Dear other Americans

Granted, I was in Canadia when NYC was attacked. Therefore I was not around when "God Bless America" was first sung at a ballpark instead of (or perhaps just before) "Take Me Out to the Ballgame". But am I the only person who wishes that this new "tradition" would just stay part of the Philadephia Flyers' real tradition and not be a part of my baseball tradition? Because although I am a huge fan of Irving Berlin, and sang "God Bless America" with gusto every night I closed down my favourite gay piano bar, I really want my seventh inning stretch to be religion free.

Yeah, smite me now.

I hereby resolve

I have a couple of resolutions this year. More specifically, I have some plans that I think will make me feel more satisfied with myself. I won't share all of them, because I have this minor phobia that if I say it, I will screw it up, but since we all know the food resolution only too well, I will share that one.

The last few months, I have been eating foods that just don't make me feel good. I don't mean guilty, I mean feelings ranging from upset stomachs, to irritability, to headaches, to tiredness. In other words: if the food you are eating makes you feel like crap, it really is bad for you!

Starting tomorrow, we will start our annual alcohol fast. No booze for at least a month, and we often go until Valentine's Day, just because that seems like a good day to celebrate with some wine or something bubbly.

I am also going to go back to healthy eating patterns. I have been consuming far too much white sugar, white flour-type foods and my body really feels it. I am also considering starting up a more consistent exercise program, although I make no guarantees.

I just need to purge all this junk out of my system. What I really need is a spa vacation, but time and money will not allow. So, starting tomorrow, I will create my own spa experience, with fresh veggies, lean meats, moderate exercise and lots of water (both for ingesting and for soaking).

I'm actually looking forward to it!

Has it really been ten years?

For some reason, until a few days ago, it didn't dawn on me that we were on the verge of a new decade. This, despite reading Decade in Review articles in the Tucson newspaper, and watching various broadcasts detailing the events of the last ten years. This morning, I realized that the year 1999 turned over to 2000 was the first New Year's Eve that Grant and I ever spent together. 10 years ago, I still lived in San Francisco, I was still (technically) married to my ex, my younger nephew was only 3 months old and my dog was a youthful 6 years. I was still working in sales and had never set foot in a classroom as either a volunteer or an employee. My computer was still dial-up and I hadn't discovered the WD.

My life has changed over the last ten years in ways I could never have expected, and all of the people reading this have been there somewhere along the way. I hope that we will be able to look back together in another ten years.

Happy New Year!!

How the Internets Saved My Life

Or, at least a few bucks.

The story: Back a few months ago, when my nephews were visiting, we paid a visit to Blockbuster to rent some movies. I rarely go to Blockbuster, as most of my movie rentals are through Zip.ca, but I needed some quick movie entertainment. The boys chose a few movies, one of which was The Phantom Menance. They watched it. I did not. Still haven't seen a single one of the prequels. So there. They returned to the Bay Area. I returned the movies.

A few weeks ago, I got a call from Blockbuster. The young manager on duty wanted to let me know that when I returned the rental way back in the last century, I only returned one of the discs. (Damn you, George Lucas, for insisting on two different versions of every movie you make!!) Well, okay. I asked him to hold, went down to the basement to have a look around, found nothing, came back and told him so. Neither one of us had any solutions, so I just said I would keep looking, he thanked me and I hung up. I figured the next time (in a year or so) I rented something at Blockbuster, we would work it out.

Tonight, I am reading my humungous blog list (which is one of my excuses for not blogging in so long. That, and Mafia Wars. Damn you, Mafia Wars!!) and I hit an entry that made me go hmmmmm. Here it is. Go read, I'll wait. You might want to bookmark it too, it never fails to entertain...

Back? Well, I imagine you can guess what I did next. Yes, you're right. The missing DVD was, in fact, in the DVD player.

Tomorrow, when I return the disc, I am going to recommend that Blockbuster management always make that suggestion to their clients.

Summer days and other stuff

• Last week we had three whole days of warm, rainless weather. Is summer finally here? One hopes.
  
  
• I am proud to say I have read all five of this years' Hugo-nominated novels. By far, my favourites were the YA novels, with The Graveyard Book edging out Zoe's Tale by a fairly slim margin. And it's not just because I stalk both of the authors, either. Little Brother is a great teen novel, with a likeable protagonist, realistic rebelliousness and some real tension. Anathema was a fascinating world-building novel but ultimately not as engaging as I hoped. Saturn's Children was not my cup of tea, I slogged through it just because I hate to leave books unfinished. They haunt me. This one may not have, but I still finished it.
  
  
• Lucy has been getting a bunch of tests this week. She hasn't been eating very much, and is drinking a lot of water. It could be kidneys, or diabetes, or nothing at all, but the vet is checking everything out carefully. She now takes four different kinds of medicine (one antibiotic for a limited time) and may have more before the week is out. I tell her that she is nearly taking as many pills as her human grandmother, which is appropriate as, according to the chart at the vet's, they are approximately the same age.
  
  
• This morning I decided to wear my former engagement ring on my right hand. It is a beautiful sapphire ring with channel diamonds on the band and I hate for it to just sit in a box. Grant has no problem with me wearing it, but I am not sure exactly how I feel about it. I figure I will wear it for 24 hours and then make a decision.
  
  
• See you guys in about two weeks. Yes, we are off on yet another holiday. Such is the life of a teacher Lots of vacation now, but full price for any travel over Christmas and March break, no long weekends except on statutory holidays and hence no great travel deals. Karma is such a bitch.
  

Ten

• Post ten of any pictures currently on your hard drive that you think are self-expressive.
• NO CAPTIONS!!! It must be like we're speaking with images and we have to interpret your visual language just like we have to interpret your words.
• They must ALREADY be on your hard drive - no googling or flickr! They have to have been saved to your folders sometime in the past. They must be something you've saved there because it resonated with you for some reason.
• You do NOT have to answer any questions about any of your pictures if you don't want to. You can make them as mysterious as you like. Or you can explain them away as much as you like.

Ah, summer...

Here I sit on a Monday morning, reading various blogs, listening to On Broadway on XM Radio. I have a list of things to accomplish, but there is no particular hurry because it's officially SUMMER!!

The last day of school was a week ago last Friday. And as soon as possible, we packed up the car, the dog and ourselves and hightailed it up to the boat. Hence my non-posty-ness last week. There should be Off the Back of the Boat photos, but we keep forgetting the damn camera. This weekend, I promise.

I love these early days of summer holidays. The summer still seems to stretch out ahead of me, with plans and projects yet to experience and accomplish. It reminds me of being a kid, when time slowed down to a crawl and summer lasted forever. Now, of course, time moves much more quickly and I realize that before I know it I will wonder where the summer has gone. But today, September seems a mile away.

Today, I have a house to myself and nobody to tell me what I should do. So many choices: reading, writing, chatting, crafting, cooking. Or maybe doing lots of nothing at all. Time well spent, indeed.

Girl's gotta have a goal

Today, I spied one of our Grade 7 girls wearing a tee shirt:

Forget Princess
I Wanna be a Vampire

Um, yeah. We totally know who to blame for that one. But it got me thinking. I pretty much missed the whole wanting to be a princess thing. Maybe it's a generational thing, because there was no Disney Princess juggernaut when I was a girl, but I wanted to be Jo March or Anne Shirley or Mary Lennox. Princesses held little interest for me. And when I was 12, the only vampire around was Barnabus from Dark Shadows. I certainly knew plenty of girls who thought he was teh sexy, but the one time I saw the show itself, it featured a young groom calling his recently deceased bride from the grave with noticeably poor results. I was traumatized. So, it wasn't until I was 40 that I really got hooked on something that featured vampires. (Yes, I read Interview with a Vampire and several of the sequels, but hooked? No.) That something, of course, was Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

But, honestly, I never wanted to be a vampire. Slay them? Sure. Have an angsty relationship with them? Guilty as charged. Make a house fall down while shagging them?? Oh, baby. But I never wanted to be one.

And if I did want to be one, I certainly wouldn't want to be one that sparkles. Just sayin'.

So, a question to my 3 readers. Would you or have you ever thought you would want to be a vampire? Why or why not?

Random

Remember when the phone ringing was the most exciting thing ever?? Remember when having an answering machine meant you never had to miss a call?? Now, I rarely answer the phone because it's nearly always a telemarketer and I can let that message alert blink for practically ever. Seriously, if you want to get my attention: email me.

I have various food obsessions from time to time. Sometimes it's a spice, sometimes it's actual food. I had a love affair with cumin all of last year. This year, my passion is ruby grapefruits. I will peel them and eat them segment by segment, no sugar, just the grapefruit-y goodness. I tried to explain the attraction to my co-worker and the best I could come up with was that it was like a surprise explosion in my mouth of sweet and sour, but that sounded kind of dirty so I left it alone.

I haven't had a period in four months. My doctor says I am in official menopause, but it doesn't really count until I haven't had a period for 12 months. I was surprised to find out that I missed the old Aunt Flo. At first. Now, I am getting used to the idea. I think I want to make a longer post about going through menopause, but I promise to warn the men in advance...

The boat is in the water, but the weather has been sucky of late. High winds and cold make for less than pleasant weekends. But we persevere.

I am thinking of what I should be called when I officially become a grandparent. (November 28. Wheeee!!) My grandmothers were Grandma and Mimi. For some odd reason that I can't quite put my finger on, I find myself leaning towards Granny Allison, but Grant thinks that sounds like I am a crone. I dunno. What do you think?

I have to go cook dinner, which reminds me: Grant has lost over 25 lbs. I have lost 7. Apparently my thyroid is hypo-active. So I am having a thyroid scan tomorrow. Which means:

I am currently radioactive.

Gotcha!

The last few months, this wee gent has been visiting my bird feeder. I generally pride myself on my bird identification skills, usually I either know the bird right offhand (courtesy of a birding-type mother) or I figure it out by consulting the ever-handy Peterson Field Guide. But this guy had me stumped. After eliminating the most likely suspects, I went through the guide page by page. still no luck. When I was in Arizona, I queried Mom, and we consulted several different guides to no avail.

Finally, I caught him on film. Sorry for the poor quality: I suspect the combination of shooting through the window, late afternoon light on a snowy day*, and low batteries are to blame, but I think you can see the little birdie well enough. Anyway, I then searched out a birdwatching site here in the GTA, so I could post a message about my bird. Unfortunately, the registration process required me to wait for admin approval, so I was unable to post my photos. I scrolled through various other peoples' posts and found this link.

Hey! that looks like it might be my guy! I am not sure if he is slate-cloured or a white-winged (although I tend toward the latter), but I think he is most definitely a junco. This morning I saw him fly and noted the flash of white that is usually mentioned in the various guides. Sure enough, now that I look at the juncos in the Peterson, I wonder why I was so stumped. Still...gotcha!

*Please note that this snowy day was yesterday. April 7. Once again..WTF?

The unexpected benefits of blogging

Returning from our latest visit to Arizona this holiday, I discovered that my Permanent Resident card had expired last January. I am not altogether certain why the agent who admitted me last March didn't notice it, but be that as it may. I had a moment of excitement when I actually had to go to the Immigration area to be re-admitted to Canada, but no worries. However, I do have to renew the card now.

So, today I downloaded the application form to re-apply and discover that I have to account for my days absent from Canada. If I am gone for more than two years out of the five, I might lose my residency status. Now, I have not been gone for that much time, but accounting for all the holidays we have taken over the last 5 years is not an easy one.

Then I realized: I have documented nearly every vacation I have taken right here! No need to try and decipher passport stamps or guess at the days, the sum of my holidays is written for you all. Bonus.

An additional bonus: now that I have documented all the times I left Canada, I have no excuse not to apply for Canadian citizenship. Well, except for the whole bit about swearing allegiance to the Queen....

Ponderings and Posings

• Why is it so easy to read 30 blogs every day and so hard to write just one?
  
• Remember when Heroes used to be good?
  
• I am listening to Fields of Gold by Sting (shut up! I like Sting). Why is it so much sexier when someone kisses "her mouth" instead of "her lips"?
  
• Maybe if I refilled the bird feeder, the pretty birds would come back. Unfortunately, that currently entails navigating the sea of dog poop that is currently my backyard.
  
• You really didn't need that last bit of information, did you?
  
• I didn't give up anything for Lent. I never give up anything for Lent. Do you?
  
• I thought the Academy Awards rocked this year. I especially liked the groups of five previous winners doing the acting nominations. I thought it gave real power to the idea that it was an honour just to be nominated. Seemed to me that most of the actors really appreciated the acknowledgment. Since when did giving people compliments become boring?
  
• This is very nearly a BoQ, isn't it? Don't you miss BOQs? How do you write bOq?
  
• I had iTunes Genius make me some playlists from my music. It pretty much scored a home run.
  
• Are you looking forward to baseball season? Do you ever look forward to a sporting season?
  
• I have fingerling potatoes to roast for supper tonight. You envy me, don't you?
  
• What state would you most like to visit?
  
• After I wrote the last item, the Genius playlist just moved to New York State of Mind. It really is a Genius, isn't it?
  
• Have you watched Life on Mars? You really should. Trust me.
  
• Which reminds me: I am actually feeling somewhat nostalgic for the 70s. I blame Milk, The Pursuit of Happyness and the aforementions LOM. What decade do you feel nostalgia for?
  
• I think this one is done for now. Thanks for playing
  

The only thing to fear

I have been a big fan of The Pioneer Woman ever since Annika posted a link to one of her recipes.

Today, I found myself reading the replies to this post in her Homeschooling section. Although I don't often read many of the homeschooling posts completely, I check it out from time to time; mainly to get new resources. But this post caught my eye and I ended up reading (well, skimming) all 259 of the replies.

The commenters varied from homeschoolers, public schoolers, private schoolers, a little bit of everything schoolers and even a couple of unschoolers. It was interesting reading and I found it fascinating to hear how different people made different decisions about what was right for their children, many of them choosing different options for different children in their own families. There were stories of great schools and terrible schools; of public schools being the best place for a child with special needs or the worst place for a child with special needs. There were charter schools, both on location and online. The variety of options and the variety of reasons for the schooling decision were incredibly varied and always interesting.

But I was particularly struck with one thing. It is perhaps not surprising that a fair number of the homeschoolers identified as strongly Christian; what shocked me was how afraid many of these parents seemed to be of how their children were influenced by the outside world. I am not talking of drugs, sex and bullying. No, they spoke of being forced to accept politically correct thinking and learning values that they could not support; they mourned the failure to pray at school and the importance of their Christian values being reinforced by teachers. They seemed terrified that their children might be exposed to opinions and ideas that did not meet their narrow expectations. They seemed to me to be afraid of the world.

Of course, I am familiar with the rantings of the Christian Right and their ilk, as anyone who supports womens' rights and gay rights and civil rights would be. I was just sadly surprised to see such normal-seeming people be so afraid. Of people like me. Of people like you.

25 things about me

I have been tagged at least three times for this. Finally, I am getting around to doing it.

1. My paternal grandparents lived in Southern California, so during a large part of my childhood, my family managed to take us to Disneyland once a year. I have probably been there at least ten times. Although I loved many of the rides, my favourite was always Peter Pan. I still get a tingle when I hear Peter say "Here we goooooo!!"

2. When I was very small, I used to listen to my parent's recording of "HMS Pinafore" endlessly. The vinyl discs were stored in a cardboard case, with a photograph of the D'oyly Carte production. When D'oyly Carte came to San Francisco with their production, my parents took me to see it. The curtain rose, and the set was the exact same as the album cover!! I was amazed and delighted, as only a 7 year old can be.

3. I hate peas. I often pick them out of my food.

4. I have been fired three times.

5. I have always alphabetized my music collection. I have never alphabetized my book collection.

6. Speaking of books, I own over a hundred Star Trek novels.

7. For my university graduation present, my parents gave me $1000, which I spent on a week-long trip to New York City. The first two nights I spent at a hotel on Times Square, then I crashed (illegally) at a dorm room at Columbia with a girl I met my second night in town.

8. I drink my coffee black, but I like a bit of sweetener in my tea.

9. I have seen Barry Manilow in concert 4 times, Bette Midler 3 times, the Indigo Girls 3 times, and Barbra Streisand once. No, I am not a gay man.

10. My parents always wanted me to get straight A's in high school. I did not comply. However, when I returned to school at 44 years of age, I got my first (and only) straight A report card.

11. My sun sign is Virgo. My rising sign is Aries. My moon is also in Aries and Mercury is in Virgo. This means I am outgoing, impulsive, and critical. Who says astrology is a load of hooey???

12. The first album I owned was "Magical Mystery Tour" which I bought at the Bell Market grocery store.

13. Nearly every pair of shoes I own is black. Same goes for my dress pants.

14. I went to camp for two weeks each summer for 3 years. My best activities were archery and riflery.

15. Mickey was my favourite Monkee. I really didn't have a favourite Beatle until I was in my twenties and saw A Hard Days Night. Then I fell in love with John.

16. I am happy eating the same thing for breakfast and the same thing for lunch every single day.

17. I have lived in Canada for 9 years. I can't vote here, because I am not a citizen, but I have voted in every U.S. federal election since I was 18 years old.

18. My first car was an orange Honda CVCC. It was the size of a postage stamp. Seriously.

19. In 2001, I moved into a new home. That was the first time in my life I had ever painted a wall.

20. I love to cook. I rarely use recipes any more. And when I do use them, I rarely do everything the way the author does.

21. I can't tell you what my favourite movie or book is; there are just too many to choose from. However, my favourite musical is Sunday in the Park with George.

22. I find it nearly impossible to fall asleep in a seated position. Or when the television is on.

23. On February 17th, I will celebrate my 9th wedding anniversary. On March 24th, I will have been married to my current husband longer than I was married to my first husband.

24. I can usually identify, by name, an episode of ST:TOS within 1 minute of viewing.

25. Since my birth, the number of animals I have lived with is 11 cats, 8 dogs, two budgies, one hamster, one parrot and one rat.

Thank heaven for memes!!

Otherwise I wouldn't post at all. This one is courtesy of P@.

a) Go to urbandictionary.com and type in your answers to the following questions.
b) Post your favorite definition it gives you -- or just post the first one. (or multiple answers if it's just too funny.)
c) Tag 4 people. Leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged.
d) Those people, if so inspired, should do the same. (I don't do the tagging thing. I believe that memes should spread on their own accord. ;))*

1) Your name?
2) Your age?
3) Your favorite drink?
4) Favorite color?
5) Birthplace?
6) Month of your birth?
7) Where you live now?

Your name?
Allison: coolest bitch on the block

Your age?
51: Number of states many people seem to think the USA has.

Your favorite drink?
Martini: a cocktail made with gin and vermouth and served with an olive.

Favorite color?
Royal blue: The color of blue that is brighter than most others. Many cars, shoes, and clothes come in this color. It is said to have been worn by royalty.

Birthplace?
San Francisco: San Francisco means so many things to so many people--a superlative in terms of the kinds of activity and diversity engendered in the most beautiful city in the world.

Affectionately known by locals as "The City" by the bay, it's unique topography and eclectic skyline lends a vertical appearance to a dynamic landscape, containing the world's most treasured examples of architecture--Transamerica Pyramid, Bank of America Center, Ferry Building, Golden Gate Bridge, et al.

Akin to Paris and London, San Francisco offers something special for those living--or visiting--in the area, leaving an indelible impression to come back for more: Financial District, Fisherman's Wharf, Alcatraz Island, Union Square, Chinatown, Japantown, etc.

I left my heart in San Francisco. And I can't wait to go back.

Month of your birth?
September: a month with a nice temperature and everything but it’s when school starts.

Where you live now?
Canada:
Here are some reasons to be proud to be Canadian:

1. Smarties
2. Crispy Crunch, Coffee Crisp
3. The size of our footballs fields and one less down
4. Baseball is Canadian
5. Lacrosse is Canadian
6. Hockey is Canadian
7. Basketball is Canadian
8. Apple pie is Canadian
9. Mr. Dress-up kicks Mr. Rogers ass
10. Tim Hortons kicks Dunkin' Donuts ass
11. In the war of 1812, started by America, Canadians pushed
the Americans back...past their 'White House'. Then we burned it...and most of Washington, under the command of William Lyon McKenzie who was insane and hammered all the time. We got bored because they ran away, so we came home and partied...Go figure.
12. Canada has the largest French population that never surrendered to
Germany.
13. We have the largest English population that never ever surrendered or withdrew during any war to anyone, anywhere.
14. Our civil war was a bar fight that lasted a little over an hour.
15. The only person who was arrested in our civil war was an American
mercenary, who slept in and missed the whole thing... but showed up just in time to get caught.
16. We knew plaid was cool far before Seattle caught on.
17. The Hudsons Bay Company once owned over 10% of the earth's surface and is still around as the worlds oldest company.
18. The average dog sled team can kill and devour a full grown human in under 3 minutes.
19. We still know what to do with all the parts of a buffalo.
20. We don't marry our kin-folk.
21. We invented ski-doos, jet-skis, velcro, zippers, insulin, penicillin, zambonis, the telephone and short wave radios that save countless lives each year.
22. We ALL have frozen our tongues to something metal and lived to tell about it.
23. A Canadian invented Superman.

BUT MOST IMPORTANT!
24. The handles on our beer cases are big enough to fit your hands with mitts on. OOOoohhhhh Canada!!

Oh yeah... and our elections only take one day.


*That's P@ talking at the end, but I feel exactly the same way. I intend to include this in all my memes from now on!

Cuz all the nerds are doin' it!

Heh. Doin' it.

Stolen from absolutely everyone!

What the...???

Yesterday, I received this in the mail:



The other side of the mailing. Please note the rosary, inscribed "God Bless Allison" and the lovely (plastic) red case to carry it in.



My question: what the HELL did I buy, surf or join in order to end up on a Catholic mailing list????????

Things I did while on Christmas break

• Bought a Wii
  
• Played far too much Mario Kart
  
• Made candles
  
• Was ridiculously spoiled by my husband on Christmas Day
  
• Put a whole bunch of musicals on my brand new BLUE iPod Nano
  
• Poached eggs for the first time in my life
  
• Made Egg Benedict for Boxing Day Brunch (see poached eggs)
  
• Obsessively refreshed the Pandagon page to keep up with the endlessly entertaining trolls
  
• Read Twilight
  
• Hated it
  
• But really enjoyed this thread linking me to the BEST recap of Twilight ever
  
• Drank way too much
  
• Bought a new car
  
• The blue one
  
• On impulse
  

I wonder what tomorrow will bring?

Just what I needed

Now, go vote!

I Feel Pretty!

New haircut and new glasses!

Plus, my husband gave me a whackin' huge gift certificate for Lush and my loot arrived today!! I not only feel pretty, I will smell pretty too!