Ho hum

I am so tired. I suppose I could go back to bed, eventually I will.

Today I have an appointment to get my car checked out. I was in a small accident a couple weeks ago. I was also a witness in a hit and run accident (my vehicle was not involved). It is a bit of a pain dealing with the cops and SGI this time of year (or any time of year).

Yesterday, we had a Christmas gathering with my mom's side of the family. It was a fun time and I ate lots. Highlights include:
* We continued our game of Sardines from Thanksgiving. It was my turn to hide and the younger cousins bugged me all through dinner when we were going to begin. I told them to keep an eye on me because when they realize that I am gone, the game had begun. I snuck off while they were playing. We had a good time.
* My 2 year old cousin started to get undressed in the middle of the living room when she opened a present of Dora the Explorer clothes. This will not be so cute when she is older.
* I got an indoor strawberry growing kit.
* Some of us went skating at a nearby lake. My jeans were long and got so wet walking there and back. I went to work straight from my Aunt's house and my jeans were still wet. At least I didn't fall on my butt.

Happy Boxing Day!

Hope everyone found some excellent post-Christmas bargains.

Just a warning: New Year's Day 2006: delayed by a second

As recommended by George Stroumboulopoulos

Warning: Excellent yet funny geopolitical statement but there is some bad language.

The End of the World by Fluid

God Jul
December 23rd: “Lille julaften” or “Little Christmas Eve”

For many Norwegians, the observance of Christmas begins on the evening of December 23. This is when most families decorate their Christmas trees and homes. It is traditional to decorate these trees with handmade Christmas baskets. These baskets are made out of red and green paper that is weaved together and then filled with fruits, candy, and nuts.
In my family we have a supper of rice porridge on Little Christmas Eve. At Christmas an almond hidden in the rice porridge. In my family, whoever finds the almond in their bowl will be the next to get married. I have no idea where this began because I cannot find anyone else who believes it.

Traditionally, the child who discovers it wins a prize of a marzipan pig. This is to remind people of the times when a peasant family’s wealth was determined by its pig.

December 24: “Julaften” or “Christmas Eve”

The next day is Christmas Eve, and the children of Norway often get up early and wait for the special Christmas programs to start on their televisions. Some people also go to church around 3 or 4 o'clock, and others visit the graves of friends and family. Also on this day, some families leave a bowl of porridge in their barns for the nisse, or gnome, who lives in and protects the barn and animals. For a long time, when most Norwegians were farmers, this “Nisse” was believed to be a secret helper in the barn. If the family on the farm was nice to him and left him a bowl of porridge every Christmas eve, he would be kind to them and help them the next year. If they didn’t, they could expect accidents, sick animals and mysterious noises.

A special Christmas meal is then served towards evening, and what is served at the meal varies depending up which part of Norway a family is from. Eastern Norwegians eat lye fish, or lutfisk, while western Norwegians enjoy steamed lamb ribs called pinnekjøtt. After the meal, it is time to open gifts. Sometimes Julenisse (similar to Santa Claus) even comes to the home to distribute the gifts himself.

After the opening of presents, all the brooms in the house are hidden. The Norwegians long ago believed that witches and mischievous spirits came out on Christmas Eve and would steal their brooms for riding.

December 25: “Første juledag” or “Christmas Day”

On Christmas Day, family Christmas parties are often held and some people attend church services. The next day there are more parties, but these are mostly parties with friends.

Sources:
Rick Steves' Europe: Norwegian Christmas
Norwegian Holidays

Me sleepy

I subbed for a new teacher today. Things went very well considering I had a grade 9 class I had never met before on the last period before the Christmas break.

I did not fall asleep until after 4am last night. Then my alarm went off at 6:50. That's right folks, less than 3 hours of sleep. I had a consumed caffeinated tea in large quantities today just to stay awake. Now I shall sleep.

On a sad note, I lost my copy of Vinnie Jones' autobiography. I had it in my purse and I took it out when I went to the ATM. Later that night it was gone (the branch was closed). I asked today at the front desk if anyone had turned it in. Sadly, no one had. I'll have to track down another copy. Fortunately my work sells it (not sure if they have a copy though). Today when I was subbing I started to reread Marin Amis' The Information

For the Rest of Us

Happy Festivus everyone!

Festivus: the website for the rest of us

Educational video on Festivus (I use educational loosely here).

Tomorrow: Little Christmas Eve

Boooooooooo

I was at work for 4 hours this evening at the bookstore. I am glad I went early or I would have been there until 2am. I did even do a super-duper good job. There was not enough time for that. I just tried to do the best I could. I am so sore and my feet are killing me. This could be interesting subbing tomorrow on 4 hours of sleep for the last day before Christmas break.

Webcam for a Penny

Woot! Woot! I am done tutoring for the semester. My last session was tonight before supper. I will be glad to have some free time in the evening.

I took a picture with my web cam tonight.


My one complaint about my web cam is the mic is built into the camera. The mic is o far away the other person has to turn their speakers way up just so they can hear me. I guess I won't complain too much about a web cam I got for a penny.

While I was away in Regina I received a letter that from a private school I applied to last year. The letter stated that my application was incomplete. Incomplete! I applied to that school in Fall 2004 I had not heard from them at all and they are tell me this now! I tried calling but there was no answer so I emailed them about it. I has been so long I don't remember what I could have left out.

Here We Come a Wassailing

Yesterday was a very long day. I was at my parents and I was supposed to get up at 8am so I could be on the road by 9:30. That did not happen at all. The alarm went off but I think I finally got out of bed around 9:50. I finally got on the road by 11am.

I finally got out the city and I realize I left my allergy serum in my mom's fridge. I was supposed to get my shot in Regina but a nurse at my doctor's office here in Saskatoon gave me a package with only one of the bottles. I would not be able to wait for my shot anymore so I had to turn back. I finally got back on the road on 11:40.

I was supposed to tutor at 2pm but since I left Regina the last time so late, I called and asked if we could change the time. I am so glad I did, I even had time for a 20 minute nap before tutoring! (Napping is extremely exciting to me).

I had promised my tutees that I was available for 3 hours. I am so glad that once we got to work they had enough after 2 hours. I had time to get my allergy shot before caroling with my youth group in the evening. Unfortunately because of how long I had to wait at the walk-in clinic I did not have time for supper.

I got to my church at little early so I could organize the food we were going to be distributing to the seniors. My follow leader helped me sort out what food was going where. He discovered a container with no label. I looked inside and it was left over food from the church Christmas dinner a couple weeks back. We did not have permission to distribute that so I put it back (more on that later). Slowly people started to arrive. We eventually we had 10. A decent number for caroling considering I thought we were only going to have 4.

The caroling went very well. I think we were a real blessing. I was only able to go to half of our stops since I had to work last night. I dropped off the passengers at a home near my work and was about to drive of when some of the fellow carolers stopped me. They needed to tell me that I had labeled a tub of margarine as macaroni and cheese. Since most of our food was put into old margarine and ice cream containers, the container of margarine got mixed up with the food. I had put it in the freezer with the rest of the food. How silly of me. I am just glad they caught my mistake before they gave it away.

I stopped at Subway on my way to work. It was 9pm and I had still not eaten yet. Unfortunately there was a trainee working on her first shift by herself. Oy. I was the 3rd person in line and I took me a half hour to get my food.

Work took forever last night. I was so tired and just wanted to go home. Due to Christmas shoppers, the store was a mess. I get paid for 3 hours and it took me 3.5 hours. I guess that makes up for all the times I finish early. I did not leave until 1:15am.

I feel bad for the security guard (aka Stoic Guy) who stayed a half hour later than he had to. Security guards cannot leave until all the booksellers cash out. So Stoic Guy was waiting for the last person to leave. He was content to search on the Internet thinking he was earning overtime. Little did he know that the bookseller left and did not tell him. Poor guy.

I got home and my roommate (the tiny blond one) was still not home. She was picking some people at the airport at 11:40 and their plane still had not arrived. She did not get home until after 2. I was still up when she got home. I was trying out my newly arrived webcam with microphone purchased for a penny on ebay (no one else bid).

Monopoly 70th Anniversary Edition

I wish I would have know about this earlier so I could have asked for it for Christmas. It is still not too late Mom (hint, hint).

To commemorate Monopoly's 70th anniversary Parker Brothers have created an art deco edition. What could be better? My favorite board game designed in my favorite style. I have seen editions with a wooden case on Ebay but I cannot find it anywhere else.

For any of you who have taken French class

Sol, the Hobo Clown, Dies at 76

Marc Favreau's Obituary on CBC.ca

New Re-Enactments by Bunnies!

30 Second Re-Enactment by Bunnies of A Christmas Story

30 Second Re-Enactment by Bunnies of Star Wars

Steve: My Treat

I was watching the Weather Network and the anchor looked familiar. I had to think for a bit where I recognized him from when I realized he was Chris from Student Bodies. Ross Hull is now a weather man.

Now that I got your attention.

Lyn got me Vinnie Jones' autobiography when she was in England. For those of you who do not know, Vinnie Jones used to be a professional soccer player (or if you are outside of North America footballer) and now is an actor. I finally started reading it recently (I had to get through about 6 other books I had not read yet first). It is a little difficult to understand sometimes because of all of the British slang but he is good story teller.

Well, yesterday when I was subbing there were two classes who wrote exams. There is intern who was teaching those classes so I was really just there to support her. These were her exams so I didn't really have to supervise. I sat at the front of the class and read my book. During the afternoon exam I was reading about Vinnie's first professional appearance as a footballer and the story behind the above picture. The other player is Paul "Gazza" Gascoigne. The students must have thought I was pretty strange. The class is dead silent except for the occasional giggle from the sub. I had a hard time not laughing and plus everything is funnier when you are supposed to be quiet.

The Quest for Mulletude

I was watching The Colbert Report where Dermot Mulroney was promoting The Family Stone. He is an incredibly witty and attractive man yet every time I look at him I think of his mullet in About Schmidt:

I believe that is a 3-11 (3 inches on top, 11 inches at the back).
Some mullet resources

Who are the Richest Fictional Characters?

Forbes Magazine complied a list of the richest fictional characters:
The Forbes Fictional Fifteen

A very long post (a recap of the last week)

I really want to forget most of last Thursday. Looking back it was not so bad but the combination of everything that happened and already being stress, it was just too much for me. I felt like lying on the floor and staying there for the rest of my life.

First off, early Thursday I found out that my cousin passed away from cancer. He had been sick for a long time and it was not much of a surprise but still sad nonetheless.

Earlier in the week I had asked my boss at the bookstore about someone else covering my shift on night. I already had checked with one person and another had not returned my call. My boss had not gotten back to me so I decided to talk to him in person about it. We managed to figure out a solution after talking to several people (what a difference it makes to talk to people in person). When I got home, I found out that I no longer needed my shift cover. All that work for nothing.

In the middle of the afternoon my errands were taking much longer than expected. I was supposed to tutor for 3 hours that evening and I knew there was no way I was going to be able to make it in time. I called and left a message that I would only be able to meet her for 2 hours. The problem occurred when she did not check her messages. This girl never home, never checks her messages and has a cell phone that is never on. How is a person expected to get hold of someone? She called me asked where I was when I explained the situation. When I got to the university she was not feeling well. We had only been working for a while and she suddenly ran off. She was throwing up in the bathroom. I ended up tutoring for a half hour instead of 3 hours.

I called a couple to see if they were free to go out for coffee. I did not feel like going home before working at the bookstore that night but no one I called was home. I was making all of my calls as I walked to my car. During one particular call I was trying to think how much cash I had on hand when I realized I had forgotten my wallet at home. The big problem was that I had parked at a parkade at the university and had no money to get out. There was no one at the booth so I could come back later. I had to call my roommate to bring it to me.

I was ready for the day to be over but I still had 3 hours of work ahead of me. Fortunately when I got to work the books were in pretty good order. The kids’ section always takes the longest and they were in the midst of restocking shelves when I got there. They told me to skip a large section. I did have a moment were I was a blathering idiot but I really don’t want to talk about it. Let us just say that it very typical of me.

There was a good thing about the day: I got to see my previous family doctor whom I adore. He was my doctor for 4 years then we both moved to Saskatoon on the same month. He didn’t like working in Saskatoon very well so he moved to B.C. Him and his wife are back in town for the month to try to sell their acreage. While he is here, he is working at the walk-in clinic at my doctor’s office. Since my doctor is away on vacation I get to see my previous doctor in the meantime for my allergy shots! Hooray!

The doctor and I did have an interesting conversation while we were catching up. He was telling me about his acreage when he asked, “Do you own a house? Do you want to buy my acreage? It’s perfect for horses.”
“I don’t have horses.”
“You could get horses.”
I just had to laugh. I hope he was joking (I’m pretty sure he was). He gave me a hug before leaving; I nearly started crying.


Friday was much better. I subbed for a teacher I had been in for before. She is the head of the math department at her school and I adore her classes. She has a group a grade 10s who have to repeat grade 9 Math that told me that they wish I was there regular teacher. We have a pretty good time and they get work done.

I also got a compliment from a teacher that I had subbed for earlier that week. She was impressed how I had handled a situation and generally how the day went. It felt good to here something myself for a change.

I actually have been back again to that same school yesterday and today. The teacher I subbed for on Friday has been super sick. I might be there tomorrow too but I don’t know yet.

Out of no where

So I keep on seeing this woman Kerry Washington's picture everywhere. She was even on the cover of a bridal magazine someone bought for my newly engaged cousin. Finally today I had enough, who is this woman? I looked her up. She is an actress and I don't think I have seen her in anything at all. I did find out however that she is engaged to David Moscow (aka David Jacobs from Newsies). That is totally bizarre.
A picture of the happy couple

I'd Rather Forget

I have had an insane week and I have not had much time to give an update. For the most part I just want to forget last week. However when I get the time, these are some topics to look forward to:
* pressures of being interesting
* catching up with old friends
* Cousin passed away and his funeral
* Chaos at the bookstore switching shifts then didn’t need to
* Tutoring for only a half hour due to puking tutee
* Forgetting my wallet at home
* Janny in the role of blathering idiot
* Old family doctor
* Lots of subbing
* Good feed back from a teacher I subbed for

Pretty

If anyone is willing to spend $500US on me for Christmas, they can get me these shoes:

Happy 25th Birthday Sister!

Today my baby sister turns 25 years old. Happy birthday Mary.

This Day in History from the History Channel:
General Interest
1542 Mary Queen of Scots born
1980 John Lennon shot
1987 Superpowers agree to reduce nuclear arsenals
1993 NAFTA signed into law

AMER. REVOLUTION
1775 Americans begin siege of Quebec

AUTOMOTIVE
1945 Japanese Auto Industry Starts Up Again

CIVIL WAR
1863 Lincoln issues Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction

COLD WAR
1949 Chinese Nationalists move capital to Taiwan

LITERARY
1894 James Thurber is born

OLD WEST
1941 Jeanette Rankin casts sole vote against WWII

VIETNAM WAR
1969 Nixon declares Vietnam War is ending

WALL STREET
1886 Birth of the AFL

WORLD WAR I
1914 The Battle of the Falkland Islands

WORLD WAR II
1941 The United States declares war on Japan

Also to celebrate my sister's milestone birthday, a random picture of a Maryanne:

I had a lonely day today. I did talk to my mom for a little while but that is not the same. I did not see anyone until prayer meeting at my church and that only last for little more than an hour. From there I went to the bookstore for work. I don't get to visit much with anyone there. I did not see my roommates at all today. The last time I had a hug was from my mom on Sunday. All this amounts to one sad Janny. I moved to Saskatoon because I was lonely. The irony is that I have less human contact now than when I lived alone in a northern community.

I hate this time of year. I think of money (and my lack there of) all the time. Plus I am lacking any sort of creativity for finding gifts.

The one good thing that happened today is I didn't have to stay too late at work. I was so tired and discouraged about life when I got there it is exactly what I needed. Prayer meeting ran a little late and with winter driving I did not get to work on time. Being late is not a big deal but the early I start the earlier I get done. When I got the the kids section (that always takes me the longest), it was in excellent condition. One of the ladies spent most of the evening restocking shelves. Last night that section took me over a half hour. Tonight it took me less than 10 minutes.

One strange thing about day is my hands smell like celery. I had to chop onions, garlic and celery for supper and yet my hands smell like celery. Not the outcome I was expecting. The last time I chopped garlic and onions the smell remained on my hands, in the kitchen and on the cutting board for days no matter how many times I cleaned them.

Some times cheaper is better

For all of those wannabe chefs on a budget:
Ever So Humble, Cast Iron Outshines the Fancy Pans - NY Times Online

What is a girl to do?

This morning my roommate(s) leaving the house woke me up way earlier than I needed to being getting up. I realize that had been dreaming about playing beach volleyball against my grandma who is 89. I also dreamt about an invention that is a volleyball net and it keeps the sun out of your eyes. Wait and see; it will be the new thing just like the Lemon Law for first dates.
Anyway, thinking about my dream made me wake up to a point where I could not get back to sleep. Do you know what does not help some get to sleep? Listening to Heart’s Barracuda. Trust me it does not help one bit but it is my own fault.

That is the story why there has been two posts before breakfast on Janny's blog.

Of Air Guitars and Christmas Trees

A conversation with my friend Shannon about the Charlie Brown Christmas tree:

Shannon: Once saw someone auctioning off an air guitar for $10 on E-bay. He had put a picture of himself "playing" it on there. The disclaimer under the picture said:

Please note: there is not actually anything in my hands

People were actually bidding on it. I have no doubt there will be many people purchasing the Charlie Brown Christmas tree for $24. Perhaps even the same people who just had to have their very own used air guitar."

Janny: That is totally awesome that a dude was trying to sell his air guitar on ebay. That sounds like something my friend Alex would do. Except Alex is all about showing the love to "his fans" so he would probably give away an autographed copy of his air guitar. But this is the boy who told me once he was trying to steal my loveliness to sell on the black market, so you never know.

Check out the results of the US Air Guitar Championship.

Good Grief

For a paltry $24 US you can purchase a Charlie Brown Christmas tree.

Save your money people. If you want to cleverly replicate the tree for the movie buff in your life, spend less than $5 and do it yourself.

Ok, you don't have to say it. I know I am pathetic.

I just recognized the actor who plays Vincent "Butters" Clemmons from Veronica Mars in a commercial. It is pathetic when I can recognize a character that has had less than 5 minutes screen time over the course of 2 episodes. But how could I forget the shock of discovering he is the vice principal's son or that he is the co-host of a pirate radio show?

Feelin Good

I made a poor choice Saturday night. I guess in the scheme of things it was not that bad no one died. I was checking my email before bed and a friend I have not talked to for a couple months came online. Him and his wife moved overseas to teach this summer and I had spoken to him since they moved. I stayed up way too late chatting with him. The sad thing is most of the time was not spent catching up but dealing with technical difficulties. Oh well, something is better than nothing. I had a hard time getting up the next day.

Last night I had my final choir concert of the year. It was such a long day. I am still feeling sick (from a cold) and I was so tired. All I wanted to do was sleep. The concert went really well at least from my perspective.

When I got home, I was feeling absolutely rotten. I tried to stay up until 10 or until my roommates got home but was not able to make it. I went to bed shortly after 9. To some of you that is not a big deal but as I always say "you can tell when Janice is sick when she goes to bed before 11". I have to be pretty ill to go to bed that early. I was so glad I did, I woke up feeling much better.

I had such a good day. I subbed and the students were great. I could not have asked for a better day. I even had a teacher tell me that she has requested me for Friday. The day is looking to even better. There must be a blue moon outside because I have a free evening. I plan to veg in front of the TV. It shall be grand.

Sorry I don't have any thing clever or witty to say. I think I need to be a worse mood for that. It's a scientific fact that happy people do not dish out biting sarcasm. So in conclusion, happy people are not funny. It's science.

Welcome to the Blogosphere

My friend Shannon has started her own blog, Shannon Journies. Her job takes her many places and many weird and wonderful adventures. She is a good story teller, you should check her out.

Get Behind Me

There are no words to describe the awesomeness of what I just witnessed. Jack White was playing the Moog on The Daily Show. Just moments after on The Colbert Report, Rick Springfield sang a line from "Jessie's Girl". Meh, not so impressive.