Tonight I am going to write something substantive. An entry of substance. Of weight. Or, at the very least, an entry of several hundred words.

I am in Peterborough visiting my mother, only briefly, but with enjoyment nonetheless. The point was to come out for last night in order to catch Lorne Elliot who was playing at Showplace. If you're not familiar with him, he is the host of the CBC's "Madly Off in All Directions" heard every Sunday on CBC One. He's taken a leave in order to take a show on the road, and my God, is that man ever funny. I thought he was fun on the radio. Now that I've SEEN him, I know how much I was missing. Not only does he do a marvelous job of playing with, and sometimes abusing, the English language (especially those colloquialisms common to various regions of Canada), but he's physically a riot. He moves like he's made of rubber. And he plays a mean guitar. It was the best stand-up I've ever seen.

The plan had been to come out the night before last, which would have been Wednesday, but I got scheduled for training on Thursday. This would be the education job. I am so excited about this job, it's not even a question as to whether it would be worth it for the number of hours, it is worth it to ME. I'm going to be something half-way between a teacher and a tour-guide, taking students through the Eternal Egypt exhibit that will be opening at the end of the month. I have a binder to study, full of information about the exhibition as well as the curriculum requirements for the three principal grade-levels that I'll be dealing with. Grade fives, nines, and elevens. It seems that those are the 'bread and butter' grades for the museum, at least when it comes to cultures, art, and world religion.

Anyway, I had my first training session on Thursday where I met my fellow educator/facilitators. Most of them have a history with the ROM from past exhibits and/or children's programming. There are only a handful of people who are new to the ROM, one coming from the Science Centre, a few out of related subjects in university, and one woman who was actually a cultural site interpreter in Egypt. There's one woman who is a forensic anthropologist, so as she said, "I'm going out on a limb a bit here, but if there are any murders in the show, I'm so there !" Mostly we're all between the ages of twenty and thirty, with only a very few exceptions. I'm completely excited about it, keyed up, thrilled, and I only have momentary pangs when I think, "Oh my God, I'm going to be dealing with KIDS." Probably, I'll be too busy for it to actually register.

There are twenty artifacts that I must know like the back of my hand, each representative of a particular period in the three thousand years of ancient Egyptian history. There are actually one hundred and forty-four pieces, but with twenty memorised, I shouldn't be at a loss for words at any point. Of course, I will learn much more than that, but these are a jumping off point. We have two training sessions this week, of which I'll have to finagle some time off because they both conflict with my very busy week in the membership office. Then there are two sessions in the exhibit itself, which will hopefully be enough. The three colossal pieces that are set up outside the entrance to the hall are visible through the plastic and every time I look at them I get excited. They're outside the gallery space because of load-bearing issues inside. It seems they're just too damn heavy and they might go through the floor. We wouldn't want that.

Well, other than that, there isn't too much to talk about that is new in my life. I went shopping with Mom today - a great adventure and much fun. We picked up a new blind for my bedroom and my mother is banging and clopping right now as I type, putting it up. So far, no cursing, but I'm sure that will come. Cursing is part of any midnight project. We also bought me a gorgeous soft, warm shawl/wrap thing for me that I can wear out as well as a sexy new camissol top. At Lewiscraft, spurred on by Snerk, my mother convinced me to purchase many things to make more adorable, sellable, artworks that people will actually buy. It's not so much that I'm selling out, but that I really want people to buy my stuff. Maybe if people like my cute, commercial stuff, they'll take another look at my serious work. Anyway, expect more cute dragons in the future. *sigh* Mom placed an order for a greenhouse shelf-thing that she is buying herself for her birthday, and we went to Staples to examine the possibilities for new computer desks. My bedroom will require redesigning in order to accomodate Natasha and her accessories and my current desk in Toronto won't work and is starting to its age.

Tomorrow I am getting my head pruned, at long last, and I will pick up a new box of Sculpey for further artistic pursuits. Then I'm off to Toronto with Bill and Richie for Dungeons & Dragons at A&C's. So, happy St. Valentine's Day, if you're into that sort of thing, otherwise let me wish you a terrific Emperor Norton Day and hope you celebrate in good health.