the last 24 hours, give or take the couple i spent sleeping, have been so wonderful that i don't want to ruin them in the attempt of description. i'll have a few photos to share up later, but enjoy this fellow in the meantime.
by golly, this long weekend is shaping up to be something spiffy!
ritchie: interesting, yer turn 30 right?
hessie: in july, yup.
ritchie: hehehe i just wanted to check, cause that would have to make you the coolest adult i know
hessie: wow, thanks. i think.
hessie: i'm not sure i want to be an adult, tho. =P
them: "what did you have for lunch?"
me: "thai (or greek, italian, chinese, japanese, etc)."
them: "ooh, good!"
i wonder if there are people in other countries who go out for "canadian" food? is there quintessential canadian cuisine besides back bacon, poutine and beer or are those our nation's only culinary legacy? i certainly hope not.
wow, i have a child!
i went on a mad shopping trip last night. two circuits around the mall (and an emergency bathroom pit-stop), i left several sheckles poorer, but somewhat fulfilled. i picked up what i think is a pretty cool birthday present for miss colene. i hope she likes it. i also got myself a new bag -- not a purse, i don't carry a purse. i wanted something a little smaller than my other messenger bag, but still big enough to put both my camera and a book in. i'm not 100% sure i'm going to keep it yet.
i should have called in "sick" today. bleh.
thai for lunch, thai for dinner, then lots of drinks with alcohol in them. yay! other than this working shit, it's going to be a good day!
andy warhol is alive and he drives a turbo sprint! either that or the guy who was driving one this morning just looked a hell of a lot like him.
i hate my job. there's a boy i want to jump, but can't right now. i think i need new glasses. or a vacation from computers. or both. i've been playng tomb raider again. i started reading atlas shrugged, but may put it down to finish off the wot series. i can't wait for the last week of september when i won't have to be here for ten days in a row. i want to tweak the layout, but i'm not sure how exactly. i need more coffee. and a haircut. maybe i'll dye it. i have leftover spaghetti with lentil sauce for lunch. it's better than it sounds. really. i need to wash my car, it looks like it has some sort of skin condition. i also need to find cricket gifts, birthday gifts and money for new shoes. all in the next two days. ugh. and cancel some credit cards. no one single person needs five credit cards.
how is it that i'm the only fucking person who seems to know what the phrase "how's tricks?" means? i don't even know where i picked it up, but i'm getting annoyed with conversations which go something like:
me: "how's tricks?"
them: "tricks?"
me: "yeah, tricks. things, stuff. how are you? what are you doing? how are things?"
them: "ohhh! okay."
over the last ten years, the bank of canada has phased out one- and two-dollar bills, replacing them with coins (called "loonies" and "toonies" respectively). while thinking about a possible visit to the peeler bar, i started to wonder if it wasn't a direct result of a strategic lobby by the stripper's union to increase their take from customers wanting to cop a feel by sticking a bill in a g-string. now they have no choice but a five-dollar ante.
i don't even want to think about where they'd put the coins.
north america needs more bidets.
hey, look! it's three a.m! what the fuck am i doing awake?
i made this paella tonight, throwing in some chopped up cooked chicken breast for a little protein. i can honestly say that this is my new favourite food. although next time, i decree, there will be prawns!
naps are wonderful, magical things!
after sleeping for ninety minutes or so, i got up when the phone rang, checked my messages, did the dishes, got dressed, went grocery shopping, put gas in the car, and now i'm home again cooking a $1.99 frozen pizza and munching mini oreos. yay!
now if only i didn't have to go to work tomorrow...
i'm popular today. karen phoned at ten to see if i wanted to go to a double-feature at the hollywood tonight, so i said sure. then my dad phoned to ask if wanted to go to the pne with him tonight, but i had to turn him down because karen asked first. then my mom phoned and told me she'd finally sold my golf clubs and she's giving bob a finder's fee and keeping some for herself to tide her over, so i told her to keep it all. yeah, i'm a wonderful person. now, i'm sitting here in my ugly plaid bathrobe, with one shoe on, feeling like complete ass, yet craving pizza. i have dishes and laundry to do, groceries to buy and i need to fix something for lunch tomorrow but i want nothing to do with any of that. i think i'm going to go back to bed for a while.
the only good thing so far is my email is working again. woofuckinghoo.
welcome to the new webhost. if anything breaks, please let me know.
in lieu of content, i give you:
why is it that when i'm all goofy over a guy, other guys seem to start being all "hey babe, how you doin'" everywhere? i read once that when you're in love (or like or lust) you're happy and that transforms you into this positivity broadcaster. you can't help but radiate good vibes which in turn acts like a beacon to the people around you. they pick up on your hightened mojo and are attracted to that, for at least enough time to give you a smile and a nod in line at the grocery store or somesuch. it's pretty cool, actually. it also says a lot about keeping a positive attitude even when things are shite.
speaking of happy, kevin sent me a copy of my favourite movie ever as a belated-birthday-slash-you're-cool present. i keep telling him he's too generous (this is the same guy who sent me a copy of still life with woodpecker for no good reason last year), but he's arguing with me. well, okay, maybe he's not too generous, i haven't gotten a new computer in the mail yet. *wink*
yes. that's pretty much exactly the way it happens. *sigh*
tell me a story...
i'm obviously more wonderful than i originally gave myself credit for. i should remedy that.
other than a fast trip to the store to buy doritos and fruit last night, i didn't leave my apartment all weekend.
no. nothing is wrong.
no. i don't want to talk about it.
really, i'm fine.
the doritos were really tasty.
i liked being alone and unbothered with plans or responsibilities. i wish i could have stayed there for at least another day. the futon was really very comfortable this morning.
ever notice how chewing is one of the most unattractive things a person can do with their face? if you most people knew what they looked like while masticating, i guarantee they'd only do it in private.
Theodore and the Talking Mushroom
by Leo Lionni
In the stump of an old oak there lived four friends -- a lizard, a frog, a turtle and a mouse called Theodore.
"Any time I lose my tail I can grow a new one," boasted the lizard.
"I can swim under water," said the frog.
"I can close like a box," said the turtle.
"And you?" they asked the mouse.
Theodore, who was always afraid, blushed. "I can run," he said.
The others laughed. "Ha! Ha! Ha!"
One day Theodore was frightened by a leaf that came fluttering down from a tree. "An owl!" He thought as he ran for cover.
Luckily he found a huge mushroom to hide under. He was too frightened to notice that it was as blue as an august sky. Theodore hid for a long time. He was tired. He had almost fallen asleep when suddenly he was startled by a strange noise. "Quirp!"
Theodore looked around, his little heart beating wildly. But all was quiet. "I must have dreamed it," he thought, as he returned to the cool shade of the mushroom. He dozed off softly, when suddenly there was that noise again -- "Quirp!"
It was the mushroom! Theodore was too excited to be frightened. "Can you talk?" He gasped. The mushroom did not answer, but after a little while it made the nose again. And again. Soon Theodore realized that the mushroom could not really speak. It could only say "Quirp!."
Then he had an idea.
He went back to his friends. "I have something important to tell you," he said mysteriously. "Some time ago I discovered a talking mushroom. The only one in the whole world. It is the Mushroom of Truth and I have learned to understand its language."
He guided his friends toward the edge of the woods.
There stood the blue mushroom.
"Mushroom, speak!" Theodore commanded.
"Quirp!" said the mushroom.
"What does it mean?" asked Theodore's friends, dumbfounded.
"It means," said Theodore, "that the mouse should be venerated above all other animals."
The news of Theodore's discovery spread quickly. His friends made him a crown.
Animals came from far away with garlands of flowers.
Theodore was no longer afraid. He did not have to run -- he did not even have to walk. Wherever he went he was carried on the turtle's back on a cushion of flowers. And wherever he went he was venerated above all other animals.
One day he and his three friends went on a trip. They went far beyond the edge of the woods through the fields of heather. There lay the hills they had never crossed. The frog jumped ahead. Suddenly, from the top of the hill, he shouted, "Look! Look!"
The valley below was filled with hundreds of blue mushrooms! A chorus of "Quirp!" filled the air.
Speechless and bewildered they all gaped at the unexpected sight. Theodore knew he should say something but the words failed him and he just stood there trembling and stammering. Then his friends exploded with anger. "Liar!" "Faker!" "Fraud!" they shouted. "Charlatan!" "Scoundrel!" "Impostor!"
Theodore ran as he had never run before. Through the woods, past the blue mushrooms, past the old oak stump...
He ran and ran. And his friends never saw him again.
shoes are both a blessing and a curse. i love shoes, but i also hate them. i love cute shoes, funky shoes, cool shoes, dorky shoes. yet, i hate that i'm forced to wear them all day in the office, even though i don't walk around. i should be able to kick them off so my feet don't get hot and sweaty as i sit here and type for eight hours. i'm going to start a campaign:
footwear-optional fridays!
who's with me?
finally something to post about! my very first submission to the mirror project was accepted today. i'm so chuffed.
marie: "john bought us a mister yesterday."
me: "mister?"
marie: "yeah, a thing you hook up to a hose and it shoots mist out so when it's hot you can cool off."
me: "oh. mister! a thing which mists."
marie: "yeah. that's what i said."
me: "i thought you meant a mister, like mr. & mrs. dork!"
marie: "no. i think you are the dork."
come on, what else was i supposed to think?
i just can't get over the fact that both of my dental floss dispensers dispensed their last floss within two days of each other. i bought them months apart. this is not supposed to happen. i may have to go outside. then again, it's got to be cooler out there than in here. oh, wait. i'm broke until pay-day. keep waiting, i'm broke after pay-day, too.
"gee, heather... whatever happened to that budget you rigged up?"
shuddup, i paid off my camera. that's worth a little non-flossing starvation for a couple weeks, right?
one of the annual events vancouverites look forward to (or dread, depending on your perspective and residence) is the celebration of light, a four-night fireworks display/international competition which attracts half a million people to english bay to see half-hour displays of pyrotechnics with musical accompaniment.
luckily, i don't have to even leave my apartment to enjoy them. here are my photos of this year's participants.
p.s. canada won. yay!
it is going to be a very, very long day.
if you're doing it on purpose it's working wonderfully well and i must commend you on your intuition. if you aren't, then i'm just as big an idiot as i've ever been.
thank you, that is all.
my life is boring, but i'm surprisingly fine with that.
friday night, i fell in love with a bald-headed, dark-eyed daredevil named xander. saturday was spent reading, putzing about on the computer and playing cards. sunday was a little more productive with another 4km (2.5 mile) walk to the quay (i was wrong, it's a little longer than previously calculated), laundry-doing, dish-washing, computer-futzing, book-reading, tv-watching, and grocery-shopping.
while sitting beside the fountain at the quay, drinking my mochaccino, enjoying the solitude and uncluttered scenery of an early sunday morning, a small native lady came up to me and started talking about the cruise ship over in the shipyards nearyby. she asked if it was the one which had gotten everyone sick recently. i mentioned that i thought it was actually the one which broke down last week while the sick-ship was moored at another dock.
that's when it got weird. you really have to wonder how some people's minds work. she started talking about all the prophecies coming true. how it seems that the world is about to end. i gripped my cup a little tighter in preparation of what seemed to be an inevitable sunday morning sermon. luckily she started talking about the weather next and i was spared.
i don't normally like to think about impending apocalypse. i'm just superstitious enough to read too much into the fires, floods, famines, droughts, and wars to see them as building towards... something. it makes me a little nervous and i actually half-think it might be time for me to find god "just in case". that's when i shake my head and realize that regardless there's not a hell of a lot i can do about it, so why waste time worrying?
p.s. i have a whack of fireworks pictures i'll post when i get a chance.
who knew i'd keep this up for two years? i certainly didn't.
- it's a bad, bad, bad hair day and i don't, don't, don't care.
- keb and i are going to see xXx tonight. i expect big lineups and a crowded theatre. both small prices to pay for 124 minutes of vin diesel. mrawr.
- i want my blisters to heal so i can go do that walk again, maybe early tomorrow morning before all the people come out.
- i'm a little worried that my camera is broken. it sometimes makes a clicking noise when focussing and it's probably me, but i can't seem to not get a blurry first photo. i don't think i move it while pressing the shutter button, but i must be wrong.
- there are some really good and really awful things happening to people i know lately. i wish everyone could be happy and excited about their lives. damn you! be happy and excited!!
- someone remind me to buy a lottery ticket tonight. the super7 is up to $17.5 million.
- it really bummed me out to notice just how brown the air was yesterday. as i drove home. alone. in the car. by myself. i'm such a hypocrite.
- the new neighbour across the hall has painted her apartment a lovely burgundy colour. i'm assuming this means the old german regime is truly gone and we are allowed to paint. of course, after four years i don't care anymore and don't care to bother making my apartment any cozier because i don't want any incentive to stay for longer than i absolutely have to.
- ...is how to love and be loved in return.
my feet hurt. i'm hungry & feeling a little dizzy. i've typed so much stuff today that i'm left with bloody stumps in place of hands. i'm so going to have a nap when i get home.
i thought it would be a lovely night for an after-supper walk...
"where will i walk to?" i asked myself.
"you could walk to the park," my self answered.
"it may be up hill, but it's really just a block away. i want to go somewhere i can take a few pictures and be out for a while."
"you could drive to the seawall."
"yeah, but then i'll be too tempted to just drive there, get disillusioned with the idea of a walk, and then drive home."
"yeah, you are lazy like that."
"hey!"
"well... you are. so, what about down lonsdale?"
"gah! there are people there!"
"there are people everywhere, dork."
"hrmf. so? doesn't mean i want them to see me waddling around."
"why not? you can check out all the shops you don't know exist."
"i guess..."
"you could walk down to dad's place! stop in all casual-like and maybe he'll give you a ride home!"
"ooh, good thinking! how far is that?"
"um... 20 blocks."
"20 blocks!"
"all downhill, doofus."
"well, okay. fine. down lonsdale it is."
i got to dad's house and he wasn't there, so i sat in the park across the street and took a couple pictures. somehow, i convinced myself that i wasn't ready to go home yet, so i kept walking. i stopped in victoria park and watched a cute, blond guy try to train his dog to no avail. he might not have thought i was cute, but his dog sure did. i'm fairly sure that's not a good thing, though.
while sitting on the park bench taking stealthy photos of old people sitting at the cenotaph, i realized my feet were getting sore. i wasn't wearing my good walking shoes and these were rubbing something awful; but i was so very close to the bottom! eight blocks to go! i was almost there! like a trooper, off i went. by the time i got down to the quay at the bottom every step was making the three blisters i could identify by feel squish and almost squeak. luckily i didn't have to wait long for my bus to take off (after a friendly "hello, sister operator" from the bus driver).
35 blocks and 3.63 4 kilometres (2.25 2.5 miles) later, i'm home with my feet on ice packs because i don't have anything big enough to soak them in. other than some sore tootsies, i feel great. it's a beautiful evening and i actually got out there to enjoy it. now, i'll watch some bad tv and wait for the fireworks... if i can stay up that late.
holy shit. someone please remember to remind me not to eat cheese before i go to bed. i can't even begin to describe the whacked-out dreams i had. they were all crystal clear and really interesting, with lots of cameos from most everyone i know both online and off. the best part was that i was semi-lucid so i managed to direct the dreams a couple of times to where i wanted them to go, which produced some very, very intriguing scenarios. god, i love my unconscious mind!
my table is in its home in the corner of the kitchen. it's so pretty! who knew a bunch of pine and poly could make me so happy?
i found a bunch of old email on one of my drives last night. jim warned me not to read it, especially considering some of the confusion i told him i was experiencing. some of it i did read, others i deleted sight unseen. the stuff i did read was actually beneficial. it served to clear up a few things in my mind, settle a few of the questions i had. the problem is, it may have helped me smooth some of my logical bumps, but the emotional ones are still a little off-kilter. it almost pisses me off that my balance can be so screwed up in such a short period of time.
fuck it. i want to be bowled over.
jodi may be the internet's sweetheart, but i have famous bloggers hunting me down to request, nay, demand new posts. i'm craved by the public! they yearn for me when i'm absent! ahem.
this post is dedicated to kevin, who influences us more than he knows.
so, it was a blurry three days, filled with polyurethane and celluloid. as i've written elsewhere, i don't remember friday, but saturday was spent on chores and an entire afternoon devoted to the wonder which is ikea. i love the swedes. i finally succumbed to the guilt of having deprived my father of his patio table for the last four years so i had a place to put my african violet and my keys in the kitchen and bought myself a table of my own. after a depressing trip to the home improvement store to purchase varnishing supplies (where i stood waiting for assistance for almost twenty minutes while paint guy flirted with short-shorts girl -- i suppose i wasn't nubile enough to warrant an "i'll be right with you"), i returned home to assemble my new furniture and begin the fun sunday morning.
i wanted to do all the stinky work on the balcony, but the weather didn't cooperate, so it had to be done in my living [sic] room with all the windows open to ventilate. of course, it was chilly and rainy so nothing dried with any speed and i was forced to wear layers of ugly-yet-warm clothing. but it was an interesting adventure in home improvement. as of yesterday afternoon, the second and third coats have been applied and i'm just waiting a day before it gets moved to it's permanent home for regular use. it's so smooth and shiny and i did it all by myself (with lots of advice from dad). i'm giddy with pride in workmanship.
in between those three coats, i managed to get out and see three movies: moulin rouge, amelie and signs. they were all very good and i liked them all a lot. some more than others, all for different reasons. i'm very glad i saw them all. i've had a lot of popcorn this weekend. i may pop. truly.
yesterday brought an interesting surprise in the form of a ghost from my past. this happens to me surprisingly often, a person i thought i'd never hear from again, who i was certain didn't want anything to do with me, comes out of the woodwork to tell me how they've missed my presence in their life, thought of me often, wondered how i was faring. it's funny, because i do that. i think back on people i've known and send a small mental "hope you're doing well" card.
this reunion has brought up a lot of old feelings and it's both exciting and disturbing for us both. i don't know what is going to come of it and, honestly, i don't care. i'm just enjoying it for what it is, a reconnection with someone i cared for very much at one point in my life. the chance to catch up and feel a little thrill again. i missed that little thrill.
new cute guy alert! i'm pretty sure the adorable, tall, brown-haired boy i saw downstairs looking at me is the same adorable, brown-haired boy who smiled at me as we passed in the parking lot this morning. a quick inquiry revealed his name is andy, he works for that other company and is, in debbie's words, "a little timid", to which i replied with a sly smile, "don't worry. i can be gentle".
the problem is i have absolutely no valid work-related reason to be anywhere near him. oh well. it's nice to have new scenery, even if i don't get a chance to enjoy it.
blah blah blah friday blah blah payday blah blah paid off visa blah blah blah my camera is on sale for $50 less than i paid blah blah i'm going to go get that $50 back blah blah blah sleepy blah going out for lunch blah blah still haven't gotten art gallery membership card blah blah going to ask karen to see signs on sunday blah blah blah three day weekend blah really need to visit minnesota.
i just sent approximately 2,000 magic:the gathering cards to oregon and picked up the print i'd ordered from one of my digital photos. the cards weighed 5kg (11lbs) and the print turned out better than i ever could have imagined. i fucking love my camera, and the internet. upload a file, click-click-click, pick up a physical print in two days. this is way better than i imagined. giddy, i am!
now i'm going to go use my new juicy-juice face scrub, eat a delicious white nectarine, stare adoringly at my 5"x7" and watch big brother while hoping amy goes tonight because i like marcellas.
i stayed up too late watching, and taking pictures of, the fireworks last night. and i really, really, really have to stop drinking real coke in the evenings. i just can't express how glad i am it's thursday. one more day (one day more)! i can make it. i hope.
in lieu of real content, here are some (blue hair) photos from the week.
molson - the most beautiful cat in the world
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