Monday Monday, so good to me. Not.

Well, in typical Monday fashion, it's been a day of work-related and personal upheaval. I attempted to cope with my unfortunate circumstances by going for a walk. On my way out, I found a note from my landlord slipped under my door. Apparently my rent is increasing in November. Not by much ($15 a month), but still, just enough to be annoying. It's also enough to send my Grand Master Plan for my apartment up in the air (again) as I contemplate moving to a new apartment (again). Methinks this will require a detailed Rory Gilmore-ish pro-con list.

My clock has been ticking, and it tells me the timing's just right...

I am greatly disheartened to report the demise of my beloved Care Bears watch. It had a crack on its face for the longest time, and in recent days, the crack has been gradually getting larger. On Saturday afternoon, I attended a family barbecue at my uncle's cottage, which involved some hard-core soccer-playing and scavenger-hunting. I believe the strenuous activity was too much for my poor watch, so it simply gave up and let the crack take over the entire face, making it extremely difficult to read the time. However, in true Lazy!Lynda fashion, I will continue to wear the watch until a replacement can be found.

Puddle of goo.

I just watched the trailer for Scoop. It stars Hugh Jackman and Scarlett Johansson. And even though Woody Allen is also in the movie, I still want to see it.

Who else read For Better or For Worse today? The inevitable Elizabeth/Anthony meeting... I wonder where that's headed...

If the stars are properly aligned, I will be going home for the weekend tomorrow after my haircut. Just FYI.

Notable happenings.

Why am I not surprised that drivers in Woodstock do not know what a flashing red light means? As I was leaving work today, two of the three traffic lights in town were flashing red in all directions. Instead of treating the intersections as four-way stops, people were just zooming through unhindered. One guy even sped up to go through the intersection! I guess I should have expected as much, given that this is a town where the use of turn signals is optional and drivers will yield for any pedestrian who even looks like he's thinking about crossing the road.

Speaking of driving incidents, yesterday, while I was walking on the sidewalk up a steep hill, I watched two teenage girls precariously descending the same hill. On skateboards. On the road. With cars on their heels. The girl in front kept sending words of encouragement over her shoulder ("you're doin' it! woohoo!"). The girl in back looked a little wobbly. Sure enough, as soon as they passed me, I heard brakes squealing. I turned around to see the girl crumpled in the middle of the road, as her skateboard kept rolling down the hill. Thankfully, she seem relatively okay, and was able to make her way to the side of the road to walk the rest of the way down the hill.

Tonight I went to see Lutz, a play that's part of the NotaBle Acts theatre festival. A review will be forthcoming. Maybe.

An arachnoid's life

For the past several weeks, Charles the Spider has been keeping me company. He lives outside one of my living room windows. He spends a lot of time reweaving his web, because of the structural instability that happens when I open and close the window on a daily basis. You see, in an effort to minimize the heat in my apartment, I close the windows and blinds every morning and open them every evening. Each time I do this, I apologize to Charles the Spider for making more work for him.

Apparently, I have angered the spider gods, because when I lifted up the blinds this evening, I saw not only Charles the Spider, but several members of his extended family as well. Now I have no less than twelve spiders industriously spinning webs outside my windows. And I really don't mind peacefully coexisting with them, as long as they keep their business outside my apartment. And I also can't help but notice the multiple tiny tears in my window screens, and wonder how long it will take for the clever Spider Family to cross into my personal space and wreak havoc.

Sweet symphony

Still recovering from Saturday's festivities, I was a sorry sight at work today. To my dismay, there was no banana bread available at the hospital's coffee shop today. I had to settle for a vastly inferior cinnamon bun.

I have to say that I am highly enjoying The Chucky Danger Band cd I bought last weekend. I have a soft spot for them since a memorable New Year's eve concert at the Mack a few years ago. In other music happenings, the iTunes free download single of the week is a song by Sloan. It's quite catchy, and is excellent to walk to using long, easy strides.

For those of you waiting with bated breath for an update on my couch adventures, I'm currently at another crossroads. I believe I have seen every couch in Fredericton, and I'm torn between a sensible, serviceable one and a ridiculously expensive yet oh so pretty one. Stay tuned.

And for those of you who are big fans of Harry Potter and Pride and Prejudice (and really, there's no earthly reason not to be), check out this trailer at austenblog.

Change of venue

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the planned visit of Rosey and Michelle to the Center of the Universe was cancelled this weekend. It was a temporary setback. Faced with the prospect of a weekend of utter solitude (and no Anne), I hopped in the car Friday afternoon and headed home.

After driving through another bout of torrential rain (sans tornado warning this time), I managed to catch the second half of The Show I Love to Critique, followed by some quality time with my "peeps" at the Pizza Delight Express (mmm.... garlic fingers).

Saturday was a day packed with joy and happiness. It included breakfast with my mom, aunts and cousin; a fun-filled afternoon with Rosey; and another viewing of The Show I Love Despite Some Changes for the Good and Some for the Bad. The evening culminated in a highly entertaining Box Office party, where much fun was had by all. I had so much fun at the party that I didn't get home till after 3:00 in the morning. I was not a pretty picture in the morning at church.

I spent most of today recovering from my strenuous Saturday festivities, which was fine since the weather was pretty dismal. And now, I'm back in Fredericton, where (gasp!) it's cool. The world must be coming to an end.

Company's coming!

Woot!! Rosey and Michelle are coming for a visit!

In other woot-worthy happenings, James won HOH!! Go season sixers!

The last two years

It's been two whole years that I've been working in Fredericton. I definitely remember being so nervous on my first day at work. I had only moved to the city two days prior, after a lovely and heartfelt farewell from my friends in Charlottetown. My family life was still in turmoil. I knew no one at all in the city. I was apprehensive about working in a hospital setting, because my experience testing children was limited. My apartment was full of unpacked boxes. Did I mention that I was alone in the city?

Today I definitely feel a little more settled, although I'm still internally debating my long-term plans for staying here. My job is definitely rewarding and only occasionally frustrating. It takes me a while to make firm connections with people, and I'm still struggling to do that here. I consider myself to be shy and introverted, so it's hard for me to reach out sometimes. Sometimes I try to picture myself five years down the road, and things look pretty foggy and uncertain. Who knows what will happen?

Hawt.

My brain cells have been addled by the heat and humidity. As I watch tonight's episode of Big Brother, I am overwhelmed by a craving for fried pickles (which I have never tasted) and my signature cranberry-lemon mocktails. The mocktails are yummy, but my attempt at fried pickles falls flat. Perhaps a fudge stick is a better way to go.

I think mel had a good idea. Fridge tent, anyone?

Couch couch couch

So I went to two more furniture stores after work today. At one of them, I found a nice three-seat sofa. They let me take one of the matching cushions home to see if it matches. Both couches have similar textures, and they have similar shapes. If I remember correctly, it was very comfortable to sit in. Now, do you think the colours go together? I think they look okay in the evening light of my apartment, but I'm not so sure about the daylight. Perhaps I'll take another photo and post it tomorrow. My other issue is that the back cushions are attached to the sofa, and the seat cushions are not reversible. Anyone think that I should be concerned about this?

I also went back to Lane's after supper and spent a half an hour sitting on every three-seat couch in the showroom. I didn't see anything there that really stood out, though. I think the salesperson was ready to tear her hair out. This is a very big decision, so I want to make sure I explore all my options. Tomorrow at lunch I may visit another store to see if they have anything different. Wish me luck!

The great couch search continues...

Okay, what do you all think of this couch? It's got three cushions (obviously), and I like the lines. I think I need to see it in person to check the suitability of the fabric and the colour. I'm not too crazy about "microfiber". Nor am I too crazy about the pushy salespeople at Leon's. I think this is polyester, but I definitely want to make sure it's a "nice" polyester. And I'll have to practice strategically weaving in and out of furniture arrangements so I can browse the store at my leisure.

Even though it was way too hot to be out and about today, I did manage to make it over to my brother Jason's house for a visit with him and his wife. I rarely get to see him since he got married, so it was nice to catch up. I'm also nursing sore feet today, thanks to my spiffy new sandals. I bought them yesterday, but they insisted on rubbing my feet the wrong way when I wore them. Hopefully I can persuade the two parties to get along, because I think they're awfully pretty. I'm sure Rosey would agree. She helped me pick them out, you know.

Somwhere over the rainbow...

Friday afternoon I was zipping along the highway towards home, enjoying some afternoon CBC radio and trying not to tailgate all the slow drivers. All of a sudden, the sky filled with ominous dark clouds, and it began to rain. Then the lady on the radio said that Environment Canada had issued a tornado warning for Moncton and southeast NB - aka my current location.

Tornado.

My mind began to race as I struggled to remember some sort of useful information about tornadoes that would help save my life.

Let's see -

Wizard of Oz - Dorothy gets swept off to Oz. Not helpful.

Where the Heart Is - you know, that one about the Walmart baby with Natalie Portman. There's a tornado in that one, and they all go to the cellar. There are no cellars on the highway.

Twister - A movie that has been in our house for years and years. I have never seen it.

At this point, it was raining really hard, and I was dividing my time between trying to see the road and doing a quick gaze to the left and right for funnel clouds. The only other tidbit about tornadoes I could remember was to stand in a doorway. Also not helpful. In the end, I decided the best thing was to keep driving away from the storm. Eventually, the sky cleared, I was out of danger, and I continued zipping along my way home.

Phew.

Wanted: new couch

Made a half-hearted attempt to look for a new couch today. I found this one the Lane store in town. I sort of like it, but I don't love it. It comes in all sorts of fabrics and colours, and I'm trying to find something to complement my existing loveseat. I think I would like something with three cushions, because my loveseat has two. My loveseat is a little more curvier, too, so I don't know how they would go together. And a sofa is a major purchase, so I want to make sure I'm totally happy. I suppose I could check out the other stores in town. It took me two months to find my loveseat, and I'm sure you all remember my lengthy search for a dining table and chairs. I am mentally preparing for a couch-shopping marathon. Perhaps I'll find one by Christmas...

12 of 12 - July 2006

12 of 12. It's Chad Darnell's idea. Some month the 12th will fall on the weekend, when I do something besides work all day.

7:32 a.m. I slept in a little this morning. Mmm... sleep.

9:00 a.m. I slept in so much that I forgot my carefully packed lunch. Banana bread for breakfast again!

12:04 p.m. I was disappointed about forgetting my lunch until I realized the cafeteria had beef barley soup today. Best soup ever.

12:15 p.m. One of the stairwells at work. People look at you funny if you take pictures in stairwells.

12:31 p.m. Work was really busy today, so I went for a walk to take a break.

5:42 p.m. My attempt to recreate the magic of sweet potato fries. Moderately successful.

7:05 p.m. The elevator has been wearing its "moving pads" for a week. I'm pretty sure the new neighbour is on the floor below me. She and her friends/family spend copious amounts of time on their balcony. They could put the Ladies of Avonlea to shame with their endless chatter.

7:40 p.m. I bought a notebook at Chapters. Pretty.

8:02 p.m. Time for another walk. This is a hidden mini-waterfall along my route.

8:14 p.m. Bonus pic! My random word was "windows", as in, this building has windows.

8:23 p.m. I'll have you know that I walked all the way up the hill (in the sweltering heat) to take this picture. You better appreciate it.

8:30 p.m. Like an oasis in the desert! I almost hugged this bit of "snow" I found behind the rink.

10:05 p.m. My trusty super fan is helping me cope with the heat. I hope David Suzuki is proud.

Reminder: 12 of 12 tomorrow!

I'm pumped for Chad Darnell's 12 of 12 tomorrow. Here is last month's effort. He's trying to get more participation this month, so feel free to join in!

Remember when I almost fainted in church? Well, I almost fainted on my walk this evening. Not really almost fainted, but I did get that peculiar tingling feeling in my extremities, and my head started to spin little. I blame it on the heat, the only common factor between the two situations. Luckily, I made it back to my apartment intact without keeling over.

P.S. The pickles I bought this week were sadly mushy and untasty. Most disappointing.

Every Day. Just like that. Real fast.

Happy Birthday to my brother Jamie. He is definitely the most easy-going of us four. He really doesn't have a choice, because he is the youngest and we tease him mercilessly. I still remember feeding him and changing his diaper (when he was a baby, of course). In true Jamie form, he couldn't wait until his August due date to be born- he had to come the day after Kat's birthday. A future rock star, Jamie is leaving the nest and heading off to uni in the fall.

Kat in the Hat

Today is the birthday of my beloved sister, Katherine. She is super cool, and I am very proud of her. She listens to me rant all the time, and she lets me tell her what tv shows to watch (like Sports Night and Alias and X-Files). I always have fun with her, and I love to see her smile.

Happy Birthday Katherine!!

He never moves farther than from the house to the barn

I'm back in center of the universe after another weekend trip home. And I know I complain a lot about the heat here, but here it is, one more time: it's hot.

Saturday night I finally saw Anne again for the third time this season. I'm sorely missing some snippets of dialogue that were cut from the show this year. I feel that they added depth to the story. The show may be shorter, but it's lacking some of its soul. I'm also finding some of the scene changes quite jarring. There's a lot to be said for a total blackout. The changes trouble me, but they do not diminish my enthusiasm for this show. I think it's because I love the show so much that I care so deeply when people mess with it.

Also on Saturday night, there was a gathering of FOHers and BOers. We ended up at Brennan's, where I got ID'd at the door. Seriously. I'm not sure whether to be flattered or embarrassed.

Tonight I have a soul that flies above Josie Pye.

Work today was manageable and incident-free.

The drive home was relatively swift with minimum road rage.

There's a tent in the middle of Queen Street.

I hatched a plan for accomodations for the 2010 Olympics.

I ate some yummy spareribs.

And, I saw some of my favourite people in the whole world in the same place at the same time.


Please pass the plum sauce.

Where you lead, I will follow

So the W Network has stopped airing Gilmore Girls at 6:00 weekday evenings. Who is going to keep me company while I eat supper?

And just when I convinced myself that I don't need to spend the majority of my time engrossed in watching other people live their lives, Big Brother 7 starts.

Big trouble. First of all, they put my favourite people from Big Brother 6 in the house. Last year, I was so into it that I paid money so I could get the live internet feeds so I could watch the houseguests 24/7. I could not look away. Second of all, it's an All-Star Big Brother, so they have people from other seasons in there, too. These people are savvy to the ways of BB, so the strategy started right away. It took about 30 seconds of watching the hamsters (I mean, houseguests) in the BB house before I was utterly and completely hooked.

P.S. I'm going home again this weekend. One of my favourite persons (mel!!!!) is home. Who am I kidding? Is there anyone reading this that doesn't know she's home from Ottawa?

Who's doing lates?

The FOH equivalent of today's work crisis: I was coerced into doing latecomers against my will and without my knowledge.

I'm trying really hard to let it go. I went for a walk to clear my head. Solitary internal rants are not helpful.

While I was walking, I thought of several interesting topics to post about. Due to my faulty short term memory, I have forgotten them all. Perhaps I shall have to start bringing pen and paper with me on my walk so I can jot down ideas while walking. That would be the epitome of coolness. I already tend to forget my surroundings and bop my head while mouthing the words to songs on my iPod. This could be yet another reason for people to point and laugh at me.

Also, FYI, I have decided to stop running for the summer. I can't remember if I've mentioned this before, and I'm too lazy to search my previous posts. Running in the heat results in way too much perspiration for my comfort. I do plan to continue with lots of walking, if only because I told my doctor that I do regular physical activity. For some reason, I can lie to myself, but I can't lie to my doctor. Go figure.

"And he can lift anything - anything at all. He's that strong."

Ahh, Superman. Another part of our Canadian heritage.

My brother and I went to see Superman Returns this afternoon. It was time well spent. It was a solid superhero movie viewing experience. My memories of the original Superman movies are vague, and I've never really been into the comics, although I was a fan of "Lois and Clark" (please don't shoot me). This movie met my expectations. It had John Williams' theme at the beginning, it showed bits of Marlon Brando, Brandon Routh's Superman was great, and I wasn't bored. Plus, the movie had Kevin Spacey and Parker Posey.

Would I recommend it? Yes.

Would I see it again? Yes.

Would I rent it? Yes.

Is it DVD-worthy? Almost. (actually, I don't think I would buy it, but I didn't want to be that negative, so I went with the wishy-washy "almost".)

After spending another four fabulous days of leisure, it's back to the real world again tomorrow. This grown-up job stuff can be a pain sometimes. I was going to post some pictures from the weekend tonight, but the computer is being fussy, and I don't want to press my luck. Perhaps tomorrow.

Woot.

It's been a busy few days - lots of theater-going, Canada Day adventures, and hanging out with fabulous people. That's why I love coming home on the weekends.

I just got back from a cookout at Stanhope with Rosey, Liam and the newly-returned Laura. We ate hotdogs and s'mores. We saw a bunny rabbit and a mouse. I smell like campfire.

Love it.

Happy Canada Day!!!