Category: Friends

More happy Easter

Deb sent this and I cannot resist posting it.

colouredchicks1.jpg

I dunno what kind of dyes they used but it’s certainly striking.

Yes, I have kind of fallen off the face of the earth of late. Let me see if I can make it up. As it turns out, it’s just as well the Luddite and I didn’t get together; he is feeling poorly and while I would love to quote the email he sent me I am not sure we all equally appreciate the humour of mild stomach flu. The Loonie Awards Show I am volunteering for is going fabulously well; hopefully I will be able to see it tonight as I was minding the door last night. Doug and Elly, the cast and the volunteers have all done an amazing job, and it’s always fun to go to the St James Hall.

The unpacking goes well. I know it seems sometimes that I have carted an unholy amount of paper junk with me over the last 30 years, but sometimes I find stuff that makes me smile. I hadn’t seen the promo for Puzzle Factory, one of Elly’s theatre projects in Toronto, for at least ten years, and the day I am helping her it turns up out of the great dusty pile. I volunteered and performed in that too, and god help us all, my performance is recorded somewhere on VHS.

I am sitting at the desk my grandfather studied at when he was upgrading his education and working for the Saskatoon waterworks. It’s a very pleasant feeling, and it’s a really nice desk. I’m glad Jeff hung on to it for me. I have promised him that he’ll never have to move my bureau again. Paul and I bought it from a second hand store in Toronto – it was solid wood junk then and it’s junk now. But it’s capacious and holds my folding clothes so I should just stfu. I can more or less fit everything except my books in my room. I don’t have an unreasonable amount of clothing but I do have too much for the closet. More dejunking? More dejunking.

Food drink and bed assembly

After a danged slow start, I finally rearranged the furniture in my bedroom into its final configuration and assembled the bed which has supported so much reading, so much sleep, so much songwriting and so much transitory fun into shape.  I really tightened it down pretty hard in the reassembly – with any luck it’s going to stop its assortment of interesting noises.  Then I went to the dress rehearsal for the ticket taking.  I get to be lead hand for Saturday night as Peggy (the writer, not the doctor, and a former writing group colleague – wonderful wonderful prose stylist) won’t be there; I was a value add as I kept asking questions like what do we need for a float and what’s the dress code (I had, providentially given the general deshabille after the move, put aside an entirely black outfit).  Then home.  Too tired – jammed on the Luddite.  Okay, I just moved; I’m allowed to be bagged.  It’s pouring rain.

Bear Stearns comment and the rest is all domestic

Yeah, I can just believe that the buyout will be the last we see of the troublesome financial problems in the US. Good riddance eh?  The movie business is doing great, or so I’ve heard.

I just cooked my second family meal and first family dinner at Geek House.  Lemon pepper halibut lightly anointed with butter, steamed broccoli and homemade medium cheddar sauce (with arrowroot, a new one on me), romaine salad with celery, carrot, mushrooms and tomatoes.  Home made chocolate muffins for dessert if anyone wants them.

Yeah, I think I’ll be eating better from now on.  Next up – lentil soup.  I’m going to mess with something daal like, and then to cross culture it up I’ll serve it with cilantro and full milk yogurt rolled in corn tortillas.  Or perhaps some serving method that doesn’t make so much mess.  I will think on it, but first, I suppose before I do anything like that I should consult with the Master of Geek House.  I am the not quite Dowager Duchess of Geek House. Hm.  That would make Keith the Cadet of Geek House?  I’ll just cut that line of enquiry short.
I am not packing everything from the old place.  I want to, but I’m glad of the opportunity to shift some hardened energy out of my life.  That’s what most of that stuff is, solidified energy.  I had such thoughts and then I watched Natalie Portman’s first professional movie and then the Luddite dropped by for a brief and bracing visit, so of course I’m more cheerful.

It was so good seeing Keith.  I feel quietly happy right now, listening to the rain.

It’s all bout the timing

I wuz feeling all sad and bent out of shape (mostly because I want the moving faeries to deal with my packing) and the Luddite phoned and announced that he was going bike shopping with me tomorrow and all of a sudden I felt much better. I am not sure how he does it, but he has a real talent for communicating with me when I want to hear from him, and a priceless ability to leave me alone the rest of the time.  So I will have plenty of time to commune with cats and do a small grocery shop tomorrow (I brought the bundle buggy) so there will be food in the fridge when Jeff gets home, but I will also with any luck have a bicycle by this time tomorrow.

Confirmed sighting

Well, nobody can say the Luddite’s imaginary any more – as fictional a character as he appears to be sometimes, even to me, he has BEEN SEEN by Jeff, and proved to be substantial enough to help move a freezer and a rug.  My nefarious posse is proving of service…..

It is snowing very hard and very abruptly. It started spot on 6:45 and it looks like staying, gosh darn. Another night of glorious weather while trying to get to singing lessons.

Busy day

I HOPE I didn’t catch what Tammy had.  She was not exactly deathly ill while she was here, nor was she knocked much out of her usual cheerful demeanour, but man, she was sick, and I am really glad I could put her up where she’d get some TLC. I got the car around 9 and drove her to the airport.  We had an extremely long and involved conversation on the way out there – and Tom L. tried to run me off the road in HIS Prius, which was amusing after I stopped cursing at this bozo who couldn’t stay in his lane.
I dealt with the flat (total props to Joe at the Shell at Main and King Eddy) and then thought f*ck it, I’ll call ScaryClown and ask him what he’s up to, seeing as how he lives about ten blocks from where the tire got fixed.  He was sitting with Tyson and Luke, two buddies of his, in the Starbucks at Main and 14th, and then we had a late brekky at the breakfast joint on the south side of the intersection.  His buddies (whom I have heard MUCH about, mostly positive and somewhat in relation to alcohol consumption, life threatening illnesses and mischief making) were funny and sweet and entertaining and it was a remarkably successful lunch given I’d never met them before. ScaryClown had of course said much about ME, which gave me pause, but it must have been mostly positive because they seemed disposed to like me.

Got a call from Kopper saying that I need to do something political soon, and I agreed, smiling at the notion that given what an absurd bunch of clowns we have on council in Burnaby anyway, why not have a comedian run for office?  So I will be supporting same.  Updates as events warrant.

Then I paid the March rent for the new place, crossed the alley and tried my front door key for the first time, and in a burst of energy, unpacked the kitchen so that when Jeff gets there in about three hours there will be one room of the house (besides the bathroom) that isn’t a complete disaster.   Then I called him and gave him an update.

Sigh.  Unpacking is way more fun than packing. I have now reassessed how much room will be in the new place and I will be storing every stick of furniture I have except my bed and dresser.  I literally won’t have room for anything else.  Oh, and I must have been taking colour blindness pills when I looked at the kitchen.  The kitchen is red white and green. Yup, I have a red (REDDDDD!!!! RED RED RED counters) and white (trim and cupboards) and SLIME GREEN (remember slime green???) kitchen.  The slime green is going to get buried under eggshell white as soon as I have the paint, the energy and the buy in from brother dearest.

Tammy was all upset on my behalf that Jeff is getting the lion’s share of room for stuff, but I think we’ll both be reassessing things after we’re in, and his furniture’s way nicer than mine anyway.

I am SO excited.  My life is about to drastically improve, and I’m already thinking of ways I can improve the shining hour during my commute.

Sickness

Tammy is quite sick but well enough that I don’t have to feel guilty about ducking out long enough to help with the move.  I’m going to set her up with a bunch of food and drink and then take off.

At some point I’m going to ask her if she can give me the full on rational/emotional description of her HORRIFIC trip back from Palm Springs.  Honest to God, if I’d been on the flight with her I’d have clipped the air hag in the face and devil take the hindmost.

Waiting

Boy, it didn’t take long for my mood to change to something more sombre! I waited at the airport until 10 after 10, and Tammy phoned to say she was stuck in SF. She sounded like she’d been through the old wringer washer. The plane she was booked on ‘went mechanical’ as they say. On a whim I phoned Paul and found out he was almost done work and hadn’t brought the car, so I bought a magazine and sat in the parking lot and drove him home. I poked my head in to say hey to Keith – who just got 40 out of 40 on a practical test, how a mother’s heart sings – found out that somebody had phoned in a ‘creditable threat’ whatevah the hell that means to David Lam campus so he had no school today – and got home around midnight.

Tammy offered to pay for the CAN car booking, I couldn’t believe it. After what she’d been through my troubles seemed pretty minor.

Happy

Despite everything I’m happy.  Things are clicking along very well in my personal life.  It’s Facebook style complicated but loads of fun.  The Luddite has sent me a number of Muppet Show links, including Shirley Bassey singing Goldfinger.  With Turkish subtitles.  All Hail the Inertnests!

Also the last line of his last email he made me laugh so hard I had a five minute coughing spasm afterwards. I am however getting better and I figured out which cough medicine to buy so I’m getting less coughing and fewer side effects from the cough medicine, all a good thing.  Also in the email was a querulous “Why would your daughter want to meet me? If she wants to inspect me she can come on down to the shop and I won’t even know who she is.”  Men, o my god.  The answer to that question is “Because I never shut up about you, how’s that?”
My apartment is somewhat cleaner, but with all the boxes, quite cluttered.  I am trying, in the midst of the chaos, to keep all my tax receipts in one place…..

Two more days and Jeff is here!!!! For good.  Katie says, “It’ll be weird having him here,” and I said, “Like you swapped uncles.”  For Dr. Filk is in Victoria, and Jeff is here.  “I’m used to him being far away.”  For me it will be weird getting through the “Meet my crazy friends stage.”  I know he’ll like Kung Fu Mike and vice versa – the rest of them who the hell knows.  It’s not like ALL of my friends are crazy (I can HARDLY WAIT until he meets ScaryClown, he’ll either like him or loathe him, and versy vice) but they are certainly pegged out against the smarter end of the spectrum and they have that delightful Fun Loving, Common Decency, Brutally Practical combination that makes me melt. Melt Melt Melt.  I heart my friends.

My Buffy Valentines are all over the office.  Te hee.

I’m thinking of giving cooking lessons once I’m in the new place.  Everybody tells me I can cook.  Then they wish they could do it.  Oh, I guess this is not the time to start fantasizing about lesson plans. I learned how to cook an omelette in the nuker from Keith the other day…. he fed me last weekend, I guess I forgot to mention it.  Did I mention that I was happy?  Stressed, but happy.

I light a candle for my grannie.  Without going into details, she was in and out of hospital on a pre-existing condition and everything is managed and she slept in her own bed last night.  I am very grateful that she’s living in the same town as relatives who adore her and help her every chance they get. I light a candle for all the grannies who face old age without much help or sympathy.

The week in prospect

Tammy is coming to visit this weekend and my brother is moving to Vancouver this weekend.  I am hopping from one foot to the other excited.

A lot of people think I am quite odd for wanting to live with my brother (many comments about how “I could never live with MY brother in a million years”) but I think this is the wave of the future for a lot of baby boomers.  Tammy being here means I can’t help with the move proper but after I drop her off at the airport I’ll be over to the new place helping kick stuff into corners.  As Jeff has more stuff it’s good I’ll be moving in second as it will be a serious inducement to get rid of stuff.  I’ve already gotten rid of one box of boox and more to come (I joined bookcrossing.com).  It’s a wrench giving away books.  In fact, it’s virtually impossible, but I will have little room in the new place – essentially about one third of the floor space I have now – so goodbye sofa of Morpheus (does anybody want a REALLY AMAZING SOFA?) and the ditzy Ikea furniture I bought when I moved in.  Goodbye stupid desk.  Some of the good furniture is going into storage, but most of it, I freely admit, is trash, including all the bookshelves.
The cold continues apace.   I got more cough syrup last night but was able to sleep without it. A detailed enumeration of my symptoms can be collapsed down to the heartfelt, “Eew, gross,” so we’ll just leave it at that.

I have one last family bit of news.  As far as I can determine, Katie has actually quit smoking.  I’ve been coming and going on it myself but I haven’t had a cigarette in about two weeks, and Katie’s been off for a week.  Given the temptation – she’s currently living with smokers – I’m sure it’s a hard thing, but she’s also broke, and that helps.

A small but appreciative audience.

I read my story-so-far to the Luddite, who is now encouraging me to finish it, and making suggestions, including less talk and more action.  ‘Twas ever thus!  About some things men are quite consistent.

Dragged my surly self into the office an hour early to learn about setting up queues for the VOIP lines.  My head  buzzed like a thwacked beehive and I was insufficiently slept and caffeinated to actually take on anything resembling information.  Fortunately the day got better although I felt like I could have used toothpicks to keep my eyes open.

Long trip home

I got on the ferry at 5:30 due to a volume delay (I’d been aiming for 4), and cleared my door at home at precisely 9 pm.  I then drew a bath and contemplated my weekend past including all the movies, teed up a date with the Luddite for next week, and talked to another friend on the phone for a bit.  Then we went gah! it’s 11 pm and we both gotta work tomorrow, and so to bed.  It’s Presidents Day so the phone should be slow.  I have a pretty bad cough; there’s been a doozy going round the office.

My aunt Mary picked me up a copy of Eric Frank Russell’s WASP, a book so full of richness that I re-read it at least every couple of years, and have done so since I was about 11.  Wonderful book.  When I write, I try really hard to write like Eric Frank Russell.

More packing? More packing.

Yesterday was pretty steady. We knocked off around 4 and had dinner at the folks’ place, then cruised back here after stopping off for Apricot Ale (link removed for safety) which is rather delightful stuff, and watched the EPIC director’s cut of Kingdom of Heaven (which I loved but I can see why it was panned) and then the little gem The Secret Life of Words. Heartshattering and beautiful – that was the movie which got Sarah Polley acquainted with Julie Christie – and we all know how that turned out.

It is all connected

Cats!!!

Catherine told me about Selkirk Rex kitties.  I couldn’t find the one she was telling me about so this one will have to do.  I love the fur, and the enormous eyes.  Then she told me that there’s a video of a kitten getting into a Rottie’s face; I couldn’t find that either but check out the following.
Cause cats pwning dogs never gets old…. 

Okay, more disparity in size, same principle. 

Change of pace:

Yeah, I don’t like Cosmo either.

The Luddite sent me this one…

A duo performing I WILL SURVIVE in a way that will RENDER IT IMPOSSIBLE for you to ever hear that song without snickering, ever, again.

I am streaming with tears, having watched this lovely cross post from the Luddite. What’s Opera Doc brought into the 21st century.

I’m waiting for my biscotti to cool.  I’ve done all of my valentine cards and now I just need a quick shower and I’ll be ready for work.  Sundae this afternoon in the caf!!!