the setup

I'm starting to have second thoughts about New Year's. Like, maybe I should just stay home and lie fetal in the corner, trying not to listen to The Softies. In theory, I know it's best not to avoid others, but that seems like a better option right now.

My plans should be fun. I'm going to a '50s/'60s sock-hop with friends, all of whom are fun and I like a lot. I feel OK with wearing a dress and have no embarrassment or nervousness about how I look. But, listening to a few of them talk tonight, I realise I stand a high chance of being ditched mid-night. I guess the difference between me and them is that I am fairly positive I'll be going home alone while they all expect to hook up with someone.

I've been having anxiety about having to walk home alone when, at midnight, I realise I have lost them all to others and the options are to stand awkwardly alone around complete strangers or stand awkwardly alone while friends try not to leave me out, but obviously have to. Honestly, I can't begrudge them that; they're all attractive people and should take advantage of being attractive. But in a competition for attention, I hold no illusions: I can't compete. I may be setting myself up for certain disaster.

In the end, obviously, I will go and stand a 50/50 chance of having a miserable time. I just have to remind myself that the same odds are true for having a blast. Really, can I expect this New Year's to be any different than any other one? I'm hoping to be hopeful tomorrow.

packages full of surprises

Just home from the ballet. I love going to the Nutcracker around Christmas. I haven't been for a few years, but am always happy when I go.

I know I've mentioned in the past my particular appreciation for the costuming in ballet, especially for the *ahem* men. This time round the women around us also appreciated the costuming as well. At first the girls in front of us snickered when they saw the bulges, to the chagrin of my viewing partner. "How infantile!" she exclaimed. Towards the end of the second half the ladies beside us exclaimed how hot the one guy was and how enormous he looked. I would never tell that to strangers; even I have my limits.

Still... it was totally true. I know they wear some sort of cup to stop from bouncing around. (This part in "Juno" made me laugh because it's exactly the reason I can't watch long distance running/marathons. Those shorts are distracting and a little frustrating to watch. Sausage swords...) But, seriously, there was packaging EVERYwhere.

The actual costumes were quite lovely, as were the sets. I forgave them the canned music rather than a symphony because everything else was pretty great.

I realised as well that it was 7 years ago tonight that I sat in the Auditorium in Chicago in the 12th row for $10 to watch the Nutcracker. Wish I were there now.

The thing about the ballet that makes me laugh is people treat it like figure skating. In skating, when someone lands a jump people clap. People were doing the same tonight, which is a little distracting and normally clapping should be saved. I also can't believe the things people wear out to cultural events. Dresses with closures found on swimsuits are a brave choice for the ballet. I also realised that one of the reasons I like the ballet is the symmetry. Often movements are in even numbers and there are usually an even number of dancers. This appeals to my even counting obsessive-compulsive tendencies.

full of surprises

Aside from all the crappy crap of the workday (like 3 people quitting. Why they couldn't wait another week for my supervisor to return so I wouldn't have to deal with it, I don't understand and sort of resent), today had some awesome bits.

The boss librarian on my floor and I had a conversation last week about coloured pyrex and I mentioned how disappointed I was that I couldn't get my grandmother's coloured pyrex. She asked if I like pink and I said I did. Then today... pink pyrex! Seriously! She gave me a super awesome pink pyrex casserole with lid and stand so it doesn't have to sit on a pot warmer or something. Sweet score!

Then one of my other co-workers slipped me a lumpy envelope shortly after. When I opened it, I found something he and I discussed ages ago when he brought in a piece of toast with the imprint of the Virgin Mary and used it to sell his beatification claims. Now I, too, can have Virgin Mary toast. The next person who sleeps over gets a piece for breakfast. I can just see people jumping at the bit.

Last Saturday I went to Daiso with my sister after a particularly belly-filling dim sum. (I really like going for dim sum in places where my party is the only one with whities. Makes it feel more authentic. Even if they talk bad about us.) Anyway, I collected some bento bits so, in theory, I could be making bento lunches any second. I keep looking at these fantastic bento blogs (this and this mostly) and it seems so easy. In reality, bento are a fricking nightmare to make. Still... the boxes and other paraphernalia are fun and sort of make me want to try to make them.

the most wonderful time

I really have to apologise to friends who normally get Christmas cards at this time of the year. Annually I buy a whole whack of Christmas cards on Boxing Day because I'm cheap and the ones I like are always expensive (though less so when they're 50% off), so I always have them well in advance of the following Christmas season.

This year, however, I was a total slacker. I have successfully avoided Christmas almost entirely, which also means I didn't get around to sending out cards.

Don't think this means I didn't think about you over the last few weeks. I have. I have a lot. I just can't prove that in any tactile way right now. I will try to remedy this somehow over the next two weeks, after which the final stretch of school hell begins and I will disappear for another 4 months.

This was a really fun Christmas, I have to admit. Even without my parents/brother coming down for it, I had a good time. On Christmas Eve I finally made it to the Hard Rock Miners Singalong: Christmas Edition, an annual event that I always wanted to go to but obviously never could. With friends and my sis/bro-in-law combo, I got to sing terribly in public without complaints or looks of pity. My friend tended to my hydration needs while watching "Eagle vs. Shark" and I awoke without a hangover.

Yesterday I went to an afternoon cocktail party that involved a lot of sweets and a modest amount of booze. I decided I probably shouldn't drink since I hadn't eaten much and the combo of sugar and booze scares me. I wound up being the life of the party by laying on my friend's bed for a rest midway through. Maybe I should have had a nap before I went, but it started at noon and I didn't want to be late. In the evening I went to Tinseltown with Tangiene to see "Juno," which was a lot of fun and a good topper to the day. It has two of my favourite crushes: Jason Bateman and Michael Cera. Sigh. Swoon.

Today I'm hoping to make it over to the Irish Heather with Tangiene for bangers & mash and maybe a shot of whisky or the like. Wish I had a hangover to nurse to make it necessary.

*Oh, I was just wondering about RSS feeds. Does anyone want some sort of RSS button to add this to your stream of feeds? I realise it's a bitch checking back to see if I've written anything, but figured readership would drop off anyway. Let me know if you want me to add an RSS link or something.

tis the season

My oven hasn't been working well for a while. Last week the bottom element stopped working almost completely. It doesn't get hot. This means things won't bake. The lack of baking means turkeys can't be roasted.

Now, maybe you can see where I'm going with this. I'm supposed to house my family for Christmas this year. My family enjoys turkey on Christmas Day. No oven... no turkey... no family.

That's right: a lack of oven means my family is staying home for Christmas. I got the news when I updated my mom on the oven situation.

Quite frankly, this is a surprise. It is unfortunate, sure, but I'll manage on my own. I've never been one for holidays anyway. I am sad I won't get to see my parents and brother for a while, but it can't be helped. No perogies or cookies... that's sort of sad, too.

As it is, I might be getting a new oven on Saturday. Apparently it looks like the thermostat, which means it's cheaper to replace than fix. Sweet.

I think I just bought eyeglasses online. I mean, I know I did, but it's really just the idea of glasses until they actually arrive at my house.

See, my sister works for a company that sells contacts online and they've recently decided to expand into glasses. They have a ridiculous special on for friends and family to try out the online glasses service, so I'm getting these (described as "European modernism combined with stylish simplicity") delivered to my door for, like, under $75. Total. Even with my retarded blind person prescription.

Hahahahahahahahahaha.

I'm not sure what happens if they look stupid on me, but whatever. I'm looking forward to the challenge of not looking like a dork. I am almost certain to fail.

Library news, so skip over this part if you're sick of hearing about libraries:
1) Last Friday I had an interview for a student librarian position at the library. I've got a 50/50 chance because I think there are around 17 people being interviewed for 9 positions. I didn't think I would get it going into the interview, so if I don't it won't be a surprise. I just wanted the interview experience.
2) Today I found out I got a scholarship from the library, which is a welcome injection of money towards my tuition. Yea! Money! Seriously, this library job has saved my life more than once.
3) Someone told me about a job at a law library for when I graduate, but it's not really a librarian position. It's more like a tech job, which means being paid less than a librarian, but it would be a cool experience because they have database needs, loads of cataloguing, and would be a self-directed workday. I'll find out more soon.
4) Wednesday I start a two week stint getting paid an extra $4/hr for filling in for my supervisor. I've threatened people not to try to quit or ask for days off because I have no idea how to organise those things.

I've been keeping busy with socialising as much as possible, and have been fighting a cold for about a week because of it. I went to the Biltmore last Thursday (it's aight; red velvet walls!), the Mint Christmas party at the Railway on Friday (missed The Pack), the FairSands Christmas soiree Saturday afternoon (and ate so many yummy sweets!), Grandview Lanes for Pilot 1 Bowling Nite (Pilot 1 is a strike-related social club), and shared dinner at The Foundation last night. This week I get to catch up with friends I don't get to see very often and Friday I'm going to my friend's house for Nacho Hat Night.

Not sure when I'm going to clean my house for Christmas, but it has to be before Sunday. That's when the family gets into town. That's a whole other story.

questionable working conditions

I'm convinced my jobplace is trying to kill me.

Tonight at work I started sneezing and my throat felt like tiny little particles were attacking it. This is not a cold. I know it's not a cold because the other 3 people working in the general vicinity experienced similar symptoms at almost the same time. I think The Man started pumping airborne diseases through the ventilation system to kill us all off so it's easier to implement job reduction strategies.

I mean, it's all starting in January anyway. As of January 1st, there will be a lower-paid position that is meant to replace most of my friends' jobs over the next 2 years. The management team has to save $100,000 this year and figured eliminating the lowest-paid position and introducing an even lower-paid position was the way to go. Even though the head of the library got a $20,000 raise last year alone. It's causing a huge amount of stress for everyone, me included. My job will require me to take on more of the lower position tasks because there are fewer people to do them, even though I'm already doing extra work from the last workplace/job reorginisation. I only know what I'm doing because I'm so nosy and want to know everybody's business; if not for that, I'd be screwed.

Sure, sure, I'll be done school in 5 months and won't be working my position anymore. (As soon as I'm done I'll have to reapply to the library as a librarian, which isn't a guarantee.) It doesn't really affect me. But, as I said, a large number of my friends are in positions that will require them to find work elsewhere or face serious RSI damage while getting paid $2-$4 less per hour and not being able to work more than 24 hours per week. It kind of causes an imbalance in relationships.

Not like I can do anything about it. No one can. It's a done deal.

Oh, unrelated: I have to make as many gifts as I can this year since I don't have much money, but need suggestions for gifts for men. Ideas? Easy, fast ones? That involve fabric or cross-stitch or cutting paper into shapes?

uncertainties of the day

Just home from a visit with my sister. She kindly stopped by my house after work to take my cans/bottles to the depot so I could get some money back. Holy geez, I had almost $20 worth of bottles and cans ($19.90, to be exact), which reminds me I shouldn't hoard recyclables for so long or I should stop drinking. Neither seems possible right now.

We went downtown so I could see her apartment. She's been there since June or July, and I hadn't seen it yet. It's a small place, but it doesn't sound like she's much of a fan of the place anyway, so maybe she'll move closer to me. Would be better. We went for dinner and drinks at the Cactus Club so she could use a $50 gift card she won at work, and got boozed up on bellinis. Note to self: two bellinis is too much when you have to walk.

"Who Do You Think You Are?" is on the CBC right now and I'm so excited about it. It's sponsored by Library and Archives Canada, which is pretty neat for me, since, you know, I'm going to spend some time in libraries in the future. Like when someone famous mentions your hometown or something and you cheer because you're from there. Same thing. Next week's should be fascinating; it's Don Cherry. The thing about the show is that I wanted to pitch something similar for CBC Radio so I could get a trip to the Old Country and see the Czech Republic. Now... seems like a bad pitch. Sigh.

Ordered more socks. And bought some boots, though not the ones I thought I would. Some fun rain booties and a pair of waterproof and somewhat stylish Merrells that I'm still not totally sure about because they're just snug right now. I only have 8 more days to decide about them before I can't get a store credit anymore. I wanted black ones, but they only had smaller brown ones, so tried them. They fit in the toe, but are a smidge snug over the tops. What should I do?

can't always get what you want

I've been on a fruitless quest for boots and a coat that don't suck. Today I wanted to see if anything good has happened in the coat/shoe worlds, or if stuff is on sale enough for me to find it OK enough to buy/wear. Not sure why I even bother.

The coat situation... well, I'm just going to have to give up on finding a winter coat that is nice and that fits and that doesn't cost more than I spend on a semester's tuition. I don't want a black coat. I don't want a long coat. I don't want a hood. Those are really my only criteria. Oh, and it has to fit. Today I looked at a lot of coats and none of them met all those traits. The one that came close is a rain coat, but I'm not sure I should buy a rain coat when I lack the ability to generate enough heat to not get hypothermia while waiting for the bus for extended amounts of time.

The boot situation is problematic for two reasons:
1) I want low-heeled boots, probably.
2) My calves are too meaty for most conventional boots to fit over.
I blame two things for this:
a) genetics are cruel
b) my once-sporty self got lazy
Maybe if I concentrated on one or the other thing to look for I would be successful. Maybe.

I did purchase a bathing suit meant for rigorous swimming exercise in the near future. It did feel strange to buy a bathing suit in December with no plans to go to a hot place that would require a bathing suit. Buying bathing suits in December is probably not a great idea because they aren't really on sale and there are often a lot of spangly, sparkly, hanging things from bathing suits for sale in December. Maybe people that can afford (and have time) to go to sun destinations lack taste.

Also, I'm thinking of boycotting food. Generally.

burning hearts

One of my friends left for a 3-week trip and, in preparation, I made him a compilation of all the Spanish music I have loaded onto my computer to get him into the mood for his trip. While burning the disc, I looked through a few of my playlists and stumbled upon one that I compiled after the boy with fantastically curly hair stopped calling. Entitled "Sappy," it's got loads of songs that I love but that make me a little sad and wistful about missed opportunities and relationships that ended before I wanted them to.

I'm absolutely in love with "Burning Hearts" by My Favorite; there's something about the intro that makes my heart soar and then come crashing down. Makes me feel like writing bad poetry and watching teen movies. And it makes me miss my old friend in Chicago because it's something he would love to listen to and first introduced me to My Favorite.

At some point in November I decided that I have to mark the completion of this next degree with something special before I embark on a big girl job or get sucked into the job machine that will grind me up and spit me out if I let it. So I decided that, since I haven't been since 2001, I would go to Chicago and then try to swing up to Toronto for a week or two in May. There's no particular reason for wanting to go to Chicago other than I always love it there (even when terrible things happen) and one of my favourite trips ever was a 3-week stint during my undergrad that fell right around the time I'm planning to go. And, naturally, I'm hoping to see my old friend for a wee bit.

I realise it will put me in debt and is probably a stupid thing to do from a financial standpoint, but there are a number of extremely good reasons for such an endeavor:
1) I haven't been on a trip of any such magnitude for at least 2 years and I'm not getting any younger.
2) By scheduling a visit to Toronto, I can visit friends and see if Toronto is somewhere I want to live in the near/distant future.
3) May is a good time to travel because it isn't terrible weather, but is before trips get really expensive.
4) And, goshdarnit, I've worked myself silly for the last couple of years and just want to not work for a couple weeks.

In the meantime, I'll listen to sappy songs and watch teen movies set in Chicago, and dream about the day I can revisit the Windy City. I hope I can figure out how to get it done/organised.

also known as

I'm changing schedules at work (ya, ya, I know I should be doing just work, but the computer programs I need to actually do my job are down for another 20 minutes) and noticed that a new name was haphazardly added to the schedule. We had a discussion about having a practicum student in next week (whom I met at a class breakfast on Wednesday), so knew it was her. But looking at the name... I realised it was wrong.

The name: Patty Labelle.
The real name: Shannon Labelle.
My supervisor's name: Shannon.

So, essentially, my supervisor entered a large, African-American woman's name (a famous singer, no less) instead of a small, white girl's name that is the same as her own.

I find this outstandingly amusing. I've shared this with a couple others in my office and we've all had a good laugh. But now I suspect I should change it. Sigh. It would be funny to see the look on the student's face when she saw she was listed as Patty Labelle. Though that would be mean and a terrible way to start two weeks working with people.

Besides, there's still the desk schedule...

done done

It's official: I'm one semester away from graduation.

Let's face it, this is good news for anyone who considers me a friend. I have been the worst communicator the last year and a half, and it isn't going to get any better until next April. Except for the next month, maybe.

I just got home from dropping off my final project. I finished it around 8pm or so, but I didn't relish the thought of walking across UBC's dark campus alone, so waited for Eileen to finish work at 9pm because she said she would go with. Good thing, too, because campus was virtually deserted. It feels creepy in general, but tonight, with the weather being so chilly, it felt worse.

Miraculously, the project I handed in actually worked the way it's supposed to, so I'm hoping my prof likes it as-is and ignores the fact that the summary of my project really was brief (as stipulated in the instructions) and probably didn't make a lot of sense. It was a digital library of drive-in movie ads for refreshments and I had a hard time getting the mp4s to load, but figured it out and it works and it's done and I don't care anymore.

The end of semester is always a bit anticlimactic because, for me, it's a huge thing to be done. To others it just means I return phone calls, and that isn't always a good thing. On the upside, I can start accepting invitations to do stuff. December is already looking pretty busy with social engagements, so I wouldn't mind not having a night off until school starts again.

Good things today:
- the new BUST is out and has Amy Poehler interviewing Phyllis Diller!
- my ReadyMade subscription arrived today and looks to have a printing press on the cover!
- something is waiting for me at the post office, and I think it might be my passport!
- one of the librarians brought in cheesies today!
- I put in an order for "The Party Dress" by Alexandra Black. It's the most beautiful-looking promo for a book ever!

All these exclamation marks are making me tired. Or maybe it's the 18-hour day.

point taken

This morning when I left for work, I thought I should turn down my heat from between 1 and snowflake to just snowflake. It gets too hot when it's set at 1 and snowflake often feels a little chilly since the heat isn't really on at that setting. I knew I wasn't going to be home until late tonight anyway, so it seemed a waste to keep the heat up.

The weird icy rain/wet snow that fell this afternoon made me generally cold and I haven't managed to warm up quite yet. When I got into my pajamas I thought I should turn the heat up a smidge so I don't freeze. I often wake up shivering or with cold feet. I thought for a minute about piling more quilts onto my bed and hoping for the best.

Then I remembered my Christmas gift to myself (with a little Christmas gift contribution from my mom) a few years ago: an eight-point Bay blanket. I've never used it because it's so absolutely precious to me; I've been obsessed with point blankets since I was a little kid and first heard of them in Social Studies class. I bought it on a sale day, but it was still a sizable investment. The friend who went with me when I bought it was shocked the blankets cost as much as they do. It's been sitting in its original packaging and I've never taken it out because I didn't want to ruin it. But there's little point saving it for someone else, especially since it can withstand the elements, let alone my use.

I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep. A warm one, I hope.

Other things from the day:
- I finished the database course tonight with a presentation and the handing in of our assignment. One down, two to go. One will be done tomorrow to be handed in on Tuesday morning; the other I'm hoping to have mostly done tomorrow evening and finish Wednesday to be handed in after work on Thursday. That's the due date, so it has to be done.
- Today in class I realised the shoes I wore today (blue and brown checkered Vans) made my feet look really small.
- Online gifts must be purchased now to guarantee delivery by Christmas. Must get on that.
- Egg nog season is awesome.
- December is going to be really busy. So much fun stuff to look forward to: at least 5 Christmas parties including two with the FairSands (both at their home and the office), Secret Santa at work, the Winter Ball on the 8th (party dresses! high heels! contact lenses!), visits with friends in town for the holidays, a ride through Stanley Park if they get the Christmas train running, cheesecake club meeting... I just can't believe December starts Saturday.
- This morning people kept complimenting me. I wore a sparkly grey sweatshirt thing (from Superstore!) that, admittedly, I love and is pretty fun, but three people said they liked it in less than 15 minutes. Then someone asked who does my hair because it always looks so good, even though I've just been thinking about getting it cut and coloured again because it's been so long since I've had it done. I appreciate people's good taste.

Off to a warm bed.

oh, what a relief (it is)

Rest easy, friends. My socks arrived today with just a slight scolding from the postal service to check postal codes more carefully. Whew. It was a nice surprise since I just went to both postal outlets to double check if it was dropped off there because of the mistake.

On the plus side of one of those trips, I discovered that my cousin's friend's mother, whom I met at my cousin's wedding shower, worked at the postal counter. She recognised me (miraculously!) and we had a wee chat after I incomprehensibly went on about my error with the postal code. She was really nice about the whole thing after she discovered we had met before. I totally didn't remember her until she mentioned her daughter and the shower. I blamed it on overwork, but it's probably my failing memory. (I've been forgetting everything.)

The socks... I must admit I'm a little disappointed with how a couple of them look, as far as size goes, but I'm pretty sure I can shrink the ones that need to be and will just hand wash the ones that I want to keep as-is. I got three pairs of tabi (the big toe is separate from the rest of the toes), two pairs of toe socks (with stripes!), and one pair of knee-high neapolitan stripes. They all fit, more or less, because of the splits in the toes, so that's good. I always knew my toes were puny, but when the toes leave that much room at the end of the separated toes... Puny doesn't even cover it. Embarrassingly short toes. Ridiculously tiny toes. The one pair leaves so much room in the ends I could probably store valuables in them while traveling.

The difficulty now is deciding which ones to wear first.

short(s)

This morning I put my shoes on before my jeans. Skinny jeans. Hilarity ensued. Though I was the only one to witness it.

My hair needs a cutting/colouring. I'm not quite so vain as to refuse to go out without a hat during that bad hair stage, but I would probably feel less gross if my hair didn't show signs of roots depending how I turn my head. Honestly, it isn't in bad shape right now. I'm just jealous that my friend got his hair cut today.

My body is producing some fairly interesting gases lately. Maybe I should eat some fruit or vegetables or something.

The sock saga continues. I got an email back from the company, who said there was some problem at the post office the day they dropped off my and others' packages. He gave me the option to either wait out the problem to fix itself (which would involve the package going back and forth across the border) or cancel my order. Like that's going to happen. The socks are the only thing I have to look forward to. Other than finishing off this semester. But waiting for socks (until now) was easier than doing copious amounts of homework/assignments.

Sigh.

sheepish

I know I owe a number of people some fairly substantial communication. It isn't that I'm avoiding anyone or anything like that; just my brain can't actually keep up with everything it has to and decided to prioritise the stupid school stuff above all else. This is bad etiquette, I know, and annoys me to no end. I mean, it feels really weird to have not seen my neighbours for a month-and-a-half, let alone people that live a little farther away. I mean to return a phone call or email and suddenly 3 weeks have passed.

But soon... soon this barrage of projects and group meetings will be on short hiatus. Hopefully. And then maybe I'll get some of my brain back.

You know, those socks still haven't arrived, so I'm not sure what to do at this point. They seem to be untraceable. And I'm concerned that, when mentioning to the company about the postal code mix-up, they'll say it's my own fault and make me pay for socks that I've never gotten. I know I'm probably just being needlessly nervous, but it's been a week since they would have crossed the border and other people in the city have gotten socks from them in less than a week (more like 4 days!). I always think someone is trying to steal my stuff through the post, but this is a whole new level of worry. I want those socks!

Off to another 12-hour day of work/school. I'm getting pretty tired of these sorts of days, which seem to be most days since September. Blah.

at one with the measuring cup

I came home from doing homework after a full day of work and figured I should make cornbread. The main reason for this decision is that I had milk that was at its due date and I didn't want to throw it out. I'm really struggling to use everything I buy with less waste, but as a single person who is reluctant to entertain during stressful periods I find it difficult to consume everything. Which is why my freezer has frozen bananas and almost too hard corn from the cob and frozen yogurt that was once not frozen. I just ate a $3 persimmon I accidentally bought (who rationally buys a $3 persimmon?) and then let go softish. It was better after a day of peeled chilling.

And baking makes me feel better when I've had a rough day. Not that I did necessarily; it was just long. It's like a long day that will last until the end of November when the last of my assignments is handed in.

Anyway, while soaking the cornmeal in the milk, I decided I might as well bake some cookies as well, since baking calms me down and takes my mind off of residual stresses from the day and the oven was already on. I measured everything as close to accurate as I could muster without feeling obssessive-compulsive and put the cornbread mixture into muffin tins. Unfortunately, this particular recipe does not match the size of my muffin tins and I always have another two muffin's worth of mixture. This annoys me the slightest bit, but I can't see putting the tin back in for two muffins, so I have been trying different ways of baking the last bit. Today I put foil in a loaf pan to fit about half of it and dumped the mixture in. It's fine, but doesn't look pretty.

The cookies are supposed to be chocolate chip cookies, but I thought I would just throw in a bunch of baking-related accessories, like Skor bits and peanut butter chips to go with the Chipits and some walnuts. Normally this recipe makes less than 2 dozen cookies, but I'm on my third sheet of them because there's so much crap in them. Good crap, mind you, but still.

On my return home this evening I also found a parcel slip from Canada Post. I can't believe those socks arrived so quickly, and I can't imagine anything else that would be sent to me. I will never question CP again if my postal code mix-up had no effect on the shipping of said-socks. If only I didn't have another 12 hour day tomorrow I could pick up the parcel and revel in camouflage tabi socks and neapolitan-striped knee socks. Perhaps I can make it happen on Thursday after work and cake-eating.

Today I sent an email to my co-workers announcing the Christmas potluck lunch we have annually and managed to incorporate pythonate into it. I'm not sure why I've suddenly become a key planner on my floor, but I wish I weren't this week or next. My brain is elsewhere right now.

awardable

I'm just waiting until it's time to go to the Billy, so, rather than eating cold pizza, maybe I'll write something. Not homework, though. Why bother with homework?

I'm actually watching the replay of the Quill Book Awards show on NBC (it's on a holiday weekend Sunday, so you know it's high priority) and managed to catch Stephen Colbert presenting the Humour award. It went to Amy Sedaris. I love her so much. This was just good timing because the rest of it looks sort of dull. But librarians are involved in the process, which gives it some sort of legitimacy in my mind, though I'm not sure why because librarians also stock libraries with unlimited copies of Danielle Steel.

Actually, it was a pretty interesting line-up of presenters. Brooke Shields! Sarah Ferguson – Duchess of York! Joan Allen! Lorraine Bracco! Dan Rather! Rocco DiSpirito! It's a repeat telecast, so I guess I shouldn't be that excited. I wonder if it was such a hit the first time that they had to replay it.

At least the people are all dressed pretty nicely. All very tasteful and elegant. Not like the romance writers. I had to look at one of the recent Romantic Times magazines for work (I SWEAR it was for work) and they had pictures from an awards show they had. Imagine a whole audience of women wearing corsets (some who probably shouldn't have) with a bunch of muscley men (who make a living posing for romance novel covers) vying for the Mr. Romantic title. Uh... it was frightening. But I bet those women are a lot of fun. My goal of making a lucrative living as a romance writer could be more interesting than I thought.

My friend jokingly showed me a recent Ellora's Cave novel, but I made him pay for that joke by signing it out and making him read from it. Nobody teases me about erotica and gets away with it.

short/long

This weekend I technically have three days off from school and work. This should make me really happy and maybe excited to have some time off from forced attendance. Alas, I am still stuck with schoolwork and it is making my weekend kind of sucky.

I said kind of because, aside from the parts that suck a great deal, there have been a couple of highlights worth mentioning.

Tonight I went to Rachel and Nathan's for dinner because Rachel wanted to roast a chicken. It was fantastically tasty and also featured potatoes with cream cheese, which may be my most favourite kind of potatoes now. I took some wine, a lucky guess in the liquor store since I don't buy/drink wine under normal circumstances, and worked on the bottle with the other two before dinner. The kids are pretty fun, so that makes visiting double good. Augie is a thoughtful, funny little man and Lily, while similar to a blob that occassionally flails, also is at the fun stage where she giggles for no reason and lets me shift her around in my arms like a bag of flour without complaint.

Rachel found the instructions to the bread maker she gave me from their storage closet, so I'm going to have to get cracking on bread making soon. Maybe my Christmas baking just got easier. I can apparently make a cheesecake and jam in the bread maker, which makes it seem to be a glorified rice cooker; in Japan, I regularly made weird things (cake anyone?) in the rice cooker. I'm keen on testing it out. Who knows if it even works.

Today I took my new birthday present bag from Terry and Kathy out and about, and had a bunch of compliments on it. It's a pretty neat bag, though a smidge smaller than it appears to be. This is probably for the best. I don't really need to carry notebooks and crap like that in a purse.

I didn't actually get any homework done today because I tried to run errands before going to R&N's. Big mistake, as everything is pretty much closed. Except for the library, which, thanks to the new contract, will be closed only for the actual stat holiday and open every other day. I'm interested to see how many people actually show up on Monday; I'm pretty sure people have better things to do on a holiday than come to the library.

Tomorrow I'll be heading to the Remembrance Day ceremony and then drinking at the Billy Bishop Legion in the afternoon. I'm also thinking of going to "Paris, je t'aime" in the evening at the Varsity, but I should probably do some homework at some point. Monday I'll be working on my database project after my landlord comes to fix the loose tile in the shower. It's a temp fix until the owners can come down for a potentially full-scale rip-a-thon, since the wall is probably wet behind the tiles and will need tearing up.

Wow, this is dull. Good times.

ongoing suckage

Every day feels like an OK day waiting to go bad.

Today I thought things were OK, except I was tired and bored at work, and nothing of any significance happened. Then I came home and discovered that my rent cheque went NSF on the first of November. Haven't heard anything from my landlady, but I'm horrified about it. I have to go to the bank tomorrow and figure out what happened because there was a less than 3 hour window where there may not have been enough money in the account, but nothing should have been processed in that time. Sigh. It's sad that I have to fight about $35, but I need the money.

Plans were cancelled tonight and no interest in doing the mounds of homework that I have to do. I was half-planning to see "The Big Lebowski" at the UBC theatre ($3 White Russians!), but my friend decided he was broke and that ended that. I was also sort of thinking of going to a shed party at my school friend's house, but she seemed non-commital about actually being there, so I think I should just stay in. Maybe it's time to watch all those DVDs I took out the first day back to work. Half of them have holds on them anyway.

Tonight I ate peanut butter chips and toffee chips for dinner with milk. I think there are vegetables in my fridge, but they don't look very appetising.

I need a break from my life. It's getting me down.

crisp

Today I walked through Chinatown on my way to work. The colours were excellent and I didn't even mind seeing all the construction. Chinatown is being reborn.

Yesterday on the Morning Edition, I listened to the story on the old Pantages Theatre they're trying to restore on Hastings. It sounds like very little has happened since the tour in January, but if/when it works out it will be an amazing project.

A couple of years ago at a Heritage Vancouver meeting the city planner at the time said the city is trying to move 5,000 to 10,000 people into Chinatown over the next 10 years. I thought it was impossible. Now I see all the conversions and new buildings going up, and know it's probably going to happen. For better or worse.

the long and short of it

It's been a long time, I know. Like a negligent parent, I've starved my little blog of my attention long enough to force it to survive on donated views from strangers. I should have my blog taken away from me because of my neglect.

Oh well.

Just home from Justice. It was pretty awesome; I've forgotten that I'm a terrible dancer, yet managed to dance in my lame way for most of the night. After being circled by a pack of giants (I'm not even really kidding. These people were all unusually tall, likely none shorter than 6'4", including the one woman whose elbow kept catching my shoulder) I had to move away from the crowd for a bit. My timing was good, though, as I figured I'd grab coats from the coat check and wait for the end, which wound up being the song after I sat back down with coats in hand.

It's funny watching electronic DJs. I half-joked I was going to watch guys play with knobs and buttons, but it is essentially just that. Not to say it wasn't interesting; the first time I saw my friend DJ at a jungle night, I was kind of entranced watching DJs spin and get into the stuff they were playing. Tonight I was interested to watch the smoking/drinking habits while playing with knobs and buttons. And people just went nuts over them, which was a nice change from hipster rock shows.

Tonight I also had all sorts of praise thrown at me, but it's hard for me to believe anything nice people say to me. Especially when, after being lavished with attention and suggestions, I am promptly ignored in favour of a new girl. How can I trust someone who is all sweet talky with me one minute and touching someone else's hip the next? Exactly, I can't. But since this happens with some frequency, I'm not going to be upset about it. Maybe if I wasn't such an unbeliveably cold bitch I wouldn't have this problem.

Sigh.

I'm not going to talk about the strike because nothing has changed. I've been out of work for almost 3 months and it doesn't matter because no one actually cares about the library. I'm going to apply for a new job soon. I hope I'm not as unhireable as the city librarian thinks I am. According to him, I and my co-workers already make more than we're worth. Really makes me want to rush back to work and give it my all.

This has taken a turn for the worse, I see, so maybe should just go to bed. I've got a paper to write tomorrow anyway. Hopefully I'll feel like writing a bit more frequently again, now that I really sort of don't care about school. Or maybe not. We'll see.

Currently listening :
Justice
By Justice
Release date: 10 July, 2007

it’s been so long...

My mind has been distracted by things other than blog writing. This is unfair of me, I know, but I've got a few good reasons for not wanting to write, I swear.

Let's see... What's new?

1) Last Saturday I went to the Billy Bishop for a few hours of drinking and music listenin'. I didn't mind being the youngest person in a bar for a change. People tend to be much nicer and better mannered at such establishments, so I will gladly give up hipster music-driven places for the calmness of the Billy Bishop. I'm not sure if they reached their goal, but there were a lot of people there in the afternoon and more were coming as we left. If they do have to close down, I feel content knowing I saw Bea one more time. I also got an open invitation to the Vet's Hall for karaoke by my new white-haired friend Tony, who apparently does a kick-ass version of "Mack the Knife." He's got an established set.

2) I've been to all my classes and I can't say I'm that excited by at least one of them, possibly two. These are bad odds since I'm registered in three classes (the fourth is the CBC gig, but isn't really a class, in the traditional sense). The director of the school is teaching the most dull one, though it may be that she's dull and that makes the class dull. I've not heard good things about her teaching style, so I may be fucked for the next 9 weeks. Having two classes on Mondays, those classes are actually only 10 weeks long because of the holidays (three this semester). This is good because there are fewer classes to go to, but bad because there are fewer weeks to get the homework done.

3) Last night I co-made black & tan cupcakes, at his request. Seriously, these are the tastiest cupcakes ever. My co-baker added a bit more lager than was stipulated in the icing recipe, which made the icing really drippy, but it was extra beery and that was good. The next time I think I'll try to make it as a chocolate stout cake. I took a few to the CBC today and the library people were plotting to steal and devour the last one from my supervisor. But the CBC library people do enjoy beer a great deal...

4) Tomorrow I have an interview for a student librarian position on Sundays at a local college. Don't want to say too much about it because I'm not entirely sure what I wrote on my resume/cover letter that makes me interviewable and am nervous about it in general. I have to finish my picketing hours tomorrow (another 6 left), so have to go in really early to the line, walk for a few hours, haul myself to the college for the interview (looking pretty and tidy), figure out how to get the job, and then go back to the line for a couple more hours. I'm tired just thinking about it.

5) Tonight was the first night of the Thursday Nite Dinner Party, involving me and my neighbourly friends Jill and Mark. Tonight was my menu, but a few things didn't work out at the grocery store. I really wanted to make a persimmon salad with a tangy vinegarette, but persimmon season appears to be over. We had wasabi-encrusted cod (we had too much fish and not enough wasabi), cumin yams and steamed green & waxed beans with kosher salt. It was all really tasty, but will cut back on the fish next time; there was way too much! I showed Jill the Epicurious website and she stared at it engrossed for ages.

6) Yesterday on the line, one of the ladies I used to work with brought me some shoes she got that hurt her feet. She never wore them, but couldn't take them back to the store, so gave them to me. They're a smidge big, but with some sort of insole they should be fine. They're cute and I wore them today and got a blister on one foot, but that happens with all new shoes. My feet are freakishly sensitive.

Things of interest upcoming:
- bingo and a flick @ Blim
- karaoke birthday party @ Hoko's
- surprise party in a garage
- wedding reception featuring Nearly Neil and an open bar
- maybe a tweeish show

still swooning/spooning

Britt Daniel is my secret boyfriend. This is so secret, in fact, that even he doesn't know it. But he may intrinsicly know, because why else would he move from Austin to Portland but to be closer to me? Other than that his actual girlfriend lives there.

I've seen a proven way to get pulled on stage by bands I like: wear a wedding dress with a guy in a suit and say it's our wedding day. Sure, those people might have actually gotten married on a Friday and come right from the reception to a Spoon concert. It's possible. I'm just doubtful. And jealous because he kept talking to them through the show, even after he chatted for a bit on stage with them. Sigh.

He's a dreamy, dreamy man.

Currently listening :
Girls Can Tell
By Spoon
Release date: 20 February, 2001

a bit off

Today was a strange day. It seems like I'm having a lot of strange days lately. Generally it's because people give me the finger and yell mean things at me while I'm walking the line. Today was different. Sure, there were a few times that people gave me the finger; it's a pretty classy move, and I would so love to know where those people work so I can go to their workplaces and give them the finger during their coffee breaks. It was strange for completely other reasons.

I started school today and during the break got into a discussion with my prof about the strike, at her prodding. It was weird to discover that the city librarian (one of the main negotiators and one of the reasons no deal has been reached) has been discussing fairly sensitive (read: confidential) information with someone not involved with the negotiations, information that isn't even being shared with the union members, even though it affects us. It was not a great start to class, since I'm not sure how this may affect her view of me. And I kind of have to pass since it's a required class.

In the same class, we had to organise groups for research projects and everyone mentioned some of their interests in the hopes that people with similar interests could work together. One of the older men mentioned earlier in the class that he wanted to ban or burn graphic novels geared towards teens because they were "inappropriate." I realised I didn't want to interact with him at all because I'm pretty pro-choice when it comes to books; I don't think it's my job to censor what other people have access to. When my turn came to express my interests, I mentioned something about censorship through cataloguing choices, effectively preventing access by cataloguing using inappropriate or indistinguishable subject headings. He took that to mean that I was pro-censorship and cornered me, saying we were interested in the same thing. I had to indicate that I was actually interested in doing something related to one of the other interests that other people had mentioned as well. He stormed away angry. I took two steps and was confronted by two other men, saying, "You like crime! We're interested in that, too." (I also said I was interested in theft in libraries, like when people steal books or DVDs from libraries.) After a brief discussion, during which I tried to recover from the previous conversation, we agreed to work together and I just wish they had got to me a minute sooner so I wouldn't have had that other conversation.

Midway through info desk duty, my co-worker asked me what sign I was. I'm reluctant to talk about astrology because I'm often judged based on my birthdate and that can be a little frustrating when people won't talk to you because of a zodiac sign. So I asked her what she thought I was. "Scorpio," she immediately said. I admitted I was and she was so happy about it. "Me, too!" she exclaimed. We then discussed the need to start some sort of support group for Scorpios, the misunderstood sign. She talked about some characteristics I thought were just my little issues. I have a hard time believing I can be explained by the allignment of planets and stars, but commonalities are sometimes pretty persuasive. I believe the support group will mainly drink.

I also discovered that one of the self-serving workers at the library basically tried to sabotage one of the librarians by forcing her to take a photo with the city librarian and then emailing the picture to a media source, saying things were great at the strike lines, which is a total fabrication. He just wanted to see his name in print, which is also why he keeps calling up papers to tell them what he's personally doing for the strike. Seriously, this is not the time to promote yourself unless you're looking for another job, and he sure as hell isn't.

Oh, the trip to Seattle was pretty OK. I was pleased to eat tasty Mexican food with my peeps, and the tour of Seattle's underground tunnels was fascinating. I just hate waiting in lines (3 hours both ways trying to cross the border, an hour in a ticket line) and need to avoid large groups of people for a while. But I did see some friends from Victoria (an unexpected treat), had fantastic food at the Seattle Art Museum cafe's Happy Hour, and saw Ken T. in Belltown. That last one was weird.

cookin’

I love fruits and vegetables more than almost anything. Seriously.

Last week my friend Bruce holidayed in my hometown and, since my parents still live there, I asked if he could collect a package of stuff from my mom. Thankfully he's a peach and coordinated with her. I got the smallish box/bag yesterday; my mother is the master of packing boxes. So much stuff, including:
- 5 ears of corn
- 15 tomatoes
- 2 green peppers
- 3 cukes
- a bag of green and wax beans
- 10 enormous nectarines
- a bag of prune plums
- an enormous zucchini (probably around 7 cups worth, shredded!)
- 3 ziplocs of walnuts

Most of it is from my parents' garden, including the walnuts. Tonight I made the green tomatoes she packed using a fried green tomatoes recipe from Simply Recipes and they were tasty! I still have a couple of the firmer slices left, so will try them cold in the morning. As soon as I get a baguette and a little parmesan, I will work on the tomato bread pudding from Culinary in the Country.

This might be a good time to figure out what I can make and freeze. I froze a few cups of grated zucchini last week for fritters and/or muffins, but now... so much zucchini to work with. I always have a few bags of walnuts in the freezer, just in case, so have a pretty good stash now and probably should try to figure out how to use large amounts of them at once. (My parents have a ridiculous amount of walnuts, so I'm really doing them a favour by taking them.) The corn and nectarines can easily be frozen (I've done up a few nectarines already and will do more if they get much more ripe). If I make the plums into my mom's plum cake, that can be frozen. Most, if not all, of the tomatoes will be used up by the end of the week. Just need to shove myself full of the rest of it.

Today I also picked up some apricot beer from the booze shop. It's pretty tasty, though not as sweet as some other fruity beers. I almost got a bottle of blackberry porter as well, but then decided against it this time around.

Oh, some fantastic news: dear friends Rachel and Nathan have a baby girl! Lily Ann popped out yesterday morning (a week-and-a-half early) around 9:30am, and is already home. Pretty excited to meet her soon. Being a fake auntie sort of kicks ass.

Currently reading :
Can I Freeze It?: How to Use the Most Versatile Appliance in Your Kitchen
By Susie Theodorou
Release date: 30 January, 2007

segoku natsukashii

I shouldn't watch "Lost in Translation" anymore because it always makes me wistful and sad. I miss Japan in a lot of ways and usually it's fine and I can talk myself out of feeling natsukashi about it because I was miserable for a lot of the time I was there. But lately...

It might be because I remember how I felt when I was there, and I always blamed those feelings on being so isolated for so long. But lately I've realised that those feelings weren't just because I was in Japan; I can feel miserable anywhere.

I'm really thinking about leaving town. For good. Vancouver has been unkind in a lot of ways, and if I don't want to be the spinster friend that everyone invites over to balance out the dinner table, I have to get the hell away from here. But I'm such a chickenshit. I'm hoping I'm due for something to work out the way I want it to.

Maybe the weather is getting me down. How quickly I forget how much better I feel when the sun is out. It's probably my brain turning to mush on the line while the City tries to fuck women over in a new way.

Last evening I watched "Pan's Labyrinth" with my sister and Glenn. It has left me a bit out of sorts. Or maybe it's because Glenn encountered a skunk outside my door and I'm worried about being driven out by Pepe Le Puu.

Next weekend I'm heading out of town for a couple of days, so I'm hoping it makes me feel a bit more normal. How great would it be if two days away can fix everything? If not, I get a solid visit from Darcy to amuse me the first week of September. It's nice to have visitors to break up the monotony of the everyday.

Soon, soon I hope to feel like me. Wait for it.

Currently watching :
Lost in Translation
Release date: 03 February, 2004

on air

Just saw a Target commercial that had an old Apples in Stereo song. Minutes before that there was an Architecture in Helsinki song on some sort of computer commercial. The AIH song was also on a Canada Post commercial around Christmas last (you may remember that posting), so that doesn't feel as weird as the AIS one. It's been a number of years since I was excited about Elephant6 bands, so I'm sorta surprised I remember that Apples in Stereo song, but it is a good one.

That bands I own records from are now featured in commercials for places... does that make the business cool or me lame for liking such bands? I don't feel lame and those businesses don't seem that much cooler. I do like hearing the songs on TV, though.

One thing I used to love about commercials in Japan was that they listed the band and the song. A lot of the songs in commercials wound up in the singles section of Bunshindo, the closest record store-type place to my J-house. I was a sucker for music from commercials and got some stuff that still sounds fantastic to me: Sentimental Bus, Charcoal Filter, Gigliola Cinquetti, Roboshop Mania. I still lament that commercials in North America don't have the band and song listed; record companies are stupid for not pushing for that as the norm.

Despite the love of music from commercials, I am still unexplicably against the purchase of most soundtracks. I can't explain this.

Currently listening :
Tone Soul Evolution
By The Apples In Stereo
Release date: 10 February, 1998

bits and pieces

Things of note in recent days:

1) Yesterday I was put on the emergency baby list. If Rachel goes into labour before her parents come in two weeks, and if no one else is available, I am tending to my little buddy Augie while his baby sister screams her way into the world. I'm not sure how high I am on said list, but I'm on there and that's what counts. It's a good thing Augie likes me enough to fart on me and steal my corn. I can just pack him full of cookies and cupcakes, and we'll be best friends. Until the sugar crash, at which point he may loathe me.

2) Of all the times I've gone to Blim, I've only ever sat on a chair once. I always get the pink velvet couch, and Friday night's screening of "Hausu" afforded the same. It was hilarious to watch with a crowd and I'm not sure I totally understand why everyone had to die, but it was fun. Ken T. and Glinn wanted drinks, so we went to SoMa for a smidge and talked about boy things. It felt like working at the Gateway.

3) I think I might have been hit on by a J-boy at a party I was at last night, but can't be sure. Someone interrupted him to talk about landscaping right around the time he told me he likes white girls and asked if I dated J-boys when I lived in Gunma. A lot of people talked about landscaping last night; I never realised it was such a popular party topic. On the upside, a number of people avoided eye contact with me. Oh, wait, that's a bad thing. I really tried to be sociable with strangers, but a number of them would not be socialised. And I'm pretty sure the boy who invited me doesn't like me, which is unfortunate because I would rather he did. Sigh.

4) My phone rang at 7am this morning for a key drop-off. I think I'm supposed to check on my friends' apartment while they're away, but I might just set up a porn website and host the site from there. I do have to pay tuition in a couple of weeks.......

5) Today I had gelato for possibly the last time this summer. Thankfully it was sunny while Eileen, Lynn and I sat out; still, it wasn't a skirt day. I can't believe the summer is nearly over. Tangiene and I also met up for a wander and a bite at a Chinese restaurant that I'd heard was good. I realised partway through that the place was filled with whiteys, and vowed never to return. It was still fun to hang out with TP.

6) Might be going to another baseball game on Tuesday night (Dog Day at the Park), which will almost definitely be the last one of the year. The Canadians won't be in the playoffs (they're second last in the league) and have just a week-and-a-half of games left. Good times.

7) Today I salted my cast iron pan for the first time ever, and it was much more satisfying than trying to clean it without dunking it in soapy water. This is what my life has become: I'm excited that salting a pan works.

If you want to see me before I go mental with work and school, you've got two weeks to organise with me. After that, I can't guarantee anything, unless you're also going to Spoon and/or Justice.

Currently listening :
Magic and Medicine
By The Coral
Release date: 10 February, 2004

now that summer’s over

I've taken to double-sleeping these mornings. When I have nothing set in bronze that has to be done, I try to go back to sleep after the initial 5/6am against-my-will wake-up. Some mornings there's nothing that will put me back to sleep. Other days, like this morning, I manage to get a little extra sleep that I must need but never get.

This morning during my first awake time, I looked at food blogs to add to my growing list. When the morning is quiet, it's a perfect time to find nourishment, and I secretly hoped I would find a recipe that would turn yogurt into bacon. (I did not.) One of the blogs had some interesting recipes, but also references to weddings. I am not a fan of weddings; there's something heartbreaking about seeing people so in love that they pledge their lives to one another, knowing it's going to end someday one way or another. Still, the blogger is a pro writer and was engaging. I scrolled to the writing about her wedding and I cried for the duration.

By all accounts, it was a sweet story. At 40, she married the only man she will ever need to marry. The wedding part of it was nice and sounded like a touching, amusing affair (they had whoopie cushions for the guests to sit on after they were pronounced husband and wife). The parts that made me weep were her description of her life before her husband, and it rang a little too close to mine for comfort. Having decided I am not the marrying type, it made my heart hurt that I might be wrong.

I'm not sure I was actually asleep this morning when the alarm went off. I wanted to make sure I was up in time to organise myself for a noon walk, so set the alarm late in anticipation of maybe sleeping more than 6 hours. The radio played a song midway through about how much summer romances suck. It was sweet and sad, and it's the first time in a long time I've actually searched out something on Radio 2.

So today I'm going to try to be hopeful.

where the chips fall

I'm beat this morning.

Last night was poker night at mine and I was up until a few minutes before we stopped. I got fucked on KK; my coach had pocket 6s and flopped a set. Bigger pre-flop re-raise, bigger pre-flop re-raise; must stop min raising. Still, I was only down $1 by the end of the night; my coach, on the other hand, despite that fucking set, wound up $9 down. But it still pisses me off that I would have won that hand if I hadn't been freaked out to push harder pre-flop. I also folded a draw when I had a big stack that would have hit had I called the piddly raise, but it was the correct fold. Guh.

On Monday night I went to the Canadians' game at Nat Bailey with Julia and Chris. Vancouver isn't doing so well this season (they're last in their division), so wasn't sure what to expect. The Eugene Emeralds were the worst team that night, dropping balls and striking out like crazy. One guy got all the runs, hitting two homeruns (the second with a walker on base). Still, it was an exciting game, with lots of hits and some sliding action. The 5th inning was pretty eventful, with the Canadians hitting in 4 runs. I love watching baseball games on a sunny summer's night: just sitting back and taking it all in, and yelling a little if you feel like it because the ump is expecting it. And it's always a special treat to see Julia because she's so rad. (Have a good trip back!)

Monday afternoon I hung out with Rachel and Augusten, and that was fantastically fun. Gusto is much more interesting now that he can communicate and does not lie around like a little lump of poo (as most infants tend to do naturally... probably the lack of muscle tone). After a buffet of fruit, we went to the park and had some good times on the swings and the slides. Rachel is full-up of baby and I can't believe it's just 3 weeks (give or take) until she's due with Baby 2! I'm excited to see them again soon; every minute pre-"Baby Girl" is precious since they'll be engaged in much more important matters than listening to my boy problems.

This is the last week of my class, so I'm scrambling to get stuff done a couple days early so I can have a few days off. I also realised I'm supposed to have a progress report written for tomorrow for the CBC thing. And I'm thinking about applying for a job at the university (for the school year) that may or may not be relevant to anything I might be employable for post-grad school, but that sounds interesting. It feels like the summer is slipping away and I haven't been able to take full advantage of it yet. Must cram all good times into these next couple of weeks before the madness starts again.

Currently listening :
Want One
By Rufus Wainwright
Release date: 23 September, 2003

unseasonally dull

I've been finding it hard to write lately. Stuff is going on; I've got plenty I could tell you. I just don't feel like it. This is an unfortunate development in blogdom. But I will try to amuse you. Dance, monkey!

A summary:

- Friday: went to Glinn's to watch movies and drink all his booze, which was too much for my pathetic liver to break down, leaving me a sickened mess in the morning. I drank water! I took a pain killer! After my barfing episode (just to feel better...), I ate a fatty breakfast! Hangovers are unfair to everyone, but especially me.

- Saturday: was my only day off last week. I nursed the hangover, slept for half the day (shocking, I realise), then went out to UBC (crappin' hell, why the frick am I going to that school? It's so far away) to drop off some books, and to the grocery store for supplies. I decided that I wanted to bake, so baked like a mofo: cornbread muffins, chocolate chip & walnut cookies, and lemon cupcakes with lemon cream cheese icing. Jill came over for decaf tea and we tried everything. It was all good, but I was pleased with the lemon icing. I cut back on the sugar and added more lemon juice, and it was the perfect amount of tartness. The cupcakes themselves, while extremely lemony, were a little drier than I would like, and a little heavy, but it could be because I refrigerated them (because of the icing).

(As an aside, I saw a recipe for marmalade and, I have to say, I'm pretty tempted to make some. Did you know the seeds have pectin?! I can make marmalade without buying that creepy stuff that regular jams need; it's all in the oranges! Well, except for the water and the sugar that is also required. Now I just have to figure out which blog had it...)

- Sunday (today): went to Floata with my sister for dim sum. It wound up being so ridiculously cheap (less than $14 between the two of us) and I was full though not uncomfortably so (thank goodness the trolley pushers ignored us, resulting in less food going into our bellies). We walked to the library so I could picket for the afternoon, which was, let's face it, a joy. I met Glinn for Japa-dogs, and we sat on the wall at the theatre across the street, me enjoying the Teri-Mayo without nori and Glinn trying the Miso-Mayo, though I just realised I forgot to ask him if it was good. On my way to the bus, a woman came out of the alley with her pants falling down, yelling her head off at a clean-cut guy who was following her, him saying she should just put the money down. She stole $250 from his restaurant and was tripping out on something. I thought that it was a trick gone bad, but realised while walking behind them (I can't help it that they were walking in my direction) that she had stolen money. She tried to get on my bus, but the bus driver had had altercations with her before and said he would call the police to deal with this, which made her run off the bus screaming. It was bizarre and terribly sad. No one wins in that sort of situation.

Tomorrow I'm excited to see some of my favourite people. Hopefully the weather is fine so I can go to the park with Rachel and Gussy in the afternoon (after another day on the line... woohoo [*I hate the city]), and I have plans to go to the Canadians game in the evening, which will include fireworks at the commencement of the baseball game. Should be fun.

*You want to know why? Because they wasted tax-payers' money for 6 (six) days by at least 25 of them eating out at restaurants three times a day and renting hotel rooms that they never bothered going to (the unions were at the negotiating table the whole time), taking at least time-and-a-half for the time (up to 16 hours a day, even though they didn't talk to any of the unions for more than 5 hours total), despite having NO intention of negotiating. Tax-payers should be outraged. It has been leaked out that, as decided at council meetings, the NPA and Sullivan have no plans to even begin to negotiate until sometime in September because they want time to poach employees from the unions in the suburbs and want to make the civic workers in Vancouver suffer as much as possible on strike pay, while all of them make huge amounts of money by working overtime. But, of course, it's the unions' fault... How can less than 10% of the people employed by the city make more than 30% of the wages?

fit with technology

At some point last week my cell phone stopped charging. To me, that implies it's dead.

It's not like I used it that much; I use a landline almost exclusively. And I have some fear of (contractual) commitment. But there are a few friends who don't understand why people don't want to be available by phone at all times of the day or night. The friend who gave me the thing made me take it, one of those ancient, enormous ones that probably originally came with a carrying strap that went over the shoulder. It has been satisfactory for sporadic phone calling for almost 5 years.

Admitedly, it has felt a little weird not being reachable when away from my house. I realise how much easier it is to organise at the last minute with a cell. Yesterday I was supposed to meet my friend in the mall (if you can call Kingsgate a mall), but he wasn't in either of the places we were supposed to look for each other. Had I the phone, I would have known that he figured I would just meet him at his house, since we had originally planned that anyway.

Cell phones prevent extra walking.

Today after picket duty, a few of us had to run some superfluous errands downtown, so went on a field trip. I figured I would just see if I could replace the adaptor (since that seemed to be the problem). The phone is 10 years old. What do you think they said? So the next option was, of course, to replace the phone. I am now the owner of a basic flip phone, made sometime this century. I feel so current, so now. And being reachable again is a little smothering.

Still tired from last evening. After poker class, we all played Zombies!!!, a game in which you either try to kill 25 zombies without dying or get to the heli-pad to fly away like a scaredy cat. The other three ganged up on me early and for the duration of the game; I guess I was too good at killing zombies, getting to about 18 because my strategy was to go into the crowd of them and kill them instead of waiting for the heli-pad to come up. (Is there a name for groups of zombies? A pod? A herd?) The one who hid in corners and didn't battle any zombies wound up winning in a most unimpressive way in Hour 3 (around 1am). Dissatisfied with the result, my friend asked if I wanted to stay and play another game after the other two left. So we wound up playing until the wee hours of the morning; I won by both reaching the heli-pad and killing my 25th zombie on the winning square. Victory is sweet, but it was so fricking hard to get onto the picket line by 9am. And I still hate zombies.

Currently listening :
Losing Money & Losing Friends
By Various Artists
Release date: 29 October, 1998

le soleil est plus mal

As a pasty-skinned person who lacks melanin, I generally hate the sun. Like a vampire at dawn, I generally do everything I can to stay away from direct sunlight because the reflection of sun against my skin is blinding to bystanders, but also causes more trouble than it's worth. If I'm not white, I'm red and vice versa.

Yesterday I was at the beach for half the day, sitting in direct sunlight with, I've come to realise now, not enough sunscreen on. Usually it's my hair part or leftside neck that comes away with a burn, but yesterday it was just the tops of my arms. It isn't a painful one, but I'm still annoyed that I didn't spray down enough to prevent this kind of trouble. I've come to like my consistently white colour.

But being at the beach was kind of lovely. We ate fruit (cherries, raspberries, strawberries, watermelon, cantaloupe, grapes) and hydrated with water, and awaited the arrival of the promised cupcakes for Tangiene's birthday party. It's surprising what some people will wear to the beach; one of the peripheral hipsters wore head-to-toe black (shoes & socks included) and looked nervously at his locked-up fixed gear as though someone was going to steal it. Amusing.

After arriving back home to a barrage of instructions from my group regarding our assignment, I set back to the homework, but only until an invitation for drinks came in. I wound up being a little late anyway, despite SoMa being so ridiculously close, because of additional last-minute changes to the assignment. (I kind of hate group assignments; no in-person group functions solely by wiki and email, leaving all sorts of weird lag time and miscommunications by those who cannot express what they want in writing.) I decided it could wait for a couple of hours.

The combination of sun all day, no dinner (I ate all afternoon!), and the low-level stress I general run on resulted in the first pint going straight to my head. The second was just for good measure. Still, I found out that C'est La Vie on Main often has fantastically cute dresses, thanks to our always lovely barmaiden Gemma's advice, and that the other barkeep whom we adore has recently started seeing someone, which is sad news, indeed. (Again, no single boys in the 'hood.) I was still home early enough to comb through citations for what seemed like hours before our midnight deadline.

Today is a short shift on strike duty, smack dab in the middle of the day. Since both sides are (finally!) back at the table, it's possible (though not likely) we may be back to work by week's end. So I guess I've got to make the most of the time away from the desk, which means visits with girlfriends I haven't seen much of lately and a trip to Commercial for some attractive and flavourful tomatoes. (I found a recipe for tomato bread pudding that I really want to try ASAP. It will also mean a trip to that little shop that you have to buzz to get in, but I adore the shopkeep owner, so it's worth the effort.)

Here comes the sun.

Currently listening :
Trailer Park Hip Hop
By Hip Club Groove

great outdoors (or so i hear)

Geez, I wish I could have skipped town this weekend. I think I'm getting cabin fever. Is that possible when the weather is fine? I'm not sure what to call it.

"The Great Outdoors" was on TV tonight. I only watched a smidge, but it reminded me of how much I used to love Chris Young. Looking at him now, I can't remember why. The pouty lips? The gentle wavy blond hair? I'm pretty sure it wasn't his acting skills because he didn't really have any. Oh, Teen Beat, how could I let you trick me into believing he was worth a crush?

This afternoon I gave up trying to finish my homework (it's mostly done) and walked over to Cambie with Tangiene. At Jill's birthday dinner last Monday, we all of us (everyone did time in Edmonton) discussed organising a field trip to Dadeo. Tangiene couldn't wait. I'm never going to turn down a chance to have po'boys. I really hope they stay in business for the duration of the train extension construction; where else can you get blackened catfish? And I really think Dadeo is a million times better than Tomato, so I can't be sad that Dadeo took over the space. Gosh, I love that place. Please frequent it so it stays open. Anytime any of yous want to go, I'm in.

Tomorrow I'm going to the beach for Tangiene's birthday party. Picnics on the beach are all kinds of rad. It seems sort of funny that I'd spend the afternoon in the sun when I spent most of last week cursing the exact same thing. What can I say? I'm inconsistent.

Currently listening :
Howls, Raps & Roars
By Various Artists
Release date: 29 June, 1993

the calm before or during, which would make it the eye, i guess

I can do this. I can.

Yesterday I finally finished my assignment around 8pm, after working on it all morning, afternoon and evening. It was the reading that killed me; waiting until the last minute to read books isn't a good idea. And my little emotional breakdown about a/v materials was just a blip on the screen of having it together/not losing it. It's my own fault that it wasn't a very good finished product. But I'm finding it hard to care about stuff (school-related especially) that isn't really of interest; I hate jumping through hoops for the sake of jumping (welcome to grad school). And I just like to complain.

To reward myself for finishing, I wandered over to Jill & Mark's place to hang out on their deck, drinking ginger ale and lemonade to their red wine. They have a box of wine (!!!) leftover from their bookclub and now try to push it on anyone who comes through their door, which seems to mostly be me. How can literary discussers NOT drink heavily? Isn't that a requirement among the literary, being a raging alcoholic?

Boxed wine reminds me of my youth, when Mom would buy a big box of white wine over the Christmas holidays, kept in the cold room downstairs, to liquor up visitors at the drop of a hat. My sister (a certified wino) and I (still don't drink wine at dinner when I visit my parents) would position our heads under the nozzle and get a couple of gulps in when annoying people who squeezed our cheeks would visit. We never got drunk or tipsy. Mom didn't really care if we drank it, as long as there was still wine left for the visitors. She's European, so drinking was never a big deal.

We spoke about a local drug dealer who has a dog named Vegas. It was agreed that the refusal to talk to someone who deals drugs and has a dog named Vegas is a good decision. I envision said dealer also wears black button-up shirts with orange flames on the bottom hem, the shirt unbuttoned, with dirty cut-off jeans and high tops without laces nor socks.

I always have a lovely time with them. Jill rubbed my brain while Mark told me about his newfound interest in tax-related calculations and the impending coursework related to it. I'm excited for him; he said he just can't seem to stay out of school. It looks like there's a distinct likelihood we may bump into each other on campus starting in September. Fresh blood to the campus. They sent me home with a brick of vanilla ice cream and a CD of music.

Today I have to write about 600 words related to GLBTQ issues in a library setting, but have yet to get into it. It's not due until midnight tomorrow, but I'm hoping to be done before I go to Tangiene's birthday party. Since I'm in writing mode anyway, it's just a bit of time searching for "facts" and forming a coherent combination of words that will just get me through this class. I'm more afraid of my groupmates than the prof; I already know the prof isn't fond of me. This is the last class for one of my groupmates, so I think she's operating at a higher level than the rest of us. Or just me. Which is fine. (She's the reason I have to be done this a week ahead of time. It isn't due until Friday.)

Yesterday I got an email from a guy who has the same mentor from university as I, though I've never met nor seen him. While I was in Japan we emailed regularly, as he and his wife were planning to start JET and wanted some info. I haven't heard from him in about 7 years, so it was surprising to get the email, especially since the email address used is relatively new. I used to tell him weird, often funny stories and after one particularly questionable one (related to squatty potties) I never heard from him again. But that's the story he wants me to relay again because it was so funny. I just wish I could remember what I said.

Still considering going to the Odd Ball at WISE Hall tomorrow night. Guess it will depend on my abilities to slack off. Anyone interested in coming with?

Currently listening :
Forever
By Gus Gus
Release date: 05 March, 2007

last minute worries

At the start of this degree, I did a really good job of not procrastinating nor leaving things until the last minute. It just meant organising my time a little bit, working 12-14 hour days (between work work and school work) though no later than 9pm, and regularly drinking moderately heavy with a boy who distracted me for most of the semester. All assignments were handed in or completed no later than a day ahead of their due dates.

How did I get to this point, then?

Tomorrow I have an assignment due that is worth 35% of my mark and I haven't really even started writing it. It's pretty dull: I have to read books and explain why they should be added to a library's collection, find some websites and review them for content with a pro/con listing, and somehow find A/V materials to review and recommend. I can blame this on the strike, since I had to hunt down materials outside of Vancouver or at UBC (which feels like outside of Vancouver) instead of picking stuff out on a break or after work. Really, the assignment is pretty vague and leaves a lot of room to really fuck up. And I'm just not as keen or excited about homework as those studying to be children's librarians.

So I'm pulling an all-nighter for the first time in.... a long time. I will get this done, because I have to and because the hardest part is reading entire books in a few hours, but with enough time to go out for drinks with Jill and Mark tomorrow night. I will. I will. I will.

My group project is also due this weekend, but only because one of the people is super A type and decided she wants to make a website, so we have to have our content in 5 days before the thing is due. Yea. But it's only a little bit of research and two 250-word submissions, plus a couple of annotations for non-fiction materials (which I have and should be pretty easy). I should be able to get it done in a couple of hours, once I finish this one due tomorrow.

What frustrates me about this whole thing is this class isn't even hard. It's just time consuming. And apparently I've forgotten how to motivate myself to get stuff done.

But I'm still going to do stuff this weekend. Powell Street Festival is on and I'm hoping to meet up with someone awesome for that. And Tangiene's birthday picnic on the beach is on for Sunday afternoon, so that should be a blast. And then I think I should probably picket for a few hours on Monday, even though it's a holiday. Need to show my support.

(Uh oh, here comes the soapbox.)

Seriously, if you live in Vancouver, you should be calling the Mayor's office to tell him what a fucking prat he is. His negotiators have stalled negotiations AGAIN for more than a week (apparently unhappy citizens of this city aren't much of an incentive to settle civic worker unrest) after my union gave them a revised proposal, mainly (I suspect) to try to break the spirits and bank accounts of the workers for as long as he can and to try to make the media forget that there are no city services (there's a media blackout in effect as long as there are negotiations planned). This jackass should never work in this city again.

It shouldn't take a week to make a counter-offer; they've had at least two solid weeks to come up with ANYTHING to start negotiating from, but have been too busy trying to meddle in other cities' negotiations (have you heard one of the Vancouver negotiators called up and asked Richmond to slow down so they wouldn't make Vancouver look bad? Nice) and to spin the media. You know why almost all other municipalities have tentative agreements? Because they actually negotiated. On consecutive days. Until an agreement was met. But not in Vancouver. No, they've got other things to do. Like... stuff.

I'm off to read books about amputations and car accidents. Fitting, n'est pas?

Currently reading :
Peeling the Onion
By Wendy Orr
Release date: 09 February, 1999

i got my eyes on you

Yesterday I went with a couple friends on a hunt for sun-related accessories after line duty. Now is the time to buy, buy, buy summer stuff since the weather is so fine and everything is on sale. It's unfortunate there's no money to buy stuff with. But I guess I don't need the stuff that badly.

I sort of wanted to get sunglasses, but since I hate wearing contacts (my right eye hates anything getting close to it and immediately shuts tightly when I shove contacts towards it) it seems sort of pointless. Wearing sunglasses over my bulky regular glasses doesn't work so much. Still...

One of my (under normal circumstances) co-workers has been worried about money because she operates on a paycheck to paycheck basis and now there's not much money coming in. So she went to the bank to try to get a credit line, to see her through this time. They asked her to bring in some paystubs, but she either doesn't keep them at all or they're stuffed in her desk inside the building we have no access to. She's infamous for being a bit... eccentric, let's say, and realised she has bags of "stuff" in the backseat of her car, and she thought maybe there might be some paystubs there.

As she went through the piles of papers, she discovered a lottery ticket. This distracted her from her mission and she went to the shop to check it. Because of all the lottery scandals in Ontario, apparently now you're supposed to check tickets yourself. She scanned it through the reader. Up pops a message that she won $1000 and three QuickPicks. She immediately thought that couldn't be right and handed the ticket to the cashier to check. Same result.

I have no idea if she ever went back to the bank to get a credit line.

Yesterday I saw a USB turntable and honestly contemplated how I could make it mine. Seems easier than getting a crap stereo to run my pre-amp/turntable through to then hook up to the computer to be able to make mixes of vinyl classics. They also had portable record players, something I tried to get while I was rolling in money in Japan (but they were sold out almost instantly), but it isn't so practical. I think I have a subscription to a 7" singles club that starts soon, so I probably should organise something soon. Unless... anyone nearby have any vinyl capabilities?

Seriously, the only thing that would get me out to the BJM show September 8th is if the old tambourine player rejoined the band and they played "Got My Eye On You," neither of which will happen. That was a great moment in rock.

Currently listening :
Strung Out in Heaven
By The Brian Jonestown Massacre
Release date: 23 June, 1998

goings on

I feel like I'm in a fog. I may have shut down all abilities to emote anything.

The last couple of days I've been on the picket line. Anyone who says union workers are lazy obviously haven't been on strike. It's physically and emotionally draining to walk on pavement for 8 hours a day, and is not something anyone decides to do lightly, I assure you. I don't want to be on strike, but I also don't want to lose my job in a year (absolutely possible with proposals presented by management). I also don't want to be paid 70% less than men doing a less-demanding job just because I'm in a female-dominated workplace.

My union (established 78 years ago) has never been on strike. Ever. I resent anyone telling me my co-workers and I are greedy and lazy; all unions are not the same, which is why there are so many different locals. If library workers are pissed off with how they're being treated, understand that there is a major problem with the bureaucratic infrastructure of the municipality.

Anyway....

I splurged and bought a ticket to Justice today (available at Scratch... you should get one, too!), so have a couple of things to look forward to in the fall, regardless of how the rest of the summer goes. "Cross" still kicks wicked ass. I totally want to go to Au Revoir Simone on August 22nd, too; not sure I can convince anyone to see three girls from Brooklyn. I'm trying not to look at the listings because I don't want to want to go to anything. I think I'm going to Ryan Adams tomorrow; I may have acquired a free ticket due to re-scheduling issues.

Just on my way out to the lantern thing tonight.

keep on walking

I should be doing homework right now, but I just can't concentrate. I'm really trying hard to not drop out of this second class, even though it isn't hard and under normal circumstances I would be kicking its ass. I can't be that much of a quitter all in one week.

Today my union went on strike and it is highly unlikely anything will be resolved for weeks. At coffee (Thursday is my CBC experience day until the end of October), one of the CBC reporters wanted a community story and asked about the strike. She seemed shocked that librarians get paid so little and have a pittance of holidays at the public library, but I don't think she's going to follow up with a hard-hitting pro-union story or anything. It probably isn't cutting enough. Let's face it: no one really cares about library workers.

I realise I should be much more frugal than I have been, especially in light of the fact I won't be getting paid for at least a month (it takes a bit for strike pay to kick in), but it's hard to not spend money when it's summer and I want to spend time with friends who are gainfully employed and enjoy drinks on patios and such. Sigh.

Maybe I should think about organising some sort of fundraiser so I can pay rent and tuition. You know, after I get my homework done and stuff.

Really, I suppose I could have done homework this week if I didn't want to be sociable. Monday I had a group meeting for school, so it's somewhat ironic that school got in the way of schoolwork. On Tuesday I had poker night at mine (tried to win some money, but didn't) and wound up staying up with my friend for a while afterwards, chatting and stuff, making it impossible to do anything school-related. Then last night I met up for drinks and a lovely chat with one of the best boys I know, who also has the most fantastic hair of anyone ever (he's swoony and I secretly adore him, but shhhh... don't tell). By the time we went for sushi and beer, there was no way I wanted to do any school work, even though I got home relatively early. Tonight after CBC work, I had a couple beers with my supervisor and a couple of my friends (in solidarity. My supervisor is fantastically supportive of my union, being both a unionist and a librarian, and knew that I was having a less-than-great day with the strike starting, so picked up some Okanagan beer for me since he knows I'm from the general area), and then went to the Railway where Christine treated me and Eileen to some more beer and foodstuffs. Now I am a little too tipsy to read and write about young adult materials, even though I really need to get it done.

I know everything evens out eventually, but I can't even begin to make up for how kind friends have been, this summer especially but also in general. I marvel at how lucky I am to know such amazing people.

Tomorrow and Saturday, and possibly Sunday, I'll be on the picket line at Central, so if you feel like popping by, I'll be the one with the sunburn, possibly suffering from sun stroke in a shady corner of the library exterior. If you have a wide-brimmed hat, please consider donating it to the "keep Karen from dying of exposure" campaign. All donations will be reimbursed by hugs, cheek kisses/make-out sessions (really, only the best boys with fantastic hair can participate in the make-out session) or some sort of sewing project of a manageable (read: small) size.

There are two yappy, barky dogs in or outside my building, but it's the first time I've ever heard them. They've been yapping for almost an hour already with no indication that they're going to shut it.

Currently listening :
Cafe Reggio
By Holiday

no new tale to tell (ahhhhh)

Just before I left work tonight, I saw that a few of the library management team (read: highest-paids in the library) were cleaning both the public and staff washrooms. I used to work quite closely with these directors and they are nice people, though the situation we find ourselves in doesn't necessarily allow for niceties. I felt bad for them, yet got a tiny bit of satisfaction seeing them do menial work. And then I also remembered that they are all getting paid over $85,000 to clean toilets.

Work has been a little hectic these last few days. I guess, when faced with possible closure, people decide they like the library. A lot. Since strike notice was issued on Friday and up until around 4pm (the time reported in the media that we may be on strike), there had been constant line-ups at the check-out. The building was teeming with the literate.

Some of my co-workers are starting to lose it a little; one asked me about 59 questions in the first two hours of her shift, including a few rapid-fire ones where she asked the same questions a couple times, just in case the answer changed. Others kept spreading rumours that we were going to walk off the job, despite the union leaders saying we weren't. (We didn't.)

I thought, since there's a pretty good chance we'll be on the picket line by week's end, I would try to get through this week before making a decision on whether or not to stay in both classes (the last day to drop is the 27th). While drinking with friends on Saturday night, they pointed out that, with everything going on with work, I could probably stand to have one less thing to worry about. This was reinforced yesterday at work when faced with the choice between doing 5 hours of homework after work or going to a documentary at the Cinematheque. (The doc was fantastic.) So today I dropped the course that was three times the workload of the one I kept. I've never had a W before; it makes me feel like a quitter. But it is a relief to be out of it.

This week I've got a nice array of distractions organised, so am not as distraught as I might otherwise be when faced with the prospect of $10/day and no chance to save for tuition this fall. I did think for a minute about organising a fundraiser, but it isn't like I'm in dire straits or anything (not the band). Thank goodness I worked at that fricking bank when I still had J-coin, even though there's no way in hell I'm going to touch it. Hopefully.

Yawn. So sleepy.

Currently listening :
The Cellar Door Sessions 1970
By Miles Davis
Release date: 20 December, 2005

on the line

My union local gave 72-hour strike notice this afternoon, so I could be out on the picket line as early as 4pm on Monday. It makes my tummy hurt with worry to be in this sort of position, but I also don't think it's right to take whatever the City decides to pay (less than inflation, I mention again, with a proposed cut to pay in the last few months of the weird 39-month contract that would nullify the previous year's increase) without getting something in return. That's what collective bargaining is: give and take to make everyone sort of happy.

There are over 600 managers in the City that work outside the unions and who will essentially be keeping operations going as much as they can. Since they don't seem to do much other than hold meetings with each other, it's really hard to see how they can do anything during the city shutdown. There is very little chance anything will be settled this summer.

In short: I am poor in the short- to medium-term, so welcome invitations to free/cheap things for distracting amusement. This includes bike rides, beach visits, the Art Gallery (since I have a membership to that), and the like.

Maybe I can finally catch up on all my stupid homework for the classes I'm doing this summer. I really don't like the one class very much, only because there isn't enough time to absorb all the information she's throwing at us. The other one requires a bunch of reading, and that would also be easier to do with more time. I wonder how hard it would be to read while walking the line...

Is that what Johnny Cash sang about? Maybe I should listen to the words instead of just the music. I'm pretty sure he wasn't talking about unions. That'd be Woody Guthrie.

Tonight I will commiserate with a few co-workers and classmates. And will try to pretend for the remainder of the weekend that everything will be OK.

Currently reading :
Perfect from Now On: How Indie Rock Saved My Life
By John Sellers
Release date: 06 March, 2007