i was going to tell you all about the Best Salad Ever last night, but i’m still having issues with my webhost’s server relocation. they’re not replying to my emails and i’m really beginning to get pissed off. instead, i’m going to give you the recipe:
The Best Salad Ever
red leaf lettuce, torn to bite-size
radicchio, torn to bite-size
radishes, thinly sliced
sweet red onion, thinly sliced
japanese cucumbers, roughly chopped
orange bell pepper, roughly chopped
tomato, roughly chopped
toss together, and serve with:
1 dollop salsa (i used que pasa mild)
1-2 tbsp roasted pumpkin seeds (i used organic)
1-2 tbsp dressing (i used organic italian with roasted red pepper by simply natural – my new favourite dressing)
dusted with shaved parmesano reggiano cheese
all i can say is that i was sitting there, all alone, moaning every time i took a bite of this amazing meal. holy crap. i’m so glad i made a big bowl, ’cause i get more today for lunch! yay!
in other news, work stuff is getting very exciting and interesting. it won’t be an overnight change, but there’s a definite possibility that i won’t be doing the crap data entry for very much longer. cross your fingers for me, please. this is exactly what i’ve wanted my position to morph into for the last couple of years. now my boss is initiating the changes which should finally get me there. i’m trying not to look too far forward or get too excited, but i can say it’s making getting up at 5:30am a lot easier the last couple of days.
i had a really vivid morgan-dream the other night. i was so happy to have him there, to meet his parents and be in his arms. he had hair in my dream, though, which isn’t too odd considering the first photo i ever saw of him was with a full head of fur. i woke up feeling rather lonely.

while watching big brother last night, i realized that i could never be a contestant on that show. i think i could get used to sleeping with twelve strangers. i think i could get over having cameras record everything i do, twenty-four hours a day. i think i could even play the mental game in order to acheive a half-million dollar success. what i couldn’t deal with, and this would drive me insane, is not being able to write anything for three months.
seriously, they’re not allowed pens or pencils in that house. there is no writing of any sort. i understand why. the producers want the contestants to have to say everything so that they can record it for your viewing pleasure. that’s why you’ll see them with messages to friends and family written on their clothing with mascara or mustard. no paper. no pens. no typewriter. no computer. i think i’d go bonkers.
it may not look like it to the casual reader, but this outlet helps me put a lot of my life into perspective. i spend time thinking how i’m going to present certain occurances in my life. how to describe the actions or feelings of a moment in my life. it helps me to work through difficult issues or cement the more enjoyable memories in my mind.
of course, one could say that i could mentally compose all these things and then just not write them out. well, yeah, i could, but every once in a while i’m unbelieveably clever and if i didn’t have the opportunity to jot that down, i’d forget it and be all sad. i’m not that clever all that often. i feel i must record those moments for posterity, just to prove i was once really witty.
p.s. there’s a link to my rss 1.0 feed over to the left under “things”. all the really cool kids have rss feeds, you know.

crabby girl!
my site is all fucked up depending on how up to date your isp’s dns records are. i can’t tell if mine are lagging behind or everyone else’s are. i’m getting pissed off and i’m just about to start sending nasty ims to my web host proprietors. grr.
i’m wearing a skirt today because i was too lazy to do laundry last night. instead, i made a pot of killer spaghetti sauce. if you want some, come on over tonight, but you have to bring spaghetti because i cooked the last of the pasta to make my lunch. bring some salad, too. and maybe some garlic bread. i have wine and parmesan cheese. we can have a feast!
my sleep was much improved last night. i only woke up twice during the night and my dreams, while still extremely vibrant and involving, weren’t enough to disturb what rest i could gather. i think i’ve solved one of the problems to my sleeplessness by using my last breathe right strip. i guess i’ll stop at the store and buy some more. it really is amazing how much better one can rest when they can breathe properly. i wish they didn’t look so goofy or i’d wear one all the time.

my spanky new sheets

i don’t know where to begin.
spending the weekend with mom was fun. as previously mentioned, i spent a lot of money buying swanky new sheets, some fun, on-sale clothes and flip-flops, none of which i really need, but there’s just something about the island that makes me go shopping. crazy island! we ate the hazelnut mousse cake she “baked” me for my birthday, went to see charlie’s angels: full throttle, had an international I-food night with indian, italian and israeli items on the menu. we even stopped in at the casino where, in 20 minutes, i doubled my money. woot!
i finished harry potter and the order of the phoenix on the ferry home. want me to tell you who dies? *giggle* don’t worry, i’m not that mean. of course, now i have to wait an indeterminate number of years until the next book comes out. grr. remind me never to start an unfinished series again.
i’ve booked my flight and reserved my (very first!) rental car for my 8 days in northern ontario. less than a month to go! i still have to find a dress for the wedding and figure out if they’re getting cash or a real present from the western cousin they see once every seven years. aahh! stress!
morgan has decided that he never wants me to talk to him ever again. i’m sure you’ve all deduced that something went screwy with the visit from the boy. posts appeared then disappeared or were quickly edited. he asked me (and i use that phrase lightly) to not write about him or post my photos which had him in them or he would never talk to me again. i capitulated in the hopes of salvaging a lasting friendship with him. that may have been the wrong thing to do.
i hate that i censored myself and my feelings for him. now that he’s decided he no longer wants any contact from me, i feel free to write as i see fit, without regard for other’s tender underbellies.
that being said, i really don’t have anything to say on the matter. he had much stronger feelings for me than i had for him. i didn’t want him to alter his entire life on the chance that i would maybe come around. the responsibility was too awesome for me to bear. i thoroughly enjoy him in many ways, but i just didn’t feel enough to give him the committment he was seeking. he didn’t like that. he didn’t deal well with that admission. he still isn’t, obviously.
i had hoped that we would stay close friends. we have much fun and there is a lot of comfort when we’re together. he’s a wonderful man and he’s taught me many things i’ll always treasure, but i suspected this decision of his would come eventually. i’m not surprised, nor am i very upset. i wish him speedy healing and much luck and love in his life.

i’m home from visiting my mom, eating birthday cake & shopping, but i can’t see my blog. which is really odd because i can see almost everything else at fubsy.net. if you can see this, please email me. the link is over to the left under “contact”. thanks.
update: okay, i think i’ve figured out what the problem is. i’ve fixed this page, but none of my php-enabled pages are currently working. that means no photo galleries or archives for the time being. i’ll let you know when it’s working after i kick some web host butt.

see the duck?

and suddenly, it’s unbearably hot again. i shouldn’t complain, but i’m so good at it! it’s not really so bad, though. i think i’ve finally gotten my summer acclimation down. as long as i don’t wear any clothes or move from my futon-sprawl, i’m perfectly fine when my apartment is 30°c (86°f). i do miss the sleeping, though.
i’m going out for yet another birthday lunch today. i wonder if i’ll be able to make this birthday stretch any longer. wouldn’t it be neat if i could make it last until my next belly button day?
nothing exciting is going on in my life. i plan on being very boring until september. it’s been really nice enjoying all my free time. i didn’t realize how much i’d gotten used to always having a portion of my brain focussed on schoolwork.
i’ve almost finished order of the phoenix and have plans to finally finish the fiery cross after that. the big plan is to read like a fiend all summer. ahh, reading, i have missed thee.
now i’m just getting goofy. happy friday, everyone. *mwah*

1. Strawberries or blueberries? blooberries! strawberries are good in stuff, but blooberries are better on their own.
2. “Legally Blonde 2” or “Terminator 3”? legally blonde 2. arnie just doesn’t do it for me anymore.
3. Hamburgers or hot dogs? boca burgers, although i’ve just recently started eating veggie dogs again.
4. Boating or hiking? boating, if i had the opportunity.
5. Suntan lotion or sunblock? neither. i don’t really get out in the sun enough to bother.
6. “Big Brother” or “The Amazing Race”? i prefer the amazing race, but i watch them both.
7. Beach Boys or Jimmy Buffett? beach boys. i know not this buffett you speak of.
8. Grow your own produce or buy from supermarket/greengrocer/farm stand? if i had a greenhouse such as we used to have in our backyard, i’d be all over growing my own. now, i buy either from the big grocery store or the farm market near work.
9. Drive with car windows/top down, or with air-conditioning on? windows down, but only because i don’t have a/c.
10. Go away for vacation, or stay at home? a little bit of both. i like to go away for a while and then come home and recouperate for an equal amount of time.
[this-or-that]

the seagull dance

hey, look… it’s another exciting entry about how tired i am! yippee! bleh.
bad news: i poked around the westjet site this morning and discovered they’ve jacked the ticket prices to thunder bay by almost $150 since the last time i was planning my trip. good news: greyhound does have buses to dryden leaving winnipeg which time almost perfectly to flights into/outfrom there so i wouldn’t have to deal with staying overnight if i travel that way.
fuck this chit-chat. i need more coffee.

*gasp*

yesterday turned out to be a pretty fine day. all the attention from my co-workers who missed me last week, a birthday lunch out, cake in the afternoon, a birthday card in my mailbox when i got home and then beer, pool and a lot of anti-subtle innuendo with shane.
actually, the evening with shane very nearly ended before it started. i’m sure i’ve mentioned it before, but i’m pretty much always early. unless we’re talking oversleeping issues on work days (such as today, actually) or uncontrollable traffic incidents, it is pretty much assured i will be early to any appointment or engagement. so, of course, i got to the pub about ten minutes early and grabbed a table and a drink out on the patio, thinking i’d not have very long to wait before i could stop feeling uncomfortable sitting in a bar alone. but, in typical boy fashion, he was late.
so i sat there, listening to almost-drunk guy try to talk the general manager into hiring his buddies and him to play on saturday nights, watching this half-naked girl and her scruffy boyfriend eat extra-crispy chicken wings (sauce on the side) and wrote imaginary lists with my sexxy new pen, all in hopes of not looking like a loser for sitting in a pub alone with a red beer.
eventually, and with ten minutes left in my “thirty minute maximum waiting period”, shane showed up looking all rock-star in his shades. god, how annoying is it trying to have a conversation when someone is wearing sunglasses? you have no idea where their eyes are behind that tinted glass! of course, i’m notorious for doing that. at least my new sunglasses are light enough that you can see my eyes pretty clearly through them. oops, i digressed.
yeah, i have a maximum waiting period. if i’m scheduled to meet with you and you are more than thirty minutes late, i will leave, regardless of any other consideration. i’ve made an effort to be on time and i expect the same respect from you. i don’t think it is too much to ask that someone be on time for a pre-arranged meeting. yeah, sometimes things get get fubared, hence the 30-minute window. after that? it’s probably not circumstance, more likely ill manners.
i almost forgot, but luckily lots of other people are talking about their particpation in 26 things this month. so, who wants to go work on their lists with me on sunday?

here there be (no) bears

have you ever noticed just how sickening flourescent lights are? i’ve spent so much time outside and away from them this last week it was almost painful coming back into the office this morning. i really need to marry rich so i don’t have to work for a living anymore.
the photos were my shorthand way of telling you about my wonderful vacation week. i saw a lot of the north shore and a little of vancouver proper. i ate several wonderful breakfasts out, cheered when vancouver got the 2010 olympic winter games, picked shells from the beach, ate berries from a bush, played darts, taunted wildlife, watched many movies, slept little and kissed lots. it was a very lovely four days.
my birthday was ultra low-key and i’m a little disappointed i didn’t let people make a bigger deal out of it. i got one birthday card in the mail (and one e-card from kaydee – thank you!) and zero cake. luckily, i get one more birthday lunch and i’m guaranteed cake today and this weekend when i go to the island to see mom. dad shocked me last night by giving me enough birthday money to pay for my flight back east. i’m amazingly grateful as i didn’t really know how i was going to be able to afford it once i found out he didn’t have enough airmiles for both our tickets.
tonight, i’m going to play pool with shane and i expect there to be beer and laughing. i need to keep myself a little distracted for the next while. i’m feeling somewhat sad and guilty for how last week ended. it’s all very dramatic and emotional and private. don’t ask, i probably won’t tell.

there are three things i’d like to mention before i probably drop off the face of the earth for the next several days:
– i got 96% on my final exam which means i got 94% in the course. yippee!
secretary is a very, very interesting film.
– i forget what the third one was going to be, so i’ll just say “rabbit, white rabbit” instead.
p.s. happy canada day!

the wonderful jodi chromey sent me this birthday pen

sometimes i don’t think i deserve to have such generous people in my life. the most fabulous and wonderful jodi chromey sent me the sexxy racing car red fountain pen you see pictured above. i very nearly started to tear up when i opened my mailbox. and i even knew to expect it! i don’t know what i’d do if someone were to surprise me with a present. i might just break down completely.
it arrived today, just in time to bouy my spirits. you see, the boy missed his transport to see me. of course, all is not lost, but instead of his arriving tonight he will appear tomorrow morning. at least i’ll get one more full-bed night’s sleep.
the entire weekend, save two evenings spent with my most fabulous of friends, was used in “operation: company’s coming”. my entire apartment has gone through a freakishly thorough cleaning. i borrowed meghan’s über-vacuum and moved all the furniture to get into every corner and crevice. i scrubbed pretty much every bathroom/kitchen surface, i did window and mirrors, i even cleaned out my freezer and microwave.
i think i may have lost my mind.
now, i’m going to settle down to a nice, well-rounded lunch, read harry potter and plot all the annoying, rambling letters i’m going to write to people with my sexxy new birthday pen. whee!

as you may have noticed, i don’t make a lot of commentary on current events or technology news. it’s mostly due to my having a pretty serious case of social apathy and a lack of ability to thoughtfully present my take on issues. if there’s something going which matters enough to me that i need to discuss it, i’m usually too upset about it to discuss it all rationally. i usually just flip it over inside my head a few times and then make a few overly simplistic comments on it while refusing to elaborate for fear of getting too worked up.
that being said, i really did want to mention that this scares me in a lot of ways. i thought biometrics (retina scanning and fingerprint recognition) were going to be the next big privacy risk. boy, was i wrong. the idea that everything i buy could be electronically tagged which, with a network of well-placed transceivers, would enable whomever to track every move i make… ugh.
yeah, okay, it’d be great to be able to find the car which was stolen or the cat which ran away during that big thunderstorm or the kid who was abducted from her bedroom; but, do you honestly think such uses would be the stopping point for this technology? do you trust your neighbours or governments to truly have your best interests at heart when they slowly increase the use of such monitoring?
if you do, you’re not very smart.
fine, call me paranoid if you want, but it’s bad enough i provide safeway with a detailed list of everything i buy each week when i use their savings card to obtain their special prices or let my bank keep records of every transaction i make with my debit card. i don’t want my shoes or the tires on my car telling whichever entity cares to track it about where i’m going or how i’m getting there. it’s none of their fucking business.
okay, i’m getting all worked up. read the articles, make up your own mind. just remember, that if you don’t agree you have every right, and even an obligation, to speak up about it. in situations such as these, silence is the same as consent.

how many of you would be interested in receiving an email notification when i post new entries to this site? if you would, please leave a comment (with an email address) and if/when i decide to implement it, i will use that address to send them to.

summer shade

i’ve been a day ahead all week. tuesday felt like wednesday, wednesday felt like thursday and today feels a lot like friday. of course, it’s only because i’m NOT WORKING NEXT WEEK and i’m anxious to start the not working. i think tomorrow will be a very long day, indeed. especially since i can’t seem to get any actual work done and it’s starting to pile up quite significantly.
the upstairs neighbour from hell has been a serious pain in my ass lately. actually, all my neighbours have been pissing me off lately. first it was annoying laughing lady from downstairs a couple weeks ago. last night it was “let’s play norah fucking jones at volume 10 for 150 minutes straight” night at upstairs neighbour’s place.
speaking of upstairs neighour, have i mentioned the dropping of things? well, she is always dropping things from her balcony down onto mine. usually it’s things like potting soil from her plants or water when she overwaters her plants. sometimes it’s been beer bottlecaps or other assorted bits of trash. lately though the items have been getting more interesting. about a month ago, i went out onto the balcony to find half a roasted red pepper sitting on the deck. then there was a cigarette and a pack of matches.
last night, while i was sitting inside watching for love or money and i heard a little *plunk* outside. i peeked out the door to see her addressbook sitting askew on the stairs. if i were nice and friendly and not in the least bit passive-aggressive or vindictive, i would have gone out there, picked it up and then taken it upstairs to her. that would have been the neighbourly thing to do. even later, when she had the norah fucking jones playing far too loudly for far too long, i could have then taken up her addressbook and, at the same time, politely asked her to turn her music down. again, that would have been if i weren’t evil and prone to seek revenge.
instead, her addressbook will sit out there until, say, saturday when i go out to clean the deck before the boy arrives. i will either “accidentally” sweep it over the side, “accidentally” get it wet when i start washing or, and this is a long shot, i will get an attack of conscience and pick it up and take it upstairs to her. then again, this is all barring her actually coming down to ask me for it, which i don’t expect to happen.
oh yes. i love apartment living.