I decided, after Ms. Sophie told me about it, to participate in NaBloPoMo, which is the blogging version of NaNoWriMo. (NaNoWriMo takes place every November -- it stands for National Novel Writing Month. NaBloPoMo stands for National Blog Posting Month.) What that means is I am to post a blog every day throughout the month of November. Now, I guarantee these are not going to be creative masterpieces, but I think it's a good idea, both for writing exercises and self-discipline.
Wow. Two hair compliments on the elevator already this morning. I think everyone is in a great mood, because there is finally some real, true sunshine out there. :) I know that makes me happy. Please stick around, sunshine!
Welcome back. With the exception of how early it will now get dark, my internal clock missed you. What's not good for the cows in Saskatchewan (Daylight Saving Time) can't be good for the masses. Oh, the humanity. Why is it we pay so much attention to the results of experiments done on laboratory mice, yet when we recognize what's good for the large mammals, we can't extend this line of thought to we, the sleepy, non-DST embracing, overly-caffeinated-for-several-weeks-of-the-year people?
A better question: why are we letting our internal clocks be further toyed with by the extension of DST in 2007? It's the brainchild of someone who had to issue a press release this summer to confirm that he's read a book. Singular. Supposed energy conservation or not, has anyone thought about just where this idea originated? Or if we're going to extend it, why we don't just stay on DST year-round? Sleep cycles, people.
Think of the cows. Has nobody outside of Saskatchewan thought of the cows? Those are not animals you want to mess with. They can withhold what will eventually become ice cream and cheese, you know. And Ontario has cows. Think about it.
Mwahs and kisses,
The Dairy Cow Defense League, for a DST-Free North America
"The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down..."
Well yes, the "gales of November" did come early this year, so I wonder if that's what's up with this...
The classic rock radio station here has been on this kick lately of playing "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot. The reason I know this is because I have this habit when I'm driving, if not listening to my iPod or a CD, of continually surfing all the pre-programmed stations, one-by-one, in a pattern, until I find a station where there isn't a commercial, and people aren't talking and/or playing Nickelback (that "Savin' Me" song being the exception... gah, I can't believe I just wrote that). Believe me, this is no easy feat during morning or late afternoon rush hour. My general conclusion is that there isn't a lot of music on the radio anymore. As some of my car passengers can attest, my ever-endearing (heh) habit could almost be likened to some kind of driving version of a nervous tic -- I do it all the time, and don't even realize it. Hence why I get a good idea of what's playing on each station.
The thing about "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" though, is that to this day it inspires giggles. I have two associations with this song. The first one having to do with an elementary school project from long ago ("the big lake they call Gitche Gumee" is the one I grew up on), and the second one having to do with a trip to Acapulco my family once took (because one of the plane's radio stations kept playing it over and over). Every time I hear that song, I just want to yell out "STU!!!!" and start looking for pilfered bottles of wine. If you think WestJet is happy -- and I've had some pretty entertaining experiences with them, including a bagpipe concert at 33,000 feet -- you have never seen a flight like this. At least not since the 1980s or 1970s or whatever eras air travel and apparently everything else was always a blast during, as per remembered accounts. If that particular flight happened today... well no, I doubt that particular flight could happen today. First, no one could trade food for pilfered wine because if they fed you a meal it would be a miracle unto itself, and two, we'd probably all be arrested for disruptive behaviour, and conspiracy to cause inebriation with our weapon of choice being a corkscrew, except you'd never get the corkscrew onto the plane in the first place. The end.
Ah, nostalgia of air travel past. Thank you, Gordon Lightfoot.
I think my dog might have an addictive personality. Or so his insistence upon spending entire evenings searching the house high and low for Milk Bones would indicate. Anywhere he's ever sat down and eaten one, or a piece of one, he goes back there. He sits by the counter in the kitchen where he knows they magically appear from, pleading with me. My puppy is a Milk Bone junkie. It's not even like he has a lot of them! They are rewards for things, like telling me he needs to go outside, or being brushed, or going in his crate.
Of course, Milk Bones don't hold a candle to the smell of tomato sauce. And no, he's never HAD tomato sauce. The vet tech may be right though, that obedience training shouldn't be too difficult, seeing how he responds to treats and toys.
That's this week's update on my sudden entry into domesticity, part one. Part two is my faking being a culinary whiz for the last couple of weeks, all thanks to Rachael Ray, the best thing to happen to dinner, ever. Seriously, all of her recipes are 30 minutes from prep to finish, and oh so very good. This week I made her grilled chicken and eggplant parm (hi Kell!). So good. I'm so glad to be interested in cooking again, because somewhere along the way of being too busy to think straight, I had stopped having much cooking motivation, unless I was having a dinner party.
Puppy, cooking... well, compared to this time last year when I was a little ball of "ahhhh" with the onslaught of seminars to give, term papers to write, and a Masters paper-in-progress, I'd say things are good. :)
Now that there is a good puppy routine in place, I've been able to get back to some writing. The cool, gray evenings have been good for that. There's nothing like the glow of soft light, as I sit with pen and paper, a candle or two burning, writing music going, into the writing zone and staying there for several hours. There's an exhilaration that comes with it, those moments of inspiration and creative abandon. When I can get to that place, it's beautiful. I'm loving this return to something.
Today I'd like to send a hello and good thoughts to Julia. I hope the writing is going well. You're an inspiration, accomplishing all that you have while living a full and likely very busy life.
And to everyone out there reading, a happy Wednesday. There is a hint of sunshine this morning, and I'm so glad to see it.
I know. If I went to grad school with you, or if you're someone I've worked with for a long time or are family or a good friend, you either laughed out loud or choked on any food/beverage which may have been in your mouth upon reading the post title. "Shy" is not how you'd describe she who babbles incessantly at a million miles per minute, is it?
If truth be told, I often am. If I come across as somehow uppity or stuck up, it's not it at all. Breaking ice is not my strong point in most situations. (In professional situations, i.e. meetings/meeting colleagues, telephone calls, etc., I'm fine.) But every day, wandering around the floor or building at work, in one of the kitchens or somewhere else? If there's not a soul I know well, I'm the quiet one.
So I've been trying to remedy that. Talking to people I don't know. Saying hello to new faces who share this space we spend 40 hours a week in. Along with getting to know new people, I think it helps ward off the pre-winter doldrums. There is someone here who began talking to me a few weeks ago that I wish I'd run into again. New work friends are always welcome!
Believe it or not, at home, Pico has helped me get to know my neighbours. I've been living where I do for over a year, but other than the occasional hello, I've never really known what to say to those who live nearby if I see them outside. Somehow puppies change that. I like that a lot.
It is such a hot chocolate kind of day. I know fall is a pretty season, with the changed colours of the leaves -- and on the street where I park near where I work, there are tons of them on the ground. I love those autumn hues, the golden yellows and oranges and deep reds... but I think I like them more on sunshiney days. :) I remember for years and years I said I was going to get yellow cellophane to put on the windows (or maybe it should be sky blue cellophane?) to mimic a sunny day. I haven't entirely abandoned that idea. Weekend project? :)
Really, honestly, truly, it can stop with this incessant gray and rain anytime now. And no, that is not an invitation for snow. Sunshine, where art thou?
I have always had problems with the weather here in the fall (yes, winter too, heh, but I'll save that one for January). Weather patterns have changed where I grew up, too, so now I think they also get their fair share of autumn doom and gloom -- all these days of gray. But growing up, I don't remember it being like this. Here, it is inevitable that there are going to be several solid weeks of gray and rain -- it's been like clockwork for the last seven falltime seasons I've spent here.
Spring and summer rain are different. They're refreshing, and can make the world feel alive. This? Throws me right out of whack. It makes me want to hibernate, snuggled on the couch under a warm blanket, sipping hot peppermint tea or hot chocolate, watching DVDs, curtains closed, lights on.
Then again, we know that in many ways I am a Cali girl. Yet, in many others ways I am very much a Canadian girl through-and-through. Any possibility on speeding up and/or directing continental drift so we somehow end up closer to the equator?
It's amazing. Since getting Pico, I've been so busy and my focus is so different, that things I used to sometimes think about and dwell upon often don't even flit through my mind anymore. I have a whole new mindset of things that matter, and every minute of my day is occupied with something. I know it's going to be this nonstop until at least Christmas. Right now I do kind of wish I'd delayed my work-related French classes, because I know I still haven't fully recovered energy-wise from the craziness of 19 months of full-time work, school, and maintaining a normal life. Where I realize it most is in terms of how much stamina my brain has (or doesn't have) to process and store new things. Often, when I'm done work at the end of the day, all I want to do is come home, take care of my puppy -- which includes playtime, meal time, outside time and cuddle time -- and have people over. Nothing cerebral, that isn't writing.("Cerebral" is French homework, even though there isn't a huge amount of it or anything.) I'm telling you, these last couple of weeks, Perez Hilton is about as intellectual as I want to get.
Oh well, c'est la vie. I am learning things, and they are things I really want to learn, my timing on it is just a bit off. I do really appreciate having this opportunity, and the support I have at work to be all that I can. I realize it's much better to do this now than later, but after this I need a good half-year of no courses of any sort. I'm finally learning how to just sit still and watch a show on TV or a DVD. To fully understand the magnitude of this, it's been nearly impossible for me to do any such thing since... hmmm. Well, the first time I realized I was unable to do it was April 2003, after I finished my journalism degree and had been so used to the hectic pace of school/work/being a teaching assistant, that I couldn't settle down. I re-learned how to knit, just so I could watch TV. And yes, I was able to watch Rock Star this summer, and The Bachelor several years ago (although the last several seasons, I haven't been), but Rock Star was the true exception. In both cases, they became nights spent with friends where we'd all watch together and hang out. I'm so glad I now actually want and look forward to sitting down for a bit, because there was a time I'd thought it might never happen again. Not that it's bad to want to do "productive" things, but there needs to be a balance.
I think a few people have been trying to tell me that for awhile. Even though I'm so busy right now, and at home a lot (again, a big change!), I somehow feel like I'm returning to the world. It's been awhile, and I'm glad to be back.
You heard it here first (and hopefully not outside of an open window). I sing to my dog. He seems to enjoy music. One of the things I'm going to have to teach him is how to "sing" along. My sweet baby Beau used to sing along when someone would sing to him. You can stop looking at me like that now... and I will stop with the puppy/dog talk for a bit! It's been my world for the last week and a half, because puppies need lots of time and love. Socialness returns next week. Hopefully Pico's good table manners remain because I'm having a dinner party soon.
TGIF tomorrow. It's been a short week, but action packed. It is my group's busy season at work right now -- although there's a lot on the go, it's good because I love everything I do and the diversity of work -- added to some French classes, added to puppy love here at home, and the changing of seasons, and getting a lot of exercise and fresh air. This girlie-o is just a little bit sleepy.
I am procrastinating right now. What I should be doing is French exercises to try and re-wrap my mind around some grammatical concepts. What I really want to do is nothing that involves any sort of information processing and comprehension. My brain feels like someone threw it into a cerebral blender, kicked it up a notch past puree, to some kind of turbo charged stun.
We've been getting a routine down, and this little ball of fur is a ray of sunshine. :) He might be just a little spoiled with lots of toys and lots of attention, but that's okay. He's a sweetheart.
When I got home from work today and checked my e-mail, I was so excited to see a message from a friend in another part of the world whom I haven't talked to in years. It made me so happy to get that e-mail. A couple of nights ago, M called and I also haven't talked to her in a long time. It felt really good to just chat away. Friendships and that kind of positive energy are what life is all about, I think. I know that sometimes I am not the best at keeping in touch with people, but I think of friends, present and past, always. Lots of love to you all.
A shoutout to everyone in T.Bay -- don't get snowed in! Eeek. So much for global warming, eh? ;) It's doing the several weeks of rain thing here, which means it is most definitely fall. Someone remind me to get spike grips for my shoes this year. This will be my eighth fall in Ottawa and I still have yet to get the hang of walking on sheer ice when there's freezing rain! I sometimes wonder if you could actually skate on it. I might have to try that this year.
I think that's all from here for tonight. Mainly because the TV is on and for the first time in my life I'm seeing/hearing (in the background) the show "Dancing with the Stars" -- I'm a little distracted and not quite sure what to make of this!
To those I know and love, I'd like to introduce you to the newest addition to my family. Meet Pico. He's the sweetest little furbaby in the world, SO smart, affectionate, cuddly... awww. I am in love. :)
Pico came home on Tuesday night, and we've had some busy evenings! He's met lots of people, several dogs, and even a cat! He had a vet appointment yesterday where he met lots of new people, and got a new toy and a treat. We've been having lots of fun going on walks, playing fetch (yes, he plays fetch already, told you he was smart!), and cuddling. Tonight he went on his first trip to Petsmart, and he was so relaxed and well-behaved.
