Auchtung!

Berlin was... brilliant.

Brandenburg Gate

Bebelplatz
I happened to be there on May 10th, 2009, exactly 76 years to the day that Hitler held his book burning ceremony here - across from Humboldt University.

Check-Point Charlie

Auchtung!


The Eastside Gallery
I still remember the day the wall came down. And I remember walking down the street in the middle of the night with a friend of mine - we had such big ideas in such a small-minded town and we were such geeks - we passed by the local bar right as it was closing and we were screaming at the top of our lungs "UNITE EAST AND WEST GERMANY!!". No one (well, probably not many) where I grew up cared about such things. It was pretty amazing to be walking along the wall in the 20th anniversary year of it's dramatic fall.

Please do not bbq in front of the Reichstag... Apparently that's common...?

The Reichstag
Notice there are no bbqs.

Berliner Dom
It was such a beautiful day. I couldn't bring myself to step inside any of the dozens of museums on Museum Island (except the DDR museum, but it was small). Sat outside in the square by the fountain staring up at the clouds with this amazing view of Berliner Dom, the fountain mist spraying over me, listening to tour guides and people... So relaxing. One of my favourite moments.


Schloss Sansoucci
Ostentatious. Completely and utterly over-the-top insanely and unbashedly grandiose.

Keukenhof
After Germany went next door to The Netherlands where I met some guildies again. Many beers were consumed. It was a great time.
Then I was taken to see tulips!! Huzzah! 2 days before the place closed for the year. It was purdy!

The North Sea
Noordwijk is super-close to Keukenhof (well, in Canadian terms of super-close) so decided to stick my feet into the North Sea! This was also one of my most favourite moments.

So many photos. It is really difficult to edit which ones to share...

have you ever

thought you were so ugly that it has to be some sort of disease?

An open letter (again)...

...to the person who bought the "Glade - Vanilla Passion" air deodorizer for the ladies' washroom at work:

Dear Epic Fail,
I thank you most sincerely for your attempt to help disguise the vile and toxic fumes that creep up and out the floor drain in our bio-hazardous washroom. However, as mentioned in the previous blog there is only one room that ought to emanate the scent of vanilla and, unless your kitchen also contains your toilet, the washroom should indeed not be the aforementioned room.

This letter would not be complete if I did not mention that the absolute and utter failure to reproduce the scent of vanilla still remains. No product exists... no candle, no air freshener, no incense, no bath bubble, no perfume, no scented oil... that has managed to recreate the actual true and delicious scent that is vanilla. And regardless of these statements the most important of all is that the false scent emitting from this container should never be mixed with the scent of pooh!

Sincerely,

Gagging Co-worker

Random Thoughts...

• People who do not know how to read a newspaper ought to be tossed into a giant blender. They would make better use of themselves as fertilizer and mulch than as human beings.
• "Vanilla" scented perfume does NOT smell like vanilla. Vanilla should strictly be used for baking and not for bathing. You actually smell like a very bad science experiment.
• Xmas should not start on November 1st and last through until January 1st. Soon after Xmas decorations are taken off the shelf they are then replaced by a sha-hed-load Valentine's day crap! Can we, please, just STOP with all the effing commercialism already? Why do you think the economy is how it is in the first place?
• I've officially decided that Entertainment Tonight has more news credibility than CNN.
• Not matter how far we have come in the whole 'equal rights' movement, I still think it's a great thing when men hold open doors for women.
• If you have never experienced the wonder of the Canadian Classic "Anne of Green Gables" on film then I suggest that you do.
• I'm still hoping that my favourite black hat that I lost 2 years ago will somehow mysteriously appear in my hat/mitten/scarf bin.
• 2008 was super suckage in the way of films for a few exceptions: Burn After Reading, The Dark Knight, Religulous, Wall-e, Sweeney Todd, Juno (but I think that was 2007)...
• You can never go home.
• You can never solve your parents' problems; you can just try to raise them right and hope they make the best decisions on their own.
• I am able to keep plants alive! Finally, after 15+ years, many failed attempts, mass suicides and grisly slayings, I have managed to keep 6 plants alive and in relatively good health too. My secret: finding plants that are impossible to kill!
• The food network is one of my favourite channels. I can't cook exotic meals, but I imagine myself being able to follow the instructions of these culinary masters and create mouth-watering meals. One problem I do have is that half the ingredients they use are so utterly foreign to me that I wouldn't even know the first place to look for these things at the supermarket!
• Related note: Olives should be illegal.

i got a call at work...

i'd like to know exactly what part of the body this doctor specializes in...

when you go 'home'...

in september my favourite aunt died. she was a pretty amazing woman. i used to visit her often with my grandmother when i was a kid. technically, she is my great aunt, as she is my grandfather's youngest sister. she used to make tea and bannock (the second best bannock i have ever had - my grandmother's being, of course, the best); she loved playing her music very loud and dancing around the house; she could play a wicked tune with two spoons on her knee and jig the night away; she had a wonderfully contagious laugh; a kind heart and a collector of memories.

i hate cancer.

going back 'home' always brings up a myriad of emotions in me. there is part of me that hates that place. the constricting hold it has on my throat makes it difficult to breathe sometimes. it is a raging sea of small minds and smaller opinions and its undercurent is sometimes insurmountable. when i think of how i feel in those familiar places and seeing those familiar faces - the same, but older; easily recognizable, but weathered - my feelings are a mix of relief and panic. the crazy panic that i am missing something: missing family, missing events, missing things that might matter. then the relief that floods me know that my life is my own: my decisions, my mistakes and my mysteries.

i saw many faces when i was back for the funeral and most looked back at me slightly confused and a bit taken aback. you could almost read the expression in their eyes 'who is this person?' and many of them asked me that question directly. i was pleased to hear the following words over and over and over again, repeated dozens of times as i talked briefly with family members and old family friends: "wow, i didn't recognize you *at all*!" and "gee, it has to have been at least 15 years since i have seen you!" those words brought a comfort to me that i wasn't expecting to feel among the nervousness and anxiety i had being back in such familiar territory. i don't quite know how to process it or even if i have to, but i think i know one thing is for certain: i won.

but in the time i spent there i visited the place that i missed the most. the beach. it was my fortress of solitude, my escape and, often, my confidant.

it's a lovely drive.

it's a good place to come and think.

i spent hours staring off into the waves.

life, the universe, everything.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

this picture is a bit special. this property used to belong to my grandparents. it is right across from the restaurant they used to own and their house is still off to the left side (not in the frame). there was a guy on top of the roof when i drove by, circling the parking lot, i think he was replacing the shingles. when i snapped this photo he stopped using his nail gun and looked down at me taking the picture. i told him that this used to be my grandparent's house and, although they sold it about 20 years ago, he smiled at me and said my grandmother's name formed into a question: "veronica?" that brought a tear to my eye. she died over 12 years ago and moved away from the town about 17 years ago. it's nice to know she has not been forgotten.

anyway... my point! the big evergreen in the middle of the shot is a tree i planted in the first grade!

Le Grande Pomme

yah yah, i suck.

however, zips has been on yet another adventure...

zips was demonstrating his awesome godzilla impression.

he took in the wonderful exhibits @ the met.

he snuck into a broadway show.

enjoyed some quiet time in central park.

imagined.

met some new friends.



got acquainted with lady liberty.



he's certainly had a busy but fun year!

The time is gone, the song is over, thought I'd something more to say...

Richard Wright

28 July 1943 - 15 September 2008

"That sounds like something that would happen in the United States..."

Why is it Canadians think that we should be immune to horrible acts of violence that humans do to each other?

Honestly, sometimes I wonder how we manage to really have this superior sense of morality.

New beginnings?

It's bluddy hot here.
I mean, its HOT!

Ok, so what has been going on lately...

To be perfectly honest, my year has been full of mighty extremes... From the insanely awesome travel adventures overseas to the craptastic face-paralyzing Bell's Palsy.

Stress has been a guiding factor and it seemed to have just managed to unleash itself upon my mug. Lovely. I mean, no, it isn't Cancer. It could be Cancer. *hugs out to Grunto who has been an inspirational model* I shouldn't bitch and moan about it, but dammit, its what has happened to me. Me. And I've had to deal with having no movement of my face for over 3 months. Thanks to the wonders of acupuncture and my amazing trip overseas, the movement has come back about 60%. I look forward to more healing! But imagine what it is like to wake up one day and suddenly have 1/2 your face paralyzed... It was... indescribable.

And yah, life will be constantly filled with these sorts of moments, events, crisis, I realize that. I am not a complete numptie. I just wish they really didn't come down all at the same time.

I have been remiss. Ok, remiss isn't even the word for it, the only excuses I have for not blogging are a complete load of bollocks. However, the brilliant thing is, I hope that I am out of this anti-expressive phase. The sine wave of my blogging will probably always exist, I am not as dedicated as my Grunto friend (he's brill), but I think I am at a place where things might be able to now flow out of me, rather than just into me and get stuck in a xmas-light-tangle of emotions.

So onwards and upwards!

To infinity and beyond! (That really makes no sense, honestly... It's crap, really...)

guess where i've been...

i went overseas again...

beerology

les canals...

edumacationalnessism

bike parkade!

singraven


kasteel twickel

more of your favourite turtle... zips!

here is a better idea of what zips saw on his vacation to the western province of british columbia.

leaving on a jet plane...

zips was "ok" to fly, but he refused to look OUT the window once we got up in the air.
he's part turtle and part chicken.

zips went shopping to stock up on some things for the condo...
he's such a bargain finder!

zips taking a tour around courtney, bc
safety first!

zips enjoying the slightly windy weather at union bay, bc

zips eating a nanaimo bar in nanaimo, bc

he could only have one bite, it was too rich...

zips looking out over the view of cameron lake, bc

pretty isn't it??

zips says: "next stop, japan!"

zips thought this is where calamari comes from...
silly turtle...
the drive back through sutton pass was rather scary.
the rain on the coast was, of course, snow in the mountains.
the highway was almost impassible.
we saw several cars in the ditch.
one vw van was flipped on its side coming around a corner though a rather steep area.
the snowflakes were the size of my palm.
we made it safely, but we were all pretty scared'ish.
zips was keeping a watchful eye.
zips was more than relieved to get out of that mess!
we kept our focus and rewarded ourselves with some tim horton's!

zips says "bye bye" to vancouver island!

his next trip is planned for may/june... stay tuned!

what has happened..?

to the days of blogging...
when we all had something to say?
so much has happened in the last while and not much of it has been good...
i will however share a picture of a very good friend of mine on a very recent vacation i took to vancouver island...

Qualicum Beach

everything should taste like bacon

dream machine

Something old is new again...

This is a MEME I filled out in August 2000. I found it looking through some old folders here on my work inbox. I have left my old answers on it and have filled out my current answers with the ** and in italics.

It was a weird trip down memory lane.

It's also uber long, so yah...

-------------------------------------

DO YOU ENJOY YOUR JOB?

trick question... i do like what i do, i enjoy the research and the challenges it gives me, however, i know accounting isn't something that i am going to pursue for the rest of my life... albeit the money is tempting... LOL... i am of a more artistic mind and would like to pursue my interests on a more full-time basis in the nearing future... :)

**I am no longer an accountant although I work for the same company. I bounced from being a Joint Venture Accountant to a Production Accountant and I am now a Data Integrity Analyst. I LOVE MY JOB!!! I love the fact that I have “no deadlines”, that my job pretty much involved entirely researching and finding critical data errors, helping to fix persisting problems and overall ensuring accuracy of data. I deal with all branches of the company and the industry. As for artistic notions, I do still do my artistic stuff in my spare time like photography and painting and drawing… Hopefully one day that will be what I do, but we’ll see… I do know one thing: We are in charge of our own destinies.

IF YOU COULD BE SOMEONE ELSE FOR A DAY, WHO WOULD IT BE?

this is a hard question, not for the fact that i want to be someone else, b/c i love ME, but i to choose someone that i admire and would want to spend one day as... i guess presently, i would choose many people (dead and alive) so i will just list them: Leonardo da Vinci, Sigmund Freud, Nietzsche, Emily Carr, Gertrude Stein... and as for "real people" hmmm, i guess i admire a lot of people that are in my life but to choose b/w who i could be for a day wouldn't be fair.. so, i would choose them all and for many reasons: most of my friends have extraordinary intelligence AND wisdom -each, within different capacities, and i truly believe that above any other trait (especially above physicality) intelligence is the most attractive, the most important and the least discriminatory... but i would choose to be all of them primarily so that i could have a better understanding of who they are and who i am...

**I still stand by this answer. To add to the list of these people I would say: Terry Pratchett, the cow that lives on my PC’s tower and stalks me every day... :P

GOLD OR SILVER?

Silver

**Still silver.

WHAT WAS THE LAST FILM YOU SAW AT THE CINEMA?

oh horrible day... it was "Hollow Man" and it was ever so hollow, man!

**I’m still embarrassed by this, but I blame Melissa entirely: National Treasure (the second one). I mean, it was better than I anticipated all things considered. The first film really surprised me and I was rather entertained until the final scene of the film. Blah. This one was also entertaining but above anything else it was completely and utterly AMERICAN. ie) Breaking into the Queen’s office in Buckingham Palace is rather a simple task but going into the Oval Office *gasp horror shock* MY GOD that’s IMPOSSIBLE!... Ugh. Anyway. Sue me.

FAVORITE CARTOON CHARACTER?

Daria

** Daria and her lovely cynical ways still amuse me to no end. I also simply love Cartman.

WHAT DO YOU HAVE FOR BREAKFAST?

when i get a chance to eat breakfast, and if i FEEL like breakfast, i like blueberry anything... yoghurt, scones, muffins, biscuits... hmmm, but i like bananas or cornflakes... most time though only a glass of juice...

**Breakfast consists of the “Fuel of Champions”: Coffee. And I do try to stick in something fiber-filled. Bran muffins are good; either raisin-bran or blueberry-bran. I also grab another jumbo coffee mid-morning, but this one is decaf. If the second cup is caffeinated I have a difficult time sleeping.

WHO WOULD YOU HATE TO BE LEFT IN A ROOM WITH?

people that i have not shared good experiences with, that i have had dramatic confrontation with... i would just rather NOT be around them than waste my energy breathing the same air as they are...

** Again, I have to agree with myself. Ha. But I also hasten to add I would not like to be left in the same room as myself. I think I would completely irritate myself to no end. Someone once said to me, after attempting to argue a point with me, in a fit of exasperation: “Just ONCE I’d like to see you locked in a room with yourself and see how you liked it!” My response was short, “Well, at least it would be a formidable opponent.”

CAN YOU TOUCH YOUR NOSE WITH YOUR TONGUE?

Yup

**Aye, still can and now I perform this trick for parties at a very reasonable rate.

WHO INSPIRES YOU?

__this is the long one!!!__ my friend gwen (to push yourself to achieve more), my friend shawn (to seek wisdom), mark (to hold on to conviction and to have endurance), my father (to believe in myself), jess (to love with action) john and verna (to believe in love), cheri (to believe in family), chrisy (to believe in keeping a hold of my childhood), kevin (to strive for perfection), elise (to be bold), deana (to keep confidences and know when to keep quiet), annie (to love children and maintain motivation), samantha (to reveal emotion), cheryl (to be loyal), nicole (to be honest and remember my past), jocey (to be joyous and friendly), richard (to be whimsical and thought-ful), karen (to persevere), marge (to strive for my goals and thirst for new things), andrea (to be adventurous), etc... you ALL inspire me in some fashion... i have to say that each person in my life inspires me to some extent... there are REASONS people are in my life and each one means something special to me...

**Wow, that was a list… (I actually had to edit some b/c it was just wayyyy too long). These people are still in my life to some extent. Some I have lost contact with over the years, but the truths of what I said still ring through the years and distance. I can add more… way more, but I am a pretty private person. Most of you don’t know who these people are so why do you care… but what I have learned over the years from the new people and the old people in my life, through the qualities I admire in them certainly INSPIRE me to push beyond the mould I have created of myself. Life is not about finding yourself, it is about creating yourself.

BEACH OR CITY?

oh le beach!!!

**Definitely a beach over a city ANY day. I can clarify this a bit further. Deserted beach. And neither tropical nor rocky. The white-sand beach of where I grew up is actually perfect for me. The further north along the shore you go the more rugged and feral it is. I love the tall grasses growing out of the dunes b/w the water and the birch trees. It is usually so quiet and lonely there. A great place for reflection; to lay on the sand watching the sunset and starting a fire to keep warm as the moon rises, the stars shimmer and the northern lights come out to dance on the dark blanket of night.

SUMMER OR WINTER?

Fall.

**I can go with either Winter or Fall. Winter, for the snow and the cold and the crisp feeling of the air and the smell of winter winds. Or the fall for the cooling days and relief of summer and the changing leaves.

BUTTERED, PLAIN OR SALTED POPCORN?

REAL butter... just like "The Rex Theatre" in my home-town

**Indeed. Real butter. However I do use extra light virgin olive oil as well. Popcorn made in a big stewing pot cooked in oil on the stove is THE BEST you can have.

WORST MEMORY?

the day i found out i had been betrayed by someone I thought i could trust...

**The day I was told I was “sick”. Having a “disease” makes you feel completely vulnerable, lost, victimized and totally human. Until you experience how fragile the human body we never truly ever feel like we’re “going to die” or “you are going to die FROM THIS…

BEST MEMORY?

it's a tie... realizing my independence: MY first vacation (road trip to california) or falling irrevocably in love...

**Bah. My first steps onto a new continent.

FAVORITE SANDWICH FILLING?

at the moment roast beef, but it must be an iron deficiency b/c i usually like turkey (preferrably REAL turkey)... cheese...mayo... oh hell, the whole sandwich! ;)

**Still love turkey and roast beast. I do tend to LOVE tomatoes. Toasted tomato sandwich positively rules. Tuna, of course. Duh. And wow, I have discovered the delights of cucumbers in sandwiches! Who knew? Why didn’t they tell me?

HAVE YOU ANY PETS?

yes... mother to Moxie le Wonder Cat!

**Moxie is still kicking around being the Wonder Cat of the World. And her world consists of two royal canine subjects: Pheebs (Red Heeler X) and Zozo (Pitbull X).

WHAT CHARACTERISTICS DO YOU DESPISE?

ignorance, superficiality, people that focus too much on physical appearance and not enough on character, people that complain about something but do not take action to “fix" whatever it is they are complaining about, conformity, lack of originality.

**Hmmm. Indeed. People ™. Heh. Seriously, I have an aversion to stupidity. As I get older I find there is absolutely no excuse for not having basic common sense. “I am only eight years old” is no excuse! I really abhor “charmers”, the slimy kind that think they can get you to do crap for them b/c they use more hair product than you do and call you “sweetie” and toss you a wink. They make my skin crawl. I also vehemently despise people who wallow in self-pity.

FAVORITE FLOWER?

Daisies

**Aye. Daisies.

IF YOU HAD A BIG WIN ON THE LOTTERY HOW LONG WOULD YOU LEAVE IT BEFORE YOU TOLD PEOPLE?

i would start calling the people that are closest to me as soon as i regained consciousness...

**Yeh, I don’t know if I would tell anyone, really. I mean, of course I would do the above, but I would prefer for the whole “BLAH BLAH WON THE LOTTERY” thing to remain out of the media. There are a helluva lot of crazies in the world, ya know? I also have too many “cousins of cousins” that would demand $100K or they’ll shoot themselves in the head…

WHAT COLOR IS YOUR BATHROOM?

navy blue and cream

**Chocolate brown and mushroom.

HOW MANY KEYS ARE ON YOUR KEY RING?

my key ring is my memory-box... The one thing that i collect are keys... i have sentiment attached to each key that is on my key ring... so needless to say, i do have MANY keys... :)

**My keyring has retired (got really heavy). My current keyring has my car key on one side with the remote starter with it and on the other side (it’s the split-apart keychain so you can leave the keys in your ignition and take the other half with you to do whatever) has my house key and the mailbox key and my gym membership swipe-thingy. So yah. Three! On this I have improved! (I still have the old keyring).

WHERE WOULD YOU RETIRE?

some place close to a lake...

**Agreed. A lake somewhere. Isolated. NO TRAFFIC FTW!

CAN YOU JUGGLE?

figuratively, yes

**Augh. Still have not learned to do this. I will add this to my Croak List.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE FORM OF EXERCISE?

Swimming

**Yes. Swimming is great fun. Walking also has many bonuses ... Sex is good too.

RED OR WHITE WINE?

white zinfandel

**Hmmm, I do like a white wine on occasion. I don’t like it dry but rather closer to the sweet side of things.

WHAT DID YOU DO FOR YOUR LAST BIRTHDAY?

friends came over had dinner and cake and also had a karaoke party

**Went to dinner. Had some friends over.

WHERE DO YOU FOOD SHOP?

Safeway

**This has not changed for the “big shop”. If I need something for the week, though, I just go to the Sobey’s close to my house and pick up stuff for the week/weekend.

DO YOU CARRY A DONOR CARD?

Yes

**It is no longer filled out. Due to the sickness thing.

So yah… Reading through this 8 years later, it seems weird how some things just HAVE NOT changed and in what ways they have changed. Even if it is a matter of perspective or emphasis, it just goes to show how we certainly are one sort of person through a lot of our lives

Happy Xmas

Happy Xmas Everyone!
Hoping for more peace on earth...
Even if for a few moments...
<3 V

Assorted...

What is up with the whole bloodlust slash revenge of Jaws IV. The day a shark's baby's baby's baby follows me around the globe is the day I start on hardcore drugs. Mind, I just wanted him to bite granny's head off to get rid of her horrifying hairstyle.

The dude who went gathering leaves and other assorted foliage in the forest and decided "Hey, let's eat THIS one *insert arugula*..." What was he thinking? I mean, the stuff TASTES like a leaf... It ought to taste like bacon. Everything ought to taste like bacon.

I saw a dude dressed like Neo from "The Matrix" the other day as I was glacing outside the bus window. He had on the long black tailored coat, he had on thick-soled boots, his hair was slightly emo'licked and he was a bit pale. This wasn't unusal to me. What was unusual was out of thin air he managed to conjure a skateboard and then off he rolls or rode or whatever it is that skateboarders do. I've never seen a skateboarding-Neo.

I am convinced my stress-cow is plotting to have me killed.

Do you call it dinner or lunch? Do you call it supper or dinner?

I still have the tag on my mattress.

I'm divulging a secret: I love the show called "Project Runway". Watching the designers make garment from just an idea in their head is mind boggling to me. Creating something from nothing... Brilliance.

Some people want to swim with the dolphins. I'd like to swim with the polar bears. Of course they would have to be very friendly polar bears.

I found a list of things to-do that I made in 2003. Odd. It was pretty, though. I used metallic purple and silver pens. What ever happened to the gel-pen craze? I am entirely too obsessed with stationary. I have a large assortment of coloured pens at work and different shaped stickies and mutli-coloured paperclips. Office Depot you are my crack-row.

the daily commute

a man sat next to me on the express coming home today. i could smell him while he was within 10 feet of my nostrils. it was horrible. drenched he was, in something that had to have been called: eau de 1970's.

as i sat in the corner of the bus my head began to pulse. the cilia in my nostrils disintegrated into ash and my eyes started to tear. through the saline, i began to hallucinate of giant, bobbing, permed-fuzzy hair and bright, unnatural-coloured leisure suits. the scent somehow made its way into my bloodstream and deep into the core of my medula oblongata where upon it hijacked my sense of reason and created disco balls out of thin air, flashing rainbow lights and a soundtrack that consisted of the jackson five meets jethro tull.

i've never done acid, but I can imagine this is what it must feel like...

the man exited the express about 2/3 through my evening commute but his scent lingered. like a monstrous wafting cloud of toxic vapour... upon exiting at my own stop, i escaped the cleverly disguised gas chamber and inhaled deeply -*gassssssp* but to my displeasure i manage to catch a mouth full of carbon monoxide from a passing vehicle in dire need of a tune-up...

i feel like i've ingested a vat of embalming fluid... well, at least when i die i know that it will be either very cheap to preserve me or i'll light up light up faster than a roman candle!
*whoosh*

but it isn't my birthday....

this is my new telly...
bring on the popcorn, yo!

...ohhhhkayyyy then....

halloween candy leftovers...

every year i take in a massive bag to work... i keep a few mini-chocolate bars for myself and take the rest in and put it in a giant bowl in the kitchen of my office.
its funny... i see NO ONE taking any back to their office to munch on during the day but by noon there is at least 3/4 of the pile... GONE!!
i work in an office of candy trolls!!
invisible ones at that.

it ate my brain.... and all my candy!

ouch...

it's halloween... and im sitting here waiting for the kidlets to arrive at the door so i can load them up with very unhealthy treats and giggle at their costumes.
this year i seem to be lacking in the halloween spirit. and it's b/c i haven't had a halloween party!!!
i feel empty.
halloween is my christmas.
this year is like...
....
christmas without jesus
except every year is christmsa without jesus when you dont believe in the big ole jay cee.
hrm...
it's like the headless horseman decided to skip my house this year...
i dont even have a pumpkin for fuck's sake!
what the hell.
oh it is SOOOOO on next year. pumpkins will be puking out of my house next year. i promise!...

a small rant

people who think they are ONE WAY but are so OBVIOUSLY NOT.




it is incredibly irritating.

An Open Letter...

... To the person who failed to turn in the watch I lost on the bus or to the person who didn't put the watch into lost & found...

Dear Git!

May the fleas of 1000 camels infest your crotch.

Sincerely,
What the fuck time is it?

Random Thought #46875

There is a finite amount of intelligence in this world...

i was thinking...

ya know... jeffrey dahmer was pretty skinny for having eaten all those people...

i read something the other day that made me laugh...

if you can't read the language that your tattoo is written you should not get the tattoo!

I've been pondering...

... and I hereby decree that Canada shall henceforth be referred to as The Canada.

If I were...

I saw this on Logo's blog... It looked interesting...
Enjoy!

If I were a beginning, I would be… "So, so you think you can tell heaven from hell?"
If I were a month, I would be…October; chilly and cold with a snap in the air.

If I were a time of day, I would be… 3:00AM
If I were a planet, I would be… An ice dwarf.
If I were a season, I would be… Winter; cold and bright. Cuddly and aloof.
If I were a sea animal, I would be… Sea anemone; deceptively intoxicating and dangerous.

If I were a direction, I would be… Inward.
If I were a piece of furniture, I would be… An overstuff chair.

If I were a sin, I would be... Unforgivably delicious.
If I were a liquid, I would be... Molten lava.

If I were a scare, I would be... The nagging suspicion that something isn't right.

If I were a gem, I would be... Blood Red Garnet.

If I were a flower/plant, I would be... Devil's Ivy.

If I were a kind of weather, I would be... Variable clouds with scattered showers and high chance of thunderstorms later in the day.

If I were a musical instrument, I would be... A triangle; always has the last word.

If I were an animal, I would be... A chamleon

If I were an emotion, I would be... Indecipherable

If I were a vegetable, I would be... A turnip; you either love them or hate them, no one is 'iffy' about a turnip.

If I were a sound, I would be... Low and quiet, not always audible but always knowing it's there.

If I were an element, I would be... PeopleSuckium.

If I were a car, I would be... A smart car. Not to toot my own horn or anything. Har har.

If I were a song, I would be... Prog-metal.

If I were a food, I would be... Chilli; hearty and filling with spicyhotness that can warm you up on a cold day and make you feel like home.

If I were a place, I would be... Distant and cold but comforting once you get there.

If I were a material, I would be... Flannel; soft and fluffy, cozy and warm and can be dead sexy to some.

If I were a taste, I would be... Lingering.

If I were a scent, I would be... Fresh, soft and feminine with a hint of sweetness.

If I were a religion, I would be... Addictive.

If I were a sentence, I would be... Incomplete and wrought with errors.

If I were a facial expression, I would be... Cloaked and difficult to interpret.

If I were a subject in school, I would be... Art; some people get it, some people don't.

If I were a colour, I would be... Dark.

If I were a thing, I would be... Trying to kill Kurt Russell.

If I were a book, I would be... Illustrated.

If I were an artist, I would be... Misunderstood.

If I were a collection of poems, I would be... Out of order.

If I were a landmass, I would be... Iceland.

If I were a watch, I would be... on EU time.

If I were God, I would be... The O-God of Hangovers.

If I were a vowel, I would be... Sometimes Y.

If I were a consonant, I would be... V

If I were a theory, I would be... Disputed.

If I were a famous person, I would be... Anti-Famous

If I were an item of electronic equipment, I would be... iAudio. Versatile, multi-medial and fits in your pocket.

If I were a sport, I would be... Suitable for all ages.

If I were a movie, I would be... An independent film.

If I were a cartoon, I would be... Daria Prototype.

If I were an explorer, I would be... Leif Erikson.

If I were a scientist, I would be... Researching the cure for stupidity.

If I were a relation, I would be... Sexual.

If I were a river, I would be... Meandering.

If I were intoxication, I would be... An inhalent.

If I were alone, I would be... A flourishing tree in the middle of a barren wasteland.

If I were a question, I would be... Rhetorical.

If I were a habit, I would be... Hard to break.

If I were in an atom, I would be... Difficult to split.

If I were you, I would be... Unlike me.

it's been ages...

i just haven't had much to say in the way of blogging lately.
i wonder what has been going through my head and what has kept me away from this thing. i could blame other things and pretend i have been incredibly busy... but i seriously have been up to nothing terribly exciting.
i've spent time here and there... but i think i've been in a funk of some sorts...
i know most of my emotions are kept hidden. but since no one reads this thing anymore, anyway, i may as well spew...
my parents, after 35+ years of marriage, are going through the process of a divorce right now. although i wish they were both willing to get through this and not toss away 35+ years of marriage, i also am hoping that they don't toss away any more years of unhappiness they seem to have when with one another.
i think i may have talked about my mum before. i'm not entirely sure. but she is a very confused person. for many years of my life she has been medicated. so many pills with so many names i just can't even remember. i wasn't entirely conscious of my mother's medication until i was in my late teens. i don't really understand the purpose of medication, i just know it makes people give the illusion of functionality. and i never knew how incompetent my mum's decision making abilities were until i was well into my 2o's. i always thought she was full of confidence and direction but that was only when it came to telling me what to do or what was wrong with me. believe me, if you knew any of what i went through growing up with her it might be a bit of a shock to see that i'm a semi-functioning adult. in coming to grips, over the years, that my parents are indeed people and not just my parents; that they make mistakes and have feelings and doubts and fears and flaws, i have also come to grips with the reality that my relationship with them has forever changed.
in doing this it has been my luxury and my misfortune to say and express to them my opinions on a lot of different matters, including my relationship with each of them. i know i can be blunt, forceful, logical, unemotional and unrelenting. this isn't always conducive to my mother's medicated condition.
believe me, there is more history and way more detail than i am willing involve, but i am not entirely evil or callous in my communication with either of them. i try to speak gently and understandingly but also with as much honesty as i can... it isn't all bad.
but what has been happening recently is the result of me being tired of my mother treating me like a second class member of our family. for the first time in my adult relationship with my mother i stopped dead and dug my heels in. refusing to be a sounding board or a dumping ground anymore. i told her that its time she get off her fucking medication, grow up, stop being selfish and to FINALLY act like a mother because she certainly hadn't been acting like one...
this happened in june...
i haven't spoken to her since...

/pity party

the "Moe"ment...

this is the moment it happened... my XP bar disappeared in a big flash of light :P
wheeeeeeee!!
(if you don't know what i'm talking about, read the entry below)

Ding!

So as some of you might know... I play World of Warcraft. I started back in September and have been playing a LOT of Warcraft!! I started off with a Female Dwarf Warrior named Thrashar and have managed to get her to level 10 (she's on another server)!!! Whooo! Impressive isn't it?

Well, actually in mid September I created my Night Elf Druid (Nelf Drood to the gamer-type-people! A little shout-out to you all!). I started leveling her up slowly. Uhhh, VERY slowly... I was in a little guild of friends (people I know from outside of game) and when they had all started to reach a certain level they moved on to a larger guild that did more raiding --FMH--. Raiding happens when you reach "end-game". End-game consists of raiding high-level dungeons, slaying huge monsters in the form of (then) 40-man raid groups (yes, 40 real life people banding together to kill/defeat or... well, hope not... wipe in a dungeon to obtain uber items to enter more difficult dungeons and kill more difficult creature to obtain uber uber items to... well, you get the picture)... This was all once achieved (and attunement could be started a couple levels before) at level 60.

In Novmeber, on a bit of a whim, I was encouraged to apply to this guild when Moeriel (Moe as she is fondly nicked) was a wee baby druid of level 26 *shock... gasp... oooo* Anyway, I got in and have been with the same guild ever since since... In January of 2007, Blizzard introduced The Burning Crusade... Making people obtain 10 more levels in a completely different continent with different items, dungeons creatures... the whole kit AND kaboodle!!... At this time Moe was level 44-ish... CRIKEY! I had another TWENTY SIX more levels to go!!

Alas... level 60 came... it also went... and there was no rest for me like a lot of guildies had had for the last *whatever* many months or slash years they have been playing! However, I did manage to experience some pretty intense raids in Onyxia and Molten Core... Yay me!... But I still had to make the seemingly ENDLESS climb to level 70...

Today... I achieve that milestone!

Here are some more screenies of what my character looks like now (this is her then)...

Moe atop a cliff outside of Shattrath City

Moe in Flightform
(achieved at level 68)
(Druids have shape-shift abilities -- see screenies of the other shifts I can do)

Moe in Moonkin Form
(31 Points in the Balance Tree)
This is my "spec"... Balance Druid with a bit of Resto...

Moe in Travel Form
(achieved at level 30)

Moe in Cat Form
(achieved at level 20)

Moe in Bear Form
(first shape-shift form given @ level 10)

There are still TONS of things for me to do in WoW... End-game attunement for large raids, rep grinding to do for certain factions --scryers, consortium, etc etc-- and lots of gold to be made for epic flightform! I have lots to do and I have so much fun doing it!
Anyway, a shout-out to my guildies who happen to read my blog... thanks for all the fish!

Mooning Moe...

What's Its Face...

So I don't get what the whole deal is with Facebook.

I hear that so many people are on Facebook and I have to say I'm just perplexed as to why... I even know some people that are on Facebook! I am not on it, myself... and here's why...

My humble opinion: [Please remember, this comes from Vera "Queen of the Cynics"... and do take precautionary measures when handling these grains of salt...]

1.) It's a perfect tool to be used by real-life and internet-stalkers.

I don't know about any of you, but I have met some odd people in real life and on the internet and why would I want to subject myself to a giant database for them to be able to retrieve information about me?

2.) Seems to be a never-ending high school reunion.

I ditched the regular 10-year high school reunion of people-I-never-wanted-to-see-again-anyway and reunited with my high school friends in a sort-of-private-ish-invite-only weekend on the 10th anniversary of my escape from Hell. People that have to contact you via Facebook are not in your 3-D life for a reason, right? The only reason why they are contacting you is primarily to brag about their 2 point five kids in private school, their massive mortgage debt and to sell you their pure-bred puppy dogs... which leads me to the next point...

3.) It is a "Look At Me And What I Have Done With My Life" forum.

Chances are the people that you never talk to on a regular basis in your 3-D life are only contacting you to talk about themselves anyway. Here's a tip: If you're not part of my email contacts or on any of my IM lists chances are I really don't care if you've won the lottery, finally got your sex-change operation and decided to come out of the closet. A) I knew you had a gambling problem aaaaaaaages ago, if I cared enough, I'd be glad it finally paid off; B) I can't clearly remember if you were male or female anyway, but if I cared I'd be happy for you and your self-expression; C) I'm not surprised.

Sweet Monkey Love

I have to say that when Grunt told me about his brother's "A list of funny word combinations that you can try on a dead bird or a mailbox." it opened up my own pandora's box of word combinations that I could try on a dead bird or a mailbox. (Although, I hate birds, so I think I might try it on a dead cow and a stop-sign.)

So here is my confessional...

Often, in my dreams, I do things like read comic books, recipes, instructions, long literary pieces, signs, webpages and newspapers but I only remember --clearly-- one time where the words I've read made actual sense.

Normally a recipe will list things like:

1 bounce of triggers

1/3 forklift

1 pleasant highchair

2 dryer lint sausage

If I'm reading the newspaper it will have headlines like:

"Tractor Aliens Undo Thanksgiving Monkey"

If I'm reading instructions on how to put together a table or bookshelf it will read something like:

"Diet on the radio fully with religious bunkers. After, proceed to nearest colonoscopy and tip the waitress with a rhino ear."

Long literary pieces will read like:

"One slug in a decade of delapitated furry onion leafs tried unsuccessfully to breed Aunt Fiona's grilled barbeque shrubbery. If ever Joe De Papineaux hurried his mixer in strange company demons of unusual size buzzed his nosehairs repeatedly. Firestorm shadowbolts of wrath giggled and galloped among the flowery fields of eyebrows. In the darkened hours of Saturn's rings it was clear that perhaps Franz and Helga should have eaten the direct publishing company of amednments and in doing so would not have housed all the unfortunate carpet."

Keep in mind, in my dream these things make PERFECT sense. Often I note myself nodding and agreeing, while my conscious brain is shaking its head at my dream brain and doing the Homer-D'oh with a mental head-smack. Words have always fascinated me. In have a little word-journal that I keep lying around in places where I write words that make me giggle or for whatever reason I think are fun to pronounce or ones that drip off the tongue like honey or warm syrup.

So... welcome to my brain. Wet your feet in the stream of my consciousness but don't forget to wear your life-jacket.

And now onto the tagged-ness:

In my Virtual Franklin Covey Day Planner from 2007.

Under "Record of Conversation": What? Who is listening? Am I wiretapped? Is this thing on? Long Live Mexican Food!

Subject: I refuse to subject myself to anything that does not give ample reward.
With: Onions. I like to hedge my bets.
Telephone: I've never tried it with a phone before, b/c I thought the cord would get in the way.
Meeting at: The bike-racks @ 3:30!
By: Curious?
Date: Never on the first date unless there are time constraints and a plane to catch.
Topic Discussed: How to shovel a proper hole to bury a dead or live body.
Action: Equal and opposite reaction. (Pfft, so I'm told by those Science-Type People. I still have yet to test this theory out myself.)

If I didn't do that right, I don't care. Heh. It was fun!

Thanks for the kick in the pantses Grunt-oh. I did/do miss blogging more regularily -- even if no one reads it.

One-Word-Answers

Stolen from Ann.

You can only type one word answers. Sometimes not as easy as you might think.
(However, me --being the Queen of One-Word-Answers-- had no problem with this task)

1. Where is your cell phone?
Lost
2. Your boy/girlfriend, SO, husband or wife?
Hard-core-sex-toy!
3. Your hair?
Long
4. Your mother?
Needy
5. Your father?
Needy
6. Your favorite thing?
Music
7. Your dream last night?
Vague
8. Your favorite drink?
Water
9.Your dream car?
Electric
10. The room you're in?
Office
11. Your ex?
Nerd
12. Your fears?
Numerous
13. Where do you want to be in 10 years?
/Away
14. Who did you hang out with yesterday?
Moi
15. What you're not?
Functioning
16. Muffins?
Chocolate
17. One of your wish list items?
Travel
18. Where you grew up?
Hell
19. The last thing you did?
Scratched
20. What are you wearing?
Earrings
21. Your TV?
Downstairs
22. Your pet?
Lazy
23. Your computer?
On
24. Your life?
Complicated
25. Your mood?
Sedated
26. Missing?
Mobile
28. Your car?
Caliber
29. Your work?'
Changing
30. Your summer?
Short
31. Like someone?
Many
32. Your favorite color?
Black
33. When is the last time you laughed?
Minutes
34. Last time you cried?
Yesterday
35. School?
Unforgettable

i'm baaaack...

i had a jolly good time too!

makes me giggle