Come on, it's simirable!

Things to Ponder

2007-03-07T11:48:00.000-05:00

1. Save the whales. Collect the whole set.

2. A day without sunshine is like......night.

3. On the other hand, you have different fingers

4. 99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name.

5. He who laughs last, thinks slowest.

6. Depression is like anger without enthusiasm.

7. The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese in the trap.

8. Support bacteria.......they're the only culture some people have.

9. A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.

10. Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.

11. If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.

12. How many of you believe in psycho-kinesis? OK, then raise my hand

13. OK, so what's the speed of dark?

14. When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

15. Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.

16. How much deeper would the ocean be without sponges?

17. Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines

18. What happens if you get scared half to death twice?

19. I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder

20. Just remember -- if the world didn't suck, we would all fall off.

21. Light travels faster than sound. That's why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

22. Life isn't like a box of chocolates . . it's more like a jar of jalapenos. What you do today might burn your Ass tomorrow

Game

2007-02-07T11:42:00.000-05:00

I think you guys will appreciate this.
It's an easy game.
Thanks to Crys for the link.

http://hk.promo.yahoo.com/movie/superman/Stop_Press_Game/

Well, huh....why would anyone do this??

2007-02-01T15:58:00.000-05:00

No, really....can someone explain to me why you'd do this to begin with??

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070201/hand_sanitizer_070201/20070201?hub=Health

Follow-up

2007-01-29T13:07:00.000-05:00

Here's the latest news on my previous post....

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/Oddities/070129/K012915AU.html

How far would you go??

2007-01-18T13:08:00.000-05:00

I just came across this article on MSN.com, and found it kind of intriguing in a few ways.
http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/01/18/33735.aspx

Firstly, it reminded me how amazing medical science is these days, and what extraordinary lengths people are willing to take to have children.
Then I thought (and subsequently found many comments agreeing with me) what person in their right mind would want to explain the circumstances of their conception & birth to that child in 10 years? Can you imagine it? "Yes, little Jimmy, your daddy did die 5 years before you were born...and your mommy is someone I found through the newspaper who lives halfway across the world (or even, your grandma advertised for someone to be your mommy through the newspaper)." What kind of issues do you think this kid would grow up with?

Then I started to think again...there are lots of imperfect families out there, and simply stating that since this kid might not have a biological father in the picture, and therefore will have issues is just not right. There are many loving families out there that aren't exactly traditional, and it seems like this woman has put a lot of time into choosing someone to carry this child. It's not really clear who would be raising it in the long term, but I think I'd give the benefit of the doubt here and believe that no matter who it is would be a loving caregiver.

And who knows? Maybe this child would someday embrace this story as proof of how much his (or her) biological father wanted them and the extraordinary lengths their grandmother went to to acheive it. That they get to carry on his legacy, whatever that may be....

But then again, what if everything doesn't play out like the picture perfect fairytale? And is this really, truly something that 19 year old soldier would've chosen? Does it make sense that his mother can make that decision for him after his death?

Such a touchy subject, so many questions, but really who does have the answers? I guess only time will tell.

In the meantime, it's one hell of a story.....your thoughts?

Christmas Presents

2006-12-14T11:32:00.000-05:00

I need help!

I've come very close to finishing all my Christmas shopping, and had really figured I'd be done all early this year and everything. It was so under control!!

*sigh* until now anyway....I've become totally stuck for ideas for my sister. I already have one thing for her wrapped & all, but I wanted something else to add to it. Problem is, I just don't have any ideas, and save gift cards (which I really loathe getting for people), I'm at a loss....

Also, to top it all off, the 2nd part of my dad's present, which would have been oh-so-awesome for him I think, is next to impossible to find. And dopey me, the one time I actually saw it in the store, I thought "oh great! I'll be able to come back & get that" and lo and behold, it's nowhere to be found now. Smart eh?

Sooo....any suggestions are welcome :-)

Pointless....

2006-12-07T11:14:00.000-05:00

I figure I'm about due to post again, I guess a month's wait is really a little too long.

I was inspired to get on here today with the same-sex debate coming up again in Parliament. I can't believe, election promise or not, that we're really getting into this again. How else can the government waste its time already?? Last I heard, the majority of Canadians don't even care anymore! And at the end of the day what do our rights mean if, once these discussions are had, debated, recommendations are made and decisions taken, someone can come along and say "you know what, I still don't like the answer, so let's have another go"???

It also reminds me of a conversation that happened last year with a coworker of mine who can be rather outspoken on this issue. Basically, the conversion devolved into him claiming that anyone who studied history knows that same-sex relationships caused the fall of the greek & roman civilizations....

It was at this point that I picked my jaw up off the floor and just walked away....

I stand firm in my belief that everyone should be happy in the partnership that they choose. It doesn't impact me one iota if John & Jim or Jane & Judy decide to pledge themselves to one another for life, and why should the government re-hash it all over again because of an election promise?

It's not like they haven't broken a few already... ;-)

Happy Birthday to Me!

2006-11-06T12:07:00.000-05:00

ummm....well, that's the gist of my post today *L*

It's my birthday, I'm getting older *sigh*
Oh well, at least I'm having fun!
Thanks to everyone who sent me emails and text messages this morning, it's nice to know people are thinking about you on your birthday.

Other than that, I can't say I have too much to report. Weekend was good, had Crys' cake party Saturday night where we sampled the recipe she's been trying out for her friend's wedding. It was pretty good, and the different tasting layers were a little surprising! Good luck with the real thing!!

Sunday I cleaned the apartment...fun, eh? At least it goes quickly when your place is pretty small. I also went out looking for good post-Hallowe'en decoration bargains, but came out empty handed. I don't remember all the Hallowe'en being gone so quickly last year! However, I did get a pretty good idea of the Christmas stuff, but I put off any purchases until I have a better handle on what I have in terms of decorations already ;-)

Tonight is floor hockey, where I predict a win because hey...it's my birthday :-D
We'll likely be heading out for a couple drinks afterwards, and then Matt has informed me that I have to come back to his place so he can give me his present. I fail to understand why he can't bring it in the car and then give it to me at my place, but whatever.... It's probably because it's HUGE :-D or, because he hasn't yet wrapped it and knows I'll smack him if he doesn't...*L* :-P
Should be interesting.

Hallowe'en Fun!

2006-11-02T12:24:00.000-05:00

Any one who's known me for a decent amount of time is aware that Hallowe'en for me & my family is a pretty big deal. In fact for the years during university when I couldn't be home for it were rather depressing times. Unfortunately, since the majority of the time Hallowe'en falls during the week, I can't justify taking 2 days off work to make the drive back to the 'shwa either. For the past couple years we've strived to make the best of the season anyway though. My mom has hosted pre-hallowe'en family potlucks, and this year there was a big bash planned back home (see Matt's blog for the details ;-) it was a doozy!) so that we could all still celebrate it together. But this was my first year really doing Hallowe'en in Ottawa.

Let me tell you, it was WEIRD! First let me just say, yay for Matt for actually wanting to hand out candy at his house. I was so excited to have somewhere to do this, since I live in an apartment, and that's just not really conducive to trick or treating. I had every intention of decorating as best as possible at his place for the kiddies, but the weekend away, work and traffic intervened, and we really didn't get anything done. Oh well, at least my place was decorated!! Next year, I'll have to actually invite people over beforehand to see it.

Here's where the weird part comes in though....I've never EVER handed out candy at the door. Many of you might wonder about this, or even fail to see why it was so strange to me, but it was. Even I can't explain it. It just seems totally out of sorts for me to be answering a doorbell and dishing out treats. And that's not even accounting for the strange feeling of not being dressed up!

I suppose I should backtrack a little and explain the door thing. At my parents, Hallowe'en set-up commences days before, and my dad actually takes the day off work to decorate and prepare for the night ahead. He carves no less than 10 pumpkins on a given Hallowe'en, I believe it was 13 this year. He makes fresh graves on the front lawn, and sets up our personalized tombstones. (I should also mention my parents actually live next to a little cemetary now, which just adds to the effect!) THEN, he rolls out the coffin. Yes, you read that right. My father owns a coffin, exclusively used for Hallowe'en. And to make a long story, uh, shorter....it is only ever from this coffin that I've handed out candy. Can you imagine, as a little kid, walking up to this creepily decked out house and being told by a disembodied voice (Dad has a whole sound system rigged up for this too) that you must knock on the coffin to receive a treat?? I love it! It's great! One year my aunt actually even hauled a kid into the coffin with her.... :-D

Of course, to hand out the candy from the coffin, you must also be decked out in costume. Hence, the strangeness of not being dressed up at Matt's Tuesday. I did wear my Hallowe'en shirt and my cool spider pin....but it just wasn't the same.

Overall, I'm really glad I got to hand stuff out this year, and maybe next year we can scare up ideas to get more kids there, cuz that's what it's all about!! Hope you all had a great Hallowe'en, and just keep remembering: It's fun to pretend :-)

Weekend craziness

2006-11-02T11:58:00.000-05:00

I feel as though my family is beginning to set a precendent for crazy weekends everytime I go home!!
This past weekend was no different, although this time it was a lot of fun and definitely a good craziness. Matt has been preparing a rather detailed account of the events from his perspective, so I won't detail too much here. I suggest checking out his blog, it's worth it!

Thanksgiving craziness

2006-10-12T13:12:00.000-04:00

So, yes, I know....it's taking me way too long to post about my Thanksgiving, but I'm warning you now....I simply can't do justice to all the drama in a blog post. Nor would I, given that it's just not right to post some of the more touchy subjects online. You know, protecting the innocent (or guilty, as the case may be) and all that.... ;-)

Suffice to say that when your family's Thanksgiving get-together ends with your dad, uncle & cousin in a stakeout, things are getting crazy! Fortunately for most of us, that craziness quickly transformed into a quite the dramedy...and in the end, most of us had some pretty good laughs. **It must be noted that super-secretive undercover surveillance work should not be entrusted to those three ever again. Nor should said undercover surveillance work be undertaken in a 1990 Ford Tempo with muffler issues...or without binoculars, cameras, or even dark attire. Also key is to not stand out in the broad, uh....evening light ;-)
On second thought, next time the girls are just gonna handle it ourselves! *L*

Unfortunately, the situation that originally prompted all the drama continues....so I'm sure I'll be hearing about more soon enough....

On a much happier note, we also got to celebrate quite a bit over the weekend. Friday was one of my little cousin's 1st birthday, so Saturday was full of little kid birthday fun, complete with jumping castle goodness. Granted, jumping castle goodness only works if you meet the weight restrictions *L* and in this case, the "for-personal-use" jumping castle wasn't exactly meant for an adult, and especially not 2. This of course led to much hilarity for the rest of the adults watching though!

Also, my sister got engaged over the weekend! She's super excited, and her happy dance was a common sight for all the family events. Granted, it looked an awful lot like the pee dance....so you never know ;-)
She asked me to be her maid of honour, which blew me away a little as I hadn't expected that at all, but of course I'm flattered and happy to do that for her, and have to say I'm looking forward to it. It seems like our relationship has finally risen above all the little petty things we went through as we grew up, and I couldn't be happier about it. Love you, Jac!

Yay for Thanksgiving and my family....I tell you, there's never a dull moment ;-)

Is your computer male or female?

2006-09-15T12:44:00.000-04:00

...the Spanish language gives us the answer!!

****************************************************

A Spanish teacher was explaining to her class
that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are
designated as either masculine or feminine.
"House" for instance, is feminine: "la casa."
"Pencil," however, is masculine: "el lapiz."
A student asked, "What gender is 'computer'?"
Instead of giving the answer, the teacher
split the class into two groups, male and female,
and asked them to decide for themselves
whether "computer" should be a masculine or a
feminine noun.
Each group was asked to give four reasons
for its recommendation.
The men's group decided that "computer"
should definitely be of the feminine gender
("la computadora"), because:
1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic.
2. The native language they use to communicate with other
computers is incomprehensible to everyone else.
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory
for possible later retrieval.
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself
spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.
The women's group, however, concluded that computers should
be Masculine ("el computador"), because:
1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on.
2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves.
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the
time they ARE the problem.
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had
waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.

***************************************************

So, what's your guess? I have the answer ;-)

Thanks to my aunt for this one!

Cable installation

2006-09-11T16:20:00.000-04:00

So...today I had to take the afternoon off to sit around and wait for the cable guy to show up. You know, cuz they're so precise in their service estimations. Anytime between 2 and 5pm. Geez...that meant I had to leave work at 1, so I could bus back by 1:30ish, because they're supposed to call you a half hour beforehand so you're ready for them. I was a little sceptical that they actually would call (they did), but wanted to be sure I didn't get screwed over considering they told me they already had a crazy number of appointments booked through the better part of the month.

Interestingly, this all started rather strangely. I called to make an appointment last week, but yesterday, while Matt & I were sitting around my apartment....well, actually Matt was absorbed in DDR....I got a phone call from Rogers reminding me of my cable service appointment the next day. At first, I was a little confused by this since the service tech I'd made the appointment with had told me my appointment was Sept 20th. (Also, this guy had told me this was the absolute earliest appointment he could get me, due to the crazy bookings mentioned above...) Then I got frustrated because the only options the recording gave me were to keep the appointment by saying "yes", or change the appointment by saying "no", or something. So, I'm sitting there all perplexed, because A) I don't have an appointment scheduled then to my knowledge, and B) I don't want to change the appointment I don't have.

Finally, the recording must've realized I didn't like my limited options, and prompted me to say "agent" if I wanted to speak with one. So, I did, and she confirmed that they had an appointment and, lucky me, I would get my cable a week earlier.

Oh, yay....so, not only do I get to pay you a ridiculous rate for digital cable I'm not sure I really want (I just want regular cable people! Not to have to pay you for your digital box and whatever else you can charge me for...), but I get to do it even earlier than I expected! :-( And, I have to go into work and hope my boss lets me have the afternoon off so I can sit around and wait.

Fortunately the guy got here just after 3. Not so fortunately, he tracked dirt onto my new rug :-( But, I now have cable...let the bills begin.

Team Canada Contiues on the Road to Beijing

2006-09-07T15:08:00.000-04:00

Just a mini update on Team Canada's successful trip to Cuba for the Olympic Qualifier.

While they weren't able to secure a spot in Beijing just yet (those spots went to the US and Cuba), they did qualify for a second chance tournament next year in Taiwan by virtue of finishing 4th in this one. My cousin managed to get two starts after his last minute addition to the roster, and by all accounts seems to have pitched pretty awesome. He was 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA, and while the news articles mostly give kudos for redeeming himself after what they call past struggles at the international level :-s , I also say good on Baseball Canada for letting him shine as the starter he is this time!

Once again, bravo Chris, and we can't wait to have you home again (for at least a little while)!!

I Officially Have Keys to my New Apartment!

2006-08-24T10:16:00.000-04:00

All day yesterday I was antsy and anxious for the workday to be over because it was the day I finally got the keys to my apartment!

By 4:30 I was ready to go, and bolted from work to catch the bus and train home to pick up my car and grab a few cleaning-type things that weren't already in my car. Chatted with my roommate for a few seconds, giving her the heads up on the "plan" for the rest of the week. By 5:30 I was off to the building since I had an appointment @ 6. Or at least, I should've had an appointment at 6. Good thing I knew, cuz no one else did.....poor maintenance/on call guy had no idea....

But, everything worked out in the end, and I'm in!

Tonight the real moving begins. Mom & Dad are up from Oshawa, and I have the elevator booked from 5-8. Also, for the first time ever, I'll apparently be meeting the landlady I've talked with many times on the phone and by email, but have yet to see in person. Hopefully she won't yell at me again about my elevator bookings, and will actually have a parking spot for me finally!

I had planned to bring my camera and document all the moving excitement, but I forgot :-( I also asked Matt if we could bring his today, but we both forgot.....maybe he can grab it mid-move tonight when thery pick up the stuff I have in his garage :-)

I will post 'em once I've got 'em though!

side note: I finally remembered what I'd been meaning to ask my mom to bring for the past week...argh....the coffee! maybe she thought of it herself.... :-D

Begg Added to Olympic Qualifier Roster!!

2006-08-22T10:50:00.000-04:00

Yay Chris! After much negotiating with his current team, I'm sure, my cousin has finally been allowed to join Team Canada and participate in the Olympic Qualifier next week in Cuba. As you may or may not know, Chris has played several times with the national team over the past 3 years, including the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2006 World Baseball Classic where he pitched in the now infamous U.S.EH! game where Canada's mostly minor leaguer team defeated the heavily major league laden US squad 8-6.

This season Chris has gone 12-10 with a 3.53 ERA with the Connecticut Defenders, San Francisco's AA affiliate. In fact he's supposed to be pitching tonight at 7:05 EST, so log on to ctdefenders.com and check him out.

Best of luck Chris! I want a reason to plan for Beijing in 2008!!

GO CANADA GO!!

Work vs. Prison

2006-08-17T09:32:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Elky for this one....

***************************************************************************

If you ever get these two environments confused, this should make things a little bit clearer.

IN PRISON......you spend the majority of your time in a 10X10 cell.
AT WORK........you spend the majority of your time in an 8X8 cubicle.

IN PRISON....... you get three meals a day.
AT WORK........ you get a break for one meal and you have to pay for it.

IN PRISON.......... you get time off for good behaviour.
AT WORK........... you get more work for good behaviour.

IN PRISON.......... the guard locks and unlocks all the doors for you.
AT WORK........... you're often required to carry a security card and open all the doors yourself.

IN PRISON......... you can watch TV and play games.
AT WORK........... you get fired for watching TV and playing games.

IN PRISON........ you get your own toilet.
AT WORK.......... you share the toilet with some people who pee on the seat.

IN PRISON.......... they allow your family and friends to visit.
AT WORK........... you're not supposed to even speak to your family.

IN PRISON......... all expenses are paid by the taxpayers.
AT WORK......... you pay all your expenses to get to work, and then they deduct taxes from your salary to pay for prisoners.

IN PRISON......... you must deal with sadistic wardens.
AT WORK........... they're called managers.

IN PRISON..... you spend most of your life inside bars wanting to get out.
AT WORK ...... you spend most of your time wanting to get out and go inside bars.

***************************************************************************

So.....who said prison was bad??

Literary Art

2006-08-10T09:28:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Tanya for sending me this....
*******************************************************************

Every year, English teachers from across the country can submit their collections of actual analogies and metaphors found in high school essays. These excerpts are published each year to the amusement of teachers across the country. Here are last year's winners . . .

1. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master.

2. His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.

3. He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.

4. She grew on him like she was a colony of E. Coli, and he was room-temperature Canadian beef.

5. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.

6. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.

7. He was as tall as a six-foot, three-inch tree.

8. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife's infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM machine.

9. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't.

10. McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup.

11. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30.

12. Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.

13. The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.

14. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.

15. They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan's teeth.

16. John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.

17. He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant, and she was the East River.

18. Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut.

19. Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do.

20. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.

21. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while.

22. He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame, maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.

23. The ballerina rose gracefully en Pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.

24. It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools.

25. He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up.

A Family, a Policeman, a Thief and a Raft....

2006-08-04T14:17:00.000-04:00

Here's a challenge for all you puzzle lovers out there...

Try out this game

Website: http://freeweb.siol.net/danej/riverIQGame.swf
To start: Press big blue button
The Goal: To move everyone to the other side of the river
Rules: Only two people are allowed on the raft at a time. The father cannot stay with any of the daughters without their mother's presence. The mother cannot stay with any of the sons without their father's presence. The thief cannot stay with any family member if the policeman is not there. Only the father, the mother and the policeman know how to operate the raft.

I got it eventually, but it took a while.

Thanks to Jen for the link.

Fernie Fest 2006

2006-08-01T15:04:00.000-04:00

Well, Fernie Fest 2006 has officially come to a close, and now the Organizing Committee can take a break before diving back into Fernie Fest 2007 planning.

What's Fernie Fest, you ask?

Well, let's just start by saying my family is crazy. Really crazy. We're talking tie 8 people together and run them around the neighbourhood on a scavenger hunt crazy. Just for fun :-) And obviously I mean fun for my mom, dad & me (aka the Organizing Committee) since the official rules of Fernie Fest state that everything is solely for the entertainment of the Organizing Committee.

Essentially, every year we get together at my parents place for what's become a weekend-long family barbeque/competition. It's named in honour of my late Great-Granny Fern who, although she never attended, would have thought it was hilarious. We love you Great-Granny!!

There is a new theme every year, complete with a logo and themed decorations and activities. Normally it is a potluck affair, but this year we even went as far as ordering in chinese (to suit the theme of course). The activities range from *almost* regular sports like ball hockey and volleyball, to crazy things we come up with or are inspired by like bubble wrap sumo wrestling and frozen t-shirt relays.

It's always a blast, and for only the first time in 5 years, we had to deal with rain this year. It kinda slowed down the momentum a little, but overall it still made for a great weekend. If you'd like a participant's (& also a newbie's) take on the whole experience, check out Matt's blog.

Interested in trying it out with your own clan? Get in touch....but keep in mind, my superior creative and organizational services don't come cheap! ;-)

Bell City Chase

2006-07-27T12:08:00.000-04:00

Well, here we are! All set and ready to take on City Chase day....you know, before we got all gross and sweaty running all over town :-)
I have to say, this was really cool. Being a big Amazing Race fan, I was psyched to participate!

The day started out with us getting up ridiculously early so we'd get downtown to register in the first 200 teams so we could score the visors pictured above. I'll note now that there were 164 participating teams....you do the math....perhaps being there at 8am for the 10am start wasn't exactly necessary *sigh* but it did give us time to get a headstart on the scavenger hunt items we could need (thanks to Duncan's hard work behind the scenes!)

Around 9:20 or so they started some speeches, stunts (including a member of one team losing an eyebrow) and a couple of awards. We even got a shout out as one of the runners-up for their favourite team name - "We're #43".....the MC's words were something like "we don't know what it means, but we like it!". Another contender was "notgettingstuckingatineauthisyear" and the winner was "Is Vomiting an Option?".

10am rolled around, and they gave us a list of 16 scavenger hunt items we'd need 10 of in order to get our Chase Point list. Highlights:
- Sir John A. MacKenzie's mother's name (Helen Shaw)
- A non-participant wearing tighty-whiteys (who you would need to have in person)
- A photocopy of a team-bib # within 10 digits of your own
- A lock of hair of at least 10 strands (or, in our case a HUGE chunk...thanx Matt....)
- The # of flags on Sparks St. between Elgin & Metcalfe
- A non-participant with the same colour eyes as the shortest person on your team (we sorta stole another team's after Matt recognized the guy)
- A ball with you team # on it (thanks to our "within 10 digit" buddies for buying it!!)
- The phone number of the pay phone closest to the Bell building on O'Connor
- Another City Chaser with the same name as a member of your team (which, although you'd think it easy with names like Matt & Jenn, we got at the last second while we were pretty much standing at the check-in table)
and etc....

** I see this being a long post at this rate ;-) **

Yay! We have our first Chase Point completed, now it's a mad dash for the O-train & Carleton U. The 1st 25 teams there were supposed to get special VIP cards, which would allow them to skip the line at 1 other Chase Point of their choosing. Fortunately, we were #23, and because Matt asked, we got our VIP card (the girl forgot). Next up, a trip through the maze of underground tunnels on the campus, with questions to be answered along the way. To be honest, I found this frustrating right away. The instructions were really vague, and more than once we were like "what are we supposed to be doing??". Anyway, we perservered and headed off to Hog's Back Falls with another team. We're still debating if this was the right call, because we had initially planned a different route, but ultimately it probably would only have saved us a little time.

Hog's Back was a zipline across the falls, where we chose to use our VIP card (awesome call, I felt bad for all the teams who had to just stand there while the VIP's all got in front, but hey it's a race). Next, off to Mooney's Bay for beach volleyball against another team. We lost our first matchup....it was close though...beat the second team, got some water, had a quick pee break...and off we went! uh....back across the road..... to set up and take down a tent as quickly as possible.

5 Chase Points down, 5 to go!!

We lucked out big time right here by catching a 111 like literally a minute after getting to the stop, getting to Billings and jumping on the 97 downtown. On the way, Duncan gave us a heads up that the secret Chase Point, that you could only get using a Bell cellphone, was at the Rideau Centre. Score! We're headed there anyway! By now we'd figured out that there were at least 6 or 7 Chase Points we could do downtown...so we nixed the idea of going white water canoe/kayaking, because it was just too far away. Next time Matt! :-)

Cue the Rideau Centre! We booked it down to Goodlife, where the secret Chase Point was taking a 5-6 minute aerobics class that took place every 10 minutes. Bonus again, we were right on time for the next one. Other than some coordination issues from the male half, we managed just fine, and were off to Bell World to borrow a camera and take some pictures in the market. They had a list of 6 pictures, you needed to get 4 in less than 45 minutes. The fastest team at that point has done it in 6, we finished in 13. Not too shabby!

Next is the old railway station, now known as the Government Conference Centre, I sat on the steps locked up singing "I've been working on the railroad" while Matt ran down to the locks in search of the combination. Only after did I understand why he grabbed my phone when he left....it has a camera! Sneaky, sneaky Matt....good thing they were busy yelling at someone else about using phones! ;-)

Ran up to Parliament Hill (and by run, I fully mean walked semi-quickly...) for some blindfolded croquet, where I brilliantly started off by directing Matt "right! right!...oh, wait..I mean left..." oops!! We still finished it up pretty quickly, and after Matt sweet talked the girl into giving him the Bell blindfold, we were off to the finish line for our last task!

The City Chase is partnered with Children's Wish Foundation, and our lask Chase Point was to sell at least $10 worth of tickets for ice cream or drinks at their booth. We could only sell them between O'Connor & Bank, from Sparks St. to Wellington. We stuck to Sparks St, and after a slow start, met some very generous people and raised $11.

FINISH LINE, HERE WE COME!!

And really....it probably should have had this warning because we, quite ceremoniously of course, almost took it down :-D Oh well, everyone at the finish had a good laugh on our behalf, and after I finished chasing a plastic piece down Sparks St, we showed off our 10 punches on the Chase Point card, and learned we'd finished 54th!! (at the end of the day we'd actually finished 53rd out of 164, so I'd say that's pretty awesome!)

So that's it....our full City Chase day. I highly encourage everyone to try it, it was a blast. Check it out for next year at www.bellcitychase.com
I also want to thank Duncan for helping us out with the computer all day, we definitely would've had a harder time without you!!

Until next time, ciao!

How to be a horrible neighbour, and then some....

2006-07-26T13:58:00.000-04:00

The last couple days of work have been a little slow, so I've been reading quite a few posts on the Etiquette Hell website....
For those who've never seen this, the website's pretty funny, and who knows, may just keep you from committing some horribly offensive etiquette blunder in the future. Just google "etiquette hell"...

Anyway, one of the categories deals with Everyday Etiquette, and has a subsection called Neighbours. Here you'll find a series of posts from the site's forum page detailing the year+ long saga of this woman Cathy, and her new neighbour woman (NW). If you are looking for ways to piss off your neighbours NW has done it to this lady. I found it hilarious and dumbfounding at the same time, and it truly requires reading for yourself....
I have never heard of anything like this. I mean I've had weird neighbours before, there's a guy a couple houses down from my parents who has mowed his lawn by dragging the lawnmower behind a dirtbike, and also given his kids rides in the canoe in the same manner....but that's just strange.

Here's the link....see for yourself: http://www.etiquettehell.com/content/eh_everyday/neighbors/neighbors.shtml

Also...stay tuned for a recap of last Saturday's Bell City Chase...coming soon :-)

Got some time on your hands?

2006-06-30T14:02:00.000-04:00

...then read this:

http://www.improveverywhere.com/home.php

You will laugh...often....& out loud...I promise :-)
Personal faves include:
- Best Buy
- Cell Phone Symphony
- the Moebius
- and of course, the entire No Pants series (make sure to read these ones in order!)

I caution you to make sure you have time to read them, some are long, some are short. But all will make you laugh, and the whole site is pretty addictive. I mean when you've been parodied on Letterman & SNL, it's gotta be funny....

I would LOVE to be involved in something like this, because I find it hilarious. In fact, Crys wants to do one....apparently I'm supposed to set it up, and she'll get the people. We'll see...I may yet be tempted ;-)

You in? Let me know!!

I'm moving!

2006-06-29T15:20:00.000-04:00

Yay! It's finally happened, I'm moving into my own place!

As of Sept 1st (well, maybe more like mid-August depending when exactly I move in), I'll no longer have a roommate, I'll be all by myself :-)

I have another viewing this weekend as I didn't get to see the actual unit last time. Just one with an identical floor plan. The building's nothing too exciting on the outside, but the interior is newly renovated with nice new kitchens & bathrooms, and it also has hardwood floors. I'm pretty sure the nice, white, new-looking kitchen cabinets were all I needed to see to sell me on it!
It's a little on the small side, but as I've said several times now, not unmanageably so. Plus, there's actually a spot where my corner desk (which I love) will fit! I can only say that it had been a challenge to work that in 'til now....

I'm super excited, and of course I'll be giving out all the details seperately in an email, my apologies to those stalker-types out there ;-)

So, I'll keep people updated, and I can't wait to set up a housewarming :-D

Ciao!

Are you a Celebrity Lookalike?

2006-06-16T14:27:00.000-04:00

Here's a fun way to pass the time:

http://www.myheritage.com/

You'll need a picture of yourself....or random other people, I guess ;-) and you have to sign up (but it's free)

You get about 7 or 8 celebrities you supposedly look like, and I gather that if you use different pictures of yourself it may even give you different results. Mine included Diane Keaton, Meryl Streep & David Beckham (?)

Thanks to Mark for the link....have fun!

Québec City

2006-06-14T16:00:00.000-04:00

Hello, hello!!

For anyone wondering, I spent last week in Québec City for work. It's a tough life, I know....

The city if gorgeous, and even though I'd been once before, I didn't have the chance to really see it until now. All I can say is, if you have the opportunity to go, TAKE IT!! There is so much history there, it's incredible.

Of course, you'll all be happy to hear that this government worker also did a lot of work, because they had tons for us to learn. Made a lot of contacts, and got to know a lot about Parks Canada & its operations. Just wish that visit to La Mauricie National Park had a little more "visit" about it... *sigh*

Lessons from Floor Hockey

2006-06-01T16:21:00.000-04:00

I like sports. I like watching them, and I like participating in them. I have a few standards that I'm comfortable in, but will obviously also play others. I know I won't always be great, but as long as I don't end up looking ridiculous, I'm usually in for pick-up type games. (Notable exception= Football...no matter how hard you try, I am very unlikely to participate)

Anyway...this is how I came to be playing floor hockey last night.
Fun? Check.
Exercise? Check.
Excess of painful welts? Uh, check.....
Lovely black eye this morning? CHECK!

So, thanks for a fun time yesterday guys :-) but can I request a little less of a beating next time? *L*

Ciao!

Weekend home

2006-05-28T12:52:00.000-04:00

One more super crazy work week down, and time for a break back home with Mom & Dad...
It's been a while, but I finally made it back home for the weekend. It's been good, made my first trip up to my aunt & uncle's "cottage". Yes, seriously...I could live there...please, let me live there... ;-)
As expected, it's gorgeous, and not even finished yet. Fortunately, despite my aunt's warnings, I didn't get put to work at all. But I did take many pictures.

My cousin was pitching yesterday too, so there was a bit of a rush on to get back and listen. It was a great game for him. Of course, some run support would've been nice, but at least he didn't get tagged with the loss. It's gotta be tough as a pitcher to give up only one run in 9 innings, pitch to almost the minimum number of batters, and still be on the losing team because there's zero offense... *sigh* Regardless, good game Chris! Keep it up!

This morning it was off to baseball again. This time with Dad, whose team I've grown up watching, and kinda miss being around week after week. They're a good group of guys, happy to just be out there playing, which makes it all the more fun when they take on one of the most ridiculously serious rec teams I've ever seen. Try-outs for an old-timers slo-pitch league? I think not. It was fun seeing them playing so horribly for a few innings. I'm surprised no one got benched or something equally as stupid.

All in all, a good weekend, back to Ottawa tonight. Ciao!

Thanks Chantal!

2006-05-17T09:57:00.000-04:00

Tuesday started off relatively normal. However, that's only because relatively normal at work lately is freakin' craziness....*sigh* is it sad that I kinda like it that way?? Went to look at an apartment in the evening, which although it was super-nice, completely renovated, etc. I don't think I can justify the cost given the size...oh well... got a phone call from Chantal (yay that, although it was dying, my cell was on)....

Chantal has extra tickets to the Our Lady Peace concert at Scotiabank Place, do we want to go? I'm not sure I even got that whole sentence out of my mouth before Matt's grinning, nodding & giving me the thumbs up *L* Alright, cool, we're in...I'm way over-dressed, we're late for the apartment viewing, my phone's dying, but we'll be there....

So, meet up with Chantal et al. Not only does she have tickets, she has free box tickets! We also had to note that Matt's car obviously looked like it belonged in VIP parking ;-)

Concert was great, however I think the most entertaining part just may have been 'older guy in white shirt' sitting just in front of the box. Not only did he stand looking semi-pissed with his arms crossed through virtually the whole thing (variations included: hands on hips, and "thinker" pose).... he would periodically break into sequences of air drumming and body twisting that I can only imagine was supposed to be dancing of some kind....what kind? Your guess is probably as good as mine ;-) Ask me, I'll show you....you can decide.

As a side note, and my public service announcement of the day, just say no to $109 shrimp platters, okay kids?

Thanks again Chantal!!
Ciao!

What kind of driver are you?

2006-05-10T16:52:00.000-04:00

Last night, I saw perhaps the craziest thing I have ever seen in my life. And I'm not talking crazy-funny, or crazy-silly....I'm talking crazy-SCARY!

Matt was driving me home, and shortly after getting on the 416 from the 417, he motioned to the other side of the highway, in a 'check this out' type fashion.

Now get prepared, cuz this is insane...

There was a car driving down the WRONG SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY...and as if this wasn't scary enough, as we came up alongside, it was more or less doing the SPEED LIMIT, with no real indication that there was anything amiss....

Oh, and it gets better....as we approached Hunt Club, there's a bit of a curve in the road...and ahead we can see headlights coming towards us, and sure enough there's cars coming around the curve in both lanes.

Fortunately, the idiot managed to get onto the shoulder before causing an insane head-on collision, but do you think he stopped?? Nope! At least not right away....he continued driving along the shoulder for a bit, eventually turned his fourways on, and from what we could tell (at this point we'd exited, and couldn't see everything from the Hunt Club off-ramp) either turned around, stopped completely somewhere under the bridge, or managed to exit (the wrong way) off the northbound lanes.

I can only hope the driver headed towards Ottawa didn't have a heart attack seeing this jackass coming right at him, but seriously, how in the hell do you manage to, not only get on the highway going in the wrong direction, but also seemingly fail to notice anyone or anything else around you that might indicate what you've done?!??!

Glad nothing happened....it definitely had more than the potential to be an extremely bad time for your cell phone to be dead...

Be safe out there....people are CRAZY!

Girls rule and boys, well...cheat...

2006-05-08T15:38:00.000-04:00

Note to trivia players, when attempting to cheat with the use of a laptop, please remember the following:

1) don't have the same person answer all the questions
2) refrain from stating "thank you internet" after your team answers correctly (no matter how under your breath you think it is)
3) find someone who can type without looking at the keyboard
4) strategically insert wrong answers, especially when you've been accused of cheating for the past 3-4 questions
5) avoid suddenly stating the answer, when up to that point it seems that no one knows it, and there's no discussion before the correct one is blurted out

and finally:

When trying to defend yourselves, keep in mind that holding both hands in the air does not prove you're not hiding a laptop on your LAP behind the table!!

Moral of the story:
The girls won 15-8 so quit whining about your one point cheating penalty...

As a side note however....the guys' strategic placement around the table and standing to get in our sightlines on the way to the bathroom, etc. was well done....

Zippy Toadlips

2006-05-03T10:57:00.000-04:00

I thought this was funny....my cousin sent it to me.
Try out a new name for a while....

********************************

Sometimes when you have a stressful day or week, you need some silliness to
break up the day. And, if we are honest, we have a lot more stressfuldays
than not. Here is your dose of humor... Follow the instructions to find your new name.
And don't go all 'adult'....

The following in an excerpt from a children's book, "Captain Underpants And
the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants" by Dave Pilkey. The evil
Professor forces everyone to assume new names......

Use the third letter of your first name to determine your new first name:
a = poopsie b = lumpy c =buttercup
d = gadget e = crusty f = greasy
g = fluffy h = cheeseball i = chim-chim
j = stinky k = flunky l = bootie
m = pinky n = zippy o =goober
p = doofus q = slimy r =loopy
s = snotty t = tootie u = dorkey
v = squeezit w = oprah x =skipper
y = dinky z = zsa-zsa

Use the second letter of your last name to determine the first half of your
new last name:
a = apple b = toilet c = giggle d = burger
e = girdle f = barf g = lizard h = waffle
i = cootie j = monkey k = potty l = liver
m = banana n = rhino o = bubble p = hamster
q = toad r = gizzard s = pizza t = gerbil
u = chicken v = pickle w = chuckle x = tofu
y = gorilla z = stinker

Use the fourth letter of your last name to determine the second half of your
new last name:
a = head b = mouth c = face
d = nose e = tush f = breath
g = pants h = shorts i = lips
j = honker k = butt l = brain
m = tushie n = biscuits o = hiney
p = chunks q = toes r = buns
s = fanny t = sniffer u = sprinkles
v = kisser w = squirt x = humperdinck
y = brains z = juice

Thus, for example, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's new name is Crusty
Applechunks and Premier Dalton McGuinty is Bootie Gigglesprinkles. Saddam Hussein becomes Gadget Chickenfanny - does that make him less scary?! Can you believe that Angelina Jolie's new name is Fluffy Bubblelips?! How appropriate!

Day 2

2006-05-02T15:14:00.000-04:00

Interesting.

This is how I sum up my blog experience thus far.

First, let me say :-P to Matt....just because...
Second, yay to Crys for her word...it's way easier isn't it?

Hmmm....yeah, I'm a little tired now, and have nothing else to say really. Until later....

Opening thoughts

2006-05-01T15:52:00.000-04:00

Well, this is new...
I hadn't actually planned to start a blog, but then somehow, feeling the need to respond to Matt's lurker accusations, I ended up with one...craziness...

Anyway, I figure I'll start by explaining the origins of "simirable"....I know you're dying to know ;-)
Well, my coworkers are quite the crew, and frequently thoughts are well ahead of words in our discussions.....and well, for sake of efficiency...some have simply started combining words.
I mean, why say similar and comparable, when simirable will do? You should try it...in fact, that's your assignment for the night...

What? you thought you were just going to casually read this, and not give back? tsk tsk...just think of the time I've put into writing this for you!!

Fine...be that way... ;-)