Introducing Flat Eric
Geoff stopped by to pick me up from work a few weeks ago and commented on the fact that my toy collection is pretty lame compared to the boys in this office.
Here's where the (modest) collection stands today:
- Three regular bobbleheads - Dwight Schrute, Mr. Clean, and Chuck Woolery
- One small hippopotamus who not-so-secretly-anymore represents an ex-boyfriend (I poke at his eyes when I'm frustrated)
- One small zebra, a gift from Margaret to match my hippo
- A surfing mouse figurine that I got with Chynna
- A butterfly (obviously) that I got at the Insectarium in Montreal with Emily and Christine
- Neon green soccer ball, the squishy stress-relief kind
And now, Flat Eric. Geoff decided he would brighten up my work space. And he has, from his perch on the bookshelf beside my desk - arms crossed, big grin.
But I keep waiting for him to
start dancing...
L
Labels: Cocoon, My Life
Jolly Holiday
In yesterday's National Post...
Colbert gets last laugh on Oshawa's mayor
(Jeremy Sandler)
Stephen Colbert's satire may be too hot for the White House Correspondents Association dinner, but the city of Oshawa, Ont., is getting ready to honour the late night television pseudo-pundit. The Saginaw Spirit's 5-4 win over the Oshawa Generals in OHL action on Friday night made Colbert the winner of a wager with Oshawa mayor John Gray.
As reported in this space earlier this hockey season, the fervently jingoistic American talk show host parody started supporting the Spirit after it used him as the inspiration for one of its mascots, "Stephen Colbeagle the Eagle."
Colbert, who has often listed bears as one the top threats to America, took great offence after Generals fans littered the ice with teddy bears as part of an annual promotion. Colbert suggested on his show last week that General Motors lacklustre 2006 annual report, which details some $3-billion in losses, would be a suitable rejoinder for fans in Saginaw wishing to mock Oshawa, home of GM's Canadian headquarters. Gray kept up the fun in a radio interview, challenging Colbert to wear a Generals jersey on the air if Oshawa beat Saginaw on Friday.
As per Colbert's on-air wishes when he accepted the wager, it now appears Gray's birthday, March 20, will be "Stephen Colbert Day" in Oshawa.
Labels: Current Events
Return of the Ugly Slippers
I am somewhat famous for my impractical footwear. But my shoes are rarely as ridiculous as they seem. For example, today I was wearing shoes with a three-inch heel. But it was a stacked heel, not a stiletto (better balance). And the sole is made of grippy rubber (traction on ice and snow). Plus, anyone who knows me knows that I always pimp out my shoes with gel inserts, heel cushions, the works. So although they may look silly and superficial, they are actually pretty comfortable. I think. I really don't have anything to compare it to :)
But even my pimped creations get tiresome when I'm walking around the office all day. And it's COLD in here - thanks to an office full of cold-blooded boys.
Just before Christmas, a serendipitous moment transpired: I won a pair of slippers in a gift exchange. Not just any slippers. Grandma slippers. The knitted kind with a little yarn bow on top. These ones are pastel multicoloured. They pretty much rock.
And so I started wearing them at work, much to the dismay of my design-savvy coworkers. But then a terrible thing happened... When I packed to leave my parents' place after the holidays, I couldn't find them. I was actually convinced that a member of my family took them and threw them away (they were as hated at home as they were at work).
I had given up all hope. And then... LIGHT. I arrived in my old room on Friday night, and there they were - sitting at the foot of my bed. Sweet.
I wore them again at work today. I think I'll start a trend. After all, there's only a very thin line between love and hate.
L
Labels: My Life
More About the Wedding
So, my baby sister is married and lying on a beach somewhere in the Mayan Riviera with her new hubby. Despite the cold on Saturday, their day went perfectly.
A few highlights and/or points of interest:
- My dad and Jessica spending much of the ceremony rehearsal kicking each other
- Explaining to the flower girls that they were a part of 'the team' even though they couldn't come on stage with us
- The best man spending the entire wedding day singing bad 90s radio hits in falsetto (until someone gave him a mic during the reception, and he shut right up)
- Saying hi to Cindy and Danica, who drove up to be at the wedding
- At one point during the rehearsal, four members on the wedding party were either on their cell phones or texting
- Anica and Sophie, tap dancing and twirling in their 'princess dresses'
- There was an uneven number of guys & girls in the wedding party, so I had TWO young gentlemen escort me
- Jessie, doing her dorky and famous 'bum dance' in her wedding dress
- Seeing Chynna, my not-so-little-anymore fashionista, dressed to the nines with a giant cast on her arm
- A totally relaxed morning hair session with Christie, who did an absolutely amazing job
- A reception catered by Baked Expectations, with chocolate fountains and a coffee bar... yum
- My dad: 'I'm not losing a daughter, I'm gaining an office'
We'll have the *proper* pics back from the photographers in a week or two, and I'll post a few then. This one was snapped by Geoff at the Leg, while I helped the flower girls get their shoes on and pinned flowers into their hair.
Labels: Family, Jessica's Wedding, My Life
Jessica's Wedding
I'll post the *fancy* pics when I get them, but here's a sneak peek at my beautiful baby sister, my new brother-in-law, and their very special day...
Kevin & Jessica
Jessica & her girls (me, Jenni-Lynn, Leanne, Mandy)
With Jenni-Lynn
With the flower girls, Sophie & Anica
The entire wedding party
With Geoff
Aaron & Cait
Labels: Family, Jessica's Wedding, My Life
Big Shiny Weekend
I'm out in Niverville for the weekend, starting at lunchtime tomorrow. Can you believe this munchkin in the middle is getting married?! :)
Ooh, she's not going to appreciate me spreading that around the internet. Oh well.
On another note, guess what Friday is... The Oshawa Generals / Saginaw Spirit game. Not that I'm suggesting anything ;)
L
Labels: Jessica's Wedding, My Life
New Perspective
My sister kind of mentioned last week that I was the only person in her wedding party who wears glasses... I can take a hint. I picked up a few pairs of contacts on Tuesday night.
I was trying to remember why I stopped wearing them and went back to glasses. The only thing I managed to come up with was Loewen. When I worked there, I had to leave my house by 7 am to make it in for an 8 am start time. And the office was attached to the factory, which meant that there were always tiny, miniscule wood particles floating around (and every single one seemed to end up in my eyes). It didn't take long for me to learn to love glasses again.
Here's hoping the reverse transition will be equally painless. I feel totally naked without that plastic resting on my nose and ears. It's kind of weird to see the world without a black frame around things, and to enjoy peripheral vision without fuzz. My eyes are a little itchy. But overall, not too bad.
Which is more than I can say for my Tuesday night manicure. I'm pretty unimpressed. One hand is perfect and the other is an unmitigated disaster.
L
Labels: My Life
Taking Liberties
The Daily Show on why George W. Bush is the next Abraham Lincoln.
Watch it here.L
Labels: Current Events, Stuff I Found Online
Getting Off on a Technicality
Hmm. A very interesting story hit the CBC homepage this afternoon. I'll let you read it for yourselves.
Mennonites may lose Canadian citizenship over 1920s glitchI am trying very hard to be sympathetic about this situation. It's probably very scary for these people who have considered themselves Canadian for decades. But the idea of all these Mennonites having sex - and children - outside of marriage for all these years is a little bit funny, you must admit...
L
Labels: Current Events
Before I Die
I am completely fascinated by
this website. Maybe it's because I have my own list - fine, a BOOK - and I relate to the feeling of accomplishing something that is really, truly meaningful. Anyway, it always makes me smile to visit this site and read a story.
If you need a smile today, I suggest you give it a try...
L
Labels: Stuff I Found Online
Snowbound
Why is it so difficult to travel? I suppose it's one of those things that we'd totally take for granted if it was simple (and cheap).
I know that I'm going to spend a week in and around Vancouver in May and almost two weeks in Greece this November. It's not like I haven't had an opportunity to travel. I've been incredibly lucky. But every trip I take makes me realize how much I have left to see and do and experience - but so little money in my bank account, and so little vacation time.
I think everyone probably feels this way in Winnipeg near the end of January. There's a nagging feeling in the back of my head that screams 'ESCAPE!' - but alas, I am much too practical for that.
And I know I need my vacation time for May and November :)
L
Labels: My Life, Travel
Adventures in Snow
Today was full, but so much fun.
We started out at Geoff's church. It was my first time there, and it was really different from my church (read: all hymns, no drums) but still felt really comfortable. Lots of people came and introduced themselves, and just made me feel very welcome. The hymns were actually kind of a cool change. I hadn't heard most of them before, so it's a good thing I can read music so I didn't look like a total loser. At the end of the day, it was just a different kind of worship through music, and it's really challenged me to think about the way I communicate with God.
It was gorgeous today (for Winnipeg in January), so we picked up lunch and set out to find a good place to eat it. We ended up 'discovering' this wooden fort at the base of the Esplanade Riel where a couple of college-age guys were dressed up like voyageurs, cooking bannock over a fire and serving hot chocolate. Perfect. After we ate, we ventured across the bridge to The Forks and kind of wandered for a while. On the way back to the bridge, we passed the skating trail on the river - and noticed something peculiar. A sign for Snow Mini Golf. Who could resist? Not even Lindsay in (yep) three inch heels.
I took a road trip out to Niverville in the evening for our young adults coffeehouse, which is always a good time. I drove Cait home after, and it was really great to get to spend some time with her. And now I'm home, getting ready for bed, but feeling incredibly distracted by the Miami Ink marathon on tv... Argh. Every time I watch this show, I want to make my tattoo bigger. Tough to resist. Until I realize that anything more than the small, tasteful one I have right now would look ridiculous on me - I'm way too preppy and prissy. Oh well.
Geoff pointed out recently that I'd better have translated the tattoo correctly, otherwise I'm going to look pretty dumb in Greece this year... I think it means 'grace.' I hope it means 'grace.' It would be somewhat less than hilarious if it ends up meaning 'grease' - or anything other than what I wanted it to mean :)
L
Geoff, owning the Snow Mini Golf course this afternoon
(we quickly dubbed it 'snolf')
Labels: My Life
Small World After All
I did something kind of cool this afternoon, definitely worthy of a little blog mention. Geoff and I joined a few of the young adults from his church at MCC for an afternoon of volunteer work.
It was actually really cool to be there. I've done a few little projects to collect items for MCC to donate around the world, but I've never seen what happens to the stuff after we drop it off. We worked on labelling and packing pallets full of school kits and health kits, and then learned how to wrap bales of blankets bound for Serbia and Lebanon. A few other people sorted through bags full of donated items from The Inn at the Forks, a local hotel that donates their used linens and towels to MCC - who in turn passes the items on to people who need them, both locally and in troubled areas around the world.
We also had a chance to play a game that MCC has developed for distribution in schools and refugee camps - a version of snakes and ladders that teaches children (in their own language) about spotting the danger of land mines, and what to do about it. The game is being supported by a bunch of other organizations including, oddly enough, the Lebanese army.
I'm not used to spending Saturdays doing things that might cause me to break a nail, but it was actually pretty fun. It was especially interesting to see where all these items were going. There are so many place names I saw and thought to myself, 'the crisis over there ended YEARS ago, didn't it?' But that doesn't mean that life is back to normal there. It just means that we've forgotten, and that made me really sad.
And really determined to harass everyone I know about donating those health kit items ;)
L
Labels: My Life
It's a Boy
A quick shout-out to Mel & Marc.
Congratulations... a baby boy, Malakai! :)
L
Labels: My Friends, My Life
In His Shoes
Aaron got me watching
this auction on eBay... Pretty much the funniest thing I've ever seen online - and currently up to more than $30K!
L
Labels: Stuff I Found Online
Never Before Seen
Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share PhotosAs I was (slowly) approaching the Finish Line in Bermuda - accompanied by Chris, Darcy, and Sara (Joints in Motion riff-raff, aka my trainers and the national coordinator) - my Mom was capturing the moment.
It's her filming. It's her cheering her heart out. And it's her forgetting to turn off the camera and filming her own shoe.
Now, if I'm as psychic as I sometimes think I might be, it's her being verrry impressed with me for releasing this to the world :)
Thanks for being there with me, Mom (and for waiting ALL DAY at the Finish Line). You're my biggest cheerleader and it meant so much to have you there while I fulfilled my big, crazy dream.
L
Labels: Family, Joints in Motion, My Life
My Big Fat Greek Trip to the Library
Have I mentioned that I'm learning Greek? Well, kind of.
This past Saturday, I spent the better part of my afternoon at our city's downtown Millennium Library. Can you believe that I'd never been before? It's only been open for maybe a year, but still... Anyway. It was pretty cool.
I went early and grabbed a cup of coffee, and sat by the windows in the cafe - reading a book and people-watching. At least until the fifth weird-smelling homeless person approached me for money to buy some food. I don't want to sound super-mean, and I know that it's freezing cold outside and that these people need to eat... But it doesn't really make me want to go back and hang out in the cafe at the library. I don't give change to people on the street anymore - doing a campaign for the Downtown BIZ a few years ago cured me of that impulse. Still, when I left the cafe, I cleaned up my garbage but left my wrapped, untouched sandwich on the table. I'm probably a sucker, but what if they really were hungry?
After a while, I got up and did some exploring, travelling up the funky glass elevator overlooking the courtyard that will be gorgeous in summer (but is barren and snow-covered at the moment). Past the novels, past the children's literature, past the archives - and up to the audiobooks and travel guides. I found *exactly* what I'd been after: a CD that will teach me to speak basic Greek for travellers.
So that's been my new project, on my way to work in the morning and home again in the evening. I must look crazy, muttering to myself in a foreign language. And it is foreign... Greek is really tricky. None of the words remind me of anything, and the intonation is not what I expected it to be. It will definitely take me until November to catch on to this at all.
So far, I've learned to say yes, no, good morning, good evening, good night, thank you, and excuse me (in case I bump into someone).
The highlight of the CD so far: they are actually trying to teach me to say 'Do you speak English?' in Greek. Can someone please explain that to me? I refuse to repeat it. It's the dumbest thing in the entire world.
Well, almost as dumb as me leaving my sandwich behind :)
L
Labels: My Life, Travel
Three Years Tomorrow
On January 18, 2004, a ridiculously long 8 hours and 27 minutes after I left the starting line and almost 12 years after I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, I completed the Bermuda International Marathon.
No one was as surprised as I was. If you had asked me at Mile 4 – or even at Mile 24 – if I was going to finish, I would have laughed at the question. The pain I experienced was extreme, but not as extreme as my worst day with arthritis. As I walked, I made new friends – others whose lives have been touched by arthritis and who have committed time, energy, and massive fundraising efforts to participate in Joints in Motion.
With every step, I felt like I was beating the disease; I was making research happen and I was defying the odds. Crossing that finish line changed my life.
L
The morning of the marathon
(what a sucker... I have absolutely no idea what I'm in for)
Me & Mom
Starting the second half
Approaching the Finish Line
(my mom swears that when I'm reallyreally determined, I *always* walk with my left arm swinging outward a little farther for momentum... weird)
Moments after I finished
(and moments before I collapsed in a giant puddle of excruciating pain and my toenails started dropping off... ugh)
Labels: Joints in Motion
Something Old, Something New
Two very significant things happened in my world this week.
For the first time in my entire life, in my entire history of dating relationships (um, let's not comment on that any further), Lindsay noted and remembered an anniversary. Geoff and I talked for quite a while before we actually had our first date - but Friday marked the six month anniversary of that meeting. I even bought a card. I have no idea when I turned into this cheesy girl, and I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. Now I went and blogged about it. Ugh.
And this week, I received an email from an old friend - someone who is incredibly close to my heart, occupying that special and sacred place reserved only for sisters and childhood friends. We haven't spoken in years, though I think about her often. Seeing her name in my Inbox affected me in such a profound way.
It's funny how time passes in both a moment and an eternity. In the presence of one relationship and in the absence of another, it seems at once as if the new has always been there (though these months have felt like minutes) and the old has never left (though it feels like a lifetime since I've laughed with her).
L
Just to make Kari-Ann barf... :)
Formal Bowling Pics
A few pics from Jessica's party on Friday night... I didn't post all of them, so if you were there and don't see yourself - don't be offended. It probably just means that the pictures I have of you aren't particularly flattering :P
Leanne & Jessica in full-on diva mode
Jessica & Jenni-Lynn, who likely don't remember what was so funny
Jessica and her FAVOURITE sister
Mandy, celebrating her mad bowling skills
Oh yeah, did I mention it was NOVELTY bowling? Here, Leanne tries to bowl through Jessica, Jenni-Lynn, and Melissa's legs. Note my very ladylike baby sister (sporting pyjama pants under her dress because it was literally -40 that night... and because she is Jessica).
Me & Sara (it was a little bit fun to use bad grammar underneath a picture of the two grammar queens)
Mandy & Sara, looking all adorable and sistery
Blindsided
I started and finished a book this weekend. I love when that happens. There's something intensely satisfying about immersing yourself in a story like that. This weekend, it was
Blindsided: Lifting a Life Above Illness, a memoir by Richard Cohen.
One scene caused Cohen to explain that he found encouragement through hearing about or meeting people who were sicker than he was. Poetic, then, that this is exactly what his memoir did for me. Cohen has lived thirty years with the effects of MS and his honesty in the book is amazing - the way he describes what it's like to live both realistically and optimistically with an unpredictable chronic disease.
A few sentences really resonated with me:
"The psychological war with illness is fought on two fronts, on the battlefield of the mind and in the depths of the heart. Emotional strength must be learned. I am a better person for that struggle. Attitude is a weapon of choice, endlessly worked... Self-pity is a poison. There is no time. I need a future and refuse to become a victim. Too often we become oblivious to our own prisons, taking the bars and high walls for granted. Sometimes we construct them ourselves, and the barbed wire goes up even higher. Too many of the limitations placed on us are an extension of our own timidity."
If anyone feels like they'd do well to walk in another's shoes for a few hours, I'm officially recommending this book :)
L
Crutches
I think that one of my biggest pet peeves is people who use a medical diagnosis as a crutch. You know the people I'm talking about. One little thing and they have a built-in excuse for everything they don't want to do. I've made it a life mission to avoid becoming one of those people.
I keep on reading about how people who live with chronic pain disorders - like FMS - can often experience a type of brain fuzziness ('fibro fog' for FMS). It is described as an unclear head, short attention span, difficulty concentrating, difficulty organizing thoughts, and short-term memory loss.
In all honesty, I used to think this was bullshit. But I really haven't been myself lately. I've been doing these stupid, ridiculous things (don't laugh) - things that are really not Lindsay-like at all. Nothing major, I'm just not operating with my usual computer-like efficiency. And it's scaring me a little.
L
Labels: Arthritis
Best Laid Plans
Today is the day that President George Bush will present his country's 'new strategy' for Iraq. Funny, I'm sure they were largely unaware of Canada's parliamentary cabinet shuffle last week. Odd how our countries are so intertwined, but it's only us caring about what they're up to. I sincerely doubt they watch our national news, or laugh at the Air Farce jokes :)
Anyhow. I read something on Katie Couric's blog this morning (I KNOW! I'M A NERD!) that impacted me so much, I just needed to share it:
"So far, the price tag (for the Iraq war) is at least 350 billion dollars, about four times the budget of the Department of Education. Combined with the war in Afghanistan, it's over half a trillion dollars, rapidly approaching the inflation-adjusted 663 billion we spent over two decades in Vietnam. Last month the Pentagon requested a hundred billion more.
"Of course, freedom is not always free. But regardless of your politics, it's important to know exactly what we're spending, and why... The true cost of war isn't measured in dollars, but in lives. Whether the sacrifice of those who have given theirs is worth America's investment will be debated for years to come."
I'm not going to get into the whole debate, I just think it's important to be aware of what's going on in the world. I wonder how much good that many hundreds of billions of dollars could have done. And I wonder why we live so proudly in a country that stands by and communicates support through our silence.
L
Labels: Current Events
Queen Lindsay of Sealand
Looking for something to do with that Christmas money?
FOR SALE: The World's Smallest Country
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16528424/?GT1=8921L
Labels: Stuff I Found Online
Identity Crisis
My name doesn't really have a meaning. It sucks, actually. We did this assignment in junior high where everyone needed to research the meanings of their given names. Lindsay means something like 'island where linden trees grow.' And Marie means bitterness. Gee, thanks, Mom and Dad.
Thought I'd do a little additional research of my own and find out what my name *really* means... :)
L
Get Your Cyborg Name
Get Your Sexy Name
Get Your Monster Name
Labels: Stuff I Found Online
Big Girl
Thoughts on this? I'm not sure whether to cheer and give her a hug, or to shake her and shove a carrot stick in her mouth.
L
-
Here, in the rural Southern Tioga School District (Pennsylvania), the schools distribute state-mandated Body Mass Index reports even as they continue to serve funnel cakes and pizza for breakfast. Some students have physical education for only half the school year, even though 34 percent of kindergartners were overweight or at risk for it.
Among children, teasing and weight have always gone together, but now, says Doris Sargent, principal of Mansfield’s elementary school, there are so many overweight children that “you can’t pick on everybody.”
Holly Berguson, the homecoming queen at North Penn Junior-Senior High School here, wears a size 20, a fact cited by her many admirers as proof of this community’s generous attitude toward weight, its proud indifference to the “Baywatch” bodies on television.
“I don’t care how big I am,” said Holly, 17, who is insulin resistant, a condition that often precedes Type 2 diabetes. “It’s not what you look like, it’s who you are.”
Her confidence about her body — she is a lifeguard and wears a bathing suit without embarrassment — says something about how the perception of childhood obesity has changed from earlier generations.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/08/health/08obesity.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&th&emc=th
Labels: Current Events
Princesses
Sophie and Anica at our dress fitting today. They were adorable... Stick a little girl in a princess dress and she'll immediately begin spinning and twirling and curtsying. Everyone in the store was smiling.
Jess and Kevin's wedding is mere weeks away. Can you believe it?!
L
No More Chrismukah
The powers of Jesus and Moses combined weren't enough to save the Cohens and their friends.
'Fox has bid farewell to Warner Bros. TV's The O.C., cancelling the four-season-old series that has been struggling in the ratings this season. The sun will set for the last time on the once-hot series on Thursday, Feb. 22, in its 9-10 p.m. time slot. All original episodes will air from this Thursday through the last episode. "This feels like the best time to bring the show to its close," says Josh Schwartz, creator and executive producer of The O.C.'
- B&C
I'm not going to wax poetic about the cancellation of my favourite guilty pleasure show. But this might mean that I'll turn into a Grey's Anatomy girl. Hey, a girl's gotta watch SOMETHING brainless and gratuitous on Thursday nights. And I won't go back to ER. It hasn't been the same since Clooney left, and you know it.
L
PS - Before anyone starts correcting me (GEOFF), I left out The Office on purpose. I know it's on Thursdays, and we all know I watch it religiously, but it's neither brainless nor gratuitous.
Fry vs Fry
Argh. I officially submit Orville, Christine, Harold, and Oprah to my 'Dead to Me' list. Just for the day, though. When we were walking to our cars after work yesterday, they made me hungry for Burger King. I resisted the temptation, somewhat. I went to Safeway instead and bought 'healthy' fries and ingredients to make a chicken burger (but the lower-fat, all-white-meat kind).
It was tasty. But that's not why I'm mad at them.
I'm mad at them because I went to Safeway, and it was literally PACKED with stupid people. The parking lot was full, the aisles were overflowing, and the line-ups were atrocious. I eventually made it to the till and was about to pay when the cashier asked me, 'Ten percent off your purchase, or ten times the Airmiles, miss?'
Double argh. I make a very definite point of avoiding Safeway on their discount Tuesdays. It's absolute insanity.
That's why I'm mad at my co-workers - and at Oprah. Because if Orville, Harold, and Christine hadn't made me NEED a burger and fries, and if I wasn't suffering from the beginning-of-a-new-year you-should-be-healthier guilt, I never would have been at Safeway in the first place. And I'm not really sure who to blame about the New Years thing. So I choose Oprah. I don't actually watch her show, but I think she's probably to blame for more things than we give her credit for.
L
How to be Good
In case your New Years resolution was to do good for humanity (or if you want to get your January good deed out of the way early so you don't have to worry about it), a few ideas:
There are 400,000 numbers on the
Darfur Wall (representing the number of people who have died in that region since 2003). Donate $1 to light up a number and commemorate a life lost. All proceeds go to Darfur relief organizations.
You’ll rest easier knowing that all profits from the sale of the
Love-Life woven wool pillow go directly to UNICEF's fund for children with HIV.
Buy one virtual bottle of H20 ($20) from
Charity: Water and one person in Africa gets clean water for fifteen years.
Set up a loan and help small businesses in developing nations. At
Kiva.org you can read profiles of those in need, lend money, and receive updates and payments.
(Information shamelessly 'borrowed' from DailyCandy.com.)
Of course, you're more than welcome to complete this month's good deed in the form of donations to my MCC project - collecting health kit contents for refugee camps.
And save a couple of pesos for my wicked Joints in Motion fundraising project launch, coming soon to a website near you... ;)
L
Labels: Stuff I Found Online
Happy Birthday, Aaron
Our family celebrated at The Old Spaghetti Factory at The Forks last night, where we convinced our waitress that birthdays are better with embarrassing hats. So she made one out of menus and a stapler. Now that's customer service.
L
Tuesday Morning Smile
Just because I know it'll be rough for everyone to be back at work today... I've been saving this one for a while. Now without further ado, for your Tuesday-that-feels-like-a-Monday morning enjoyment and entertainment, I bring you
40 Things That Only Happen in Movies.
A few highlights to whet your appetite:
7. All bombs are fitted with electronic timing devices with large red digital displays so you know exactly when they are going to explode.
8. Should you wish to pass yourself off as a German officer, it will not be necessary to learn to speak German. Simply speaking English with a German accent will do. Similarly, when they are alone, all German soldiers prefer to speak English to each other.
25. You will survive any battle in any war UNLESS you show someone a picture of your sweetheart back home.
33. All beds have special L-shaped sheets that reach to armpit level on a woman but only up to the waist of the man lying beside her.
Happy Tuesday!
L
Labels: Stuff I Found Online
Heavenly Peace
My family was at Rock Lake this past weekend, away from cell phone signals or television channels or internet access. Odd, really. Because I love going to Rock Lake. But if I were anywhere else in the world and found myself without those conveniences, I'd probably hyperventilate.
I woke up yesterday morning and the world was white. We'd received nearly 18 inches of snow overnight, and the lake and trees were gorgeous. The snowflakes coming down were those big, fluffy ones that are usually only found in children's books. But it was a lot of snow - so much snow that we were snowbound until a snow plow came through later in the day. Forced to relax a little longer, I found myself admiring the tranquility I saw outside the window (tranquil... other than the fact that I could see my dad and Geoff just around the corner of the lodge, trying to shovel out cars). As I sat there, I was struck with the strangest thought: 'I wonder if Saddam Hussein was executed yesterday.'
He was, as anyone with access to technology and news media would have known. A violent man met a violent end, though his was brought about by justice that his victims were denied. Thinking about it yesterday morning, I felt awful. His execution will not bring peace to his country, or to the families of his victims. He'll never even stand trial for most of the things he did. The concept of justice has never seemed so empty to me. And it seems his execution has incited a new wave of violence in Iraq. So much for heavenly peace.
And sitting there - looking at the quiet scene in front of me, interrupted only by Anica and Sophie offering to share their strawberry scratch-and-sniff stickers with me - I knew that my idea of peace is absolutely foreign to most people in the world.
Funny, but it made me feel the most Christmasy I've felt all month. Because our need for a saviour has never seemed more obvious to me.
L
Labels: Christmas, Current Events
