There was an adolescent black bear up in the parking lot this morning. Scared the bejabbers out of the receptionist. I think maybe I’ll stop walking through the campus with my headphones on for a while…
Category: Work
This one’s for Patricia
So I get off the bus and walk down the hill
And the first thing I see is some flags. The building I used to live in is out of the picture on the left.
And then I see this really bizarre railing. There’s something… wrong…. about it. I guess those rounded metal prongs are there for a reason, but what???
I keep walking down the hill. Blechhhh. Who’s been throwing crap in the fountain?
Damn, I just noticed my battery is REALLY low. More later.
perfectly normal pork chops
The meal last night was yummy – the pork chops were precisely at that place where doneness and juiciness intersect. I learned a little more of the new barbecue’s ways so that I will not be helpless when it comes to searing meat.
The Luddite was here and was entertaining. His take on reality is so skewed that I find myself cracking up repeatedly. We traded backrubs while Mayday! was on. Jeff cracked up himself when he learned that one definitive way to shut me up is to work on my feet. You never know when a piece of information like that could save your life, or your sanity at very least.
I like the Mayday! show, except when I think about travelling to France on a jet aircraft…
The stove has been fixed. The stove elements now work in perfect congress.
Rogers is still dicking around with the phone service. I’d give details, but I’ll let Jeff provide them if he feels like it. The phone works, but the billing is like a nightmare from the consumerist.com website.
My pay issue at work has been resolved. That was annoying, but like most things it was easier to fix when I stopped being mad. My raise wasn’t added effective 1st April like it was supposed to be – the explanation was apologetic and the action plan acceptable.
I am off to collect some more hepatitis shots and get a mammogram. I’m going to ride my bicycle to the place I’m collecting my shots and then take the transit home, and then leave for my appointment at RCH. Now that the weather is better I’m going to try to get some exercise any day it isn’t pouring rain. I’m thinking of my last mammogram – almost 15 years ago now – in Montreal, when I got to listen to a boundlessly cheerful tech say, “Ne respirez PAS de TOUT!” “RESpirEZ!” about a hundred times. Then I went to listen to the results from an urbane Francophone doctor, who tapped the films in front of him and said, with equal cheerfulness, “Zat is a perfec’ly normal breast!” Hmf. There is nothing perfectly normal about me…. but those are words I sure want to hear again.
Over at Patricia’s
Patricia fed me and Jeff last night. We had a really good time and at the end of the evening I said there was no fracking way I was transiting home. It’s only a 20 dollar cab ride back from her place, which I file under ‘good to know’. The Luddite is by this evening.
My god, we were talking about Vegemite last night! Now it’s in the news.
Patricia mocked me for my tarot reading ways – justifiably so. Now I can’t tell if the long journey over water her last cards foretold is about an exotic vacation or just a nod to how we always go into the third floor can to gossip. Oh, if only I could interpret it! Oh, and looky here! More animated floor mop action!
I cross post a review of the Willie P Bennett event
Our Tribute to Willie P. Bennett last week was a HUGE success thanks in no small part to organizer John Caspell. John brought together a great lineup of local musicians to share their personal stories, anecdotes and of course, the songs of Willie P. Bennett. We had a full house for this event and it was a great pleasure to not only have heard from those who knew and loved the man but also to introduce his music to a new generation of musicians and fans alike. Special thanks to musical contributors. (And then it lists us…) Dr. Filk forwarded it to us and I thank him.
I am up dreffle early this morning. My back is hurting.
Keith is at the grandparents’. I called him as my spidermom sense was tingling, and I was rewarded with a candid melange of contradictory emotions about school, life, and the universe. Katie was supposed to turn up last night. No call, didn’t answer the phone. On the other hand she was supposed to be working, so I’ll probably hear about that later.
Work was actually fun yesterday. We recited our mantras many times. “We’re all about the process” and “The suffering is optional” and “Fire fire fire!” and “Facts and data!”
I just opened my Telus bill. They owe me $30… I wonder if I’ll ever see it, now that I’m going to work in the morning in part to support Rogers. I also wonder what I am supposed to do about my old modem. My bits of wonderment occur to me.
I can’t find my resume. Ack. I actually need it! Now to see if in my pile o files I have a hard copy. Ah, the joys of moving!
LMB writes a traditional ballad
I got to the end and thought – gonna have to learn that one. That will make a nice companion piece to Judith Hayman’s song about signing your donor card. Or maybe we can start a thread of public health messages…
Last night helped Kopper orgalize and shove furniture around. It took me 20 minutes to get home from her place! Amazing what making your connection will do for your timing. For my pains I received a spice rack, which I needed.
As predicted, the furniture was assembled and in place when I got home, and the barbeque was set up. I am going to learn to char meat! That is if I can touch it, we all know about the keepers of the sacred flame…. Guys and Q’s.
Lazy weekend
You know it’s a lazy weekend when the most impressive thing you did was stack and unstack chairs at church. (Good service.) That and go rescue Season 2 disk one Deadwood out of the DVD player in the storage locker (Jeff had other, arcane power supply business in there as well). Both of the kids were here yesterday; Katie insisted that she had to drop off Suzanne’s laptop for TLC from Jeff (note to everyone in Vancouver… Jeff is not some free Geek Squad wannabe) and then leave and then stayed for porkchomps Paulegra and The Scent of Green Papaya.
You must understand… getting Katie to watch a movie with virtually no dialogue and subtitles is like telling ball lightning to pose for paparazzi. She entirely volunteered, but I was gobsmacked.
Keith just hung around (he left just before dinner) and either watched Nascar with his uncle or played non stop computer games. In desperation, Jeff is building him a ‘good enough’ computer out of various scraps to perhaps stem the Sunday tide. Every other day of the week Keith is very busy; Sundays he wants to blow his brains out on computer games. This would be okay but Jeff can barely use his room; I’ll let them sort it out but the parking at the computer combined with Keith leaving about half his coiffure in Jeff’s soap made for interesting times. No, I do NOT want to live in a sitcom; it just keeps happening with grisly regularity.
Back to work, where a group of senior managers has decided to manage by cancelling the one useful meeting we all attend once a week. I could expound at career limiting length on this subject, but we polled the attendees and we’re going to book the damned meeting anyway, and if the managers don’t want to attend for their own reasons, that’s no reason not to meet and exchange information and work our projects, which is what we were doing before. My manager supports the meeting, at any rate, and gave me a thumbs up on rebooking with the relevant attendees, so my precious heinie is safe for the time being. Heavy sigh.
Sundry & Various
I came home from work last night and Jeff had moved all of the boxes we moved on Sunday into the spare bedroom. I was a little off colour yesterday, I’m not precisely sure why, and I was very grateful not to have to physically move anything. I’m still feeling ‘strange’ today but I think it’s yet another one of my ‘atypical’ migraines. Nothing like being told by a neurologist that you’re ‘atypical’…. as if I could be anything else.
In an explosion of efficiency and organization (his response when I said this, Ha!) Jeff has prepared a list of everything that needs to be done around here. We find the taps in the bathroom, both sets, to be a trial; the bathtub taps have a really unpleasant mushy feel as if you can never get them entirely open or shut; the vanity taps squeak in an astonishing way. He’s already fixed the kitchen tap, and he moved the freezer downstairs on the weekend and it’s now running (the landpeers said we could have a freezer in the laundry room and the downstairs neighbours can use it too if they like). Earlier in the week I finally passed along the box of coloured pencils to the little girl downstairs (whom I have heard but never seen…I gave them to her parents.) It felt weird to have hung on to some stuff of Katie’s for years after she’d stopped using it, and really good to give it to somebody who would use it. Now if I can just get rid of the rest of my crap, life would be a glorious thing.
Scratch made meatloaf and tater tots for dinner. Jeff bought commercial biscotti earlier this week and I laughed at him.
Spoke to Tom and Peggy last night. They will be coming early and leaving early for the party on Friday as they have another event to attend, but even seeing Peggy for two minutes would be lovely (mind you I am going to church for the next two Sundays to help with set up and take down so I’ll see her again soon). I also spoke to the Luddite and assured him that my friends and family would consider his sitting in a corner and reading a book for the entire duration of the party to be unworthy of comment or criticism, but I don’t think I managed to sell him on the idea of coming on Friday, and given that I haven’t laid eyes on him in the best part of a month… oh well. Saturday’s out as he has another engagement and I have to be out the door at hours ongodly for church on Sunday morning. Grr.
My mOm has FINALLY received the results of her followup tests, and everything looks fine. Having braced herself for bad news she’s feeling a little blah. Granny is now well enough to do her own shopping although she fatigues easily. When you’re pushing a century with a broom you’re allowed to get tired; I’m just amazed after her last horrid illness that she’s made the recovery she has, and I am thankful beyond words that my parents are doing such a great job of looking after her while she preserves what independence she can.
At some point I’m going to imitate Jeff and start making a list of the stuff I want to do around here, but I’m still in confusion and error mode, so it may be a while before I’m back on track.
I have a HUGE bolus of work to digest today after many weeks of prep, so I should get off this thing and go deal with it. Have a great day, everybody.
One last thing. I just read a restaurant review which contained the line “If I didn’t know better, I would have thought I’d ordered thin slices of mole poached in Ovaltine.” Bleaugh!
Aw gone
So I’m out of the old place completely, and apart from swimming in a sea of crap – Jeff is being patient, because I know I have to disappear the crap before the party on Friday – I am feeling pretty good about it.
My good feelings are grounded in three events of yesterday – Katie’s efficient and tireless assistance in the packing, cleaning & moving, and the unpacking when I got here because of course I couldn’t hang around, I had to take the truck back instantly – watching this movie (highly recommended) as the three of us collapsed after I sponsored a meal over at the James Street Cafe – and Mike dropping by. Supportive friends and family are part of what makes life worth living.
Anyway I’ve got half an hour to fetch laundry from downstairs and get clean and clothed, but at least me and all my clothes are in one place now! Ack, down one person at work – can’t be late.
I don’t even feel too rough this morning, although I had a hard time getting off the couch last night!
Sundry
I’m off to the US today. I have to leave to go pick the car up in about an hour. It used to be that you took your birth cert and off you went, and now it’s B1 letter and passport and be prepared for a lengthy wait. I am glad I am going, but not glad that my back will be trashed by the time I crawl into bed tonight – and it’s been so good since Monday night – and not glad about some other things about which it would be impolitic and possibly career limiting to whinge.
Beef teriyaki stir fry last light, and an episode of Deadwood. Managed to get my driver’s license address/care card address changed, and stopped off at Brentwood on the way home for ingredaments – what is it about pea pods that makes stir fries automatically better? I’ve fired off the invite for the housewarming (April 4) and the first FNFD (April 11) and I’ve already gotten a couple of responses, which is great. Ack, time for a shower.
Eddie was meowing at the back door at 4:22 this morning. Pouring rain still. Flurried briefly on the mountain yesterday, everybody in my department all looked up from their desks and gasped simultaneously.
Unpacking
Unpacked 1 kitchen box, hung up some clothes and then back to BGs3 and Ds1.
Keith was here. I texted Paul to let him know he was here overnight.
My life is a long list of people who won’t pick up their phones. This won’t last, I’m just peevish.
Recently learned that the ‘professional’ painters left an open can of pain thinner at their place of work, which happens to be Kopper’s house, thank you very much, thus nearly killing the fume-sensitive occupants. Bad word connoting bad manners and stupidity.
Cooked halibut, tater tots and corn last night, with crunchy veggies on the side. Mind you, Jeff had to say something like, “Wanna order in?” before I got off my butt and started doing like Ah promised. I am now officially a BG fan but I want to kill Baltar and slap the Colonel around some too. At least I have a fighting chance of understanding the BG filk now!
Got home in exactly 55 minutes last night. This is not the transit time – this is the time it takes me to walk up to the bus stop, wait for the bus, get to the Skytrain, transfer, get on another bus, and walk through my back door. This is half an hour faster than it used to take me to get home to 2nd St. I am not displeased.
Seems like some boys at work shaved head over Easter. Fanboy (a guy in my department) showed up with an extreme load of stubble, RobofNine took it down to his dome, practically. All that shiny pink skin, disturbing somehow.
The move still isn’t done….
But I have some more stuff from the old place and it’s much improved. More unpacking tonight – last night I was so exhausted all I could do was rewatch Zulu and a couple of episodes of BGs3.
Blecch. Back to work. I miss my mates but there’s (aw, shaddap) something on my desk that’s a lot like a brown object you find by mistake in the park.
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.
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.