Category: Friends

visiting

Visited with Stephanie yesterday and had the great privilege of watching her work on some art.  She had spent an hour an a half being slathered with plaster of paris so she could do a torso mold, and she was making various course corrections in the hardened clay piece and making a stand for it.  As we got to sit out in her gazebo while she was working, it was exceeding pleasant, but wow, it was some hot yesterday. When everything is done she’s going to glaze and fire it, and seeing as how it was already very fine I can hardly wait to see the finished piece.
We also had lunch at Havana.  I had had a very rough night’s sleep on Friday – worst night’s sleep I’ve had in quite some time – so I pleaded intense sleepiness and deked home around 4, and so missed meeting her new boyfriend; you can tell how bagged I was that my curiosity was overcome by exhaustion.  Got home and literally went to bed and slept for 12 hours, having the most bizarre dreams you can imagine.  I was chased by a naked Robin Williams, refereed a discussion between two three year old girls (but I want you to stay fowa my pawty) (but I’m not feewing weww), found out that the entire time I was living at the Augur Inn there was a (cue ominous music) secret room; got shit from Keith for packing his stuff without labelling it and there were more dreams on top of that, mostly involving Paul, although it was all very civil.

Keith is coming over today briefly and then to Tom and Peggy’s for supper, yeah.

Since I finally have a printer I can work on moving some of my books around with Bookcrossing – I can make labelz…

I’m hoping that all the guys I know who are at the Arlington Air Show are having a good time.  The weather has been good and hot.

Lady Miss Banjola is a hurtin’ unit

She broke some bones coming off Jake (her scooter) but is expected to make a full recovery.  Dr Filk has flown to her side to render aid and comfort to the stricken. And make sure she takes her irony supplements – without which, life is completely meaningless, hein?
I am at Planet Bachelor (Paul and Keith’s new digs) for supper, having trundled Keith’s B-day prezzies over here, and we are anxiously awaiting Miss Katie, who’s off work now.

I am still in a very thoughtful mood.  Watching the sun go down yesterday felt really good, and I, like a fool, have commenced the deep thinking that accompanies the start of a new, long poem.

There’s Katie, gotta run.

Food & drink

Me, Mike McG and Patricia wandered around the west end, but mostly ate and drank and sat on the beach.  Vancouver, this time of year, by the water… sunset….. it was all very wonderful.  I was much quieter than usual but I’m not thinking this was a bad thing.  I have a lot on my mind.

Sundry and Various

Date from Friday night is not further interested.  Fortunately I am too busy to do more than go, “Hm, damned shame.”

This is a paragraph about how one woman can say to another “Maybe what I need is an 8 inch sub!” and we’re not talking sammitch.

It’s 7:15 and I’ve talked to two gf’s in Ontario already!  Hugs to Tammy, Hugs to Chipper.

Last night Patricia came with me to the Jericho.  She paid her eight dollars to get in but only watched me and two other performers, then went back out on the deck where she found a table with two good looking (merrit of course) middle aged men who didn’t want to finish their beer. Christ, they could have had no conversation at all and I would have liked them under those circumstances.  After we left (and I sang the song I wrote for LTGW at the top of my lungs in Jericho Park) she told me that I was far superior to the other performers and it was worth the 8 bucks to hear me sing Slimfast and Methadone.  OF COURSE this does not need to be true for me to be irrationally pleased. It was a very fun evening and I laughed my ass off.
Keith’s birthday books arrived on Monday and with his permission I devoured them.  It’s good to have maps of the action in the Patrick O’Brian books.
Colin’s visit was a very low key success. He took a lot of self portraits with my laptop, some of which were quite startlingly funny.  I wanted to post one with the title “How I lowered my IQ 45 points without even trying” but I don’t have his permission, and I’d flog somebody that posted a pic of me like that, so discretion prevails.
Mike M called from Wreck Beach yesterday…. if I hadn’t committed to go to Jericho, I would have gone to Wreck in a heartbeat, ’twas a glorious day.

Work bites the parasite riddled butt of a moribund goat and it’s going to stay like this all summer.  Fortunately there is a point at which things will twitch feebly back into their previous configuration or something like it, so I am trying to be philosophical.  In fact that about covers my life right about now “Trying to be philosophical”!

Keith’s B-day tomorrow – Robert Anson Heinlein’s today

The four of us are planning to get together for his birthday. I already bought his present but it will probably arrive next week.

Had the folks over for beers last night; in attendance, Melissa, Ryan, Brian C, Jarmo and Rob of Nine, who was, unfortunately, not able to massage my printer into compliance as there is no driver for it. Drat.

After they all left, Swampy came over for a beer and told me that things are going much more smoothly than he anticipated and it was just really pleasant to have him here – and we discussed a couple of books, including Focusing and The Dosadi Experiment (which is basically a fast forward through Dune without the religion and with a kickass courtroom scene at the end). Then at nine my date came over. We sat outside next to the fountain until about the fourth time he slapped a mosquito (imagine that… a guy who gets bit by mosquitoes more than I do!?) at which point I said that I found it unconscionably inhospitable to contribute to his discomfort so, and besides, there was beer and a bathroom back at my place…

So I guess I’ve had a very sociable weekend already and it ain’t even noon on Saturday yet.

Today is the 100th centenary of Heinlein’s birth. How I wished he could have become a blogger. Okay, I don’t but it makes me laugh to think about how he would have talked about the last three or four sets of American governments.

I talked to Kira on the phone today.  She was purring.  Zeek!, thank heaven, is back to his old self and the bloody spot under his chin has cleared up.  His bloodwork came back okay so the 1200 vet bill Paul and I were looking at turned out not to be necessary.

Keith will come by today before work with more Aubrey/Maturin for me.  (more, more more!) and some other media for me to peruse (hopefully Fables III and IV).

I watched Denis Leary’s music video of Asshole last night.  I always liked the song, but the video was brilliant, IMO.

Facebook is extremely amusing, and I’m having loads o’ fun with it.  Mostly poking people.  I’ve gotten into a poking contest with two people; I know that sounds rude, but it’s harmless virtual primate fun.

Here’s a cool “matrix style” domestic argument, from Japanese TV.

Tim Readman at Jericho Folk

I got to the door too late to get into the open stage (sigh…) but the open stage folk and the headliner were awesome.  Tim closed the show with Blackleg Miner which is an old favourite of Dr. Filk’s.  He also sang his own songs mixed very well and in a very smooth, entertaining fashion, with old favourites, a capella, etc.  He also has that English accent that makes a girl melt.
It was a beautiful evening.  As is my custom when I go to Jericho, I ordered a Raven on tap, thinking about the other times I’ve consumed it, and walked to the edge of the patio and watched the sun go down.  Damn, but this is beautiful country.

Paul has very kindly provided pics of the grad but I’ll be posting them later… stay tuned.

Food

Tom and Peggy kindly invited me to dinner.  Lady Miss Banjola was there – after putting almost 600 k on her scooter, Jake, in a single day of riding.  Tom howled and cursed about the entree in a most entertaining fashion, but it was edible despite his best efforts.  Despite it being a Sunday I had good bus luck getting home.

I watched Broken Trail again yesterday, and happy I was to do it, there being a number of things I missed the first time I watched it.

My spell of vacation is coming to an end, and I’m almost happy about going back to work.  If it’s the usual vacation, I’ll come back and everything will be different and my desk will be in the basement and my red stapler will be missing….. kidding.

glad news, sad news

My philosophical buddy Avinash called and reminded me to be rational – it was a lovely conversation.  I met him while I was running the Simplicity Meetup group last year.

Katie has a job!!!! She picked it out, applied, interviewed her new boss as hard as he interviewed her, and I am very proud of her.

Lady Miss Banjola is a pharmacist! Dred her blisterpakking skillz!

I have come to the conscious decision to let go of some stuff and it hurts, but it’s kind of a good hurt, if you know what I mean.  I’m talking material stuff.

Sad news…. Cali, Tom and Peggy’s kitty, aetat 24, is v. poorly and not going to make it.

I-I-I-I phone

Godawmighty, the techsphere’s buzzing like a rhythmically whacked wasp’s nest about the Iphone.  Boingboing.net went so gaga they might as well be writing advertising copy for Apple, and someguy over there said ‘THIS IS THE UI WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR’.  They are aware, of course, how breathless and ecstatic they sound so they posted under the title “Jesus is Risen”.  o RLY.  Indeed, as RobofNine would say.
Just so, as mOm would say.

I just found the remote that came with my computer. Who knew, back in 1992, that computers could have remotes?
Saw Keith, read TWO (okay, most of two) Aubrey/Maturin books yesterday AND went to Shrek III.  Yes, Shrek III isn’t ‘as good’ as the first two.  But it’s still way funnier than just about everything else out there.  Would have been nicer if it had taken me less than an hour to get home, but oh well. That’s life with no car.  While he was here I unlimbered my credit card and bought (or so I believe, but I never got a frikking confirmation email) two books about … gee… can you guess???? Aubrey Maturin!!!!  One of them is a book by book atlas and the other is detailed illustrations of all those heaps of frikkin nautical terms.  I’ll probably break into them before I give them to Keith, but he’s jiggy with that.  Anyway, with any luck they’ll get here before his birthday, and if they don’t nae borra.  He’ll be 21.  Can you believe I pushed him out of my body 21 years ago??? it’s bizarre.  He’s so adult and calm and inspiring, and so easily pleased.

Day 1 of no beer.  At Katie’s grad I said I didn’t think I could live a month without beer.  Then I realized that this was the single saddest, and possibly stupidest, thing I had ever heard myself say.  After taking thought, I figured if I can pass most of the month of July without beer, I’ll be in good shape.  Dunno how I’m going to get through Tuesday though – I always drink a beer before I perform (One beer Only), as I find it prevents worry.  More than one beer, though, impedes performance.  Didn’t Shakespeare do a bit on that? It’s also bizarre to think that in my personal take on Ol’ Abe Maslow’s Cone of Consciousness, Beer outranks Sex. What am I, Homer Simpson??? Sad mismanagement in that, dear friends.
Off to the weight room now, I have an appointment with one of the infernal machines.