the spot. I don't mean rearing or anything, I mean he just sort of lifted his back and neck, snorted and trembled, but without actually going anywhere. It feels big, but without the forward motion. It was a wonderful fun ride. Also, I got to play with Kerri's baby, who is growing like a weed and is very cute.
Yes. I did say cute. Clearly, I have more affection for babies belonging to my friends.
The decision NOT to bring Willi back to the big city tomorrow has been reached, as the appartment is a shambles and I'm going away the following week for four nights. I really don't want to upset her by constantly changing my appartment around and then disappearing. I'll be out here again on the weekend of the 20th and I'll bring her then. Hopefully Nick will be able to look after her the last weekend of the month when I go out to visit Tracy for two nights. Here's hoping.
Anyway, the big plan is to GET THE APPARTMENT ORGANISED this week, as well as FINISHING THE MASQUES. Hah, sure.
For instance, there was the fruitless search for evening gloves with Carrie on Saturday. We trouped all over the place, including to the best second-hand store in the city, to no avail. There were plenty of cool things, but no gloves. At least, none that fit my gigantor hands. Apparently hair attachments and things are in fashion. It was a bit repulsive heading into an accessories store to find a wall of hair. Ew. On a different note, we did walk past Chris' store, Eyeball Soup, and read his special closed sign: We are closed for Good Friday, Excellent Saturday, and Ultimate Sunday. Very cute, Chris, we love you.
Another thing that was not as successful as it ought to have been, was working on my masque. The horns are done, but the fins are not, nor is the rest of it covered. Yeesh. Six days to go. *flogs self* That said, I did get online long enough to bring my main character on Realms of Despair back to life after a five month (real time) death. That was AWESOME. I am looking forward to getting online more in order to play her. I missed her very much.
We had company last night, the Muttons came over, as well as Ray, for a kosher Passover feast. It wasn't a seder, but it had all the elements of the plate set out, as well as some symbolic hand washing and so forth. It was a good time, as it always is with the Muttons, especially because this time Wayne brought the puppy. He's an adorable border collie cross named Buster. He was so much fun, though we had to lock the cats upstairs for fear of their coniptions. He's just been fixed, though, and very interested in licking his stitches (ew) so he had to have his Elizabethan collar put on. So, for half of the night, Buster walked around like a hairy lamp.
Today, speaking of hairy, I went riding at Kerri's. I haven't been on a horse since last summer and I got to ride her new hourse, Tarquin, a most excellently wide beast with the longest, thickest mane I've ever had occasion to brush. We're not talking about using a piddly mane comb on him, either, I mean a real, hardcore hairbrush that can rip through tangles and make the most unruly head look decent. Believe me, his needed some serious brushing. We rode first in the ring, myself on Tarquin and Kerri on Ryven, and then we took them up the rode. Tarquin is a wimp and he spooked a lot, but I barely noticed because, unlike most horses that prance and shy away from things, he mostly just sort of tanked upward and then stopped on the spot. I don't mean rearing or anything, I mean he just sort of lifted his back and neck, snorted and trembled, but without actually going anywhere. It feels big, but without the forward motion. It was a wonderful fun ride. Also, I got to play with Kerri's baby, who is growing like a weed and is very cute.
Yes. I did say cute. Clearly, I have more affection for babies belonging to my friends.
The decision NOT to bring Willi back to the big city tomorrow has been reached, as the appartment is a shambles and I'm going away the following week for four nights. I really don't want to upset her by constantly changing my appartment around and then disappearing. I'll be out here again on the weekend of the 20th and I'll bring her then. Hopefully Nick will be able to look after her the last weekend of the month when I go out to visit Tracy for two nights. Here's hoping.
Anyway, the big plan is to GET THE APPARTMENT ORGANISED this week, as well as FINISHING THE MASQUES. Hah, sure.