#123 - They'll Be Watching Over All Of Us

the international professionals

I finished As Simple As Snow by Gregory Galloway last night an am now being driven crazy because the ending was completely unsatisfying. I am not sure if the answers are in there and I just have to think harder in order to find them, or if it was all meant to be open for interpretation. If it is the former than I am mildly irritated. If it is the latter then that is infuriating. The whole thing is kind of infuriating anyway, actually, because I kind of feel like I could have just re-read a John Green book and it would have been just as though provoking, more fun, and not nearly as frustrating. But maybe I just haven't put enough effort into As SImple As Snow. I don't know.

Speaking of reading, every summer I work at the bookstore and end up bringing home way more books than I actually end up reading. So, this summer I am going to try to read books that I already own but haven't read yet.

(An Incomplete List Of) Books I Own But Haven't Read Yet

• The Alchemist
• Autograph Man
• Clara Callan
• Cryptonomicon
• A Farewell to Arms
• Girl with a Pearl Earring
• The God of Small Things
• A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories
• Jane Eyre
• Log from the Sea of Cortez
• Notes from a Small Island
• Poisonwood Bible
• Running with Scissors
• A Spot of Bother
• Tanglewreck
• The Unbearable Lightness of Being
• White Teeth
• Wuthering Heights

This post has been EDITED so that I might share with you some exciting news: PTwitty just used the correct form of the word "their" for the first time ever while asking "Who wants their PTwitty TV?". Probably because he is LOCKED IN.

#122 - I Like That Boom Boom Pow

them chickens jackin' my style
they try to copy my swagger
I'm on that next shit now

Today has been such a good day! It feels like today I accomplished things but also got to spend a lot of time lounging around, which is a difficult balance to strike.

Things I Did Today

• renewed my lisence and got my new photo ID picture taken
• visited with Theresa and Chris and Greg
• read a few chapters of As Simple As Snow, which I am making my way through more slowly than I expected
• made pizza for supper
• ate and awesome, Kenzie-made ice cream sandwich for dessert
• listened to a Kenzie-made CD (hence the title of this post)
• watched Watchmen, which was great (even though I spent a great deal of it with my hands over my eyes)

Clearly it takes very little to fill me with a sense of accomplishment. I have yet to accomplish unpacking, for instance. But that is on my to-do list for tomorrow along with reading more and going to play pool with Jamie in the afternoon. I am perfectly content to live a life of leisure until I start work on Monday.

#121 - Nothing Isn't Nothing

nothing's something that's important to me

I didn't blog yesterday. I am kind of a failure. HOWEVER, I will comfort myself with the fact that I remain less of a failure than Amanda, who missed two days (not in succession, of course).

Today my plan was to unpack and get the house in order, but instead I pretty much just watched movies all day. I watched The Puffy Chair and Funny Ha Ha and Mutual Appreciation. I think I liked The Puffy Chair the best, but Mutual Appreciation was pretty good too. Tomorrow I am actually going to unpack.

I did accomplish some grocery shopping and supper cooking today, so that's good, I guess. Compared to Kate's house the kitchen counters are awfully low and the knives are awfully dull. Also, the phone doesn't have call display, which is disconcerting, though not really kitchen related.

#120 - Don't Call It A Comeback

'cause I've been here for years

I'm home!

And this blog is a little late.

But, I'm home!!

And I am sooo sleepy.

I'm hooooooome!!!

And there is no food in my house.

I'M HOOOOOOOOOOOME!!!!

And I'll write more tomorrow.

#119 - This Was A Triumph

I'm making a note here: huge success
it's hard to overstate my satisfaction

It is really late and I have to get up early tomorrow to finish packing because today was my last day in Calgary. I am going home tomorrow. Guess what I am doing first thing? Family dinner. Of course. I am looking forward to the drive home with my dad and Amanda though. Amanda is here! As a surprise! It was crazy! Gee, I thought to myself, my father sure does have long hair and a blue cardigan now. And boobs. But then I realized...

#118 - We're Gonna Make Plans

we have plans to make plans

Two days. Seriously? I feel unprepared.

Tonight I was looking after the boys because Kate and John went out. I had this really excellent plan in which the boys watched a movie while I went down and cleaned the basement. The only problem was that both of them watched this

earlier and were both still a little freaked out*. Jake really didn't like it when I was on a different floor than him. So instead of tidying and laundry-doing I did nephew cuddling and "Still Alive" singing. Everything really turned out for the best, I feel. Except for the fact that basement is still a mess and dad still has to sleep there tomorrow and I am not at all packed.








*At first they were really freaked out. Caleb ran upstairs screaming and crying and when we asked him what was wrong he just said (sobbed) "I SCARED MYSELF! FREAKING ILLUSIONS!!!!". We felt bad for him but it was impossible not to laugh. We asked him what he saw and he said "I don't know! I just screamed and ran!".

#117 - If You Will It Hard Enough

then we all will

Three days! Here is how I am spending them:

• get the house cleaned up in preparation for dad coming on Saturday
• finish all my laundry
• packing (!)
• going to the theatre to pick up my last cheque, but...
  
• not working because I didn't get scheduled for tomorrow night
• seeing my dad for the first time in four months
• trying to find all the stuff I forgot to pack the first time and then packing it
• maybe going to BeadWorks? I really wish Regina had a BeadWorks
• having lunch with my Grandparents
• driving home*

Dad said that he will fix the hole in the wall while he is here. Here is a picture of it, for those who doubted me**:




*probably being forced to listen to all the cheap compilation CDs that dad buys at Wal-Mart so he can pay at the electronics counter instead of waiting in line
**This means you, Kenzie!

#116 - Summer and Winter

winter and springtime
you heard the birds sing
everything will be fine

It is snowing. It has been snowing for hours and hours and hours and the whole thing is completely depressing. It is ruining my happy, summery mood. I was going to go to the art gallery tomorrow but if it is going to be all snowy and cold I don't think I can face the trip downtown so I am going to start packing instead. Four days!

Anyway, the weather has made me sleepy all day so I am going to bed now. Maybe when I wake up it will be springtime again?

#115 - He Thought I Was Nuts

no more ifs or ands or buts

I fell down the stairs this morning. Barely. It's more like I slipped on the stairs this morning, because I hit the wall before I could fall very far. That would probably be a good thing if it weren't for the fact that I now have a sore, scraped knee and the wall has a large, knee-shaped hole.

My sister thinks that somewhere in my subconscious I am resistant to leaving and it makes me destroy things, because last time I was stayed with her house I accidentally hit the screen door with my suitcase and broke the glass on my way to the bus.

Speaking of leaving... 5 days!

#114 - There's 67 Better Ways

to make some sense

6 days!

Today my dad sent me a happy birthday email that had one sentence wishing me a happy birthday and about three paragraphs telling my how much work we are going to have to do around the house this summer. It was like, "Congratulations on turning 21 I can't wait fo you to get home so I can put you to work cleaning the basement and painting and gardening all summer (when you are not at the job you will be working at six days a week, that is)."

Seriously though, thank God we are finally painting the house, even if there are some disagreements on the colour. Dad wants to paint it "farm cream colour" (that is a direct quote) and, while I am not entirely sure what he means by that, I think it is a terrible idea. Kate and I are thinking green, maybe. We have to keep the brown trim, which sucks, but at least my house won't be pink anymore.

#113 - I Like To Dance All Night

and some of the day

Today is a very special day for a few different reasons.

Reasons Why Today Is A Very Special Day

• It might have been my last day ever at Cineplex. It is definitely my last Sunday which makes me quite sad because Sundays are the most fun, even when most of the people you work with (including all the people who are supposed to be in concession with you) don't show up for work.
• I put the popper together by myself for the first time and felt an extraordinary sense of accomplishment.
  
• On the walk home from work I think I may have seen an otherwise completely normal looking person wearing her bra on the outside of her dress.
• After almost two years Gossip Girl finally acknowledged the fact that supreme creepiness of the fact that Chuck Bass tried to rape someone in the show's pilot and then went on to be everyone's favourite character (including mine).
• I had chocolate chip cookie dough Blizzard ice cream cake (!) because...
• Today is my birthday!
• Today also marks the beginning of the one week countdown to my return to Saskatchewan, which makes me both very excited and very sad. Seven days!
  

#112 - We Can Change Our Minds

100,000 times

Today: A Condensed Version

• got up too early
• Calgary Tower
• sweaty guy in the elevator stood to close to me
  
• coconut cupcake
• ditched by my sister, accidentally
• water bottle thrown at my head
• farmer's market; borscht; free samples
  
• wanted to nap but didn't
• played Cars (the video game)
• two trips to the grocery store
• hamburger
• movie
• driving
• home
• bed
  

#111 - Jake, What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?

Jake: A princess.


That is all.

#110 - She Drove It Like She Stole It

she stole it fast and with a multitude of casualties

I got my haircut today. I went to the same hairdresser I saw last time because I love her. She moved here from Newfoundland fairly recently and so talked a lot about what it is like moving to Calgary from other places.

One of the things we talked about is how much we both miss driving. I do drive here, on occasion, but Calgary driving isn't really fun driving. It is crowded driving. And stressful driving. And if one is listening to the radio there tends to be an inordinate amount of Lady Gaga involved. I am driving back to Saskatchewan a week from Sunday and, while I am very much looking forward to being back home and seeing my friends and sleeping on something other than an air mattress, I am also really excited for the drive itself. I haven't been out of the city in four months (!) and it will be so, so nice to get in the car and drive on the highway.

#109 - Don't Stop Believing

hold on to the feeling

I watched this last night and could not stop smiling.


I suppose one might say I was Gleeful?*





*I really am sorry about that. I am so, so tired.

#108 - Someday Somebody's Going To Ask You

a question that you should say yes to

I have a dilemma, you guys. A Twitter dilemma: To follow Diddy or not to follow Diddy? I am not kidding! I am seriously torn up about this. On one hand, I follow a lot of people and seeing every tweet is hard enough without triple posts of this kind of thing. On the other hand he is completely facsinating, and if I unfollow him I will miss out on so much! His thoughts on television; learning about his favourite foods; finding out how he spends his Saturdays. Not to mention all the love and positivity. If I didn't follow him I would I never have known that Diddy's favourite rock group is Silversun Pickups? Plus, how will I know who is LOCKED IN????

Oh P.Twitty, I just don't know what to do.

#107 - Let's Just Roll Our Own

plane crash footage on TV

I am in a terrible mood today. I woke up grouchy, and then I got even grouchier. I am feeling a little better now but, just to be on the safe side (and to spare my family) I think I am just going to spend the evening on my room. I am going to read my book (Birth Marks by Sarah Dunnant which is very dark and may be responsible for my mood in the first place), watch all the new episodes of Robin Hood (it has been back on since the end of March and I just found out!), read blogs and then go to sleep.

#106 - I Hate the Steam Train

that whistles woozy my birdie brain

I quit my job today! I also: helped make an Easter Egg hunt, forgot to turn on a power bar, stocked the candy cases, talked with Niall about the verb blaspheme, ate some fruit salad, heard a lot about the book Lamb by Christopher Moore*, walked home, ate a delicious supper, fell asleep on the couch, and watched the newest episode of Party Down.

All in all, it was a pretty good day. There was one terrible thing that happened, though. A terrible thing. A truly awful thing.

I found out about this:

This is a Cassowary, and Cassowaries are, as far as I can tell, the scariest thing ever to exist in real life. They are just as freaky looking as turkeys (maybe even freakier, because of how they are blue) plus they have the ability to charge you and rip out your stomach with their evil claw feet. And they will totally do it. Because they are evil. I thought about looking them up on YouTube but I don't think I can handle something that traumatic right before bed. Or ever, maybe.












*It is hilarious, sexy and touching, supposedly.

#105 - I Got A Timebomb

in my mind, mom

He's ba-ack. These two lack some of the reckless abandon of the first video, but I feel they more than make up for it in creepy expressions and fluidity of movement, respectively.

#104 - Happiness

hit her like a train on a track

It is so, so nice outside. I wore a skirt and flats today! Springtime makes me want to listen to music. Here is the playlist:

• Hideaway - Mystery Jets
  
• Run My Mouth - Ra Ra Riot
• Dog Days Are Over - Florence and the Machine
  
• The Summer - Coconut Records
  
• I Need a Life - Born Ruffians
  
• Fascination - Alphabeat
  
• Juicy - Notorious B.I.G.
  
• Manhattan - Kings of Leon
• In Step - Girl Talk
  
• Made of Codes - Jack Penate
  
• All the Words - The Bridges
  
• We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives - Los Campesinos!
  
• 100,000 Times - Maria Taylor
  
• Young Adult Friction - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
  
• Hometown Fantasy - Andrew Kenny
  
• Woods - Bon Iver
  
• Bitter - Meshell Ndegeocello
  
• All the Young Dudes - Mott the Hoople
• Swimming in the Swamp - The National Lights
  
• Black Cab - Jens Lekman
  
• Question - Old 97s
  
• Killer Parties - The Hold Steady
• Life on a Chain - Pete Yorn
• Choir Vandals - Ben Gibbard
• My Only Offer - Mates of State
  

#103 - We Are The Sons Of No One

bastards of young

Kate and I went to see Adventureland* tonight and I really liked it. We were in a crazy hurry to get there and then ended up being half an hour early, because apparently I am incapable of reading movie times correctly. Kate thinks it is my subconscious doing everything it can to make sure we don't miss the previews. It is possible that she is not wrong.

Speaking of previews, we saw the trailer for Crank 2.

Holy shit. Statham was dead, you guys. But he got better. And now there is a jumper cable on his tongue.

Anyway, Adventureland was really great. It is being marketed like a straight up comedy, but I think that the phrase "from the director of Superbad" gives the wrong impression. I mean, sure, there are still boner jokes, but in Adventureland the boner jokes manage to hint at a deep ocean of melancholy, just below the surface.**





*Not to be confused with Southland, the new police drama, from the creators of ER, starring Ryan from The OC. Although that did premier tonight. And I may end up watching it at some point.
**Anybody?

#102 - Easy Living

killed the young dudes
in the high boots

The weather is so, so nice right now and I love it, even though I haven't actually been spending a lot of time outside. Today I was outside at 9 pm in short sleeves and a cardigan and I wasn't cold at all. I mean, I wasn't out there for very long, but still.

The best thing about the nice weather is that it means the kids can spend a lot more time outside, which really is good for everyone. I cannot tell you how much better Caleb and I get along if we go to the park for an hour before walking home from school. I don't like to read at the park with Caleb, because I am constantly having to look around to see where he is and also because my hands get cold, even when it is relatively warm outside. Mostly I just listen to podcasts, but I downloaded all three Mitch Hedberg CDs this weekend and so I have been mostly listening to those instead.

I realize that this is not really an original opinion but oh my God I love Mitch Hedberg. The way he speaks is just so great that I am pretty sure I would be laughing even if he weren't telling hilarious jokes. Which he is. I totally look like I am just some crazy lady at the elementary school playground, watching the children playing and laughing quietly to herself. But I am pretty much okay with that.

#101 - Take Me Down to the Paradise City

where the grass is green
and the girls are pretty

Caleb is playing a video game wit that song on it and it has driven all other music and lyrics out of my head. Also, it kind of makes me want to watch Can't Hardly Wait.

ANYWAYS.

I cleaned my room yesterday, kind of. I didn't vacuum it or anything, but I did wash all the dirty clothes on the floor and put them away in the wardrobe, and I picked up all the little bits of paper and junk that had filtered through the dirty clothes onto the actual carpet (which was mostly obscured from view).

I always forget how nice it feels to have a floor that is clear of obstructions. Like, I can just open my door and walk to me bed without having to kick anything out of the way or step on any books or anything. It's amazing. Why is it not like that all the time. How hard would it be to, either, a) act like any other normally functioning human being and not just throw stuff on the floor when I'm not using it, or b) at least make an effort to pick the crap up of the floor a little more frequently. The whole clean up operation took me about an hours worth of actual work (including taking stuff in and out of the laundry and folding clothes and whatnot), so it is not like I have to make a huge time commitment.

Actually, that fact that this only took me an hour, counting laundry, I take to be an encouraging sign. My room used to take me hours, sometimes even an entire day, to clean thoroughly so obviously I am making progress. My goal is to, one day, manage to maintain a room (and a entire home, at some point) that I can let guests look at without feeling embarrassed and without feeling the need to turn off the light if someone goes in there to make a phone call (which I actually did to Amanda once).

I think I will achieve my goal someday, but it might not be until I am 80 or something, at which point it actually becomes socially acceptable to have a messy house because everyone just assumes you are physically incapable of vacuuming, or whatever.

#100 - You Don't Know Anything

so don't ask me any questions

100 posts! Well, 100 numbered posts. This is actually my 151st post overall, but I didn't count the ones that were just me posting a video or saying sorry for being late on List Friday or something. 100 posts in just over two years means that I averaged about one post a week. That's not bad. Although I have been looking through the archives and I honestly have no idea why anyone reads this. I mean, there are only about four people who actually do (which is how I like it, when I find out there are other people who have seen it I get completely freaked out and embarrased) but even that seems excessive. I am an exceptionally boring person.

You know what I do kind of like though? I like going through all the titles and trying to guess where they are from. That way I don't have to read anything I actually wrote, which is nice.

#99 - I'm Waiting Over Here

for life to begin

I had such a lovely day today. Work was fun, I got soaked in soda water (which was spewing out of one of the pop towers for about and hour and a half, despite our best efforts to stop it) and I saw Jarome Iginla. Apparently. I would not have recognized him if someone hadn't told me who he was. He bought some popcorn and went to see Adventureland.

Did you know that he is not a goalie? I totally thought he was a goalie.*

Anyway, after I came home from work I had some delicious tortellini, called Lua and talked for a while and then watched Pride and Prejudice with my sister. Incidentally, if Matthew Macfadyen had come to see Adventureland today I would absolutely have recognized him.







*He is a forward, according to Harry.

#98 - They Say the Nile Used to Run From East to West

they say the Nile used to run from east to west

Last Night in Numbers

• Number of cups of tea I drank: 4
• Number of times I listened to The Dead Will Walk, Dear all the way through: 2
• Number of Advil I took: 2
• Number of times people commented on my cheeriness: 3
• Number of times the song Spaceman by the Killers played on the movie theatre TVs: roughly 3 times per hour, so... 15 or so?
• Number of times the word murder was used in a single sentence: 3
• Number of times Amelia turned to me and said "Everyone is being so weird tonight": 7
• Number of minutes I stayed late to finish the dishes: 20
• Number of times Harry walked into a conversation about lesbians and said, completely clueless, "But, how can you not like hot dogs?": 1
• Number of times I watched the following video: 2*
  

*Watch it. You must watch it.

#97 - And Now I Give You My Days

all my days

There is this huge set of outdoor stairs that I have to walk down in order to get to work, and a lot of people work out my running up and down them (over and over, which I think is my idea of what hell is like). Today on my way to work I saw this guy in full workout regalia run down the stairs, pause at the bottom to light a cigarette, and then start running back up, smoking. It was great.

#96 - Sugar Dumpling Muffin Baby

this world is going crazy

Hello friends. It's day two of daily blogging! Isn't it weird to think that my the end of daily blogging I will be back in Regina? It feels like I have been gone for a pretty long time, and I guess I have. I feel like the month of April is going to go by quickly.

Things I Am Looking Forward To In April

• Working at the movie theatre for the next couple of weeks (but then I have to quit, which would go on my list of Things That I Am Not Looking Forward To In April)
• The last Jessica Darling book, which comes out on the fourteenth
• All the awesome summer TV that is starting! Greek and My Boys are back and Party Down, the new Rob Thomas show, is awesome so far (the entire first episode is available on YouTube or here). Also, season finales of all my regular season shows are coming up soon.
  
• My friend Nicole (who was my roommate in Montreal last summer) is coming to visit on my birthday weekend! I haven't seen her since we were in Ottawa last July (or maybe the end of June?) and I am super excited.
• My birthday! It probably isn't going to be terribly exciting, but everyone likes a birthday, no?
• Moving home

I have to go now. I have to get up early tomorrow and there will be no time for napping before work, so I am going to try and get to bed at a reasonable hour for once. Also, I want to watch Taking the Stage before I go to sleep, because I find dance-offs soothing.

#95 - We'll Wait 'Til Dark to Dig a Hole Outside

big enough for you to fit inside
all those hearts you broke still beating
this is helping, honey this is healing

Creepy, right? Sooooo creepy. The Dead Will Walk, Dear by The National Lights is my current favourite album and the whole thing is kind of like that. It is all about killing people (mainly teenage girls, so far as I can tell) and burying the bodies and maybe even eating them sometimes. Normally I would find it all kind of reprehensible and disturbing, but I cannot stop listening to it because the songs are so pretty.