I can't make this stuff up...

Pacific Palisades' Current Honorary Mayor: Steve Guttenberg

In unrelated Steve Guttenberg news, he will be a recurring character on Veronica Mars next season.

Celebrity Psychos - The Summer They All Went Mad

Make sure to check out the Diagnostic Celebrity Manual!
Celebrity and Its Discontents: A Diagnosis

"...and how do you use this technology? To beat King Koopa and save the princess."*

Super Mario Physics Tutorial





*George Feeny from Boy Meets World

For once and for all, let's just drop this...

Ky, Jamiroquai is a band whose lead singer is JK. He is not Jamiroquai. Just like Gwen Stephani is not No Doubt just the lead singer.
If you don't believe me:
Bio from from The Funkin Website

I don't need to hear a rant about how I always have to prove myself right. This is something I knew and I had to prove to myself I was not going crazy.

The anatomy of a mustache

I was so right about what a handlebar mustache is:

How could I let anyone ever doubt myself?
Source: World Beard and Moustache Championships: Beard and Moustache Categories

Maryanne, this is not a handlebar mustache:

Although I do believe that it made you throw up a little bit in your throat.

So, um, Sheryl Crow was there?

I found this on the BBC website:

Some parting words...

I'm off to camp this week so no blogging for Janny.

To recap the last week for me:
* Was in Regina for my sister's bridal shower
* Bought lots of wedding related stuff
* It rained and rained and rained and rained...
* For Canada Day, walked to the Jazz Festival in the afternoon. Had an excellent meal at the Spadina Freehouse. I watched fireworks from the river in the evening. More rain.

I have to still have to pack and get my allergy shot before I can go. I hope to be there before supper time.

wow, she looks attractive

The Old Man is Snoring

I woke up this morning in Regina to a newscaster saying: "Don't complain about the amount of rain we got yesterday. Just be glad you don't live in Southeast Saskatoon." Just wait a minute, I live in southeast Saskatoon. There has been flooding and sewer back ups in our area. I called Ang but she said our place was ok. Environment Canada recorded over 70mm of rain in my part of the city.

Good for what ails you

This morning I was watching a rerun of Daily Planet. There was this story on laughter. The creepiest part was when he was talking about that humans may not be the only animals that laugh. Apparently rats make a squeaking noise when they are tickled. I would like to know who was the one that was tickling rats and discovered this.

Other interesting facts:
* The person speaking is more likely to laugh than the person listening
* Women laugh more than men
* Men are attracted to women who laugh a lot
* Laughing is the only form of communication that is truly spontaneous

Interesting facts about Janny

As of 6/27/2005 7:54:52 PM CDT
Janny is 27 years old.
Janny is 326 months old.
Janny is 1,418 weeks old.
Janny is 9,922 days old.
Janny is 238,147 hours old.
Janny is 14,288,874 minutes old.
Janny is 857,332,492 seconds old.

There are 305 days till my next birthday
on which my cake will have 28 candles on it.

Those 28 candles produce 28 BTU's,
or 7,056 calories of heat (that's only 7.0560 food Calories!) .
You can boil 3.20 US ounces of water with that many candles.

My birth tree is Walnut Tree, the Passion
Unrelenting, strange and full of contrasts, often egoistic, aggressive, noble, broad horizon, unexpected reactions, spontaneous, unlimited ambition, no flexibility, difficult and uncommon partner, not always liked but often admired, ingenious strategist, very jealous and passionate, no compromises.

The moon's phase on the day I was
born was waning gibbous.

Underpaid and Underappreciated?

I found an opinion piece in today's New York Times about the problems with teachers being underpaid. It is from an American perspective but still applicable to Canada.
Reading, Writing and Retailing By DAVE EGGERS, NINIVE CALEGARI and DANIEL MOULTHROP

I was checking out Manolo's Shoe Blog and found a link for In Souls. I was reminded of a story:

Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. "It is written," he said to them, " 'My house will be called a house of prayer,'but you are making it a 'den of robbers.'" Matthew 21:12&13 (New International Version)

Children's Books Meme

My sister issued a challenge to list what books from the Teachers' Top 100 Books
I read about 33. I may have read more of them but these are the ones I remember reading. Which ones have you read?

1. Charlotte's Web by E. B. White (9-12 years)
3. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss (4-8 years)
4. The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss (4-8 years)
5. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (4-8 years)
6. Love You Forever by Robert N. Munsch (4-8 years)
8. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (Baby-Preschool)
11. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown (Baby-Preschool)
13. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis (9-12 years)
14. Where the Sidewalk Ends: the Poems and Drawing of Shel Silverstein by Shel Silverstein (All ages)
17. Oh, The Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss (4-8 years)
20. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? by Bill Martin, Jr. (Baby-Preschool)
22. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams (4-8 years)
25. How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss (4-8 years)
26. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka (4-8 years)
28. Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder (9-12 years)
30. The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne (4-8 years)
40. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder (9-12 years)
42. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien (Young Adult)
56. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume (9-12 years)
57. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary (9-12 years)
62. One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss (4-8 years)
67. The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter (4-8 years)
70. Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery (9-12 years)
73. The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper (4-8 years)
74. The Cay by Theodore Taylor (Young Adult)
75. Curious George by Hans Augusto Rey (4-8 years)
78. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson (9-12 years)
80. Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder (9-12 years)
84. Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish (4-8 years)
85. Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh (9-12 years)
94. Clifford, the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell (4-8 years)
99. Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney (Baby-Preschool)
100. The Paper Bag Princess by Robert N. Munsch (4-8 years)

AFI 100 Years...100 Quotes

My favorite movie quote is from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Marilyn Monroe's character is trying to find out if a gentlemen is rich (and thus suitable to marry her friend).

Lorelei Lee: I've been wondering, what's your line Mr. Malone?
Ernie Malone: My line? My most effective one is to tell a girl she has hair like a tortured midnight, lips like a red couch in an ivory palace that I'm lonely and starved for affection. Then, I generally burst into tears. It seldom works.

What is your favorite movie quote? Discuss.

How ya feelin'?

Hot, Hot, Hot

Supposed to be even hotter today than yesterday. I was so hot last night as I tried to fall asleep, I covered my feet in a cold, wet towel. At least it is supposed to be cooler the next two days. I plan to not turn on the oven today.

My job prospects are rather depressing. I have not had a teaching position to apply for in weeks. I have not had a single interview for any of teaching positions I have applied for. I have no idea what to do with my life. People tell me I need to get a full time job (like I am choosing subbing over a contract). What happened to this alleged math teacher shortage?

I read an interesting article about Nick Ray in the Vanity Fair Hollywood edition. He wrote and directed Rebel Without a Cause. It was interesting to find out the story that he wanted to make (which could never be made in the 50s). The resulting story still had parents freaking out.

Silly Janny

So what is Janny doing on this first day of summer? Baking pies at 11pm, logically. I thought to myself, "Self, it is still 24C at 11pm, time to bake some pies." Actually the ladies where making pies at the church tonight. Ang and I promised to take some home, bake then freeze them. It just happens to be a bad day to be baking pies (on a hot day with no air conditioning). Ang's logic is "It can't get any hotter". I have all windows in the house open. There is a nice cross breeze so it isn't that bad. It is supposed to rain tonight. Hopefully it doesn't before I go to bed.

I might be in trouble...

They are updating the Canadian Copyright Act. First reading of the ammendments(pdf) happened yesterday.

Wave of Babies

Issue 9 of Teen Girl Squad!
It's Over!

Centrifugal Bumblepuppy anyone?

As if I was not freaking out enough that our society was getting closer to a Brave New World when I read this article: British Team grow sperm and eggs from stem cells. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! I am freaking out!

Movies I want to see but have not gotten around to yet

Garden State: I own this movie but have not even taken it out of the package yet. I bought it about a month ago but misplaced it for awhile. I have not been in an emotional space to be able to watch it yet. Just ask my sister or Ky that I have to be in the right mood to watch certain movies. Hopefully I can watch it soon.

Coffee and Cigarettes: Ever since I saw the trailer for it, I wanted to see it. I keep on forgetting to look for it at the video store.

The United States of Leland: I promised my sister that we would watch it together and we have not got around to it yet.

Spiderman 2: Everyone I knew that wanted to see this movie, saw it without me. So I had no one to go to it with in the theatres. I have not gotten around to renting it. Since I have moved to Saskatoon I have viewed disproportionately less movies.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: I showed up late to see some of my friends watching this movie. I caught the end of it. I might just have to rent it myself.

Donnie Darko: Director's Cut: I have seen the version that was released in theatres. Apparently the directors cut is much longer and makes more sense. Recently I had someone highly recommend that I check out the director's cut.

Big Fish: I saw the beginning of this movie. Maryanne and Christopher rented it. I was so tired I could not stay awake. You know I must be pretty tired if I cannot stay awake to watch a good movie. It was due back the next day so I never did get to finish it.

The Big Lebowski I need to know what people are talking about. Besides, a movie about bowling? You can't go wrong. Oh, maybe you can.

I'm sure there are more that I cannot think of right now.

oh great, not again

As I was washing my hands with a bar of soap, it slipped out of my hands, hit the counter and slide into the garbage. I guess that is not as bad as in the toilet.

Book Meme

Last book I bought: That is a really tough one since I have had to get my book buying under control. I have so many partially finished books I decided I wasn't allowed to get any new ones until I finished them all. The most recent one I remember buying is The Information by Martin Amis. It was a replacement copy since I lost my original copy during university. I have received others more recently as presents.

Last book I read: the last book I finished reading was The Five Love Languages
by Dr. Gary Chapman. I finished it last week.

Book I am reading now:Brief History of Infinity: The Quest to Think the Unthinkable by Brian Clegg. It is a little mind-boggling so you can't read a lot at a time.

Next book I plan to read: There are a couple that I have started that I wanted to finish. I probably will finish reading The Golden Ratio : The Story of PHI, the World's Most Astonishing Number by Mario Livio.

Five books that mean a lot to me:
(in no particular order)
1. In School by Ken Dryden
2. I Want to Go Home! by Gordon Korman
3. The Bible (of course)
4. Introducing Fractal Geometry by Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon. All I have to say is as John Archibald Wheeler, protege of Niels Bohr, friend of Albert Einstein and mentor of Richard Feynman has said, “No one will be consider scientifically literate tomorrow, who is not familiar with fractals.”
5. Breakfast at Tiffany's : A Short Novel and Three Stories by Truman Capote. I used to love the movie until I read the real story. The movie was accurate of the book except it left out the beginning and end (which changes everything). There was no happily ever after.

I want to hear from you now.

I found a website that has video clips of Vince Vaughn you can download. I spent my morning downloading and watching select clips. Highlights include:
* Vince kissing Craig Kilbourn's hand
* Sketches from his SNL appearance (with him and Will Ferrel acting like cats)
* Late, Late Show promo with Janeane Garofalo
* Dwight Yoakham's video for "These Arms"

I think I need to go to the doctor about this cold of mine. It has gotten worse.

Try to keep up with me on this one...

Warning: There will be a lot of pop culture references in the blog. So amateurs try to keep up with me, you are going to get yourself an education.


My newest and greatest obsession is the TV show Veronica Mars. It is absolutely fabulous. It is clever, funny whodunit kind of show. Here is what you need to know.
1) Has been called "Twin Peaks for the teen set".
2) Great lines like "Go small blond one! Annoy like the wind". (Guess what my new favorite line for Angela will be?)
3) Surprising evidence that Harry Hamlin can act.
4) Great guest stars like Aaron Ashmore, Tina Majorino, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Joey Lauren Adams and Alyson Hannigan
5) Veronica and her father solve mysteries every week. Her father is a private detective. There are several big mysteries of the season. These will have you hooked.
6) It can current be seen on CTV on Monday nights at 8pm.

The entire season has already been shown on UPN but I don't have that channel anymore. I wish I did then I could watch Dance 360. It is so bad it is great. My only regret is I did not discover it sooner while I had the channel.

OK enough TV ranting, on with the stories of my life.

I am still sick. My throat is not as sore but now it is a head cold. I hope it goes away soon.

On Sunday morning as I was getting ready for church, I moved my Galileo's thermometer out of the sun. It must have slipped out of my hand because it hit the shelf it was on too hard. The bottom broke and the contents poured all over the shelf and the books on the shelf below. Of course I only keep my special books in my bedroom. A used to be perfect 76 year old copy of Homer's Odyssey now has water stains. Fortunately it only effect half the books on the shelf. It makes me sad. The thermometer was a present from my siblings. It was pretty cool. I had just moved it to my bedroom that week. Sigh.

I feel greatly misunderstood. We were playing the game True Colors. The last two times I have played that game I have done poorly. I really feel like everyone has this perception of me that is so far from the truth. Even people who think they know me can be like that. I think part of the problem is that I rarely hear the good things people think of me. It has been getting really hard to deal with lately.

I bought a scanner today. My friend Isaac lent me his scanner in September and I still had it. I offered to day to buy it since he just bought a printer/scanner combo.

My tutoring session for tonight was rescheduled for Sunday. Ang and I invited some friends over to play games. I rule at Quick Scrabble!

My throat hurts. I think Ang is a cold carrier. Lots of people at her work are sick but she is not. I really have only have been at home so I think she made me sick.

Sixteen Candles

Real Men Can't Hold a Match to Jake Ryan of 'Sixteen Candles' - Hank Stuever, Washington Post Staff Writer, February 14, 2004

Mosaic Review

Since neither my sister nor Ky and Lyn did not right a review on Mosaic, I guess I will. Maryanne even promised to do one. For shame!

Last weekend, Regina's multicultural festival Mosaic occurred. Unfortunately, we only went for part of one day and with a large group so it was like Fast Forwarded Mosaic. It is difficult to go to all the pavilions that people want to visit. I wish I could have spent more time at each place. I am disappointed that I did not get to see the candle dancers at the Philippine pavilion or the fire eater at the Caribbean pavilion. I had the impression that some people in our group wanted to go to spend the least amount of time at all the pavilions that people in our group wanted to go to. They just wanted to go home (which is OK).

Some general comments and stories about Mosaic:
* Kara almost made herself sick with the goal of eating something at each pavilion.

* It was nice that there was an Irish pavilion this year. They had been shut down a couple years ago due to some rowdiness. Everyone was very well behaved. I enjoyed the Prairie Gaela dancers. We got to see a little bit of the band Crofter's Revenge. They were pretty good. The funniest sign at the Irish pavilion: "If you're smoking you must be on fire".

*Ran into an old friend who used to live across the street from my parents' house. I had not seen her since high school.

*Like always, it was very hot and humid in a lot of the pavilions.

*I accidentally "flashed" some passersby outside the Caribbean pavilion. I had two shirts on and was taking one off. Oops.

*The Scottish pavilion was a blast. We arrived just in time to see the highland dancers. It just so happened that where we were standing was the perfect spot to listen to the Celtic band Celtae. We were right at the front. Of course, we were right in the middle of the rowdies but they were hard to avoid there. The finale with the police, all the dancers and the pipe band was cool as always.
One of the reasons we wanted to stay for the band was because of two cute guys in the band. While they performed, the cute drummer kept on looking at Shannon and the cute lead singer/guitarist kept on looking at Lyn. And who was looking at Janice you ask? Well, the overweight security guard with the handlebar mustache of course. Story of my life.
An unfortunate side note about the Scottish pavilion: only Lyn, Shannon and I were there. Bronwyn, Lyn and I arrived there first. Shannon got in but the others did not because there were too many people already in the building. Shannon, Lyn and I wanted to stay but Bronwyn wanted to go home. She left her car with us and was going to catch a ride with the girls waiting outside. Or we thought were waiting outside. The pavilion was so noisy I did not hear my cell phone ringing. After we left, I noticed that I had voice mail. The first message was my sister calling to say that they were leaving. The second one was Bronwyn wondering what happened to the other girls. She eventually called her brother for a ride home.

My apologizes for not updating my blog in awhile. All I had really done lately is work and look for work.

I'm such an idiot

I accidentally dropped a brand new roll of paper towel in the toilet.

I just got a call from the principal at the school I subbed at yesterday. Her and the teacher I subbed for are annoyed with me. They think I am not qualified to teach information processing classes. That is outrageous. I have all the computer teachers at two other schools who request me as a sub every time they are absent. They seem not to have a problem with me.

The problem is that the absent teacher yesterday wanted me to teach a lesson on queries in Microsoft Access. I spoke with her and my understanding was she had everything I needed for the class in a big binder in the classroom. There was absolutely no information about what specifically I was supposed to do (a common theme for the day). She told me about some other work they could work on instead so I made a call. I had no time to prepare a lesson (I had no computer access anyway) from scratch. Now I have the principal yelling at me on the phone telling me that I was misleading by saying that I could teach the class. She advised me that I should take info pro off of the list of classes I can teach.

Now here is my rant about the teacher I subbed for and school I was at yesterday. The teacher has taught for over 25 years and she is a bad teacher. She stands there and lectures at the students and that is it. The students are bored and don't learn anything. You think you would clue in to the problem since it is a school with over 800 students and they only have a single IP class. It has less than 20 students and it is an IP 10/20/30 class. The majority of the class is in IP 10. I had a larger class than that in a high school whose population was around 100 students. On top of that there is only one computer science class. This teacher is probably teaching the same things to her students as she did 10 years ago.

The Hilarious House of Frightenstein

My sister sent me this awesome CBC Kid's TV Quiz. While taking the quiz she found the name of the TV show I have been trying to remember for ages --The Hilarious House of Frightenstein. it was thoroughly awesome.

Janny meets the Queen

Remember people, the Saskatchewan Centennial Gala is televised on CBC on Thursday evening. Most parts of the country show it at 8pm. My mom & myself are in a choir singing at it.

Argh

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
I just felt like a shout. Trust me, it is very therapeutic. Give it a try.

strange talents

I seem to be very good at estimating how tall people on TV or movies are. Recently I estimated that Logan on Gilmore Girls was approximately my height. According to IMDB he is a 1/4" taller than me, freaky. Considering I've never meet the dude, I'd say that was a very good guesstimate. Previous correct predictions include John Cusack. If only my talents had some useful purpose.

"All I'm saying is he needs a haircut! Looking all homeless, and stuff!"

I had a request recently to find the Brian Fellow's skit from when Matt Damon was on. I could not find it on video but I found the transcript. My understanding is that the "Best of Tracy Morgan" has the skit on it.

Pet Peeve

I hate it when people touch the controls in my car. If you are too hot, too cold, don't like the music or think the music is too loud, that's fine -- ask me first. I am usually accommodating to people who travel with me. Think of it this way, would you go and change the thermostat in someone's house without asking?

All Used Up - now in colour!

Note to friends and family

I am getting annoyed that no one emails or calls me any more. People only seem to communicate with me through my blog.

916-Call-Turk!

I had heard about this number being a real phone number that will call the set of Scrubs. I found a special feature showing the cast answering the phone calls.

My new favorite beverage is water with tangerine slices. Sometimes I add lemon juice to. Delicious.

I am absolutely sick with worry and it is not my fault at all. I just have to clean up the mess. I emailed the local youth group to get exact numbers for wall climbing this Saturday. If there were going to be 15 people or more we were going to have to book in advance. By the time we needed to know we only had 6 people for sure. Without figuring out what other people might come it was still below 15. That was then, this is now. In the last 12 hours the numbers have increased to a possible 17. We are in so much trouble. I am waiting to here back if we can still book. They may not be able to accommodate that large of group at short notice. So then what? I hate irresponsible people. I am almost wishing we cannot go to teach people a lesson.

On Monday my friend Laurel came into town for the day with her baby Kayce. She was there to pick up a friend at the airport. She came early so we could spend the afternoon together. She took me out for dinner for my birthday and then we spent the afternoon shopping. Kayce is so precious. She is only 5 weeks old but has a full head of hair.

I worked two days this week at the school at Asquith. Of course the days I was was booked for them were the only days when Saskatoon Public called me for work. I feel bad turning down work but I was already booked. Would have been nice to work 4 days this week instead of 2.

I really enjoyed my time at Asquith school. On Tuesday I was in a grade 6 classroom. They were a little lively at time but it is too be expected, they are in grade 6. Today I was in for a math/computer teacher. It was a really nice day. The principal adores me. She asked if I can come back later this month. She was the administrator who interviewed me for the subbing position. At the interview she told me she wished she could hire me full time.

I had a sleep over last night. I met my friend Ky yesterday at the university. I invite her over to my place to watch some Gilmore Girls episodes she had not seen. I didn't think we could finish them before prayer meeting so I invited her to sleep over. I dropped her off on my way to Asquith this morning. It was good to spend time with her.

"What came first, the music or the misery?"

A quote from High Fidelity comes to mind tonight as I convince myself I should never listen to music again:
"What came first, the music or the misery? People worry about kids playing with guns, or watching violent videos, that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?"

three cubed

To comment on my sister's mention of my birthday. I did not mention it for two reasons. First, I don't like celebrating birthdays. It isn't any sort of accomplishment. You just went another whole year without dying. Maybe when living another year is an accomplishment I'll celebrate it. Second, I don't feel like I have whole lot in my life to celebrate. Things like wedding anniversaries should be celebrated. Marriage is a lot of work and worth celebrating.

Things I learned this year in no particular order:
1) I am a music elitist.
2) There is no media conspiracy.
3) Some battles are not worth fighting.
4) Forgiveness is a choice you continually have to make.
5) You cannot lighten hair dyed black.
6) Life is never what you expect it to be.
7) God will humble the proud heart.
8) Patience is easier said than done.

I'm sure I learned some other things but I can't think of them right now.

woot! woot!

The Firefly movie Serenity trailer is online. Check it out. I'm so excited.

Side note to Dad: No this show is nothing like My Pet Monster. You are thinking of the show Sliders.

Brain Ouches

I tutored Calculus for 6 hours straight today. Didn't think I was going to be tutoring for that long. A combination of not eating supper when I should have and 6 hours of Calculus has made me spacey.

I need to prepare the pot roast for tomorrow. We invited my aunt, uncle and household over for supper. My cousin/roommate is going to turn on the crock pot when she gets up in the wee smalls of the morning. I am supposed to working on it right now. I think I should have a shower before I start using a large chef's knife. I'm a little out of it to be chopping vegetables.

"I dreamt about this but without the cold cuts"

There was a cute boy on the Daily Show tonight. His name is Reza Aslan and he is a religious scholar. He was promoting his new book about Islam. He used phrases like "clerical oligarchy". Ooooooooo. Hottest religious scholar I've ever seen. You'd expect someone with more wrinkles and excess hair of the nose and ears.

We had a planning committee meeting for the youth retreat our church will be hosting next month. We almost have the classes figured out. We got a lot done so it makes me feel much better about it.

Random news

Both of the people I was supposed to tutor tonight canceled because of illness. Very strange. I suspect a conspiracy but I don't think they know each other.

I decided I love the music from Match Game. It is pretty funky.

Mix CD

Sorry it took so long to finish this. Some of these were harder choices than choosing my minor in university.

1) A favorite political track. "Sleep Now in the Fire" - Rage Against the Machine

2) One of those tracks that make you dance on the dance floor no matter what. "Don't Leave Me This Way" - Thelma Houston

3) The song you?d use to tell someone you love them. "All I Want is You" - U2

4) A song that has made you sit down and analyze it?s lyrics. "Wheat Kings" - Tragically Hip

5) A song that you like, that a two year old would like as well - Spiderman theme song

6) A song that gives you an energy boost. "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" - The Darkness

7) A song that you and your grandparents (would probably) like. "God Has No Mistakes" - Loretta Lynn

8) A song that you really liked when you were 14-16, and still really like now. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" - Nirvana

9) A sad song that would be in the soundtrack of the movie about your life. "Pitseleh" - Elliot Smith

10) A peppy song that would start the opening credits of the movie about your life. I'm pretty sure any movie about my life would not have peppy opening credits. My sister would say "Short Skirt, Long Jacket" - Cake

11) A good song from a genre of music that no one would guess that you liked. "Guilty Conscience" -Eminem & Dr. Dre

12) A song that you think should have been playing when you were born. "Embryonic Journey" - Jefferson Airplane. I think all babies should be born to this song.

13) A favorite artist duo collaboration. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" - George Harrison with Eric Clapton on guitar

14) A favorite song that you completely disagree with (politically, morally, commonsenically, religiously etc.)"Crash Into Me" - Dave Matthews Band

15) The song that you like despite the fact your IQ level drops several points every time you listen to it. "Every Rose Has Its Thorns" - Poison

16) Your smooth song, for relaxing. "Sweet Mountain Honey" The Steve Miller Band

17) A song you would send to someone you hate or are mad at. "Liar" - Henry Rollins

18) A favorite track from an outfit considered a ?super-group.? "Mysterious Ways" - U2

19) A song that makes you reminisce about good times with a family member. "Rocky Raccoon" - The Beatles

20) Your favorite song at this moment in time. "Feeling Good" - Michael Buble (or Nina Simone version)

CD mix challenge

Here's a blog meme called the CD mix challenge, to which I have edited to be more appropriate to this group. I hope that you can participate using your own blog.

In Blogspeak, a meme is an idea that is shared and passed from blog to blog, like a question posted in one blog and answered in many other blogs.

So here?s the challenge. From your own musical background, construct a CD song list in the following format. This idea was edited from a meme found here.

1) A favorite political track.
2) One of those tracks that make you dance on the dance floor no matter what.
3) The song you'd use to tell someone you love them.
4) A song that has made you sit down and analyze it?s lyrics.
5) A song that you like, that a two year old would like as well.
6) A song that gives you an energy boost.
7) A song that you and your grandparents (would probably) like.
8) A song that you really liked when you were 14-16, and still really like now.
9) A sad song that would be in the soundtrack of the movie about your life.
10) A peppy song that would start the opening credits of the movie about your life.
11) A good song from a genre of music that no one would guess that you liked.
12) A song that you think should have been playing when you were born.
13) A favorite artist duo collaboration.
14) A favorite song that you completely disagree with (politically, morally, commonsenically, religiously etc.)
15) The song that you like despite the fact your IQ level drops several points every time you listen to it.
16) Your smooth song, for relaxing.
17) A song you would send to someone you hate or are mad at.
18) A favorite track from an outfit considered a 'super-group'.
19) A song that makes you reminisce about good times with a family member.
20) Your favorite song at this moment in time.

I will post my answers later in the week. I hope you post your too.

"So what becomes of you my love" (the song lyric that has been stuck in my head all week)

I wish there was something exciting to report but there really isn't. This has been a pretty non eventful couple days.

I did some tutoring earlier in the week but I have not subbed. I sub on Monday and hope there will be more calls.

It has been really beautiful weather this week. I have gone on a walk around our fake lake three days in a row. It seems a little strange to be walking past a frozen pond in shorts.

I met my cousins at a bakery for dessert yesterday afternoon. We did a little shopping too. I was supposed to hang out with Bronwyn afterward but she was too tired. Oh well.

I went to the doctor yesterday for my allergy shot. He got confused which on he had given me already. He only gave me one of two shots. He didn't want to risk giving me a double dose of one. I have to go back early next week to get both of them.

I went over to visit my friend Jann yesterday and her new baby Kieran. I took over some cream of carrot soup. Her sister and my friend, Kristin, is leaving today so I wanted to visit before she left. We went shopping and I found a cute present for my friend Laurel's baby. Kristin and I came to the conclusion that people we know are out of control having babies. We know 5 people who have babies since January, 3 of those have been in the last couple weeks. There are still a couple more expecting this summer.

I hurt my leg a couple days ago. I was trying to take two full laundry baskets downstairs. I balanced them on a chair while I opened the basement door. The chair and laundry came toppling over and hit the side of my knee. I had already been having problems with my knees and this just made it worse.

I am annoyed with people being rude right now. Some people have little concern for others.

I went to the dentist yesterday. My previous dentist retired so his associate is my new dentist. I recognized his name and assumed I had never met him before. I got to the office and he is a guy I went to high school with. I thought I just recognized the name because he worked in the same office as my former dentist. I went to a big school and we weren't friends or anything. I just recognize him. He told me he could tell I take good care of my teeth. I have to go back today for a cleaning.

I got new glasses today. I had an eye appointment this afternoon and the glasses were ready by 4:30pm. They have magnetized clip on sunglasses. Very fancy. I was hoping to find my old ones but it has been two weeks. I couldn't stand wearing my old ones anymore.

Early this morning my friend Jann had her baby. She woke up at 5:45am at home and had her baby in the hospital by 6:30am. It is a boy named Kieran Aksel. He weighs 8lbs 5oz.

I'm waiting on hearing if my sister is done her thesis yet. This afternoon I stopped by to show my new glasses. She was writing the conclusion.

sorry, it's been so long

Man, it has been a long time since I updated last. Currently I am Regina for the Easter break or what I like to call "no chance for work". A recap of the past couple week...

I have working a lot lately. I subbed more this month than any other month so far. The subbing has gone well and I only had to use my outside voice inside once. I think teaching experience has made subbing much easier for me. I have many new students that I tutor. Right now I have 5 university students, a high school student and 2 grade 7 students. It has kept my evenings very busy. So been subbing and tutoring I did not have much spare time for blogging last week. Please forgive me.

This past weekend I was at a family church camp. I felt so anti-social. I wasn't feeling well so spent most of my time in my room sleeping. The meetings were good.

There was one pretty big event that occurred at camp -- my friend Laurel had a baby. Laurel has been one of my closest friends for my entire life. I was a bridesmaid in her wedding in 2001. She recently moved back to Saskatchewan when her husband Greg got a new job. Her due date was March 31 and she really wanted to come to camp. At her doctor's appointment, he told her to go to the camp, the baby was not coming anytime soon. Three hours after she arrived at the camp, her water broke. Her husband rushed her to the hospital where the doctor was convinced that the baby was going to come quickly. Then nothing happened. They had to induce her the next day and then nothing happened. They had to try vacuum assisted birth and nothing happened. They had to do a c-section because the baby was in distress by this time. Around 11pm on March 24, Kayce Elizabeth was born. She is 9lbs 2oz and 22 inches long. A big baby especially for a girl. Greg, her father, is an engineer so I'm convinced she is good at spacial reasoning. She was ready to be born and thought "Me, going out that way, ain't happening." Smart girl. She is adorable. I visited them in the hospital on Sunday evening.

In other waiting for babies news:
Also this past weekend, my cousin Heidi went to labour also at the camp. She is 8 months pregnant. She was rushed to the hospital. They were able to stop the labour. She is able to go home.

My friend Jessica is also pregnant (who was not at camp) and is way past over due. I heard if she didn't have the baby soon they were going to induce her. I'm still waiting to hear news.

I am also waiting to hear news about my friend Jann who was due this past weekend. She wishes she could have been at camp but couldn't if they baby wasn't born yet.

So in summary: the people I know are out of control having babies. There are more that are due later in the year.

So that brings me to now. I am in Regina visiting my family. My parents brought my grandma home with them after the camp. She is going to be here for a couple weeks. I don't feel so guilty about not getting to visit her at camp.

"Paging Dr. Mary, Dr. Mary"

Congratulations to my sister for being accepted into the Ph.D. program at University of Victoria. Things are falling into place for Maryanne and Chris.

My eyes are so tired from wearing my old glasses. They are way weaker than my new ones. I might even have to break down and wear my contacts tonight when I go out. I hope they find my glasses at the doctor's office. I hate my old glasses. I wore them for 2 years and never got used to the dark plastic frames. If I don't find my glasses I won't be able to afford new ones. I will have to get new lenses for my old frames. Sigh.

Tonight a group from my church would like to visit the place we are having a youth retreat for May Long Weekend. Before we can go ahead with planning the activities we need to see the place. We have a planning meeting on Saturday.

"My Shangri-La beneath the summer moon, I will return again"

It has been a strange day in Jannyville.

I was awoken this morning at 8:35 by the emergency dispatch system looking for a sub for the whole day. School had already started but they had just got the call. I arrived shortly after 9:30 only to be informed that they didn't need anyone. There was a mix up and another sub was already there. I was informed that I would still be paid and I would work for the morning filing cumulative files. So I was paid for a full day of work to file for a half a day. Unusual but I'm not complaining (except for my back which is killing me). Even more unusual was that when I got to the staffroom to retrieve my things a teacher was rifling through my lunch. She was alone in the room and when I walked in she sees me and proclaims "This isn't my lunch!". Well, duh. Yours was right beside you in a plastic grocery bag and you were looking in a cloth red lunch bag. The principal said that sometimes lunches get stolen but I thought he was joking.

I woke up from my nap this afternoon and to my surprise it had snowed. The ground was completely covered from the time I got home to the time I left again two hours later to go to the doctor.

As I waited for the doctor I was trying to read The Odyssey. The attempt at reading was unfruitful the TV was on near me with a loud kids' cooking show called Edible Incredible. I took off my glasses while I was reading and I have no idea what happened to them. I don't know if I took them with me to the doctor's office or left them in the waiting room. I realized they were gone when the doctor came in. The nurses and I searched everywhere and I never did find them. I left my name and number and they said they'd call if they found them. Oy with the poodles already!

I'm pretty sure I am never going to get these German songs out of my head. I've had a song about a pretty little bird stuck in my head for the last 24 hours.

I almost got in a car accident tonight. My roommates and I were on our way home from a friend's house when a mini-van coming from the other direction started turn left and stopped right in our lane. It is a good thing that my car has good brakes and I have quick reflexes. My roommates were a little freaked out but I was surprisingly calm.

Things are better between my roommate and I after our "altercation" last night. She barely spoke to me for most of the day. We watched our tape of Alias tonight. As we watched the show we started talking again.

Fun task

Thanks for the suggestion Maryanne

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.
5. Don?t search around and look for the ?coolest? book you can find. Do what?s actually next to you

The nearest book:A Return to Modest by Wendy Shalit
Fifth sentence:"Mostly I was afraid I'd get pregnant"
I plan to not explain the context.

If you do not have a blog you can email me your sentence.

"It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me"

I have German songs stuck in my head. I had my concert tonight with the symphony. We also had a dress rehearsal this afternoon which equates to a lot of singing this past week.

After the concert, my friend Ky and I went to our church for a games night that was already in progress. The only played one game called Quiddler (a word scramble-type game). My roommate had a bit of tantrum at the beginning of the game when she found out she couldn't make a certain play. She freaked out on the owner of the game. She was being rather rude. I told her that she didn't need to get so upset and it was just a game. She looked away and made a motion with her hands like I was "yapping" too much and she was not listening. I very sternly told her never to do that to me again. She is older than me but she certainly was not acting like it. Later at least she admitted she threw a tantrum but apologized to no one. The ride home was very quiet. Normally she is rather talkative. The only time she is ever quiet is when she knows she is wrong or has done something she knows she shouldn't have.

My parents came up for my concert. Between the dress rehearsal and the concert, I met my parents for supper. After the concert they came to the games night as well.

Horrible Adventures in Hair

Last night my friend Bronwyn tried to lighten my hair and it went horribly. It wasn't her or my fault. I dyed my hair in October and only my roots changed color. My roots were dark blond. We went and got more hair dye but that only dyed my roots red. I went back to the drug store today and got "soft black" hair dye. That was the only color close to my natural color that would cover everything. I currently am deep conditioning my hair to counteract the over processing.

Happy Procrastination Week!

This used to be my favorite procrastination site:Ze's Page. You need to check out "How to Dance Properly".

Post your favorite procrastinate link.

Hotmail aka the email tease

Hotmail keeps on telling me I have new email when there is none. I get excited "Yes! Email!" only to come crashing down when I realize there is none. Booo. Just right now I had new email but it was only Hotmail member services. Double Booo.

I have been so forgetful tonight. As I entered the Education building at the university, I realized I left my choir music in the car. After choir I left my music in the auditorium.

Practice was horrible tonight for me. I was standing beside this woman who I am convinced has never been to practice before. She was singing the songs so poorly it was completely messing me up. I in turn messed up Ky. It was a viscous circle. I remember to avoid that woman in the future.

same old, same old

Friday night my friends and I greeted my friend Tina at the airport. It is her spring break this week and she is visiting until Thursday. Her plane was supposed to get in at 11:30pm but was delayed and didn't arrive until 12:15am. We were the "jerks" at the airport. We had a big banner that we wrapped Tina in after she walked through the gate. It was pretty silly. My sister came up to visit on Saturday to see Tina.

I subbed again today. Four days in a row, a new record. It was mostly math and computer classes but the last class of the day was drama 9. I was a little worried about drama because I have no experience teaching it at all. When I arrived at the auditorium there was a student-teacher there who volunteered to run to the class. She made them do these relaxation exercises and two girls feel asleep. It was very funny. The two girls are identical twins and one of them is named Xochitil (pronounced ?Sochee?). I had never heard that name before.

More Amusing Oscar Pictures

A roaring Rosario Dawson.


Elton John and Elizabeth Taylor and a very scary birthday cake.


Oscar's Grandmother


Farnsworth Bentley and Sean Combs. I love dapper men!


Scarlett Johansson - I'm not sure why people said she looked good at the Oscars.

There were some panicked moments last night for me. I received the official call for subbing for the rest of the week when the dispatch system hung up on me. It never called me back. I left a message at the emergency desk explaining what happened. I was scared that someone else got the assignment. The lady called me in the morning and entered everything in manually.

I went to the doctor today for my first shot. I thought I was going to set up the paper work so an RN could give me the shot. It turns out they no longer have an RN at that office so I have to make an appointment. The doctor made me wait a half hour after the shot. He was worried I was going to go into anaphylactic shock. I have had these shots for more than 4 years I do not think now I will suddenly develop an allergic reaction to it.

My friend Tina is coming to visit tomorrow. She is staying until Thursday. My sister is coming on Saturday morning to see her. I have lots of house work to do.

What happened to everybody? No one has left a comment forever and a day.

I just got off the phone with the man I subbed for this morning. I will be in for the rest of the week but only for the mornings. He is a man who works part-time because he has MS. He is having a bad week. He told me that it is so bad he can't even scratch his face. :( Poor man. I'm sad he has to go through that but I'm am glad to have the work. The vice principal is going to see if she can find more classes for me to cover.

My allergies have been horrible the last while. I have to go back onto immunotherapy shots. I had been taking drops but they have not been working as well. My family doctor moved away so I start to see a new one tomorrow and get my shots set up. Fun times getting a shot in the arm.

My new nickname is Thelchtereia (enchantress) because recently a young man called myself and my friends sirens. All of us have siren names now.

Finally I can say something about it...

Last week I had an interview at a educational software company. The interview went really well but I felt uneasy about it. The job is in a different city. The next day I was subbing and I realized that I would miss being in a school too much. I got a call today to tell me that I have been shortlisted for the position. I informed them I was no longer interested in the position. It has been absolutely stressing me out.

Oscar Silliness

I have felt a little aimless lately. I don't want to talk about it though. On with the silliness.

I did not have the patience to watch the Oscar's this year but the pictures from it always amuse me.

Winner Brad Bird polishing his Oscar



Samuel L. Jackson peeking around the corner. It seems to be the new award show trend.

Robert Richardson - winner of "Best Supporting Magician"

Apologies, Apologies

Sorry I have not updated my blog much this week. I have not felt up to it. It is been a strange week.

A brief overview of my week:
- had a dinner party on Tuesday and it was awkward
- subbed on Friday and had a modified math class that entirely consisted of grade 9 boys. That is cruel and unusual punishment because grade 9 boys are a special breed of stupid. It was a good day though and had no problems.
- had a girls' night on Friday we called boys we knew and sang to them
- watch my brother play soccer
- almost finished the mural at church

The rest of my time in Regina was rather nondescript. Glad to see the family but not really story worthy.

When I got home to Saskatoon there was a message from the vice principal at Allen School. She said she would like for me to come in for all day Monday and I needed to call her by 11. I called her at 10:30 and she had already found someone else. If I would have phoned her 15 minutes sooner I could have work on Monday. Not much I can do.

Last night while I was trying to get to sleep I had the song "Die Harmonie in der Ehe" (Harmony in Marriage) stuck in my head. It is one of the pieces from choir. Nothing like a German song about a husband and wife who like to count money to help a girl go to sleep. I woke up at 5:30am with the song still in my head. I couldn't get back to sleep so I watched TV.

Hopefully we are having company over for supper. I have only told a few people so I hope the others can still come.

grrr

I went to the allergist today. He told me I need to start allergy shots again. Right now I have these drops that I take but they seem to be rather ineffective.

After my appointment I did a little shopping. I bought a bamboo cutting board, marble mortar and pestle, a pizza cutter and ice cream scoop. My other ice cream scoop bit the dust on Sunday. I can't wait to use my mortar and pestle; I've always wanted one.

My newest amusement is Pseudodictionary.com.

Congratulations to my sister on finishing the first chapter of her thesis.

I just found out that this summer my friends Dave and his wife Catherine are moving to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. That is insane. They will be both teaching at an English private school for a minimum of two years. Right now they live in rural Nova Scotia. I am convinced I will never see them again.

Today is the first day of my "no possibility of work" week. The schools around here have the week off so teachers can attend convention.

Yesterday Ang and I invited people over for lunch. There were about 8 of us. We played games for most of the day including Tribond, Canasta and Trivial Pursuit. I continue my sucking streak in Trivial Pursuit. I don't know what happened to me. It seems like the last couple times I have played everyone else but me gets questions I know the answer to.

I leave for Regina tomorrow. Hopefully fun and good times will be had.

For those interested parties

For those fans of the show "Lost", here is a fansite for Charlie's band Driveshaft.

Sorry about taking so long for my next posting. I had just been so down about not working I didn't feel much like it. However that has changed...

My friend/cousin Ky and I had made plans for me to stay over at her place on Wednesday night. Her roommate is out of town on a ski trip and I was going to keep her company for at least one night. As I was getting ready to go, I got a call from the Saskatoon Public automatic dispatch system (ads) asking me to sub on Thursday. Even though I was going to work the next day, I still went. It might have been a mistake because I got a horrible sleep. Of course with my track record lately I might have slept horribly at home.

The sub placement was for senior math and calculus. The calculus class had 47 students! Definitely the biggest class I have ever taught. The day went well. I even got to teach lessons for 3/4 of the classes which makes it a little more exciting than just supervision. The staff was the friendliest that I have encountered so far. I hope I get to work there again soon.

When I got home from school one of our new cable boxes was not working at all. I called the technical support line and we were not able to remedy the situation over the phone. They were going to send a repairman the next day. We arranged for him to come on Friday morning. I set my alarm for 8am (the earliest he could show up).

My phone rang at 6:30am, it was ads again. I was quite prepared to have to change the time when the service person was going to come by. When I checked the assignment it was only for the afternoon. So it worked out to do both. Of course I could not get back to sleep until right before my alarm went off. After the repairman had come and gone I was able to go back to sleep for another hour.

I was a little nervous about subbing yesterday afternoon. It was the afternoon before the week long winter break. Students (and teachers) can be a little crazy. Both classes had assignments to finish before the end of the day. The only people who were done we the "good" students. It was a very quiet afternoon. The last class was so uneventful and quiet that I read drafting manuals to keep from falling asleep.

Around supper time I was starting to get a headache. I took it easy last night. I watched a little TV then went to bed early. I slept 10 hours last night. I needed it.

Tonight, we finish the mural at the church.

Chocolate was a bad idea.

Stephanie, Joel and I were the only ones that showed up for the afternoon shift for painting the mural. We stopped working around 5. We picked up subway for supper and played canasta until it was time for the young people's meeting.

Once everyone was there we got a lot of work done on the mural. We are nearly done now.

argh

I only got two and a half hours of sleep last night. I do not know what my problem is. It is 6:30 am and I have been wide awake for an hour and half already. I took a Claritin Liberator yesterday morning. I have felt buzzy since supper time. One of the rare side effects is "unusual excitement, nervousness, restlessness, or irritability" but that is not really how I feel. I have dry mouth and I know that is from the Claritin but it has never effected my sleep before.

After days and days of beautiful weather, it is cold again. A lot of the streets were clear and today we got 10 cm of snow. I got stuck in my parking lot twice.

My cousins Bronwyn and Lyn came to the city for the weekend. They met me at a restaurant for supper then they came over to my place for part of the evening. Bron and I played scrabble. I was being dreadfully boring. I had horrible tiles so I was taking forever for each turn. I finally told Bronwyn that she could go into the living room and visit during my turns.

Tomorrow I am supposed to work on a mural at the church. Should take up most of the day.

I completely rearranged all my furniture in my bedroom today. It was a monumental task. My bookcase was blocking one of the heating vents and my room has been way too cold the last couple days. I needed a change. I am still not done yet. I need to put everything back on to my bookshelves.

I called Sasktel today and arrange to get cable from them. I had enough from Shaw. Someone is supposed to come Tuesday evening to set everything up.

I have the house to myself tonight. Fun and good times shan't be had.

"Sweet Lincoln's mullet!"

From my point of view, the fondue party was a great success. I even managed not to drop any of my food in the fondue. We had 16 for supper and two that came later. Eating a meal entirely cooked by fondue takes a long time. After the meal we played "I Have Never..." and then four on the couch. Over all a good, fun time.

I am really upset with my current cable provider. Yesterday, without warning, they changed the channel lineup. Now channels we got before, we would have to pay extra. I was already annoyed because they increased the rates last month. I am considering a change.

Today is our big fondue party. We are throwing it to celebrate our friend Kelly's birthday. There is a lot of things to do to prepare: clean the house, prepare the food and finish fondue menus.

On Friday I finally watch the show Numb3rs. It is about an FBI agent (Rob Morrow) who gets help from his genius mathematician brother (David Krumholtz) on cases. I thought it was good but I might be biased due to my undying love for mathematics. My question is when did Fleischman become hot? Maybe it just because he playing a cop.

Casting Tease

So I WILL NOT BE AN EXTRA IN A MOVIE next week. This is sad. I got an email yesterday from the casting director saying she wanted and needed me to work Monday through Wednesday. She was supposed to call me last night with the details about what to wear and when to show up. She never called. When I got home there was an email from her saying they do not need me next week but will need me for the skating scene. I am supposed to call her about it.

I have been sick so I decided to not go to Regina until mid-February. I was overwhelmed with the urge to be responsible. I still need to go for an appointment with the allergist sometime plus I want to see my family.

Last night I went 5-pin bowling. The first game I did poorly, only bowling 106. This is well below average for me. The second game I did much better. I bowled 216 and had 4 strikes in a row. This is my third best score and only the third time I have bowled over 200. Congratulations me! I know I can be a good bowler, I just don't get to do it often enough. A lady who worked there told me that she was sure that there was league bowlers that would pay me to do as well as I was. That was encouraging.

I woke up with a sinus headache this morning. I was still feeling queasy so I took a Dayquil on an empty stomach. I was a little buzzy today. I felt like my brain was detached from my body. Like I was watching someone else's life.

I was so sick last night. I started to feel queasy two days ago. I thought I was feeling better yesterday until after I got home from tutoring. Last night I was running a fever. I felt cold but to touch my skin it felt like it was on fire. I slept with two comforters on my bed last night and wore fleece pjs. I'm trying to take it easy with the eating today.

I got a call from a good friend. She is going to be in the city for the day. I'm going to tag along while she shops.

"Every night has it's dawn"

It is almost finalized for me being an extra in the movie Just Friends. I received an email today from the casting lady. I might be in two scenes. I would do the first one next week on Regina. The next one would be in the middle of February in Moose Jaw. The one in Moose Jaw is an exterior shot and requires extras that can skate. Should be a fun time. My cousin/friend Lyn was supposed to send in her info to be an extra also. I don't know if she has heard back yet. I hope I won't be by myself. We need to have a Janny/Lynnie adventure.

There is a slight chance I might be an extra in a movie. I find out for sure tomorrow morning. I'll keep you posted if I will or not.

The world traveller returns

I typed this big long blog after my trip and then Firefox froze and I lost everything. I have been procrastination since then to write it all over again.

My trip to Calgary was fun. On the way there the roads were not great for about the first 150km of the trip. We ended up taking an hour longer to get there because of the roads. We had supper at 10:30 our time then we went out to met up with our friends.

We got directions to the house where everyone was from the people we stayed with. When we arrived at the house we were unsure if it was the right place because all the lights were off. We walked up to the door and saw people we knew moving around inside. We knew it was the right place. There were some people playing sardines but no one was looking for them. I find that to be rather funny. They were in their hiding spot for a long time before they came out. After some visiting, we went to Denny's to eat.

The next day we went over to our friend John's house to help him fix up his kitchen. After much discussion John decided on yellow, red and caramel for the paint colours. During the day people came and went to see the progress of the kitchen, to visit but to offer little or no help. At 8pm, I stopped working because I was tired and had been working all day. Everyone else had breaks running errands. I left my car and went over to my cousin Stephanie's place. We mostly played games and visited. I was a little disappointed that I missed out on a monopoly game. I did get to play Cranium (Ky was on my team) and we won. The win was cheapened by the fact that we had many of the questions before. At least we won.

The next day at church, I was completely shocked when I was called up to hold the microphone while the children said their verses. My friend John was leading the meeting and when he called my name I was stunned. I figured I must of heard wrong. When no one else was going up I figured it must be me he called. I was so nervous all I could think was "Keep the microphone 2 inches from their mouth". Those years of vocal jazz training have done me well.

After church, people were going to eat at Wendy's. They were going to ministering at a nursing home in the afternoon and the Wendy's is near by. We were following people (boys) there and got lost. They didn't get lost, we got lost. They were racing each other. We were told were the Wendy's was and we thought we knew where to go but we turned the wrong way on a road. We had to call John to ask for directions. We were convinced everyone was going to be gone by the time we got there. Everyone did leave shortly after we arrived but quickly returned. The got a call from the nursing home saying that too many residents had the flu so they were going to cancel for that week. We had a good visit.

It was after 4 when we left Calgary on Sunday. We didn't get home until after midnight.

Monday evening on my way to choir I got stuck in the snow. I live in an area that is right on the edge of town. Last week, with all the snow and wind, we got lots of snows drifts in our area. It took 6 people to get me out. I arrived at choir over a half hour late.

Tuesday evening I tutored twice. My brain was so fried afterwords. For one of my tutees, this was our last time meeting. She had the final for her class on Wednesday.

I found out that the new boy I tutor is the son of a former professional hockey player. He retired from hockey in 1997 and now he is a resort developer. I found out his wife is a cousin to my uncle. It is a small world after all...

Cute Boys: Now Available in Paperback

Reza Aslan was on The Daily Show again. I am so excited! He has my vote for cutest religious scholar ever!

"Everything's so fancy, and there's some kind of hot cheese over there. "

The doctor at the walk-in clinic does not think I am sick. He thinks I just strained my back. Like I don't know the difference between muscles and my innereds hurting. I have not done anything to strain my back anyway. I got some blood work done so we will see what the result is.

I wrote an email to a news program this afternoon. I am disappointed that it did not get read on air. I'll try it again some day.

I just found out my doctor moved to B.C. That was quite sudden. He had been my doctor for 5 years. By chance, we even moved to Saskatoon at the same time. He just moved here in August and he is already gone. I wonder what is the deal with that. I am sad now. He was a great doctor.

"Hahaha. Mine is an evil laugh."

I sent an email to The Hour. I hope it gets read on air. That would be cool.

My kidneys still hurt. It isn't constant but occasionally I am in a great deal of pain.

Yesterday, I intended to go to the bank. It took me so long to scrape the ice off my car I would have never made it there before it closed. I had to run my car for a half hour before I could get the ice off. It was a couple millimeters thick. I hope the weather and road conditions improve so I can go to Calgary this weekend. Fun and good times are promised to be had.

"We will rule over all this land, and we will call it... this land."

My kidneys hurt. Seriously, I am on painkillers because of it. I have been getting very little accomplished as a result. I am putting off going to the doctor. If it gets worse I will.

I seem to have a lot of free time this week. I had choir on Monday night (my new favorite German word is schlangelt). I do not have anything else on the schedule until Friday morning. It is probably for the best since I have been feeling so crummy.

My roommates and I watched 2 episodes of Firefly tonight. We only have about 5 more to go and we would have seen the whole series. I found out this week that the movie based on the show, Serenity, is coming out in September. I plan to watch the episodes with commentary on before then to get a few clues to the mysteries of the show. High excitement.

Amusing Pictures

David Hasselhoff peeking around the corner.


Sean "P. Diddy" Combs eating some ice cream.


Naomi Watts and a man named Juan Valdez (seriously that is his name).

"Doris, I just met a girl name Doris"

We had a girls' night last with the young ladies from my church. We had a pretty fun time. We did facials, manicures and pedicures. I got to know a new girl a lot better last night. She is getting to be much more comfortable around us girls.

I tutored twice today. The one girl I tutored last semester for Stats and now this semester for Calculus. This was our first time meeting today for Calculus. I am so much more comfortable with this subject matter than Stats. Even though it has been 8 years since I took my last Calculus class, it is the only class I have tutored before this year.

Queen of West Procrastination is my sister's new blog. It is pretty funny. You may know her as Sister Mary from the comments on my blog.

What happen to you Mike?

It was even colder today. It was -39C with extremely high winds. It was not a good day for going out but I had to.

I was almost in a car accident with a Staples delivery truck. He was coming the opposite direction trying to turn left onto a busy street. I was trying to go straight and had the right of way. There were lots of cars coming because it was rush hour traffic. He was behind another vehicle and got so impatient he pulled out of the left turning lane and into the lane where you are only supposed to straight. He turned left right in front of the car that was in front of him. He almost hit me and the car trying to turn left. Way to represent your company buddy! I am going to call Staples to complain.

I am so exhausted. I have not gotten a decent night's sleep in days.

Yesterday I subbed out of town. It was forecasted that there was going to be this massive blizzard. It never came. It was cold and windy but no blizzard. The kids were buzzing all day. A couple bus drivers picked up their students in the mid-morning. There was no reason at all for the students to leave. After that no one could get their students to work. The mentality was "My bus is going to pick me up any minute so I don't have to work".

I was supposed to tutor two people last night and two people tonight. I got two cancellations. I appreciate the work but I am so tired that I am glad for the break.

awesome possum

I had my first choir practice of the new term. All of our songs are in German, it is so great. It just doesn't seem like university choir without songs in a foreign language.

I got a call this morning for a potential new tutee. It for a boy in grade 7 whose parents are trying to get him into a private school. I meet with the mom and the boy tomorrow afternoon. From my conversation with the mother, this sounds like this would be a very regular thing for the rest of the year. Their former tutor had to quit because he now employed by the Saskatoon Public Board full time (they have rules that you cannot tutor students in school division if you are employed full time.)

Dancin' like a black bean

I had a pretty good day.

Last night at the young people's meeting the college and career group were not able to meet to plan our activities for the next couple months. We were making thank you cards for the retreat that ended a week ago and things ran a little long. That is ok. The new plan was to meet after church and have lunch together.

The service this morning went really well. It was mostly lead by the new people. They usually have us share what we learned after have been to a camp. I think the best thing happened before service. The doctors think my great aunt had a small stroke in November and she has not seemed like herself the last couple times I had seen her. Today before church I spoke with her a bit and she seemed like her old self. I am so thankful she is doing better. It is a real answer to prayer.

After church we met at my friends Graison and Joel's place. We ordered pizza and then planned activities for until a little after Easter. When we were done, we got into a really good discussion about relationships. This is a continuation of separate girl/ boy discussion groups we had been in at the retreat. I invited anyone who wanted to come over for supper tonight to watch the season premiere of "Alias" (I had it on tape).

At around 6:30 people started showing up for supper (we had a late lunch). We watched an episode of "Firefly" I have on DVD while we were waiting for people to show up. We ended up having 12 for supper. I had already watched the episode of "Alias" but it was a lot more fun with a group of people. We had lots of fun. Before the majority of people left we had a huge group hug. A couple boys stayed after most left and we played Trivial Pursuit. It was a supremely frustrating game for me. I normally do quite well but I kept on forgetting things I know well and getting questions on obscure sport figures. Before we quit I was doing better but I will not admit defeat. I was only one pie piece behind the leader and we never finished. Anything could have happened.

Tomorrow I truly hope I can go out and visit a couple high schools in the city. I keep on saying I will but it doesn't happen.

Me need to sleep.

Hayley Mills, Hayley Mills

I thinking about the movie The Parent Trap (the one from 1961 starring Hayley Mills and Hayley Mills). The parents split up when the twin girls were babies so that is why they do not know each other when they meet. The parents had a stupid argument and pride drove them and kept them apart all of these years. At the end of the movie the parents reconcile, admitting that they never stopped loving each other. I was wondering, could a couple really overcome that many years of hurt? Is it possible to reconcile without the help of Hayley Mills, Hayley Mills and a clever Disney plot?

Paradigms are shifting

The last couple days in my household have been strange. Yesterday I went to work and my roommate was at home (sick). Today all three of us are home because both of my roommates are sick. It is a rarity for all three of us to be home at the same time.

I am going to make cream of carrot soup because my parents, grandma, both roommates and I will be here for lunch.

If Love Were Oil, I'd Be About a Quart Low

Where shall I begin...
My church retreat was good. The classes were very good. Socially it was a little uneventful. I did try to make amends with a former friend so hopefully we can patch things up. We are going to see each other in a couple weeks so that will be the true test.

After the retreat, group of us met at my friends Shannon & Ky's place. There were about 16 of us there and we played Cranium. I had such a good team. (We won, I don't lode board games often). It was really strange because me and my friend Alex seem to have some sort of nexus. We seemed to be the only ones to know what the other was thinking during the game. Alex is a strange duck so that is a little scary for me.

Monday night, me and some friends went to watch a friend's hockey game. She is a 13 year old girl from my church that I tutor. It seems strange to have such a young friend but she is such a sweet girl. I have got to know her quite well since I began to tutor her. I feel like her big sister (she has none). This is the first time I was able to watch her play hockey. The best part about the evening was we were able to embarrass her "thinks he is too cool for words but really a goof ball" 15 year old brother. My friends and I yelled "Woooo Kyle!" as he passed by. His friend (also named Kyle) put his hand on Kyle's shoulder in sympathy.

Tuesday night we had another dinner party at our household. We quite the gang because a guy that likes one of my roommates (don't worry Mike, it is not your wife) and my roommate just wants to be friends. She wanted as much support as she could get. I made stew and apple-pear crisp. The plan was for my friend Ky and I to spend the afternoon together then everyone else be there for supper. She is one of my closest friends and we never have time to hang out just the two of us. Everyone else came early but she came late. We spent the afternoon watching my season 1 DVD of "Corner Gas". All I got to say is "My loins ache for goat felons" (You'd understand the hilarity if you have seen the show).

Wednesday, Ky and I attempted again to hang out with each other. She invited me to her house for the afternoon to watch Superstar and for supper. She was so sick and both of us were so tired. We spent the afternoon trying not fall asleep. I forgot my cell phone at home and I kept getting calls at her house. I probably got more calls at her house than I do at my own house normally in a day.

I cannot seem to shake this cold. *Cough, Cough* It is a little worse today because I subbed in a class with a chalkboard. It is really just an allergy thing. I was at my cousin Pamella's (intentional misspelling) school. I have subbed there before but we have never run into each other. We saw each other twice today and it freaked her out. The only thing I have to say about the rest of the day is in my professional opinion grade 9 boys are idiots. It is a scientific fact.

My mom and dad are stopping by my place tomorrow. They are on their way to take my grandma to North Battleford and to stay for the weekend. I also hope to visit some high schools in the city to introduce myself to the vice principals (the ones who call subs). Hopefully I can start getting more work. Even though at the end of the month the school division is getting an automated system to call subs. The teacher might be able to request a specific sub so it still might be a good idea to do some networking.

Mike, Stephanie and Angela would like to thank you for the pizza. I told Ang you are practicing a love ballad for her but I refuse to tell her which one. She thinks it is "Lost that Loving Feeling". She is so naive.