Lunchtime Walk

Today, at lunchtime, I went for a walk to the Legislature grounds. I took some photos of the grounds and the Legislature Building, and of a few other buildings on my way back to the office. It was windy, so the flags were waving nicley for the camera. haha

Some photos are here; I took 70 photos in all but I will only subject you to some of the nicer ones.

Dancing Girl

Miranda's dance studio had the annual photos taken this weekend. The theme this year's year-end show is "A Movie Experience: An Italian Evening". Her tap class number is Splish Splash, and ballet is Italian Chef.

Here are the photos I took of her and her dancemates in their costumes.

Lord Stanley's Cup

The Oilers did it! This weekend they claimed the Western Conference championship title, and are advancing to THE STANLEY CUP FINALS!! Buffalo and Carolina need to finish battling it out in Eastern Conference, and then IT IS ON! YAY! Go Oilers Go!

Is everything in life seen on Friends?

Remember the Friends episode#14 from season 10, The One With Princess Consuela

Ross: Guess what happened at work today...
Chandler: A dinosaur died a million years ago?
Ross: Try sixty-five million years ago, and then try sssshhhhhh.... My tenure review board met today and I hear it's looking really good.
Phoebe: Wow!
Ross: Yeah. Do you have any idea what this means in academic circles, uh? I am gonna get laid.

Now it all make sense! (about why Ross was so stinking happy about getting tenure) because after Eelke being on pins and needles about applying, interviewing, and finally landing his Assistant Professor job in Reno, I now understand that the professor business is a big deal!

p.s. congratulations, Eelkepoo!

Happiness Is Not a Fish

A few days ago, I noticed one of our Beta fish died. Today I finally disposed of the remains, scooping up the floater with a teaspoon and plopping it down the drain, into the grinding clutches of the Garberator (aka, the garbage disposal). RIP, Candy in a Bowl (yes, that was the fish's name). I probably should have flushed it down the toilet, but I was in the kitchen and I think my original plan was to toss it in the trash and quickly take the bag to the dumpster, but once that dead fish was on the spoon I thought the garbage disposal was the way to go.

Absence makes the glass glow fondly

I read about this and forwarded myself the url back on March 9th... Eelke, did you see this while you were in Montreal?

Long-distance lovers can still drink together
08 March 2006
Could glowing, Wi-Fi wine glasses let people in long-distance relationships feel more in touch with their other half? Don't scoff: researchers in Boston at MIT's Media Lab - that citadel of outside-the-box thinking - believe so. When you and your partner both raise the high-tech glasses they will glow warmly, no matter how far apart you are. The idea is to give the feeling of a shared drinking experience. (read on) ... The glasses, dubbed lover's cups, will be unveiled at the CHI 2006 conference on computer-human interaction in Montreal in April.

Word... haha!

Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

click to see the comic full size

What are they doing?

haha Look at Eelke and Miranda! Can you guess what they are doing? They are on the highway and dancing like chickens, as we listened to Rush by People In Planes. See the video clip here

More photos of our weekend drive near the airport to see the planes taking off and landing. We went downtown to the Wok Box for dinner, where they package the food in those white chinese food boxes you always see people eating out of on TV. I would not recommend the place; the food was bland, and not made according to the menu, plus it was expensive in comparison to the amount of food you get.

No Go: Go Fug Yourself

As part of my morning routine at work, I check out the latest fashion bashing at Go Fug Yourself but as of yesterday I can no longer access the site. :( I thought prehaps it was a temporary issue, but today I am faced with the same mean restriction message.

Access to this site is restricted by the GM Internet Gateway. The Gateway subscribes to an Internet Web site filtering service that blocks access to sites considered inappropriate for business use.

Art Gallery

Miranda loves to draw, colour and write and these days when I peek in on her in the playroom, she is usually doing crafts instead of playing with her toys. Because she is in a French immersion program she learns no English in school, so her English spelling isn't the greatest, but that does not deter her from writing notes and stories phonetically. Visit her art gallery.

Boys Are Stupid, Throw Rocks At Them!

*this post has been edited*

This sums it up quit nice.

Happy Mother's Day

This Mother's Day, Miranda woke me up bright and early so I could open the gift and card she made for me at school. In the afternoon we went to Kinsmen party to play in the park, throw around the frisbee, bake in the sun, and BBQ hotdogs. Then it was a quick trip home to get cleaned up to meet my daddy, step-mum and mum at Cosmos for a yummy Greek dinner. Miranda loves the belly dancers and she eventually started dancing herself (after recovering from her initial shock) and one gentleman even tipped her $5. Check out the photos.

Splish Splash, she was taking a bath!

This is so cute! Miranda is was practicing her tap dance in the living room this evening video clip

She is wearing her feather crown that she made all by herself. The little princess: earlier in the day I didn't know she was wearing it until we were getting out of the car to go to Safeway! heehee

Hockey Night in Canada

The girlies did some Friday night hockey partying, going to Globe after work for drinks and food, and of course to watch the game. I can't remember the last time I had so much fun!! photos

We were pleasantly drunk before 7:00, thanks to our food taking forever hours to be ready. The excuse was there was only one cook (really? for a home playoff game on a Friday day night? There's good planning for you.) I have no idea when the Oilers scored the last two goals, even though I was in front of like 30 TV screens for the entire third period. After the game we danced all over the Captain Morgan playing cards that we had thrown all over the floor. We were the only people dancing haha it was so funny and I would have been absolutely mortified if I hadn't been drinking. We ended up taking home these Smirnoff goalie mask/bottle opener rings that don't fit on our fingers, and some guy from the front table who won like all the prizes in the Oilers trivia challenge gave me a Bud Lite keychain/bottle opener.

With a 6-3 win for the Oilers, Jasper Ave was INSANE with noise as we made our way to the Druid to continue the party. Lorraine found herself a paper goalie helmet, I got silver pompom and we all danced up a storm until Eelke wanted to leave because some dude had a crush on me and was jealous of seeing us together. photos

Old Photo

Me and Miranda, August 11, 2002.
Look how skinny I am! And look how small she is!

Go Oilers!

So my girlfriends are having omelets and beer and and FUN! and watching the game without me because Miranda has to be we rested for school in the morning. :( So I am sitting here like a loser, alone, with team spirit on my shirt, checking the score online, because I really cannot be bothered to see if my peasantvision will get clear reception of the game. I bet they don't have a nice Oilers shirt like I do! Except for Lorraine, who has the pink embroidered hoodie that I would kill for! Anyways, go Oilers go!
ps - Miranda is going to her grandma's on Friday, if anyone needs a date to watch the game with, you know who to call!

It's not a walk in the park

Sunday afternoon was so nice and warm! The sun was shining and it was looking to be a glorious day. Packing the car with shorts, sandals, drinks, books, a blanket and a frisbee, the plan was to hit the park after the Spring Tea. By the time the party let out, the clouds had blown in and were blocking the sun. :( We went to the Government House Park in the river valley anyway (eventually it ended up raining).

I didn't try out for the frisbee team (I was still in my party dress, trading flip-flops for my party shoes) and elected instead to listen to my ipod and read my book (only got through one chapter; I'll be reading the stupid thing forever!)

Oh and we took a few pictures.

Spring Tea

Sunday was Miranda's Spring Tea at the dance studio, in celebration of the dancers completing their R.A.D. ballet exams in March. There was tea and h'ordeurves and a silent action. Then the students gave a dance presentation (Miranda performed the "Kite Dance" with two other dancers) and were presented with certificates and necklaces. Everyone watched the men from the Viter Ukrainian dance group perform a tambourine dance, and then more tea and deserts were set out. All the girls were in fancy dresses, it was such a sight! Miranda was delighted to have an event that she could wear her tiara to.

Does Complaining Pay Off?

I received a response (complete with spelling mistakes) in regards to the product complaint I submitted to Bonne Bell:

We are sorry to hear that you are not happy with our Watermelon Vita Glossproduct. If you would like to recieve a replacement product for yourinconvenience, please send me your complete name and mailing address and Iwill send you something.

Isn't that special. I hope it's not a letter bomb.

yoo-hoo, I miss you

I have a friend who has been too busy working and watching hockey to talk to me, and to him I have to say, I got your pledge cheque in the mail and I love you and I miss talking with you so I might just pick up the phone to tell you.

ps- 101, this is post 101! Why is 101 such a big deal? because of Depeche Mode 101. yay! :)

He didn't hurt me

He didn't hurt me, except when he made the comment about how short the layers in my hair were: it opened up the old wounds!
I thought I was over my bad hair cut! It has been a month since I was butchered. Anthony doesn't want to take scissors to my hair for another 3 weeks or so, until there is actually hair for him to work with. But he did put in colour and it looks great! I don't look like I just had my hair coloured, which I love! Natural and low-maintenance colour; he knows me so well! It will look even better when he cuts it in a few weeks. Have I mentioned how ecstatic I am to have him back?! I think I must have told him a dozen times (ok, probalby only 3) The new salon is great! A chic and minimalist atmosphere, and since it's called Mango Salon & Spa, they serve mango juice over ice (which I love) in wine glasses. I didn't want to leave!

I now know what a bad haircut is and I told Anthony that even though he cut my hair too short that one time (my second haircut after getting my long locks chopped off) and made me cry, my hair still looked good; even when he cut my hair the morning after being out partying for his birthday, and the next visit he had to ask if he was drunk when he cut it (oh yes, he was still drunk that morning was his reply), my hair still looked good. I know I can trust him, and I love him!

I have a date at 5:00

I have a date at 5:00... with ANTHONY!! He's going to pamper me and make me beautiful. Ahhhh... I am looking forward to an hour and a half of heaven, and some good salon gossip/bitch session with my hot, straight hair sylist! :)

Something in the Air

There's something in the air, Angeline is pumped full of drugs, and the dandelions aren't even blooming yet.

It seems like everyone in the office is sneezing! I'm not actually sneezing but my allergies are INSANE right now! My eyes are itchy, red and puffy, and a week ago they were so red my friends thought I had pink eye. :( I am taking Claratin twice a day, Nasonex, and an over-the counter cold & allergy pill, and putting Naturale Tear drops in my eyes.

Many professionals theorize that pollution is making allergies worse.

"We do know that increase in carbon monoxide levels will increase the amount of pollen that plants will produce. So if you increase the amount of pollen, you're actually going to increase the amount of allergies that people suffer from," Kleinert told CBC Radio News.
read the April 20th, 2006 article here

Billy Talent

This Is My Life

At work I want to suddenly scream at the top of my lungs!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I need to get myself out of this! I need change! I have changed my clothes, trading in cute shirts and high heels for rolled up cargo pants and t-shirts with skulls (only one with a skull, and it's from Buffalo so it's trendy and cool, or so I tell myself) and extremely pushing the limits of the "business casual" dress-code of the office. I have traded my sweet pink nail polish for brown, and now for red. (If that's not ME screaming for something, then I don't know what is!) Aside from occasionally wearing my pink overcoat, I cannot recall the last time I wore anything pink (sorry Jamie! or is that a good thing?) But that's not enough change.

I need a new job! because I can no longer stand my job. I can no longer bear to hear them say how quick and proficient and meticulous I am, and what a wealth of knowledge I possess; I can no longer sit patiently and wait with baited breath that today will be the cold day in hell when they actually promote me. I need to get out, I have known that since before Christmas ... but where do I go? I don't see a job offer falling out of the sky and landing in my lap (unless someone reading this wanrts to throw a job my way), so I need to figure out what it is I really want to be doing, and work towards making it happen!

Yesterday is a wrinkle on your forehead
Yesterday is a promise that you've broken
Don't close your eyes, don't close your eyes
This is your life and today is all you've got now
Yeah, and today is all you'll ever have
Don't close your eyes
Don't close your eyes

This is your life, are you who you want to be
This is your life, are you who you want to be
This is your life, is it everything you dreamed it would be
When the world was younger and you had everything to lose

Let's Go Oilers, Let's Go!

Yay for the 8th place Edmonton Oilers! They have upset Western Conference by beating out the 1st place Detroit Red Wings in Game 6. Poor Eelke isn't impressed with all the honking on Jasper Ave; he should be glad that it was an early game, and not one that lasted until the wee hours!
.... And no matter what their jerseys look like, I still think of the old logo when I think of the Oilers. :)

Chopped, Twisted, Full of Holes

I feel like I have been broken into a hundred pieces, thrown into a bottle, shaken, and poured back on to the floor.

I feel like I have been thrown in a blender, twisted this way and that; coming out of it I can barely stand up, let alone walk away in a straight line.


I feel like I have been torn into strips, shaken about, and woven back together; but the strips are not pulled tight enough, and there are gaps where I can feel the air blowing right through me.

I don't know which way is up or down , but I need to put myself together.