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ShinyHappy - Thoughts for September 16th - 30th
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09/30/04 Unpacking is definitely better than packing.
I was too tired to update it last night, but I have a new addition to the mask gallery tonight. It's the mask that Andrew and I gave Dan and May as a goodbye gift when we left Toronto. I love how this mask turned out and plan to make a few more along the same theme.
Today was a very quiet day around the new apartment. Andrew had to get up and take the truck back to the rental place this morning and I didn't see him again until almost eleven tonight. He had classes until after nine and then went to pick up the car from his parent's place, as they're away for the weekend. He was so wasted when he got in that he went pretty much right to bed. We'd planned to go out and run an errand or two before all the stores were closed, but he just didn't have it in him. He certainly deserves his rest, though. He's been constantly on the go what with moving and classes, and I'm not surprised it caught up with him like that. So errands will wait until tomorrow and over the weekend. We'll be making a trip to Ikea that I'm really looking forward to.
I unpacked some stuff today, trying to sort out what's in which boxes. I'm still not feeling the greatest and keep discovering that I don't have quite as much energy as I think I do, which resulted in some non-productive lying down. I am trying to give the place a more 'homey' feel by getting out some decorative things. I finally hung up the friendship balls that I've had for over a year, and I pulled out all my cat things and put them up on the mantel for the moment. I will be dispersing them around the place when things are more organized so they're not sitting in a large feline clump, but when I told Andrew that he said, "So, then there'll be cats everywhere we look!" Yeah, I guess there will be. Hee hee. I also unpacked a lot of books and some kitchen stuff and moved things around a bit in the living room. Tomorrow I want to get the kitchen entirely finished, as that seems the highest priority right now.
We will be putting up blinds in the kitchen tomorrow and hopefully buying some sort of window coverings for the dining room, as those are both rooms that face right onto the sidewalk on Bank street. The bedroom window isn't as much of a pressing issue as we're kind of high above a park behind the building and people can't see in too well from there, really. I want something kind of different from regular plastic or metal blinds for the dining room, so we'll see what we can find that's affordable.
I did make myself go out for a bit of stroll today to get a bite to eat, and our landlord was again out in front leaning on the parking meter and chatting to passers by. I find this kind of funny, as I have a suspicion that it's only between 3:30 and 5:30 when there's no parking allowed in the front of the building and I think he's there to enforce it. I could be wrong, but I do wonder.
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09/29/04 We don't live there anymore.
What can I say about moving? Nothing that anyone who's moved doesn't already know. It's long. It's hard. It involves lots of the kind of effort you don't normally want to make involving cleaning and heavy lifting. But we did it. We are now in our new apartment, surrounded by boxes and clutter. It's all out of our old apartment, out of the moving van, and in our new home.
I call this a 'home' because we plan to be here for at least two years, if not longer. It's a great apartment, which I think I've mentioned before. It has a lovely long hallway, a very spacious dining room, a large living room, and a big enough bedroom. The bedroom is a kind of funky shape, but it lends itself well to having a bed and dressers in a sensible configuration. As we were moving our things in I was looking around at the empty walls and I started thinking, "Ugh, this colour isn't great." It looks kind of pea soupy, which is what everyone on Trading Spaces screams every time a can of green is cracked open. It's not vile, but I remember liking it better when Julie and Gundel had their furniture in here. I did comment to Colin and Jen that having a lot of red in the place would make it more appealing to me, likely, so we'll have to aim for that.
Speaking of Colin and Jen, they, like the superstars they are, came over to help us unload when we got into town. Andrew's parents also helped out so we weren't too poorly off at all. Colin's back is in rough shape lately as he threw it out a while ago so nobody was letting him carry anything very heavy. I hope it didn't hurt his pride too much that we kept giving him things to carry like rolls of art paper and an umbrella. Since the illness that won't quit hasn't left me yet I was about ready to collapse well before Andrew had to shut up the truck and bomb off to his evening class, so when everyone left I crashed in bed for a few hours. I think it did me some good, even though I hadn't eaten a thing all day and that was probably mostly why I had so little energy. After Andrew came home his parents came back and he and his dad finished unloading what was in the truck. It feels so good just to know that everything has made the move!
Halo is doing very well, thankfully! Oh, I guess I should say that, sadly, Luna no longer lives with us. On Monday we did end up taking her back to Tom and Gillian who were very gracious about it not working out. Gillian seemed very happy to see Luna again, despite her allergies, and Luna was obviously quite happy to be back at their place. We visited a bit before we left and Luna walked around making sure that everything was where she'd left it, then attempted to steal pork chops off the counter until I ratted her out. She's her own cat, for sure. Andrew was very down about having to take her back, though. He seemed to have gotten quite fond of that fat kitty in the time that he spent with her.
But yes, Halo is settling in well so far. We weren't sure how he'd take the trip in the moving truck since he's never done a ride that long before. I held his kitty carrier on my lap the whole way and after some initial meowing and complaining he settled down and even slept quite a bit. I was very glad, as I would have hated to see him distressed for all those hours. When we got to our apartment we locked him in the bathroom for the first unloading leg, and then when that was done I let him out to explore a bit. Colin and Jen were still here and got to see him slinking around with big buggy eyes and his tail tucked between his legs. Since then, though, he's gotten more relaxed (although still a bit nervous). He knows where the bed is and has even done some uber-cute baby bunny poses, so it can't be all bad. He's probably just stunned that he has all this space now to lord over.
Ottawa did give us a rather bizarre welcome, however. The minute Andrew opened the truck up so we could start unloading things a drunk guy came right up to us and started asking what he could have of our posessions. He pointed out the moving blankets and informed us that he could use some of them. We informed him (too politely) that none of it was for giving away. I was not thrilled to have him hanging around the truck and wanted him gone so I think I was giving off an aura of not-so-niceness, and in an effort to butter me up he told me I was cute. I gave him a, "Yeah, thanks," (you know, the sarcastic kind) and he wandered off for a little bit. The next time we went back out, though, he was there again harassing Andrew's mom who was watching the truck. Andrew informs me that he was drinking a beer wrapped in a plastic bag.
Then while I was in the apartment with Jen I saw a lady loitering around our apartment door and looking down the hall at me expectantly. I asked her what I could do for her and she asked if this was an office. I told her no, it was an apartment that we were moving into. Jen and I went down by the door to talk to her and she started asking about prices for apartments in the building. I was feeling pretty sick at this point and wasn't thinking clearly, so rather than telling her to talk to someone else I told her what we paid. She was a bit appalled at the price, but then asked if she could come in and take a look around. I was totally flummoxed by this, but Jen jumped in and saved the day by suggesting to the woman that she talk to the superintendent (who was lounging outside the front door against a parking meter, where it looks like he spends a lot of time). Thanks, Jen!
So that's about it for moving shenanigans. Other than me feeling like a ball of ugh, it went fairly smoothly here in Ottawa. I think that Andrew and I are going to sleep pretty soundly tonight, though. We really need the rest!
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Finally, finally Grape Nut ice cream at Greg's! Yay! We went out for dinner with Marcus tonight, then went to Greg's for dessert and I was overjoyed to see my beloved flavour on the board. Of course, I was so full from dinner that I only got a small cup, but it was enough to make me happy. For dinner we'd gone to a restaurant that Marcus suggested. It was a Chinese place called The Lucky Dragon. It was O.K., but Marcus says that the hot and sour soup is the best thing there, and I don't like hot and sour soup. I got diced chicken with cashews, and it wasn't as good as the chicken/cashew dish at Salad King (not as many cashews, my friends). The fried pork dumplings were great, though! Next time I'll just order those and a dessert and it'll be worth it. They had fried bananas that I'd like to try sometime.
As far as packing goes, Andrew and I have determined that we do our best work at the last minute and will probably be superstars tomorrow. I did get some good work done in the kitchen and bathroom today, thankfully. I also discovered that what I've thought were stains in the bottom of the bathtub are actually not stains at all. It's the enamel having been worn down to nothing. Since we've moved in I've been putting every cleaning agent I have around on there (even vinegar, Mom!) and scrubbing the hell out of it to no avail. Ah, well. At least I know it's not my fault and I can breathe more easily. It's had some spots since we moved in that have been discoloured, and now I know why.
All my books are packed away, and so are the majority of the tapes and DVDs, so any entertainment I need between now and Wednesday will be found solely on the computer and at Dan and May's tomorrow night. Unfortunately, freecell is a terrible time waster when there are better things one can be doing. I find myself playing it obsessively when there are things I don't want to do or think about. It's a beastly little program sometimes. Andrew and I are both in thrall to it.
Oh, and something very unfortunate: We've determined that Andrew is, in fact, quite allergic to Luna and we don't think we'll be able to take her to Ottawa with us. We haven't talked to Tom and Gillian about it yet but we all knew that September was meant as a trial period. When Andrew picked Luna up out in the stairwell the other day when she attempted her mad escape he said he immediately felt the allergic reaction get a ton worse, so we know it's not just dust, it's her as well. It sucks because we've both come to like having her around a lot, but he's feeling miserable. Poor Luna. She's a good, sweet cat. And I think she really, really likes being around another cat as well, honestly. She's a bit rough when she plays with Halo, but as I pointed out to Andrew a while back she hasn't actually played with another cat since she was a kitten. So it may be that she just needs to learn to play 'like an adult'. Also, she's twice Halo's size. Hee hee.
That's about it for news today, really. I'm still feeling poorly and I haven't even told y'all about my foot! And tonight, I won't. Except to say that it's not falling off.
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I really hate moving. I think that anyone who gets excited at the thought of packing up their belongings needs therapy.
That's not to say that I had an awful packing day. I actually got some worthwhile packing done (if not quite as much as I'd hoped I would). We load up the truck on Tuesday, and this is only Saturday. Past experiences have been far worse, believe me. Andrew and I are both procrastinators of the grandest kind, so I think this is commendable. Or at least not really crappy.
Other than that, however, I had something absolutely lovely happen today. I was checking the email for the website and to my delight had gotten a letter from none other than Colin MacDougall, one of the members of La Siembra Co-op's Board of Directors! La Siembra Co-op makes Cocoa Camino, the chocolate bar that blew my mind earlier this year and has had a special place in my heart (and diet) ever since. Here's what Mr. MacDougall had to say to me:
Hello Keltie,
I am one of the member/owners of La Siembra Co-operative, the Cocoa Camino people. When things get a little tedious around the office, I will sometimes do random web searches to see what new and exciting things are being said about our co-op, its members and our products.
A few months ago I stumbled across your site on one of these searches.
I just wanted to say that it is truly encouraging to hear people speak so enthusiastically about what we are doing! (Or at least the chocolate that we are selling!)
I passed some of the comments from your site around the office and, well, it made everyone smile.
I had meant to write before, but when things get hectic in a 5-person business, much gets pushed aside. I just stumbled across the site again (lucky you have a friend that shares my name, or I never would have found it!) and wanted to make sure to write you.
So thanks for being a supporter, and thanks for spreading the good word ‘round the web!
I will make sure to put your site in my ‘favourites’.
All the best,
Colin MacDougall
Wow! Not only do they make the best chocolate ever, they're genuinely nice people! I was so happy to get this letter. I'd been feeling blue because my blood tests came back from the doctor and I'm basically back at square one. I'd been told to call the clinic this morning to get my results, but I couldn't get through to the office. The phone was constantly busy. So at around eleven this morning I figured I'd just walk over and get the results in person. The ladies behind the counter were none too thrilled as it was a madhouse in there and apparently my results weren't actually sent over yet. I must have looked disappointed because they finally said they'd call to get them faxed over if I wanted to wait. I said I would, so they took me up on that and had me wait for an hour. And then it turned out that everything they'd checked for came back negative anyhow. I'm not pregnant, diabetic, or crazy. Well, O.K.. They didn't check to see if I was crazy.
So I've been feeling poorly for no good reason (and still do), and will have to wait until we get to Ottawa to see another doctor. Bah. I morosely packed some stuff up then during the afternoon, and when Andrew went out I told him it would be real keen of him to get me a treat and/or surprise. So what do you think he came home with? That's right! A Cocoa Camino bar! What a wonderful fiance have I.
Oh, then for supper we decided to use more of the McDonald's coupons we have around, so Andrew brought that home with him too. And he informed me that when he placed my order for a Quarter Pounder with Cheese plain, the woman behind the counter was all, "You realize that means no ketchup, no mustard, no onions, no pickles, right?" So he got to experience a little of what it's like to have your tastes questioned by people in the food industry if you're the least bit picky. He did say she was very nice and pleasant, just hyper and kind of dippy.
Anyhow, I'm freaking exhausted. I barely slept last night and we have a very long day ahead of us tomorrow. So I'm going to make perhaps my earliest weblog entry ever and go to bed. Goodnight!
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I did go to the doctor today. We go to the medical walk-in clinic quite near us on St. Clair so it's easy to get there. As I was walking down Vaughan I approached the bus stop just as a bus was letting people off, and I noticed a lady get off with two kids, boys around nine or ten who must have been dosed heavily with some kind of stimulant. They more or less flailed out of the bus and ricocheted off of it a couple of times before it pulled away. I veered around them and waited for the light to change at the corner, cringing when they caught up to me, trying not to get bumped as they pranced and jittered in place like spastic military cadets. I was glad to walk away from them at the other side of the street and duck into the medical clinic.
Of course, as I'm waiting at the counter with my health card, who walks in but this woman and the two devil children. As I sat down and waited for my turn (which is always a long wait at this clinic) I watched these two hyperactive units open and close the clinic door repeatedly to scream into the hallway, effectively letting out the air conditioning. Everyone else in the room grabbed newspaper sections off the coffee table to hold in front of themselves protectively, not wanting to make eye contact with either of the hopped-up monkeys, so I did the same, hunching behind it until my name was called. The kids and their mom had actually been called right before me, and to my dismay the room I was led to was directly across the hall from theirs. So as I sat there waiting for the doctor, they ran in and out of their room, bouncing against the hallway walls, shrieking and yipping practically in my ear as my chair was directly beside the door. I finally closed the door to my room until I heard their doctor arrive and shut the door behind him, at which point I felt it safe to open my door again. The relief was short-lived, though, as whatever their problem was took literally thirty seconds to discuss. So once again the door opened and the agents of terror spilled out again, gibbering and howling all the way to the waiting room where I heard them rampaging until finally they went (blessedly) out the door and onto the street.
Once the relief of their absence had settled in, my doctor arrived. I really like her. She's brisk and smart and pleasant, and doesn't waste time. I told her I've been feeling like crap lately, so she decided that since I'm moving on Tuesday it would be best to do some bloodwork and check to see what kinds of nasty things are swimming in my veins ASAP. Now, I hate anything that involves needles entering my body. Anything. Every time I've gotten an I.V., without fail, I've vomited. When I was young a doctor was about to take some blood from me and I fainted. The first thing I asked him when I woke up was whether he'd taken it while I was out (and he hadn't, to my disappointment). So I told the woman who came in to do the draw that I'm a fainter and a barfer, and she laughed and told me to lie right down. I did, closing my eyes, feeling the first waves of terror-stricken nausea starting to swim over me. She tied the rubber thing on my arm, asked me to make a fist, swabbed the crook of my elbow, said, "Here we go," and ... yeah. There was a tiny bit of pressure and that was it. I waited a second, then said, "You're taking the blood, right?" She said, "Yes, I have to do two vials so it'll be a moment more. Are you O.K.?"
I was shocked. I said, "I'm fine. I don't feel a thing!" I have never, ever had my blood taken without feeling it. One time I was sure the nurse was pinning my arm to the table with the needle. Today, though, I was treated to someone who is obviously an artist. I want to pay her to travel around with me for the rest of her life and take my blood whenever the doctor says it's necessary, because she is the holy grail of blood-takers. From now on, whenever anyone else sticks a needle in my veins, I will think fondly of this woman.
That was the excitement of the afternoon. Things were relatively quiet around here until sort of late tonight when Andrew got into town. I heard him come in the downstairs door so was waiting for him when he reached the top of the stairs, opening our door to let him in. Luna had been lurking around in the hallway and I've noticed recently that she's been more and more fixated on peering into the hallway. So as Andrew came in he paused to kiss me before the door was closed, and I said, "Watch out, Luna's been trying to get out lately," and as I said it what did Luna do but dart out the door and into the hall. I ran right out after her. She went down the stairs, to my relief. There's only one floor beneath us and there's a very limited space for her to run into. So I cornered her under the stairwell and grabbed her, prepared to carry her back up the fourteen steps and into our apartment.
Luna had other plans. After a couple of steps she suddenly became a very fat greased pig and twisted her way out of my arms. This time she shot up the stairs, rounded the corner and headed for the next flight. I cursed and ran after her. She went all the way up to the fourth floor (me running madly after), where I was panicked that she'd go out the open window onto the fire escape and either fall or flee forever into the night. And she was seriously running away from me. I managed to grab her once again when she reached another dead end in the fourth floor landing. Andrew had come out to investigate by this point and as I was coming back down with her she once more writhed and slashed her way out of my arms. I knew by now that the only way to get her back into the apartment was to get her in her carrier, so I ran back in and got it while Andrew monitored her. I hurried back with it and got her in it suprisingly easily. I think maybe by this point she was rethinking the whole escape plan, as I was being really annoying about it. So, once she was trapped I carried her back home and surveyed the damage (which was entirely mine). One rather sliced up right arm and baby finger, to be exact. I think the injuries would have been far worse if I'd not known enough to drop her when she started the patented 'cat whirling dervish' manoeuver in my arms.
So, Andrew is home and we begin the process of packing like madpeople tomorrow. Once again, please light candles for us, wish on stars for us, what have you. Packing is teh suxx0r.
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09/23/04 They're good, I swear!
I was sad yesterday because Andrew left for Ottawa. Not too sad, though, as he's back on Friday, which is just too soon for melodrama. So, he left around noon and I started doing various things around here that needed doing. I was just thinking about doing some mask making stuff when there came a knock on the door. I was dressed like a slob, but answered it anyhow. There stood two men with a bunch of tools, apparently come to fix the radiator in the bedroom. This was supposed to have happened three weeks ago when we were given some notice about it, but it never did and so now they just showed up with no warning. I wasn't thrilled, but in they came and I figured I'd do some mask stuff in the kitchen while they hung out in the bedroom.
One of them, however, wasn't there to work on the radiator as it turned out. He lives in the building and has for about twenty years or so, and ends up doing a lot of the superintendent work when our actual super can't (or won't). So he was just going from apartment to apartment with the guy. He noticed Luna right away, as she's appropriated the hallway as her little domain. She has two spots there where she spends most of her time. This time, though, she was sprawled out on the floor to try and keep cool and so Larry (as his shirt proclaimed him) bent down to say hello. Luna loved him. She rubbed her head all over his hand, rolled around, grabbed at him when it looked like he might stand up and basically made super-nice with him. I told him that she doesn't even like us that much yet. So he stayed in the hall with Luna almost the entire time and we chatted. As it turns out, the guy fixing the radiator had a problem and ended up taking almost an hour to do the repair, so we had quite a while to talk.
When the repair guy was finally finished they left, and Larry warned me to lock the door behind them when they were gone. It's amazing how differently I felt about them as compared to the time the property manager came barging in without notice. It's all in the attitude, I guess. They were polite and friendly and didn't make me feel like they were intruding, whereas the property manager practically peed in the corners to make me feel like the place wasn't 'mine'.
I went on a trip to Loblaws in the evening to pick up some groceries. I hadn't been feeling so well throughout the afternoon, but it didn't feel serious. I debated just going to Shoppers Drug Mart to pick up something microwavable, but wanted something 'real'. So off I went. On the way home I started to feel seriously 'ugh' and by the time I got in the door just wanted to lie down for about three days. That lasted all night. I talked on the phone to various people and complained to each, but I feel a lot better today. Andrew insists that I go to the doctor, though, as this has been going on for about a week now to varying degrees. He's not wrong. So I think I'll be going tomorrow, even though he'd rather I went today. I really do feel much better than I did, I swear.
I felt so much better today, actually, that I decided to make a treat that I've been wanting to make for a long time. While rearranging some things recently I came across a recipe that I thought I'd lost. At my old job we used to have 'treat days' where people would bring in treats and we'd all share them. One woman used to make the same thing all the time and we'd all fight over it. They were called 'Homemade Skor Bars' and they were so delicious that she finally brought in the recipe for all of us who'd been dying to have it. And they're so delicious that I'm going to share the recipe with you lucky people!
Homemade Skor Bars
Ingredients:
1 sleeve salted Premium Plus Crackers
1 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 300g package of semi-sweet chocolate chipsPreheat oven to 400 degrees. Line the bottom of a standard size cookie sheet with tinfoil. Place the crackers, salted side down, on cookie sheet. (One sleeve fit my cookie sheet perfectly). Melt butter and sugar in a pot until just before boiling point. Pour butter and sugar mix over crackers. Place in preheated oven for approx. 4-6 minutes, or until medium brown and starting to bubble. Remove from oven and sprinkle package of chocolate chips over crackers. Wait a moment to let them melt, then spread them evenly with a spoon. Place in fridge or freezer to harden. Cut into squares and enjoy!
I know it sounds odd, using saltines to make something that tastes like a Skor bar, but these really do taste like them. Just try making them once, so you'll know. You won't be sorry. Unless you don't like Skor bars, in which case you can improve your popularity by sharing them with friends and family.
I spent today rather quietly as I wanted to recover from whatever was ailing me. I had lots of fluids (read water, not Coke) and ate things that weren't too hard on my stomach. I also treated myself to another Survivor/Apprentice night. Golly, do I love those shows. I said to Andrew recently that I've realized that I sometimes miss watching T.V.. I'm just so out of the habit of it that it doesn't occur to me most of the time. It does more so when he's not around and I'm bored, though, so I am tending to watch more when he's in Ottawa. That'll probably end when I get there too (except for Thursday night. And perhaps Wednesdays, as I think I'm getting rather interested in Queer Eye).
I had a lovely chat with Andrew tonight. Among other more pleasant things we also talked about this weekend and all the packing we have to do. We're hoping to have it mostly finished by Sunday night except for the bare essentials, as Monday is kind of needed for other things. It would be so nice to do it that way, so please think happy moving thoughts for us. Unless you don't want us to move *coughMaycough* in which case just don't think unhappy moving thoughts, O.K.?
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09/21/04 From good to gross in one evening.
Andrew and I went on a nice date tonight. We're booked up to hang out with various people every night that he's in town this coming weekend, so it was good to have a nice, romantic evening together.
We started out with Salad King. I thoroughly enjoy that restaurant, and I'm a bit sad that I came to it so late during our time in Toronto. Of course, every time that we've gone there I've gotten exactly the same meal. An appetizer of beef satay, then a main course of hot chicken with cashews. With (of course) a Coke to drink. Salad King still has a cafeteria style seating arrangement, though, and at first I was pleased when Andrew and I were seated at a table for four, but that was short-lived as soon they seated two other people at our table with us. I knew it was possible, of course, so it didn't bother me, but I found their conversation a bit interesting. It seemed like they were two co-workers waiting for a third to show up, and I suspect that this missing third was the one who was friends with both while they didn't really know each other all that well. Their conversation was very work-oriented and kind of uncomfortable, and every now and again one of them would say, "I wonder why she's not answering her phone? I wonder where she is?"
Anyhow, the meal was delicious. I did mention to Andrew that the mild is too mild and the medium is just a touch too hot, so he suggested getting it mild and adding my own chile sauce from the container on the table. That could work, I suppose.
After Salad King we went to Greg's for dessert. There was no Grape Nuts (again) which had me the tiniest bit pouty. I must have Grape Nut before we move! I must! Since I could not I decided to get a cup of Rum Raisin (which I had not tried before from Greg's) with hot fudge sauce. I think I was hoping it would be reminiscent of the old Cadbury's Rum and Butter bars that you used to be able to get in Canada. It wasn't, but it was still delicious. I love anything rummy, it appears. I guess it's good that I'm marrying a sailor.
We'd decided over dinner to go see Hero. I'd been dying to see it since seeing the previews for it, and it was fantastic. It was even more visually beautiful than I'd hoped, and the story very, very pleasantly surprised me. I'd recommend it to anyone, actually. I can't say that there's no violence, but it's done in such a way that you don't see any gore or unnecessary dramatics surrounding any injuries, and as the story progresses you realize that there's far more going on with regards to the fighting than meets the eye. I won't say any more, though, as I may already have said too much.
After the movie we came home. Andrew and I took a walk to the 7-Eleven to buy some refreshing beverages and I decided while we were there that I had a hankering for some giant sour keys. I got a little baggie and started using the tongs to pick sour keys out when I noticed that there was some kind of viscous liquid on them. I didn't want to believe what I thought was going on so called Andrew over to take a look, and he shared my suspicion. Someone had dropped a loogy in the giant sour keys. This was so gross that I decided not to get any after all, and instead got a couple of packages of sour straws, trusting in their plastic packaging to protect me from the disgustingness of human nature. As we were paying for our stuff we told the guy that someone appeared to have spit in the sour keys, but he either didn't care or didn't really get what we were saying because he just kind of stared at us and didn't respond at all.
SO GROSS!
In other news, Andrew leaves in the morning to go back to Ottawa for a couple of days. He'll be back on Friday and the serious packing will then begin. I so hope that this move goes well.
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09/20/04 Some days it all adds up and what you've got is enough.
Holy crap, I am so tired tonight. I considered not writing my blog, but figured I might as well start writing and see how far I get. When I do that I usually end up writing a fair bit anyhow.
Today was a wonderful day because Andrew came back to Toronto. He got here even earlier than I expected him to (hooray) and came right to bed (hooray) where I still was. He really needed a nap, though, so I let him have one while I did housework (boo). Then his dad (who he drove from Ottawa with) called to say he was coming by and so Andrew got up and we just kind of hung out until this evening when we went to Dan and May's.
We picked up Marcus and went on over, where everyone but me got Dan to bring rotis home with him for dinner. Being unsure where exactly roti is on my tastiness scale I opted for some McDonald's, as we have coupons. I went for the free muffin coupon, as all the others are really for two or more people to use. Did you know that McDonald's makes the most delicious muffins? Seriously. They're not good for you in any healthy sense, but are they ever tasty. They're Quaker, so that's probably why. I dunno. I just like them. When I worked at McDonald's in Peterborough I practically lived on those. And Quarter Pounders. Those were the days, when I could eat crap like that every single day and still weigh 120 pounds.
For entertainment purposes we watched the series premiere of Survivor, which a couple of us had already seen. It was good enough to watch again, of course. Then, despite the groans and eye rollings of Andrew and Dan we also watched the most current episode of The Apprentice. It was also funtastic the second time around. I have no love for Donald Trump, but it was nice to see him take such satisfaction in firing Bradford, the guy who gave up his exemption because he really thought he was untouchable. Hoo, boy. It really was a boneheaded move on his part and Andrew, displaying a little Trumpesque corner of his personality, predicted he'd be canned for it.
Then we came home after dropping Marcus off. Andrew's dad is sleeping over so I'm going to get out of the living room and go to bed in a few minutes. Halo and Luna have already used him as a springboard in one of their crazy chase games, so I hope he has a restful night from here on in. I don't think they play a lot during the night, although it's possible they do. I just always find Halo curled up against me when I wake up from time to time, so I assume they don't.
Anyhow, it was a quiet day. It was a good day. I can't believe we're moving in a week.
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I've been meaning to write about this for a week now and just keep forgetting. I was doing a Google vanity search and came across this link that gives an actual meaning for the name 'Keltie'! I was so happy to find this. I'd always assumed that the name 'Keltie' was the feminine for someone who is Celtic (with 'Kelton' being the masculine), but apparently not. The site says this: "Keltie comes from the old lands of Keltie in Perthshire in Scotland. The word Keltie itself is derived from the Scots Gaelic language, from the word 'coillte', the plural of 'coille', meaning a wooded area. Several streams and rivers in Scotland were named Keltie or Kelty, all running through wooded areas. Keltie is originally a surname, which like many others has through time come to be used also as a firstname."
I love that there's an actual meaning, and I love the meaning itself. Hooray!
Today I hunkered down and did some serious work on two masks that I have to get done as soon as humanly possible. There is so much to do around the apartment that I have to finish these and then probably take a mask making break until we get to Ottawa, unfortunately. I could possibly squeeze in one more, but I'm not very sure it can be done. I did finish one today, though, and the other just needs a paint job. I also worked out how to attach ribbons to the masks without having to punch holes in them, as the kind I make don't really lend themselves well to having holes apart from the ones you look through. I'm very happy about this, as I was kind of stressing about it. The first four or five masks I did, though, don't have anywhere to put ribbons so I'm going to have to figure something else out for them. It's doable, of course. I will find a way.
The food situation between the cats did improve slightly over the weekend, I'm happy to report. Halo is eating as soon as I put the food down, and actually wakes me up in the morning to feed him. Luna isn't scarfing down the food right away like a glutton so much, and Halo is relaxing about her being near him while he eats. In fact, here's a very blurry picture that I snapped today while they were eating. I had the camera on the wrong setting and the flash turned off, but then Luna wandered away for a while and I couldn't get another one of them doing the same thing. I'm just so happy that they're getting along so well now, and I think Luna will even like me eventually, too.
Tomorrow will be a fantastic, wonderful, amazing day because Andrew gets back into town around noon, at which point there will be much in the way of hug and kiss. We'll be going to see Dan and May tomorrow night, too, which is also superfunfantastic. Then, Andrew leaves on Wednesday morning bright and early, comes back Friday, and then we're moving for good to Ottawa on the 28th! Craziness. I don't really believe the moving part yet, though, so I'm not panicking yet. That will come later. :)
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09/18/04 Ted blushes if you tell him he's cute.
Luna really likes the box that I took pictures of her and Halo in yesterday. Even without a jacket over it as a cushion, she still likes to lie in it. As you can see, she's deforming it to her own shape, but I'm not sure the box can handle it. Only time will tell. Halo doesn't seem as interested in taking it over today as he was yesterday. Today it's all about them chasing each other around the apartment and playing a violent form of hide and seek. Luna is really getting her excercise this way, actually, and seems to quite enjoy the whole thing. I think she's really taking to having another cat around.
I took the subway at around 3:30 this afternoon to go meet Jerome at the Yorkdale Mall. As I was getting off the subway I saw a guy who'd gotten off at the same time approach a couple of teenage girls and talk to them for a second. He was a short middle-aged guy who looked fairly clean-cut in a Phil Collins circa late eighties sort of way, but had a manic kind of air. The girls shook their heads at whatever it was he'd asked them and he walked off, turning back constantly to make some weird gestures at them that involved pulling at the shoulders of his shirt. I'm not sure what it meant. Anyhow, he approached another very young and attractive girl near the escalators and she also shook her head at him when he spoke to her. I was walking behind him, kind of wondering what he was asking these young ladies as he wasn't approaching any of the many older ladies and males that were around. Finally, once we were in the mall, I saw him go up to another woman who this time looked to be in her early twenties and she handed him something. I figured I'd ask her what was up with him, and it turns out he'd told her he needed money to buy tokens with. I told her how he'd been only asking young, attractive women for money and she agreed with me that he was kind of creepy.
As I walked off through the mall he ended up in front of me again going in my direction so I stayed behind him to see if he asked anyone else for money, but I think he saw me and then our paths diverged. I didn't see him again, although I was kind of hoping to be able to point him out to Jerome. After getting lost in the mall a bit I finally met up with Jerome outside of the Rainforest Cafe and we set off to wander the mall and highly amuse each other. And we did highly amuse each other. There was some singing and dancing, and we made up names for people walking by as we drank our drinks on a bench for a while. I was bitter after finishing my drink when I discovered that there was a bubble tea place in the mall that I hadn't known about. I was ready to tackle people for their delicious looking bubble teas as time went on and I got hungrier and hungrier.
We'd planned to meet John and Ted outside of the Rainforest Cafe. When they arrived we got our 'passport' from the hostesses sitting in the giant elephant head and prepared to wait for about ten minutes for a table. Ten minutes passed. Fifteen minutes passed. Twenty minutes passed. John went back to the elephant head and showed our passport to one of the girls, who took it, put a checkmark on it and handed it back to John with no explanation. We joked about it being a sign that we were 'complainers', and continued to wait. After a lot more waiting John went back again and one of the girls said, "Oh, we called you guys a long time ago." Uh, no. We'd been standing right there all along and would have known. Then the other girl said, "When I put the check on your passport it meant that you were supposed to go in and be seated." And we knew that how? Argh. The Rainforest Cafe really is one of the gates to hell, I believe. Anyhow, we went in and waited around some more at the threshold to be seated, which was another trial of endurance in itself, but got to witness a woman having a full-blown temper tantrum about not having been seated yet. It wasn't pretty. Complain as I might to friends and family, I'm never, ever outright rude to servers and hosts in restaurants.
We were seated and got our meal, which was very tasty, and afterward considered seeing a movie. We decided against it, however, and I suggested going to Greg's for ice cream since I think that everyone should try Greg's at least once. So off we went, my hazy directions somehow getting us there in the end. To my dismay there was no Grape Nut or Roasted Marshmallow, so I ended up getting Sweet Cream with fudge sauce which was heavenly. John got Coconut, Ted got Mandarin Orange and Jerome got Raspberry Deluxe. I think John and I were both very satisfied with our picks, but Ted and Jerome didn't seem terribly excited with theirs. One visit to Greg's is never enough, of course. It takes many visits to explore the deliciousness, and there will be times when you make the wrong choice. Like Strawberry Cinnamon. Ugh.
When we were finished it was time for us all to head off, so I bid them farewell and hopped on the Spadina subway. But what a great evening I had with my friends! It was so awesome to see them all together, as John and Jerome hadn't seen each other in years and years and years, and Jerome and Ted hadn't met before now. I think we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I know I did.
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I came in from doing some shopping today and threw my coat over a box that was sitting on the telephone seat we have by the door. I do this all the time, despite the closet only being a couple of steps away. Anyhow, a bit later I saw Luna decide that it looked like a good place to take a nap. She climbed up and settled herself in, mooshing the top of the box (which only had a few small things in it) down and kind of sinking into it. Of course I thought this was adorable and grabbed the camera, taking a few pictures of her. Check her out here when she first climbed in, and here where's she's a bit more snuggled down.
There she stayed for a while, content as could be. I was sitting at the kitchen table doing some mask work when I saw Halo come into the hallway and notice Luna snoozing in the box, her tail hanging down so invitingly. I could tell right away that he had a plan. He reached up and sniffed at her for a moment, causing her to open her eyes and give him a look. He dropped back down and thought for a second, then crouched under the telephone chair below her tail. After a second or two he took a quick swipe, causing her to lift her head immediately and look suspiciously over the side of the box. She didn't jump out, though, so he grabbed at it again. She sat up and leaned out, getting really pissed, and he came out from underneath her and took a couple of quick pops at her face. This, of course, was too much and she jumped out and took a round out of him, smacking him down like a pro. Then she walked away with all her dignity and checked out the food dish, surrounded by the air of one who is above such juvenile antics.
Halo watched her go, then quick as a bunny hopped up and got into the box watching Luna like a hawk to see if she'd try to oust him. I was really glad I still had the camera nearby to capture this part of it. He was so obviously unable to properly enjoy his 'triumph'. Look at the expression on his face as he nervously keeps track of her every move. She remained aloof, however, and ignored him.
I'm not worried about them getting along at this point. They're acting more like fiesty siblings than opponents. Halo even calls for her if he doesn't know where she is, and they often sleep quite near each other. Not on the same furniture, but nearby. I have high hopes that someday they might even love each other.
Tomorrow will be exciting. I called Jerome tonight, and he said he could possibly come to visit me tomorrow! The only thing is, I have no idea where I live. Yeah, I know where I live, but not how to get here by car or anything. When you're the passenger all the time you don't really pay that much attention to directions, right? Or is it just me? Anyhow, we made plans to meet somewhere for dinner and hanging out and then I got the fantastic idea to see if John and Ted wanted to come too. John and Jerome haven't seen each other in eons, so it looks like we'll be doing dinner and possibly a movie. Woo hoo!
And I miss my Andrew.
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I'm not feeling so hot tonight, so I don't know how much I'm actually going to write. When it came time for blog writing last night I was already asleep, so that didn't happen. Not a heck of a lot happened yesterday, so no big loss, but I do hate to miss a day of writing if I really don't have to.
I've actually been feeling sick all day. I was invited to have Rosh Hashana dinner with Rayna at her parent's place tonight, but since I was queasy and knew I wouldn't be able to eat just stayed home with some Powerade and the cats. I was pretty disappointed, actually, as the promise of a big meal with lots of nice people was appealing to me. So Rayna and I are going to get together at some point over the weekend, as the big move is coming up so fast and we have limited time now to actually hang out.
Oh, and my weekend is going to be nothing like I'd planned, either. I'm not going to Ottawa after all. The cats, while getting along much better now, still have issues when it comes to eating. Luna likes to eat, Halo does it out of necessity and likes to do it with as little disturbance as possible. A common occurrence for us is to walk in the kitchen and have Halo run away from his food dish and out into the hallway or living room. So, setting down a dish and saying to him, "You have to eat now," doesn't work yet. Argh. The food dishes go down and if I'm not there to oversee everything Halo chooses not to eat because Luna is there, and if he doesn't eat Luna will happily eat his food too. This means that the plan to have Marcus come and feed them while I was gone just isn't going to work as there's no way Halo will come out to eat with him there, and if the food is left out for them after he leaves Luna will eat it and Halo will pretty much let her.
This is not the end of the world. Halo will get it eventually and it's really not hard work for me to mediate feeding time, but it doesn't work out for the weekend as three days with little to no food is a bit much for Halo and his measly little eight pounds of bones and fur. The worst of it is that this means I won't see Andrew until Monday, which just sucks. We talked tonight and his classes are going well and he's sounding very excited and positive about all of it which is great.
Today I tried to take it easy as much as I could, and tonight did something that I never do any more. I sat in front of the television and watched it for hours. Tonight was the season premiere of Survivor, and then an episode of The Apprentice. I even caught most of the new Joey show just before Survivor, and while it's not Friends, it was O.K.. I have two masks that I want to get a lot of work done on over the weekend, too. I finished the one that's a gift for someone and have all the pictures taken of it that I need, so hopefully I'll be able to add it to the mask gallery soon.
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