Thursday, October 28, 2004

Hilo,

13 mins till I get to sit and watch Without a Trace. Looking very much forward to it, it has been a looong day. Always is, with daddy at night school Thursdays and moi on my own. But tonight we went to Sandy's for dinner and it was great to share the work of the five children that we like to call ours.

I did CRAP on my essay for Counterculture class. C. C! Reaffirms my conclusion that this interesting but vague course can't be my forte. What a shame, because I thought I would do better. Prof said it was a very well written essay. With NO POINT. Nice. He said, in the words of Jim Rome, "Have a take. And Don't Suck." (not just to me personally but to all of us who crapped out on the paper. So my work is cut out for me for the next one, due in oh twelve days. I will probably be blogging more just to avoid writing it. Maybe that's the problem, Army.

Enough of the maudlin. On a more fun note we went to Zellers and got Sammy a sort of Last minute costume, as he could not make up his mind what to be. This was apparently my fault, because I wouldnt let him go as the Grim Reaper. So he was protesting via not deciding to be anything. But tomorrow is Halloween/school thing, so we went and I convinced him to be Harry Potter. I found a markdown costume for a few bucks! He looks like HP! He looks totally cute, but please if you see him don't tell him that!

Monty was hilarious at the store with the costumes. He has had his Spidey costume for too long, I guess. Tonight he saw Buzz Lightyear, Woody, and a Wolverine costume that he wanted bad enough to cry real tears over. I finally gave in because they had this older Darth Vader costume marked down to $1.50 (no mask) and got him that. He was so happy! He wanted to wear it to bed. What a weiner.

Well, I am off to watch my show AND crochet one of my neices a kerchief thingy whilst I do so. I don't think I ever just do one thing anymore. My waking hours are all about doubling up. Killin two birds. Maximizing minutes. Whatcha gone do?

A.

Tuesday, October 26, 2004

Sam can play Jingle Bells and Twinkle Twinkle on the violin already. Amazing how kids pick things up and start playing them. I could take violin lessons for a year and it would still sound like a cat being castrated. That kid has had three lessons.

Can I show you the next essay topic due in two weeks for my counterculture class?

"One of the difficulties in teaching others about countercultures is creating the sense that anyone can participate. Based on the readings (at least three, up to and including the due date) and your own experiences, critically evaluate the veracity of this claim. To what extent is it possible or not possible. Is being countercultural realistic? Does one need to be a “hero” to be countercultural? What is the relationship between the individual and the communal, between the dominant and the resistant?"


Thus far I have three words. W. T. F.

So that's that. If anyone has any ideas whatsoever please. Don't be shy. I thought my film studies class last year was a challenge. This one is going to kill me. I just want to write what I want to write. Blogolas, Pomes, Stories. I like Austin's idea of doing the novel thing. I may endeavour to do it myself. Cause you just know I need another project in my life. I have a couple of humor gigs coming up too.

Hmm. What else. Today was gorgeous. I noticed this when I went out to walk Monty across the street to my neighbor who drove him to school (she is a doll for sure). So of this whole beauty day I spent three minutes of it outside. What a hermit. I felt this vague sense of urgency that I should be out enjoying what was probably one of the few nice days left before the spectre of winter sets in. But I wasnt feelin good today. Woke up in the middle of the night and just felt overwhelmingly nauseous. I was like, in this turtle position on the kitchen floor because it felt cool to my forehead at four in the morning. And I kind of fell asleep like that. And I woke up and I swear I thought someone had removed my legs. I couldnt unfold myself! Everything was like lead, then all tingly for twenty minutes. What a wreck.

Woke up this morning and was nauseous again. So I thought I would be smart and took half a gravol with a gulp of water. Then I was really sick, running up the stairs ducking right and left so as not to trample on my kids who had just woken up themselves and were creeping about the upstairs hallway like sleepy new kittens. Hurled. Scared the kids. Jay kept asking me why was I sick? I was like, "I. don't. Know."

So I was in hibernatificating mode today. Felt miles better by lunchtime, although I kind of wanted to drag it out a bit. But who would I drag it out to? I mean, it's different when you are the mommy. If jay was sick he would call in to work and lie around all day. But when I am sick there is noone to call in to. It's sink or swim, baby. And nothing sucks more than to have to drag your nauseous head around the house getting people glasses of milk and changing diapers and timing people out. Blech.

But now I am better. And I am off to see if there is anything decent on at ten pm, since all my laundry is put away.

Ciao.

Monday, October 25, 2004

We had a nice party for the boys on Saturday night.



Lots of fun. Lotsa kids. Lotsa preparation. It went real well though. I actually enjoyed myself, which doesnt always happen when you are running around doing a party. Sometimes you feel more like a caterer or social convenor than anything. But this was a good one.

Wednesday, October 20, 2004

Lesson Learned: If you are painting your bathroom and you stand on the paint can a bunch of times to reach the high spots, the paint can is really hard to open after.

I could so not go to class tonight. I would enjoy dinner with ma famille (well, enjoy if people mind their p's and q's, tolerate is more the word if the behaviour is as usual), then maybe scoot out to Eastgate to get some pictures developed and buy a new shower curtain, then come home and paint for a bit, then watch CSI NY, then paint a bit more, then go to bed.

But I gotta go to class. Argh. It would be like missing a weeks worth of classes. And it's not like I am some counterculture genius either. I need all the information I can get. And I figured out (just now) that each class costs me $36.92. So it would be like throwing money out the window. So relax, I am not skipping. I am just enjoying thinking about it.

Today was a good book group. We talked about being happy for people when they have good fortune and genuinely feeling sad with/for them when they don't. I personally find it hard to celebrate when people get good stuff happening in their lives and I don't. They have to really deserve the good things from my perspective before I feel good for them. Kind of crappy of me, I know. But it's the truth. I am working on it as of now, okay.

The good thing is that most of my people do deserve good things. If you don't, you know who you are. HAH! Just kidding.

My mom always says that if we all had the chance to put our problems on a table and take someone elses, we would all take our own back. I guess this is true for the most part, but can I say that I would totally take Jessica Simpson's problems over mine. Have you ever seen Newlyweds on Much Music? Man, her problems are like, getting a manicure that takes too long so that she has to buy dinner instead of make it herself. Or having difficulty finding long enough fake eyelashes for her Barbarella Birthday costume. Or spending $1400 on underwear and having her hubby Nick say, "Jess, that's crazy."

What a dolce vita. I should have such issues.

Why do I sound jewish all of a sudden? Oy vey, the complaining has changed me. I need a pick me up. There's gotta be some leftover candy from Sam's party somewhere around here.....

A.

Tuesday, October 19, 2004

Hey, how's it goin?

It's Tues afternoon and just a bit dark and windy out. Perfectamundo Octobre weather. Makes me want to light candles and put on socks so thick I couldn't fit my shoes on over 'em. And snuggle on the couch with mes enfants. Ahh. Bliss. Except mes enfants would not stay put, and I would just get all annoyed about having to un-snuggle myself every three minutes to see where they went, or what's that crackling noise, or how come she is crying?

There is nothing like an uninterrupted afternoon snug on the couch. If you have had one lately, consider yourself among the privileged. Give yourself a lucky me.

Monty is still working out the bugs of being a school boy. So cute how he is a bit frowny after school, like someone tricked him into being awake for too long. He throws himself headlong into each day, so by noon he is a little tapped out. And then he has to rise to the occasion and go to school with all the kids. And then run for the bus stop. So by the time he gets home he is like, "Who-oa."

Tonight I plan to paint the bathroom. It is getting finished. I bought lovely taps for the sink at HD. Man, you could spend a fortune on taps! They had ones there for 350 bucks. Unbelievable. I was reading in the paper about some house in Burlington that is getting demolitioned (w?) because it doesnt meet the new owner's needs. My, how far from the basics can you be that a 10,000 square foot home with six bedrooms and six bathrooms doesn't meet your needs? This home had about a half a million worth of renovations just three years ago. The pictures of it are unbelievable. Miele appliances, marble countertops, huge gorgeous fireplaces, pristine carpets, gleaming hardwood...the woiks.

On Saturday they are auctioning off everything in the house that can be taken out before it gets smashed to the ground. I would love to meet the new owners. Wouldn't you? They probably wouldnt want to meet me. Because I would have to throttle them just a little for answers about this insane course of action they are taking. Hey, if you are that rich that you can destroy a mansion to build a new one, why dontcha just donate that mansion to charity and build a new one someplace else? What is this tearing down nonsense?

I dont even feel right about replacing my bathtub. It seems like a really big thing to toss into a landfill when it still works fine. I still have toilet guilt. This is not some Freudian thing but I think of those two toilets that we put out on bulk garbage day, the harvest gold one and the lilac one and wonder if they could have had a new life somewhere. Could someone have fixed them up or used them as planters or something. Eeeuuww! What's wrong with me? Toilet planters?

Any. HOO. When the ocean levels rise up with the global warming we will need some stuff to stand on so we don't all drown. We can stand on the huge piles of garbage that we made. Easy Peasy.

I better go make-a da meatballz for din din. Whenever Tony Soprano (OOps, I mean Jay) calls me and asks whats for supper and I tell him Spag and meatballs he gets all happy. I could serve it six days a week and he would be thrilled.

I also have to unpack the six bags of stuff from the NO FRILLS DOLLAR SALE I got this afternoon. Good deals!

Red Rose Tea 36 bags $1.00
Lipton Soupworks $1.00
Frozen baguettes from Dempsters $1.00
Rice Crackers (my new favething) $1.00
10 packs of Hot Chocolate (Carnation)....You guessed it $1.00.

what do I, work for No Frills? Am I totally stalling going downstairs to my messy kitchen or WHAT@! Okay, okay i will quit being a lazy bee-awtch and go get to work. Stop nagging me already.

Toodles.

A.




Friday, October 15, 2004

Whoa the posting section is totally different on here. Scaary.

This weekend will be brought to you by the letters B for bathroom and SP for Sam's Party. Supposed to be taking Sammy and some buds to Hidden Valley Park tomorrow. But if the weather is all gael force and pouring rain like it was today, it might not be that much fun for the kids. Hmmm.

If we took them all to a movie it would probably cost over a hundred bucks. If we had them all at the house for activities and treats it would be cheaper on the pocketbook, but costly in other ways. I gotta think about this one. Shark Tale is out, would be fun to go and see, and I could make everybody a little treat bag to sneak in with them....

Two more minutes and I gotta go to the school. I have been watching Sam take Monty to the bus stop for four days now, and I think he is just about ready to do it without me there. They look like little babes in the woods holding hands walking across the yard. And the bus drops em off right in front of my house. How deadly is that?

Well, happy weekend everyone. If you are looking for a movie to rent, do Dogtown and Z boys. I promise you will enjoy.

A.

Thursday, October 14, 2004

Good class last night. We talked about the counterculture of early skateboarding. Here is a picture of Stacey Peralta, one of the kids on the Zephyr skateboarding team in 1975.



We watched "Dogtown and Z boys". What a neat documentary. Totally recommend it. Totally loved this kids hair.

Will write more later, gotta skate.

A.

Wednesday, October 13, 2004

Life Is Good Again.


Essay complete. Crisis Averted. We have reached Defcon 3.


You know, having things like essays to write or drama scripts to memorize or speaking engagements to prepare for can be very hard on a person. But then you are printing out the essay, or on stage performing the drama, or walking out of the building that you just did a presentation in. And it's a RUSH. The sense of accomplishment is almost worth the bst it took to get you there. If we aren't struggling a bit in life, are we doing all we could? If I took the easy route, I would not have the audacity to call myself an occasional public speaker. I definitely would not be almost done my BA. It gets me thinking, where else in life could I be working a little harder. Hmmmm.

Okay enough of that. No need to bite off more than I can chew so soon after the trauma of the essay, hee hee.

Really though, the ease and bliss that I will feel tonight after class when I settle in my fave chair to savour the second half of CSI NY will be sweet beyond sweet.

Next on my agenda is to get myself to the eye doc to see what the hell is wrong with my eyes. I am okay reading the blackboard and then I go to take notes and it's like I am blind. I have to strain to focus on my notebook. Weird. It must be an age thing (UGH.) Both mes parents have glasses so no surprise. If the doc just tells me to do 'eye pushups' like he did a few years ago I am going to have to hit him with something. Who has time to do eye pushups? It's on my to-do list of things I never get to, right up there with Kegel exercises. And dusting. And getting my car oil changed.

Alright well I better go see what's what. After school is probably the worst time to be blogging in terms of child safety.

Ciao!

Tuesday, October 12, 2004

Oh, Help. Me.

I was supposed to be writing my essay (wanted to be done tonight and leave tomorrow day for typing and cursing about MLA style) but I just fell into reading a bunch of blogs and lo and beehold it is 530 and where are my kids.

I went to Div college on Saturday morning and took a bunch of pictures of the building. It was neat. But pictures aint what I gotta hand in tomorrow night, are they?

So I went back today and actually went into the building which is a really cool building. And they were SO NICE there. They helped me. I almost cried.

So now I am pretty much armed with all the background shite I need to write this paper. I just need to write the paper.

Ugh. I hate this part. Anybody need me for anything? I can paint or fold laundry or watch your kids. Cause you just know I would rather watch yours than my own, who are right now banging and banging and banging on Sam's bedroom door. It would be one thing to have a paper due tomorrow if I lived alone. Or if I was a guy, who could act all important about it and have the wife hush the kids up so I can get my work done. It is entirely another thing to have to make complete sentences adding up to four pages about architecture and counterculture whilst you are worried that your darling angel baby is getting a Fortinos bag pulled over her head by your adorable but 'spirited' middle child. And your first born who is really such a great kid is crying because he can't find his spelling book.

I think I will feed them early and trick them somehow into an earlier bedtime. I wish that spring-ahead-fall-back thing had happened last weekend. It would be easier to do this.

The hilarious thing about it all is that I am still going to make sure I watch the finale of Nip and Tuck tonight. Just so you all know I havent gotten my priorities mixed up.

Ahhhhhhhh. The banging. I gotta go bust some heads.

Ciao!

Friday, October 08, 2004

Here is a better picture of Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater (built in 1936).

You can see that it is built right over a waterfall. There is a staircase inside the house that leads right down to it. Inside the house, the forest surrounding it is visible from every room. Pretty cool. I guess he thought that buildings should not be static, boxlike enclosures but dynamic structures, with open, flowing interior spaces. Fits in with the idea that people should not let themselves get stuck in society and accept their fate but should question things and work to change them if needed. Hmm.

Now all I have to do is somehow relate this to Divinity College at McMaster. I am going to go and take a bunch of pictures of the building tomorrow. Lucy wants to come with me.

Other than this I have a nice head cold starting up. Had a lovely night with Monty waking up a few times and Lucy having some sort of late night meltdown because she's all stuffy. And my nose and throat keeping me wide awake. It was neat. I was searching for apple cider vinegar at four am because I remembered Sandy telling me that it changes the ph of your throat and makes it feel better. All I had was white vinegar. My friends, take it from me. It doesnt make anything feel better. If you want to give yourself heartburn for fun then a tablespoon does nicely. Or if you just feel like life is getting dull then take a gulp of white vinegar. It rocks your world.

Alright well enough me time. Hey! It's Friday!

A.

Thursday, October 07, 2004

Apparently, architecture has tons to do with Counterculture.

At least, that is what Dr. Ouellette was saying last night. Frank Lloyd Wright was all about huge interior spaces and fitting in buildings with the natural surroundings.




Tuesday, October 05, 2004

It's fall.

And I bought a bag of those shellacked gourds for my kitchen island. But I haven't seen them for a week because they are buried under all the junk that seems to collect there. Is it just me or is life today all about the paperwork? You would think with every home having 1.3 pc's in it that we could evolve into a paperless (or just less-papered) society. But here come the flyers! The letters from school! The bank statements! The newspaper! The bits of 'art' created by my darling children that I have to hang onto for at least a day before I bury them in the garbage! The pay stubs! Why do I feel the need to keep all of Jay's pay stubs? He gets paid every week, and I NEVER NOT ONCE have referred back to any of these stubs, yet I keep them! Do I need proof that he has a job? What's the dealio?

And the junky bits. The pennies and marker tops and bread clips and elastic bands and little red plastic peanut butter spreaders from the Handi-Snacks. The extra garage key and the lego hat for anakin skywalker and the Halloween flyer from Party City that Monty wants to look at every five minutes.

I could just sweep it all into a garbage bag and be done with it. Why don't I?

I don't know. You tell me.

I cut out coupons that I NEVER USE. I save bulletins from the paper that I NEVER READ. I keep the extra heart sticker from Fortinos in case anyone around here needs a heart sticker! What?

I am overwhelmed. And half crazy. I am going to go clean that island if it kills me.

Wish me LUCK.

A.

Monday, October 04, 2004

Lately I have felt more like reading blogs than writing my own.

I love people watching. When Tracy and I went to TO last week we were in Chinatown and you know how you are stopped at the light to turn because there are like ten thousand people that have to cross the street. Well, I could have sat there all day. Just watching how fast some people walk, how determined their faces are. They are almost always alone and I wonder if they really need to get somewhere that quickly or are they just lonely and feel even lonelier in the middle of a crowd so they just want to get it over with.
When people are in groups of two or three they seem so much happier. They are talking and laughing, seem to care much less about their destination and they just enjoy the journey.
It is fun to watch people poring over vegetables on a roadside stand. Life and death decisions about bok choy. I like watching people trying to find a place, bobbing their head from the map in their hand to the building numbers like pigeons pecking at seeds. I like watching the slick, well dressed women who sweep along in their fancy boots, holding big leather handbags tight to their sides. What have they got in there? Nothing?

People are fascinating. I even confess to people watching at church. This started when I was a kid at communion time. We were supposed to solemnly return to our seats, then kneel and pray while the round dry wafer stuck to the roof of our mouths. You would then work it with your tongue to scrape it off bit by bit. And you were supposed to keep your head down and your eyes closed. But I never did. I kept my head down but my eyes would be all over the place, watching people walk up to the front, arms crossed in front of them. Watching the priest lean over with the communion for the little old ladies, saying, "Body of Christ", and you were to reply, "Amen". Seeing how long people would kneel for after they got back to their seats before settling back into the pew and people watching themselves.

Yesterday at church I found myself doing the same thing. Now, we don't kneel afterwards. In fact, we couldn't if we wanted to, because there is no padded kneeler bench to do it on. But I like how people walk up to the front of the church, so quiet and thoughtful. It makes all the million things we do in a week disappear for a little while. I like to see what crazy things the young kids are wearing. One young guy yesterday had this pink and orange hair and a couple of piercings on his face. I like the juxtaposition of him with the older lady following him, with her glasses chain and her navy blouse and skirt.

I like watching people in line at fast food places, looking up at the menu, scanning for something to hit the spot. I like watching the moms waiting for their kids at school, staring out at nothing. I wish they would turn to each other more often and say, "So, what's new?" It might knock the boredom off the shelf that they keep it on.

Well, it's time to get you know who ready for you know what. Have a good Monday everyoneday.

A.