Category: Family

Words to live by

AMEN.

Yesterday was completely derailed by a low key Katie thang followed by me coming back home and folding up in a ball.  Yes, I can haz post Conflikt letdown, happens every year, now I am expecting it.  It is time to do things.  I have THIRTY FOUR airs, songs and melodies on my new phone that I haven’t transferred into my lifetime list, so at this point I am way past two hundred and fifty songs.  I still haven’t written words for the Beacon birthday song, and that is starting to be RATHER PRESSING given that I’m supposed to be rehearsing and performing it within the month.  Churchy stuff awaits in bucketloads, may the completely value neutral laws of physics help me.  My room awaits.  Excited talk with Jeff about a business idea awaits.  Putting stuff on eBay awaits.  Finding homes for the instruments I will never play awaits.  Or maybe just plain getting rid of the musical instruments I will never play awaits.  Finding a fricking job so I have some options awaits.

However I have made breakfast and consumed it, and I am going to make myself some tea and take on the day with a little more enthusiasm now that I have some protein on board.  Oh, and I guess I should get dressed?

Saw this and loved it GRRRREAT SOUNDTRACK.

Trying… to summon …. enthusiasm.   GLERK.

 

Poor Katie

She has broken up with Kyle.  He’s probably going to end up with Izzy.  Good thing they didn’t have kids or I’d have something else to be cut up about.

Still waiting to hear what the damage is on Ziva. If I do not have a vehicle I am not going to be able to go to Conflikt and that screws up Cindy, who was hoping to borrow my vehicle to get her instruments back to town.  Heavy sigh.

If I do have to cancel I’ll donate my membership to a deserving person and cancel the hotel room.

 

Heavy heavy sigh.  I was hoping to have the car packed by about 10 this morning….

 

On the plus side I made Choc Chip Cookies for Jeff.

Katie has seen Sergeant Sees it Through

She liked it a lot.  Favourite bits… when everybody was sitting around waiting for the kids.  Also the part about the kids shooting in the street again to get into the club….  Jeff and I are still debating putting it on youtube, since I don’t think anybody’s going to run up to us and slap us regarding the copyright.  Even if they do, I have enough room to host it.

Off to Tamara’s for churchy business and it’s time to run Katie home.

The Sargeant Sees It Through – achievement unlocked

OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD.  The squee, the flailing choruses of muppetry meeping, oh lord lord lordy lord.

Even if my dad wasn’t in this, I would have loved it.  It is a testament to how awesome and really, really Caucasian Saskatoon was in the 50’s.  It’s an example of what a good cop looks like (Sargeant Nordstrum, hisself, and a profile that would make Liam Neeson skulk away).  It was a lovely dip into a completely different aesthetic.  Women (what few of them there are in this land of order and harmony) are wearing such delightful fitted frocks, and the boys are all wearing striped shirts.  The suits all look sort of shiny.

I could go on at length about my father’s appearance and demeanour in the film, but as he enjoys his modesty and is unhappy when some foolish or misguided person attempts to wrest it away from him, I will drop a curtain over that and review the technical excellences and cultural tropes which adorn this gem among sponsored films.  For of course it was an ammo manufacturer who supported the work of the club and the making of the movie.

In brief, me dad played a street tough’s associate who went from shooting out streetlights to taking minutes for a gun club and learning how to shoot properly under the supervision of a policeman.  In the meantime there are yummy period cars, perfect little square houses, an open rack of guns at the hardware store (owner just reaches back and hands the cop a gun – no locks, no nuttin honey), a simply amazing scene which looks for all the world like the cop is pulling a toddler on a tricycle over and then letting the kid off with a warning, the cop being shown as mostly walking from place to place although he does get in the cruiser too, the description of what steps he had to take to get a gun club for boys set up (it’s actually advertised as such – no gurlz), including getting the mayor on board, and buttering up the press, and getting freebies from the ammo company, and donations from local businessmen, and then like an idiot he leaves actually asking the boys if they will puhlease come out to the gun club to the very last.  Ooowiee.  Tension ensues.  (The music at this point is trying to beat itself into a state of enthusiasm, with mixed results).

And it all comes out nicely in the end.  Isn’t that lovely?  Oh, how I wish those days of yore, when so many complicated social situations had yet to arise, were still extant.

Ingredaments acquired

Yesterday was a day of cleaning out my car, and the kitchen, acquiring ingredients for spicy soup, and feasting Tom at Tom and Peggy’s.  Poor guy has some kind of lungcrud and was muttering about whether a girdle would work for his rib pains from coughing so OF COURSE I told the family story about how when Grampa got kicked by a horse he repurposed Gramma’s girdle to ease his rib pain.  She even wrote a poem about it.  Good times!

I assisted in the making of cheese sauce and it was lovely to see Lady Miss B and her energetic lad; I’d been up late and Jeff was feeling distinctly poorly and so we ate our lovely roast beast and skedaddled early.  Paul and Keith were also in attendance.

I updated my resume and sent it off to the recruiter.  However I have not stopped sending out resumes, hopeful as I am this lead will pan out.

Ah, soup lunch.  It’s worth it all to see the happy congregants sucking back lovingly prepared food.  I guess I’ll always have that corner of momness in my brain.

Poor Carrie… she’s having a hell of a time moving off Haida Gwaii.  After saying they would, now the Ministry is saying not only won’t they move her she’s going to get any ‘profits’ she makes from the sale of her furniture that she scrimped and saved for deducted from her income.  She’s got disabilities that make packing and hauling a bit problematic.  And gosh, she’ll be making 10 cents on the dollar, if that, for the furniture seeing as how people are leaving Haida Gwaii in droves after the last two big earthquakes and the weeks of aftershocks which followed.  The west coast of Haida Gwaii could get a tsunami anytime.  Jeff and I feel for her and we have room for her for a month, but no room for her furniture even if by some miracle she gets to bring it with her.   And really, she wants to live in Victoria and Juliana has no room due to her tenants, and the parental units have no time or space for stuff or drama.  I looked at my friendslist here in town and I have no suggestions.  Anybody disciplined enough to not have junk overflowing every room is already renting space.  It’s awful to feel so helpless when friends are in need.  I’ve already told her that if she puts her stuff before her safety life may get very very uncomfortable.  I like to think I would not go running back into the house on fire to fetch Otto.  I am more important than my stuff! But I still feel bad, this is something I’d like to fix… if I had any spare cycles.  I’m also very very concerned about other stuff going on in her life which I don’t feel comfy about posting.

 

What the Grand Joculator brings us

1.  Jeff says he’s paying too much money for rent.  In Vancouver that is not true but he sure could pay less rent elsewhere in the province, someplace on the Island for example.  He says he’s going to give me plenty of notice so I am very relaxed about this.  Not having in house tech support would just about kill me, as would giving up the flat screen and cable and the PVR, but life is full of interesting times and changes.  It definitely means I might end up with a different roommate though, and that raises the specter of a whole other series of maddening things; Jeff is/was the best roommate evar, as I believe I have stated a number of times.  I can see his point though and we all have to take care of our own needs.

2.  The new Galapagos BBC 3D documentary from David Attenborough is ABSOLUTELY STUNNING.  Highly highly recommended.  Don’t forget to watch the “making of” too.

3.  Signed off on my taxes for the last 4 years.  I should get a large amount of money back, but of course the feds will have to look at the returns before that happens.  I remain sanguine.

4.  Job hunting is interesting.  I got a lead from my network of contacts, and it is wonderful that it happened BEFORE I started instituting the new job search parameters (working the network).

5.  South Fraser Unitarian Congregation may get me as a speaker for Easter.  I’d whip out my previously provided Jesus service.  We shall see; I have not yet received a response.

6.  The sun is out, and I walked around in it, and of course the world seems like a better place.

7.  (link removed for safety) This.  Oh, this.

8.  I came up with a really cool idea for a science fiction story and forgot to write it down.  It has something to do with old people and robots, and damn I’m mad – I have a pad downstairs for all the ideas I get while I’m watching tv and there are tons of them so far.  Why, o why, blarp blergle.  I could have just written it down.  That’s what pen and paper FOR, SILLY APE.

9.  Did I mention I am on the waitlist for the Translink busker program?  If I’m still not working, I may do that to raise cash.

10.  I’m going to have some of the roasted squash and roasted garlic soup for lunch and then back to the job hunt.

11.  I’ve been sleeping downstairs and completely NOT HAVING ANY SCREENS in my sleeping room.  As a consequence my back is much better.

12.  WOWZERS.  Great news for deaf people.

Lovely long chats

In the last week or two I have spoken on the phone to Lois and Terry and Bonnie and Carrie and Ron (an old family friend I probably don’t often mention) and Tammy and Dave the poet and my mother and the minister…. I keep forgetting what it’s like to really talk to somebody who knows me from when I was a pup.  And sometimes I am doing more listening than talking, but…. I believe there’s something about friendship which occasionally requires this ‘sacrifice’.  Tammy more than anybody I know makes me feel heard.  It is a most wonderful sensation, even if we are murder on each other as travelling companions, heavy sigh.  Carrie is being driven spare by repeating earthquakes and aftershocks and her moronic and supposedly no contact order former spouse.

Chalice circles start up again tonight.  There is homework, darn it and we have to COMMIT to going twice a month for four months.  It’s down at Sue’s place which is nice and close.  I hate that there is homework.  The free form chalice circles of yore worked a lot better for me.

Out to brekky with Jeff this am.  I am hoping to convince him to combine it with a trip to Thrifty’s first as there are tiresome holes in our larder, like eggs and cream for coffee and white sugar (we have brown but it just doesn’t cut it for certain kinds of baking).  Yes, he has agreed – as long as we don’t get anything frozen.

RGIII’s knee injury last night during the Seahawks Bengals game was just about the most disgusterpating thing I’ve ever seen lovingly replayed about a hundred times.  Blergh.

Between now and shopping and brekky, it’s JOB APPLICATING TIME!!!

KATIE was at CHURCH YESTIDDAY!  I haz a happy!  (Song went okay).  JEFF fixed KYLE’S COMPUTER.  I haz a happy!  I can’t get hold of the new bookkeeper!  I haz a panic attack!  TRE AND BATTERY dropped by for an impromptu visit and TRE PLAYED ON THE PINBALLS while BATTERY AND JEFF CHATTED!  Tre is three and really really enjoyed it, although Margot wishes him to the uttermost pit.  We haz a happy about dese tings!  EDDIE IS UPSET AT SOMETHING in the yard.  We haz a scaredy.  LIZ MCINTOSH FRIENDED ME ON G+.  Yay, my second oldest friend has gotten back in touch with me electronically.  I HAVE AN EVIL PLAN TO MAKE MONEY IF I CAN’T GET A JOB.  I can haz a scheming plot!   And so, from asterisk to asterisk, from ALL CAPS TO italicized, from call to call and packet to packet and cheque to cheque and cheek to cheek and from plug to drain, these are the expostulations of our lives.

 

 

 

 

Duck Duck

 

A Christmas Duck not for eating.

Went to the job hut yesterday and I’ll see a career counselor today at 9.  I know how to write a resume and get interviews but since I’m not finding employment I’m obviously doing something wrong.  And when you’re doing something wrong, you have to stop doing it and get on the right track… you know, that stop digging advice.

O gosh the bean with bacon soup is amazing!  There is lots of yummy food in the fridge right now.

It is snowing very steadily and the wind has picked up.  V. glad I don’t have to cross a bridge today.

What would Jack Do and My Needle have gone off to the songbook compiler (Cindy!) for inclusion in the Conflikt 6 song book.  Hard to believe that John was still alive for the first Conflikt.  He sure brought the fun with him.  And I think he would have enjoyed SG1, and every time I write a new song I can see him rocking with laughter or listening intently (or going meh) as the song required.  I think also he would have approved of me finally practicing enough… speaking of which, another item on the to do list!

Paul gave me some coffee that he bought in Maui.  I made it really strong, but I haven’t had any yet so I think I will follow Jeff’s example (he said I made it like espresso).

Paul’s mum dislocated her hip.  Lois is with her now and Paul will be going later.  I hope she can stand the idea of assisted living; I know she’s still sharp and fiercely independent but sometimes the flesh does not cooperate with the spirit.

Watched the documentary about Boubakar Traore called I’ll sing for you.  Mali does not come across as a place I’d like to visit, although Dogon architecture kicks ass, and the guitar work (a Takamine!) is cherce. And too infrequent.  At one point, with no commentary, there are a group of pictures shown about the ‘grin’ (shebeen) movement and there’s a line of people, including a woman with a huge shiner, and I’m thinking, oh great.  I know, I can get downcast too easily.

The Dalai Lama’s book on interfaith dialogue is very interesting (Toward a True Kinship of Faiths).  He says that a global religion is both impossible and undesirable because of cultural and linguistic divisions, but interfaith dialogue is crucial because of the underlying human drive towards religion (or the numinous, or the feeling that we are all part of one big family).  Interfaith action enobles all religion.  (Yeah, as long as we’re not hating on queers…. and women…. don’t think I’m not seeing the lacunae, but I’m trying to elevate the tone here.) He talks about his relationships with other faith leaders, and what a naive little monk he was in 1956, when he first got exposed to other religious practices. He spends a lot of time on India as the model of interfaith dialogue, which is interesting, because they really have been doing it longer than everyone else.    He also talks about his understanding of the other major faith traditions and their similarities and differences… He also talks about how he wishes his English was better – he uses a translator for everything he writes in English.  Anyway, recommended.

an unusual discovery

Jeff was looking at the drives pOp gave him and there are slide shows.  Oh, yeah.  Here’s the best out of the lot.

Bean with bacon soup is simmering on the stove; I don’t have to cook any more today, yay, as there is lots in the fridge to eat and the soup will be ready by noon.

Snow has fallen – it was hailing earlier.

Jeff’s watching feetsball on the PVR and I’m trying to get my exciting song about bears recorded in some fashion.  I hear people scraping off cars.  I am amused.  I will salt the walkway now, it’s the fiendly thing to do.

 

AllegraJeffBalcony

New definition of fabulous

If we now construct the word fabulous to mean that ‘We did nothing, and enjoyed it immensely’ I had a fabulous visit to the parents’. My role as a grandchild deliverywoman is now complete.  Katie had a really good night of sleep, which is excellent because she hasn’t been sleeping too well.  I slept 8 hours continuously which must be a recent record.  I think one of the reasons I sleep so well there is because they keep the humidity set to “Human, rejoice!” as opposed to most gas heated homes, which in the winter time is “Human, all your mucous mebranes are belong to us!  Suffer!  Mwa ha ha!”

My blood sugar is 6.  My blood pressure is 136 over 88.  Not worrisome but it’s definitely time to take some weight off.  These are the kinds of things one learns when one visits parents!

I bought the What Colour is Your Parachute 2012 workbook, and it’s making me turn things over in my mind. I also bought yet another writing book.  I haven’t set a record, but I may yet.

Home made bean with bacon soup going to church with me today.  I extracted one bowlful for Jeff, as he said “Oo!” when he saw/smelled it.

Izzy is doing very well.  He’s eating every five days, and becoming quite hand tame.  He really likes Katie’s glasses.  He will be almost two metres long when he quits growing in a couple of years.

State Troopers of Connecticut have assigned a detail of Troopers to protect the families of the slain children and staff from unwanted attention.  This is in response to the crushing attention of the media, may they all experience the pangs of conscience, and the unindicted miscreants of the Westboro Baptist Church, who have promised to picket the funeral.  Given that the American public LOATHES the Westboro Baptist Church and is starting to get pissed off at the media, I think the response is fitting and an appropriate use of government resources.

Now I DEFINITELY need more coffee.  This is going to be a long day.  I am once again opening and closing at church and there is yet another interminable church discussion today.  If I get out of the meeting without offending anyone I’ll count it a plus.  HA HA KIDDING.  That’s half the fun.  NEED COFFEE.

Margot didn’t even respond when I came through the door last night (after a 6 hour journey, blech, thanks to the *ing weather in the Strait yesterday).

 

Two and a half hours

Lovely lunch with Keith, at the wrong location.  We’d agreed on Heritage but I gapped it and ended up at Ki Sushi.  To say sorry I paid.  It was delightful to see him.  That was from noon til one.  Then I parked at Value Village, walked across the street, went to the library and put a hold on Antifragile (as per LTGW’s suggestion) and picked up three other books including Pinker’s The Blank Slate which has been on my list for EVER, then I made an appointment with a case manager at WorkBC (as I am taking my unemployment seriously now); then I walked to the TD and deposited a large check, then I went to YYoga and picked up some brochures, then I went to the beer store (I’m sorry, but I can’t teetotal when Lion Winter Ale is available) and then I went back to the car and went home.  I should have picked up gas and coffee cream, but that was a lot of walking so I came home and collapsed, when I shouldn’t have.  But it was a jam packed 2 1/2 hours!

No responses to any of my job applications so far, but I guess I wasn’t expecting any.  Sigh.