Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Arthritis Conference: October 20 & 21


I dropped off the brochures and posters for the upcoming Arthritis Society dinner & conference this morning - so those should be floating around the city very soon.

As previously mentioned...

Friday night is a dinner with guest speaker Dr. Hani El-Gabalawy (a great, funny guy who heads up rheumatology research in Manitoba) - tickets are $15.

Saturday is the conference, from 08.30 til 15.00 - registration is $30. We have some great speakers booked who will present on these topics:
- Nutrition: Sustaining Choices for a Healthier Future
- Winning the Medication Game
- The Real Benefits of Exercise
- How Disease Affects my Relationships
- Working with your Family Doctor
- The Invisible Disability: Living with Chronic Pain
- News on Lupus, Scleroderma, Fibromyalgia, and more
- Joint Replacement and the Obesity Impact
- Naturopathy 101

This year, we're trying out a unique format that splits the presenters into three main session groups. At each session, all attendees will hear a 20-minute presentation from each of three presenters. After that, you'll choose a breakout session with one of those presenters, where you'll be able to interact and ask questions.

You can register online at www.arthritis.ca/manitoba/movingbeyond.

L

Hair, Dinner, Phone

Okay, I am SO RELIEVED to have passable hair back again. Kevyn was amazing (and agreed that my hair had been massacred by The Bad Lady last week). I already booked my next appointment with him for mid-October. I'm rather happily converted.

Geoff and I tried the new restaurant on Osborne for dinner last night: Bistro 7 1/4. The service was great, the food was okay (the grilled salmon was somewhat less than spectacular, but the rest of my meal was great). The company was also great (*smile*). I loved the blue on the walls and the open-concept kitchen in the middle of the restaurant space was interesting - though, geek that I am, I wondered briefly about health codes. Worth checking out, but not my new favourite restaurant.

So far, so good with my new phone. I started using the calendar function right away, and I'm super-happy with that. Figured out how to take pictures, but haven't found anything interesting to take pictures of yet. My next project is to figure out how to get my contacts from off my SIM card and into my new Address Book.

L

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Yowza

So my new phone was delivered a few minutes ago, with a bunch of accessories. Yowza. It's going to take me a little longer than 10 minutes to figure this all out.

The best news so far is that it's actually kinda pretty. Pretty AND smart - my kind of phone ;)

L

PS - I am choosing not to comment on the whole 'should NBC really have apologized for the Conan plane crash Emmy skit' debate. People are too sensitive.

Happiness = $52.50

I know what you're thinking... Shoes cost more than that. And I won't lie to you - shoes can buy happiness. But for a mere $35 + tip, I can book a mani/pedi at my *secret* cheap nail place. I can pick up a non-fat latte from Starbucks to sip while I'm being pampered for $4. And $5.50 for the issue of Vogue I picked up yesterday. Grand total = $52.50. And I'm happy as... I don't know. A clam?

Put it all together, and you get Lindsay's perfect Monday night. Only made more perfect by: (1) a massage, (2) a new pair of fabulous shoes, (3) flowers, or (4) George Clooney standing on my doorstep with flowers, a new pair of fabulous shoes, and an offer of a massage.

L

Monday, August 28, 2006

I Heart Jon

Not sure how I forgot to talk about this...

The Emmy awards were on last night. If you know me, you probably know that I'm an awards show junkie. I'm that girl who will actually sit there and watch the entire telecast with popcorn and Diet Coke, pausing for bathroom breaks only during commericals (or tributes to really old people, no offense to Dick Clark). We're going to choose to blame this mild obsession on my theatre degree (though that doesn't explain my fascination with the Grammies). It's one of those things about Lindsay that I take full responsibility for. Like my need for perfectly manicured nails or my love of really high heels, it's something I know my mother didn't program into me.

Anyway. I digress.

Jon Stewart and The Daily Show crew won a couple of awards last night, much to my delight. And guess what... No wife. And no mention of The Wife in his acceptance speech. In not a fan of divorce and I'm not a homewrecker, but my little heart started thumping... It's not homewrecking if the home is already wrecked, is it? Geoff has tickets for when he's in NYC in November. Think I can convince him to deliver a message for me? :)

'Hey, Jon. Um, my girlfriend is totally in love with you. Would you consider divorcing your wife and marrying her? It would make her happier than I ever could. Thanks, man.'

In honour of last night's show, a few random collected thoughts for you to enjoy and then use against me.

Top 5 Shows I Really Wish I Didn't Enjoy
1. The O.C. (because it's just plain embarrassing)
2. The Bachelor (because it's SO anti-feminist)
3. Rock Star: Supernova (because it's a reality show)
4. The O.C. (yep, embarrassing enough to mention twice)
5. Video on Trial (whatever, I'll bet lots of people watch it)

Lindsay's Top 10 Shows of All Time
1. ER (before George Clooney [and everyone else] left)
2. Alias (classically bad... which made it so very good)
3. The Daily Show (don't make me state the obvious)
4. Pinky & The Brain (mice trying to take over the world!)
5. Felicity (because we totally grew up together)
6. Law & Order (original and SVU, the rest can die)
7. Inspector Gadget (my early fascination with spies)
8. Family Guy (Stewie! just so ridiculously funny to me)
9. Ally McBeal (don't even know where to start)
10. Seinfeld (you couldn't possibly think I'd forget...)

L

Smiles Everywhere

So, inspired by my perusal of Improv Everywhere on Saturday morning, I decided to conduct a little social experiment. For the entire rest of the day on Saturday, I was deliberately nice and friendly to everyone I met. This list included:
(1) the receptionist at my chiropractor's office
(2) the kid who pumped my gas
(3) the person on the phone at the hair place
(4) the lady in Safeway who was blocking the entire aisle

Very interesting. Would you believe that people actually help you more and work more quickly when you're nice to them?! I'm generally a pretty nice girl, but I'll admit to rolling my eyes and checking my watch and getting sarcastic when someone is annoying me. (And I always thought I was speeding things along by doing those things.) I found that my errands took the exact same amount of time they always do, but I got to hear about how the receptionist had been at their cabin at Gull Lake during the tornado and she told me some really cool stories about how all the neighbours worked together during the clean-up. The kid who pumped my gas actually offered to check all my tires because one of them looked low. The girl at the hair salon actually laughed and chatted with me, and managed to get me an appointment on Tuesday (which is ridiculously fast). And the Safeway lady... Well, she was a total bitch, but you can't save the world.

I'm not committing to being super-nice ALL the time. But it's something to think about :)

L

Saturday, August 26, 2006

The Haircut from Hell

Have I mentioned that the 'Days of our Lives' cut is the haircut from hell? Hatred doesn't even really cover it. I wish I could wear a baseball cap permanently. And so I called in the paramedics and have an appointment with the much-hyped *Kevin* on Tuesday afternoon (no idea how the heck I got in so fast). I'll need to get creative with my lunch break, but it will be worth it.

I cheered myself up this afternoon by reading some of the newer mission reports from Improv Everywhere. I think my all-time favourite is the 'Surprise!' mission... Take a few minutes and check it out. It will make you smile, I promise :)

Off to the lake til tomorrow...

L

RIP Pluto

Some guy I don't know who has a blog I never read held a contest to come up with a brand new shiny mnemonic to remember the planets' names (sans Pluto).

Some amusing results...
Many Very Earnest Men Just Snubbed Unfortunate Ninth Planet
"My vision, erased. Mercy! Just some underachiever now."
Most Virgins Eventually Marry Jocks So Unscrupulously Naughty
Molesting Very Excitedly, Michael Jackson Sucks Underage Nipples
most vegans envy my jovian silhouette, usually not (woo hoo! remember haiku?)

And the winner:
My! Very educated morons just screwed up numerous planetariums

L

Friday, August 25, 2006

Iiiiiinteresting...

Ha! Now I know who reads the Winnipeg Free Press ;)

Next time, I'm going to get a letter to the editor published in The Sun. And I'll gleefully discover who among my friends reads that dumb tabloid... And then I'll post their names on my blog and publicly humiliate them! What fun!

This may become my new favourite sport.

L

Schwag

So I'm expecting a cool little package sometime early next week. Seems Nokia is using word-of-mouth marketing firm Matchstick Inc. to launch their newish smartphone across Canada via product seeding. I qualified yesterday, and my new Nokia 6682 is in the mail...

They're looking for another 40-45 people in Winnipeg who fit this profile:
- Between 22 and 35
- An existing Rogers customer
- An established, daily blogger (who uses pics and/or video)
- Very socially active
- Willing to use and talk about the product on your blog :)

If you think you qualify and you're interested, you can contact Matchstick (yvonne@matchstick.ca). They'll run you through a three-minute questionnaire to see if you qualify. Nothing to lose.

L

The Rant that Almost Wasn't

Don't you hate when you make a mental note to rant about something, then forget about it?

Beth and I were watching TV a couple of nights ago and one of our favourite guilty pleasures was on - 'Video on Trial' on MuchMusic. This confession shouldn't surprise you if you know me, because you know I pretty much thrive on making fun of things. Anyway. One of the videos they were 'critiquing' had a little person in it (is that still PC?). Only they weren't calling him a little person. They were calling him a midget.

Rather, they tried to call him a midget. MuchMusic actually used that little swearing *bleep* to censor the word right out of their broadcast.

Okay. So I know that 'midget' is not really that PC, but I thought it was more along the lines of calling someone 'handicapped' instead of 'disabled': you're not really supposed to, but people still do. (There was actually a push to start calling 'disabled' people 'differently abled' people... But that's another rant for another time.) At the end of the day, people still call it a handicapped parking spot. And - as a disabled person who actually refers to myself as a gimp or a cripple - I don't really care.

Back in the day, when I was a proud employee at Sears, we had two days a year when we raised money for a charity called 'Riding for the Disabled.' One of my co-workers got totally chewed out by someone who considered themselves to be a crusader for the 'differently abled' and threatened a lawsuit about our offensive behaviour toward these unfortunate people.

Aaron, this means we'll have to call him a 'little person child.' Or move to the US, where it's okay to use racial segregation for entertainment value (so I doubt they'd be offended by last year's PC word).

L

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Are you sure it's not April 1?

Egad. Just when you think reality television has sunk to its lowest possible level... Survivor announces that it has divided its new contestants into tribes based on - hold on to your hats, kids - RACE. For the first half of the new series this fall, there will be four teams of five members: the White Team, the Hispanic Team, the African-American Team, and the Asian-American Team.

At risk of sounding OBVIOUS... What were they thinking?!

But don't take my word for it. Read the very funny Washington Post article.

And now you're telling me that Pluto might not even be a planet??? I know it's a planet. I know it's a planet because I spent at least 10 minutes painting little balls of clay to create my assigned part of a tiny scale model of the Solar System in Grade 6 (while others wrestled with papier mache and a giant beach ball). All of a sudden, Miss Ritchie is going to call and tell me I didn't graduate after all, because my Grade 6 science project on Pluto is no longer valid.

They were right. It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world.

L

PS - In totally unrelated media news, Dwell is undergoing a major shake-up including editor Allison Arieff's abrupt departure yesterday. Don't mess with my magazine, people!

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Today's Special: Smoked Tuna on Green

So. Today's attendance at Humpday Breakfast was SLIGHTLY better than our last attempt. We'll keep working on it. Rocky, Bethany, and Geoff were all there with bright sunshiny morning smiles. Emily and Kathy were there, but I won't comment on their level of alertness or happiness.

We had the most unenthusaistic waiter in the history of the restaurant business today, and I couldn't stop laughing at him... I wanted to just poke him in the stomach til he showed some sign of life. Oh, and guess what. Last week, we all ordered a pretty typical diner-style breakfast and paid 7 or 8 dollars for it. Today, this guy tells us we can order the 'Breakfast Special' (which was exactly the same, just with an extra egg) for 2.99. Crazy. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

I did a good deed today and introduced Chuck to the wonder and magic that is 'Tide to Go.' Which reminded me of the Seinfeld rerun I watched last night, where Elaine is listing off the things that make her a good person - including not staring at freaks on the street and not doing her hair really poofy when she's going to see a movie. It's a good list.

L

PS - Speaking of high school memories... We got talking about lockers yesterday (after I saw a story in the Free Press about all the nifty accessories you can get now that SO did not exist when I was in high school) and I remembered my Grade 11 locker. It was next to this weird kid whose locker smelled like cheese (why do so many random things seem to smell like cheese?), gym socks, smoke, and moldy tuna sandwiches. After bitching at him - and petitioning the principal - I finally took matters into my own hands and taped all the little air holes between our lockers shut. A few weeks later, the drug-sniffing dogs were in the school and they started barking like crazy outside his locker. I'm sure the principal was excited about the idea of taking down a pot-loving student. But the dogs just wanted the moldy sandwich. And when they opened that door to investigate... Well, wouldn't you know, the principal actually supervised the locker's clean-up after school that same day.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Drop Dead Gorgeous

Last night, due to a series of unfortunate events, I was locked out of my house after work. I decided to use the opportunity to be efficient and - thinking that my current hair style (or lack thereof) is pretty simple and straight-forward - I called and found a random hairdresser with an immediate opening and went to try my luck.

I think the cut is fine, but when she asked how I'd like her to style it, I told her to do whatever she wanted with it (what did I care, I was just going home). Famous last words. I walked out of there looking like a soap opera star shooting a beauty pageant episode.

I almost took a pic so you could all share in the hilarity, but it was just too bad. You'll just have to use your imaginations.

L

PS - Ooh, remember Austin Peck on 'Days of our Lives'? I haven't watched since forever (and I was never really much of a soap girl at all), but - back in the day - I thought he was DREAMY... Erin and I sat in Accounting class and developed elaborate (and very poorly drawn) cartoons and storylines about our world travels with him and Brad Pitt. This led to a plan to go teach English in the country whose men had the sexiest accents. Which led to my declaration that I was going to teach English as a Second Language in England. Which led to lots of laughter, mostly at my expense.

Monday, August 21, 2006

More from the Zoo

It was probably just boredom (or the hot August sun)... But for some reason or another, my sister and I were all about sharing some love with the fake camel.



The Chicks

Okay, so you know I'm not the world's biggest country music fan, but I've always appreciated the Dixie Chicks. I don't know why... They're pretty country. But it's FUN pop-infused country - not that sad, annoying twangy stuff. I have many, many memories of singing along rather obnoxiously to every song on 'Fly,' with my sister providing alto (and some ridiculously over-the-top impromptu vocal twangs).

Anyway, you didn't need to be a hardcore country music fan to enjoy last night's show. Despite my hesitation in going (Em's lucky I love her), I thought it was a great concert - you don't often hear a band that's as good, or better, live than they are on CD. These girls have really legit talent, both vocally and instrumentally - and you can't help but respect that.

And as an added bonus, I felt like I got to snub Dubya a little, just by showing up... How's that for passive-aggressive political activism :)

L

Lions and tigers and bears...

Oh my! Our trip to the zoo on Sunday...


Isabelle checks out the raccoon.


Em gets friendly with the camel.


Em hatches.

Friday, August 18, 2006

Mourning my Morning

When I made my plan to go into work early today (so that I could leave early for the weekend), I did NOT remember that I was back on my night-time meds. Ugh. I think it took about 10 minutes of alarm this morning before I realized what the sound was, what it meant, and that it was intended for me. I made it into the shower and almost smeared shave gel all over my face - they should NOT package shave gel and facial cleansers the same way. Later, I stood in my closet, trying desperately to remember what day it was and whether or not I needed to look client-appropriate today (and actually went and turned on the TV to ensure that today was, in fact, a work day). And on my way out the door, I was rushing around in a panicked hunt for my keys... Which turned out to be in a very sneaky hiding spot: my right hand. Hopefully, I'll adjust to these dumb pills. Either that, or get healthy enough that I don't need them anymore. Because if this keeps up, I'm going to be one of those people who has to wear a helmet all the time.

In another 30 minutes, I'm meeting my mom and heading out to the lake overnight. Tomorrow is Ricki & Kelly's wedding, then Sunday is the zoo in the afternoon (oh, PLEASE let there be another goat fight) and the Dixie Chicks concert (stop judging me) with Em in the evening. And then sometime around 2010, I'll finally manage to see The Boy, who returns to Winnipeg tomorrow afternoon...

L

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Superficial Goodness

I love September. And I love the end of August, when all the September magazine issues are released. It's like Christmas... Pages and pages (and pages) of special-style-and-fashion-issue superficial goodness. I plan to dedicate way too many hours this weekend to paging through the copies of Elle and Vanity Fair I picked up yesterday. Happy sigh.

Never mind the tiny little detail that I can't get 99% of the things I'm drooling over in Winnipeg. And never mind the reality that those shoes I fell in love with cost as much as my first car. In the moment, it truly doesn't matter.

Don't understand? Well, consider it my equivalent of 20-year-old girls paging through the new Ikea catalogue. Or 22-year-old guys paging through the new Playboy. Or my dad with a Canadian Tire flyer.

L

PS - Someone actually bothered to weigh in this year's big September fashion issues :)

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Way to think outside the box, guys...

Factivia has researched an impressive 10,000 news sources to come up with a list of the most-used media cliches.

1. 'at the end of the day'
2. 'in the black'
3. 'in the red'
4. 'level playing field'
5. 'time and again'

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Chronic Pain & Arthritis Info

While I'm on the subject...

The Arthritis Society is presenting a public forum - 'Managing Chronic Pain' - on September 6 from 7 to 9 pm. You need to pre-register, but the event is free to attend. The expert panel includes Dr. Barbara Shay (Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba), Dr. Lesley Graff (Clinical Psychologist, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba), and Dr. Larry Reynolds (Head of Family Medicine, Winnipeg Regional Health Authority). You can call The Arthritis Society at 204 942.4892 to register.

The Arthritis Society also partnered in the development of a brand-new website called Roadmap to Health, for Manitobans with chronic pain. I haven't had a chance to check it out in-depth, but at first glance it seems to have some good information - and a Manitoba-specific resource list, which is pretty cool.

And our annual conference is coming up October 21 & 22... October 21 is a dinner with a keynote presentation by Dr. Hani El-Gabalawy (Chair of Rheumatology, University of Manitoba) speaking on the latest news in arthritis research. October 22 is a full-day conference featuring an impressive list of expert speakers on these topics:
- Nutrition: Sustaining Choices for a Healthier Future
- Winning the Medication Game
- The Real Benefits of Exercise
- How Disease Affects My Relationships
- Working With Your Family Doctor
- The Invisible Disability: Living With Chronic Pain
- News on Lupus, Scleroderma, Fibromyalgia, and More
- Joint Replacement and the Obesity Impact
- Naturopathy 101

It's a great event both for people who have a form of arthritis and for those who support them. I keep on thinking that I know all there is to know about these diseases, and I still learn something new every year. If you're not a member of The Arthritis Society, the cost is $30 for the dinner, $30 for the conference, or $40 for both. I'll post details on how to register soon.

L

Back On

Some of you have been asking how I'm feeling this week, after last week's Eeyore post. The truth is that I haven't really felt like talking about it. But in the spirit of disclosure and actually letting you friends and random strangers know some of what's going on in my life...

I'm back on my meds. All of them. This includes the nighttime meds I had been off completely for months now, and I've doubled my dose of daytime meds. It sounds so matter-of-fact when you just put it into a neat little sentence like that, but it was a devastating setback for me. It's a proactive decision because I don't want to go back to the way things were before I got this stupid disease under control... But you know I had to be feeling pretty lousy to even consider this move.

I know it's all relative, that this isn't a big deal compared to - I don't know - let's say the AIDS pandemic, in the interest of weaving in current events and making it seem like I read the newspaper. It's not big news in The World, but it's big news in Lindsay's World.

And yet the sun rises and sets, and life goes on. I'll beat this, just like I always have. But for tonight... Let me feel just a little bit sad that I'm back in this place again. I don't like it here.

I'll smile again tomorrow, I promise.

Actually, scratch that. I'm sending myself flowers and smiling now :)

L

Woman Makes Post on Blog

To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure how to handle this one. In the NYT today, there was a screaming headline: 'A Woman to Be Chief at PepsiCo.' It was followed by this line: Indra K. Nooyi's promotion will make PepsiCo the largest U.S. company by market capitalization led by a woman.

Now, I am pretty happy about this. It's cool that we're starting to see some subtle movement toward gender equality in the workplace (don't even get my started on that topic... I worked at Loewen, remember?). But is it really equality? The simple answer is NO.

If men and women were truly equals, today's headline would have read: 'PepsiCo Names New CEO.' And then the story would have mentioned the interesting fact about Nooyi's gender, and how this makes her the most powerful female CEO in the U.S.

However, if the world was a perfect place, then I'd be 98 pounds and look exactly like Kate Hudson.

L

Monday, August 14, 2006

Pics from Friday Night


Steph, Bethany & Lindsay outside the Cuban pavilion at Folklorama, being pouty because we didn't get in.





Our adventure continues, and the girls are strangely cheered by this statue outside St. Boniface College.





Steph tries to be mysterious in a graveyard - and kind of succeeds.

















If Bethany was trying to be mysterious, she failed miserably.

Weekend Update

I know you're all DYING to know about my (slightly mundane) weekend. I won't make you suffer any longer. Here are all the gory details...

FRIDAY: Came home from work and was so tired I wanted to curl up and sleep until Monday (oh, the joys of fibromyalgia). Instead, I ordered Chinese and watched 'What Not to Wear' reruns. And then I curled up and fell asleep - at least until my roomies woke me up and announced our imminent departure for the Cuban pavilion at Folklorama. I was too sleepy to think up a good excuse not to, so we got dolled up and set out on foot. We didn't get into the pavilion because it was already full, but we ended up having a little walking tour adventure in St. Boniface. I'll post pics tonight.

SATURDAY: Spent most of the day running errands I'd been too tired to take care of all week (including a purchase that will make its way into my Sunday report later), then I spent some time with Geoff in the evening. It was one of those amazing summer nights where it was a perfect temperature to sit on a Corydon Avenue patio - with no bugs, other than an ant who did laps around the top of the flower pot on our table for a long, long time, much to my amusement.

SUNDAY: I was singing at church in the morning, then went for lunch with Charis (who is flying back home to Doha today, via London, good luck with that). I stopped for groceries on my way home, which is noteworthy because it's something I've needed to do for about a week and a half. This resulted in an actual, proper dinner in the evening: salmon on the BBQ with salad and baby potatoes. The best part of my day was the hour I spent in my new hammock on the deck (my aforementioned trophy purchase), reading a book that did not increase my IQ at all.

This week looks pretty busy, which is good - helps me stay busy, distracted, and out of trouble while The Boy's out of town ;)

L

Friday, August 11, 2006

Sick (but not wrong)

I hate admitting when I'm sick. I hate it more than admitting when I'm wrong. (At least, I think I do. If I'm ever actually wrong, I'll let you know.)

I went wedding registry shopping with Jessica last night. It was so good to spend that time with her, but by the time we were done, I was shaking because I was so tired. It's such a frustratingly unpredictable disease. You never know how much activity you can handle without a problem - and what's going to totally overwhelm you and push you over the edge.

So this is me, officially admitting that I'm sick. I've been scrambling to clear out blocks of time in my schedule, attempting to manage this beginning-of-a-flare, but so far I continue to feel kinda lousy. It's classic fibro stuff: not sleeping well, exhaustion, headache, fuzzy brain, muscle pain that makes even the clothes I'm wearing weigh heavily on my skin and hurt me. So frustrating. It's not bad yet, but the threat of a real, full-fledged flare is terrifying. I won't let it happen.

Ooh, try saying 'full-fledged flare' a couple of times in a row...

And in the spirit of all this bitching and moaning, I offer you a collection of Eeyore quotations - or 'gloomisms,' if you prefer :)

'A little Consideration, a little Thought for Others, makes all the difference. Or so they say.'

'One can't complain. I have my friends. Someone spoke to me only yesterday.'

'When stuck in the river, it is best to dive and swim to the bank yourself before someone drops a large stone on your chest in an attempt to hoosh you there.'

'The old grey donkey, Eeyore stood by himself in a thistly corner of the Forest, his front feet well apart, his head on one side, and thought about things. Sometimes he thought sadly to himself, "Why?" and sometimes he thought, "Wherefore?" and sometimes he thought, "Inasmuch as which?" and sometimes he didn't quite know what he was thinking about.'

And now for Lindsay's favourite...
'It's snowing still,' said Eeyore gloomily. 'So it is.' 'And freezing.' 'Is it?' 'Yes,' said Eeyore. 'However,' he said, brightening up a little, 'we haven't had an earthquake lately.'

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Fish Tales

When I was little, we read a lot of books in my house. One that got read a lot was called 'A Fish Out of Water.' It chronicled the life and times of a young boy who bought his first pet fish (Otto) from his friendly neighbourhood pet shop owner (Mr. Carp). Mr. Carp warns him not to feed the fish too much... 'Or something may happen, and you never know what.' Ominous! I'm going to guess that my lifetime preoccupation with not breaking the rules was born somewhere around this time.

Anyway. The boy doesn't listen, bad things happen (Otto grows and grows and grows until he's bigger than a house), Mr. Carp saves the day (and not before getting in a dig about how boys never listen), and the boy learns his lesson about proper care of fish.

I was thinking about this story yesterday, as I poked at the glass on Fish's bowl and realized that he was quite sick. I just cleaned his water a few days ago, but already it was so murky you could hardly see through it. The time had come for drastic measures. I had to save Fish.

Now, the people at Petland tell you to only change about half of the water at a time, but clearly this wasn't really working out so well. So, readers, I did it. I lived on the edge. I took a risk. I poured Fish into a small disposable plastic cup (he was NOT impressed), quickly dumped ALL the water from the bowl, rinsed out the rocks, refilled it with water that I promptly treated, and poured Fish back into his new and improved home - with virtually none of the original water in there.

All day, I was worried that something bad would happen. I was fully expecting him to be doing the dead man's (fish's?) float this morning when I got to work. After all, when the boy didn't listen to Mr. Carp, chaos ensued.

But Fish is happily swimming around, looking better than ever. Which makes me wonder... Could I have gotten away with breaking the rules all this time???

L

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Sexy's Back... (and at the top of my list)

Sorry to Anthony and the boys, but the Chili Peppers have officially been bumped off the top spot on Lindsay's Car Dancing Song Chart. Who has managed to replace them? Why, Justin, of course. And I refuse to be ashamed. If you know me, this is all especially funny because I am NOT one of those girls who's all ga-ga over Justin Timberlake. I actually don't see the appeal. But there's something about the music... I can't help myself. The new single actually inspired a NEW car-dancing move today.

I am too old for this kind of tomfoolery. I should see my chiropractor tomorrow.

L

Simply Beautiful

If you - or someone you know - is looking for invitations or photography (wedding, engagement, family, graduation, or whatever), check out my friend Kristen's new website: www.simplybeautifulphotography.ca.

She does gorgeous work, plus she's friends with me, so you know she's a supercool person :)

L

Long Weekends and the Return of Humpday Breakfast

First of all, I'd like to offer my sincere appreciation and congratulations to the FOUR of you who showed up for our inaugural revival of Humpday Breakfast. We had a lovely early-morning meal at Sal's on the bridge. Now let's aim to up next week's attendance by 50%, okay? :)

Now, to back up a little bit...

It's so funny to me how we all make a big fuss about long weekends. On Friday afternoon, those three days of freedom ahead of us seem to stretch on forever, big enough to hold infinite plans and possibilities. And then on Monday, you realize that it was just like any other weekend - just a little bit longer.

On Friday night, I met Rocky for a late showing of 'Miami Vice' - pretty much the worst movie ever. Which pretty much made it the best movie ever. We laughed a lot. And I was seriously wishing I'd waited to rent it, so we could have Mystery Science Theatre'd it. I was telling Aaron and Cait about it when I dropped them off at the bus depot on Saturday morning (where only two people in two minutes asked us for money). Aaron reminded me of the time we rented 'Domestic Disturbance' - the worst John Travolta movie EVER - and watched in on mute, providing our own version of dialogue. Ah, good times. Actually, my second-favourite entertainment moment with my brother. The best was when we used to watch sitcoms and mute all the punchlines.

Checked out the Red Top for brunch on Saturday, which was a 'Miami Vice'-like experience: so bad it was good. This little Seinfeldesque diner near my house is absolutely trapped in a timewarp and even boasted a few diner must-haves like an overly friendly owner, a sarcastic and harried middle-aged waitress, a table full of old men, a wall of autographed pics from local pseudocelebrities. The whole cast was there, baby. I was thrilled. I will definitely be back.

The rest of the weekend was spent at the lake with my parents. The weather wasn't great, but we watched some movies, sat around the fire, slept in, played a little bit of tennis, and la piece de resistance: I got to read an entire legal mystery paperback from cover to cover. It was pretty much the definition of a great, relaxing weekend.

And then it was over, and it was back to reality. Reality being, of course, a busy week at work. And the anticipation of Humpday Breakfast, of course :)

L

PS - Added a few more of my favourite links over here -->

What's new? Dwell and Icon are some of my all-time favourite magazines. VF Daily Dose is a great portal for lazy people who want to know what's going on in the world in three clicks or less. Daily Candy's just FUN. Contagious makes me smile. Core77 likes to write about Cocoon, so they MUST be good people. And Get Elastic is my official shout-out to J (and all the other geeks in my life).

Friday, August 04, 2006

Seven Reasons to Smile on a Rainy Friday Morning

1. It's the Long Weekend in mere hours from now. And I'm going to the lake from Saturday til Monday to do nothing but relax and maybe challenge my dad to a game of tennis.

2. My hair seems to be handling today's humidity pretty decently. Granted, it's in a ponytail. But even that has the potential to go horribly wrong when the weather's like this.

3. U.S. Congress cafeterias have now quietly changed 'freedom fries' back to 'french fries' on all their menus.

4. Kari-Ann is heading out to spend the weekend with her rich bitch cousins (aka Paris and Nicole). So I know I'll get LOTS of funny stories on Tuesday morning.

5. Random acts of thoughtfulness. Especially ones that result in Lindsay finally obtaining her desktop coup de grace: a Mr. Clean bobblehead-slash-business card holder.

6. Fish seems to be doing a little better. Though I'm aware he might just be showing a last burst of vitality before entering into the final throes of death. I'll keep a close eye on him today.

7. This story:

Displaced man and woman tie the knot in a refugee shelter in south Lebanon

Friday Aug 4 2006 (Winnipeg Free Press)

SIDON, Lebanon (AP) - Becoming war refugees did not stop Mohammed Ghazi Taleb and Rasha Mroue from doing what they had in mind for some time... The two tied the knot Friday in a simple ceremony at a girls high school that was converted into a shelter for residents forced to flee their homes across Lebanon's embattled south. The southern port city of Sidon has swelled with tens of thousands of refugees in 24 days of fighting.
About a million Lebanese - a quarter of the country's population - have been displaced, Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora has said... A Shiite Muslim cleric scribbled the couple's marriage contract on a scrap of paper. Volunteers caring for those at the shelter served cake and threw a small reception inside the school's auditorium for the bride and groom, their parents and well-wishers from their village... Taleb knew the woman he would marry for some time, but the well-to-do Mroue family did not approve of their 22-year-old daughter marrying a 27-year-old taxi driver.
But the war changed the family's outlook. "Her family saw after they became displaced that what happened was greater than all those small issues. They saw how great the ordeal was and they changed their minds," he said.

Chick Lit


Oh, so amusing...

L

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Last Weekend @ Falcon Lake


My dad's attempt to kill (or seriously injure) Mike & Rebecca


Mike
(um, actually at a loss of words when it comes to this pic)


The whole gang on our way to the beach

Important and Exciting Announcement

I almost forgot... The best part of my evening:
We have decided to revive Humpday Breakfast!

Anyone in Winnipeg and interested, we'll be meeting up at Sals on the bridge @ 7.15 am next Wednesday, August 9.

L

Unfaithful

Confession time. I've been unfaithful. To two men. I'm ashamed, but my traitorous deed is just too sweet to give up, too much to resist... You could almost say I've become addicted to the feelings this new love has awakened in me. Its name: Chocolate Banana gelato.

Sorry, Ben & Jerry. You'll find another nice girl who will love you more than I ever could.

A bunch of us met up last night and decided to walk for gelato near the Esplanade Riel - about a 20-minute walk from my place, in the heart of St. Boniface (the French quarter, for those of you non-Winnipeggers) and across the river from The Forks. Our route brings us up Tache, and then back down near the river, past the old cathedral. This area is one of my favourite parts of our city, and one of my very favourite things about living where I do. I'll have to bring my camera along next time so I can share it with you.

There were dark clouds when we left my house (and Environment Canada called for a 30% chance of a thundershower) but we decided to walk anyway. Well, more like LINDSAY decided that we would walk anyway. And wouldn't you know it, it started to drizzle about 15 minutes before we got back. I didn't care - it was fun, actually. Emily was not so enthusiastic about the possibility of wet hair. And even less enthusiastic when her hair actually got wet :)

L

My brother Aaron's pic of the Esplanade Riel

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Hot Hot Hot

So here I go about the news again...

Watching NewsNet this morning, one of today's top stories is the searing heat in the U.S. I was thinking, gosh, it must be HOT there - because, of course, the temps were all given in fahrenheit and I'm a child of the Metric era. Later in the broadcast, during the Canadian weather segment, they offered conversions of what the Ontario and Quebec temps yesterday would be when converted to fahrenheit. Guess what... Hotter than anything they reported on in the U.S.

So must I ask it? Why is another country's heat wave (which is still cooler than our own temps) a lead story on our national news?

L

PS - Nothing big goin' on last night. Came home from work late, ordered dinner (too tired to cook), waited AN HOUR AND A HALF for my Chinese to arrive, ate some of it, then Bethany and I went for a walk in search of Dairy Queen frozen hot chocolate. After that, I may or may not have watched some of The OC season two :)

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Current Events and Selfless Good Deeds

Here's something you may or may not know about me: I'm a news junkie. I wake up to CBC radio in the morning, timed so that I can hear the news headlines. Then I make my decision about whether or not it's worth getting out of bed that day. So far, I've always chosen to get up. But if one morning I happen to hear that all of Canada's been covered in radioactive powder or something, I don't want to bother getting dressed. After my shower, I turn on the TV in my room and watch CTV NewsNet while I'm getting ready. And then I listen to the radio on my way in to work, where I check news headlines on the internet. And then read the paper during my lunch break.

I haven't decided if all this knowledge has made me an optimist or a pessimist. Maybe neither - maybe it's just made me aware. Geoff commented the other day that he sees the worst of the worst while he's at work, and that if he formed his entire worldview based on that single experience, he'd believe the world was full of nothing but bad things. I'm sheltered from so much of that. If I formed my worldview based on what I experience in my day-to-day life, I'd think we're doing pretty well. I sometimes see selfishness and greed and the dark side of ambition. But nothing really classically or impressively 'evil.'

I've done my little volunteer projects to poor communities or Winnipeg's inner city, but how much do you really see when you're the outsider just stopping by for a visit? And how much can a twenty-five-year-old girl who works in advertising really offer? Maybe these little projects are less about helping people and more about making ourselves feel better for having contributed. And overall, that's still probably a good thing. At least we're 'helping,' however little impact that might actually have. (And is there really such a thing as an unselfish good deed anyway? Joey & Phoebe on 'Friends' say no.)

Anyway. That's what's floating around in my head this morning.

L