Good thing I got new earplugs this week.

As I was getting out of the shower this evening, I heard voices coming from the bathroom of the apartment below. Then I heard the shower running. Then I heard some sort of rhythmic banging in the shower in the bathroom in the apartment below. And I really really hope I was hearing someone fixing some sort of plumbing problem and not my Downstairs Neighbour and her Boyfriend doing you know what again.

Tomorrow I'm off to Halifax for a hearing aid conference and some more time with the lovely Rosey. I'm feeling a little under the weather again, so I'm hoping I'll recover by lunchtime tomorrow. I've just taken an antihistamine, two cold/flu tablets, and my inhaler. That should make me better, right?

For you, Laura (and everyone else, too) - here is my stick sculpture:

It's made of a bunch of sticks I bought at Walmart for $10. The sticks are bound together by crochet thread ($3). It took me around two and a half hours to make, which was way shorter than my previous green squares project. I think it's snazzy.

This is what it looks like on the wall. The white half-moons will soon be home to shelves.

The best things that I bought during Saturday's karma-fest were these two leather ottomans from Wicker Emporium. I'm using them as a coffee table. My original vision called for two low square end tables, but we couldn't find any decent ones. The ottomans are way better, because they have storage and can be used for extra seating when I have people over. Eventually, I want to get a 4 by 6 rug to go under them.

I totally rearranged my furniture and bought other stuff too, but those are the main things. More to come when thing look a little better.

No sleep makes Lynda tired. I also have a sore throat.

Last night I had a vision of what my apartment should look like.

It came to me at 2:00 am.

I spent the next hour making sketches so I would remember all the details.

Then I spent the hour after that trying to resist the urge to get up and rearrange my furniture.

Then I fell asleep for four hours.

Then The Girl Downstairs and Her Boyfriend decided to get up for the day.

So I had to get up too.

Then I vacuumed. I hope they heard it.

Then I moved furniture. I hope they heard that, too.

Then Michelle and I went shopping for seven hours. I bought many apartment things, and I promise to elaborate when I'm not so sleepy.

Then I spent a few hours making a stick sculpture for my walls. Wait till you see it.

While I made my sculpture, I watched the gala for the skating.

Still waiting to see Jeff Buttle. Of course he is on last. So tired.

The Girl got home about 15 minutes ago. I can't tell if Boyfriend is with her, but if he is, I'm really hoping they don't have hot monkey sex yet, because I'm ready for bed, and don't feel like being traumatized again.

Good night.

It's superfreak!

My inner neat freak has emerged with a vengeance. Lately, I have this overwhelming need to clean and organize all my worldly possessions. This resulted in a merciless purging of unused and ill-fitting clothes from my closet a few weeks ago. Today, I attacked various areas of my apartment, trying to reduce little clusters of clutter.

This rarely happens to me. Usually, I am content in my slightly untidy living space. Today, I am painfully aware of every dust bunny, every speck of dirt, and every misplaced belonging, and I need to make everything neat and tidy.

This flurry of activity has its advantages. I haven't been able to hear my Downstairs Neighbour and the boyfriend pursue their various activities all evening. I'm actually afraid to stop cleaning, because I just don't think I can bear to hear moaning and groaning coming from the bedroom again. Monday night and Thursday morning were plenty enough for me.

So, even though it's way past my bedtime, I'm off to clean my bathroom. Note to self: buy new earplugs tomorrow.

Warning: last week's Grey's spoilers below

Don't read this until you've seen last week's Grey's Anatomy... or this week's...

Seriously...

Here's some spoiler space...

This means you, Rosey...



















You'be been properly warned.

And I'll even make it "invisotext". You have to highlight it to read it.

So, Michelle and I finally watched last week's Grey's (watching all the good shows is so time-consuming). We had missed it when it originally aired because I was in Halifax watching skating. Thank goodness for PVR's. I had managed to remain media-silent for the entire week. I knew nothing. I didn't even see the preview.

Holy cow. Talk about gut-wrenching sadness. George's dad! I loved him so much! How could they let him die like that? Let me tell you, I went through several kleenexes, and was very close to full out sobbing by the end of the episode. This was way worse than when Denny died, because when that happened, I was too ticked off at Izzy for cutting the LVAT wire to be properly sad. Sure, I cried, but watching George talking to his dad one last time broke my heart. And then when he had to make the decision to take him off life support, I got all weepy again. And then when they actually shut the machines down, I was a goner. By the end of the episode, I was emotionally drained.

Thank goodness I had some figure skating on the PVR to help restore our spirits.

Then we watched this week's episode, which also had us a little teary-eyed. I don't know about Michelle, but I was so spent from watching last week's show, that I had very little left to give emotionally for this week's show. And I'm a little iffy on the two proposals, too. If ever there's a kiss of death for relationships on a show, it's marriage. It's so boring! And come on, it took Bailey the whole episode to figure out that maybe Izzy would use Denny's money to fund the free clinic? Please. I saw that coming all day.

I hate Canadian Tire. Again.

Actually, it's just their automotive service department I hate.

I went there on Monday to get my winter tires put on.

Yes, those winter tires.

I arrived for my appointment on time. I gave them my cell phone and told them to call me immediately if any problems arose. Then I went off to enjoy the store and make mental lists of things to buy the next time Michelle and I have a Canadian Tire shopping spree.

I came back to service department a few minutes before my hour was up, just in case they were done early (*snort*). I had just settled myself in the waiting area when I was paged. Great, I thought. They were done early.

This time, it turns out that one of my tires was busted, and I needed a new one. This is after only one season's wear. And, even though the tires were still under warranty, they were no longer manufactured, so I had to buy a new, more expensive tire. But I couldn't buy just one, because it would wear out sooner. So I had to buy two new tires. Again.

And, since they didn't figure this out until then end of my appointment time, I had to spend another half hour waiting for my tires to be installed! Gah!

That's it, Canadian Tire Automotive Service Department. Dazzle me with incompetence once, shame on you. Dazzle me with incompetence twice, shame on me. Dazzle me with incompetence thrice, and I am never taking my car there again.

Lynda and Rosey's Fantabulous Skating Adventures: Day 2

Lynda: We started the day with some serious bus issues. Parking was so expensive on Thursday that on Friday we decided to exercise our lungs and save some money by taking the bus. Unfortunately, we hadn't planned on the pouring rain or the strong winds.

We were greeted at the bus stop by an excessively chatty crossing guard. When the bus finally arrived, we boarded it with haste, only to find that the bus had been hit by a car, and it wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. When the next bus arrived, there were so many people waiting that there was no room for us. So, instead of walking a half a block to Rosey's building and getting in a nice dry car, we headed out on foot towards the Metro Centre. We caught another bus that took us another few blocks, and then we ended up walking another few blocks through puddles and copious amounts of rain until we got to the rink.

Needless to say, we were a little wet when we got there.

Sitting in damp clothes in a skating rink is slightly less than ideal, especially when you're going to be there for seven hours. We decided to warm up with some rink hot chocolate. I was determined to continue to document our Day 2 saga, so I snapped some pics of us sipping our scalding hot drinks.

This one made us collapse into giggles, which caused Rosey to spill her hot chocolate on her leg. So, not only was she cold and wet, she had a lovely red spot on her skin.

All because we didn't want to pay for parking.

Men's Short Program

Lynda: There were many delightful looking men, but sadly, not a lot of them managed to land all their jumps. Those that did earned thunderous applause from the audience, mostly because we were glad to see them land on their feet and not on their pretty bottoms. Joey Russell, the pride of Labrador City, was one such skater. Not only can he jump, but he moves his arms with the music very well, which also set him apart. We also appreciated the Gumby-like contortions of NB's Shawn Sawyer.

Rosey: Once again, Emmanuel Sandhu delivered a disappointing performance. The crowd expressed its unhappiness when his technical scores were revealed - they seemed awfully high for someone who fell on his quad, singled his axel and then pretty much gave up for the rest of the 3 minutes. We both agree we're tired of waiting for him to get it together. Plus he's done something weird to his hair and now he looks like Mark from Ugly Betty. (Unfortunately, due to his neon costume, Emmanuel was the easiest skater to catch with a camera.)

Lynda: After Emmanuel's phoned-in program, we couldn't help but root for Christopher Mabee. He brought the crowd to their feet with his clean skate. I can just picture Rod Black's head spinning as he tries to conjure up appropriate Mabee-related catch phrases...

And then there was Jeffrey Buttle.

We love Jeff Buttle.

Rosey: Yes, there is definitely lots and lots of love for Jeffrey Buttle. We were a little surprised that he achieved a personal best for a performance that was better than most other skaters, but still not quite up to his usual wonderful standard. However, he didn't look like his back was bothering him and we were hoping he was just saving up for a stunning long program.

NOTE: He totally was!!!

Women's Long Program

Lynda: The long-standing tradition of the women's free skate splat-fest continues. Sadly, it was not exciting at all. Cynthia was lovely again. Mira went clean, but she does not do it for us at all. Even Joannie was off, and she's lucky she hung on to her title. There was a serious lack of electricity in the air. Meh.

Rosey: Part way through the women's program we were reminded again of the wonderfulness of our seats when Brian Orser, Victor Kraatz, and Shae-Lynn Bourne showed up! Here's a slightly blurry pic of the lovely Shae-Lynn:

Lynda: By the time we left the Metro Centre, the torrential rain had slowed to freezing drizzle/light flurries. Once we got back to Rosey's, we indulged ourselves in fabulous chocolate waffles and hit the hay to dream of Bryce Davison, Jeffrey Buttle, and all the lovely things that could happen in Day 3.

Skating skating skating skating

I'm back from Hali, where Rosey and I watched the Canadian figure skating championships... See Rosey's blog for the Day 1 recap. I'm a wee bit zonked at the moment, so I offer you a few Day 3 and Day 4 pics to tide you over until I have a chance to properly recap things. Must sleep now.

Day 3: Me, Rosey, and Shannon

Day 4: I thought it was iffy to see Victor today, but there he was!

Day 4: That wee speck in the kiss and cry area is Jeff Buttle. He's totally looking at me. ;)

Thrown for a triple loop.

I'm so excited about going to Halifax for skating, I can't even think straight. I don't care if it's going to be minus whatever degrees outside, plunk me down in the Metro Centre and let me watch some skaters. I've been reading some news articles about the stories that are developing, and I can't wait! The return of Cynthia Phaneuf! What kind of shape is Jeff Buttle in? Dube and Davidson! Virtue and Moir!! Bring it on!

"Dammit!"

So somehow I managed to miss this article in the Arts section on cbc.ca that informed us that Shaun Majumder was playing a terrorist on 24 tonight. So when he showed up onscreen wearing an orange jumpsuit and looking sketchy, I did a double take. This was followed by Michelle and I collapsing into giggles whenever he opened his mouth. I can just imagine the thoughts of all the Canadian 24 fans out there - "He's not a terrorist - he's from Newfoundland!"

I couldn't help but remember when I saw him at the Olympic curling trials in Halifax last year. Apparently some Newfoundlanders sitting behind us knew his mother, and they didn't hesitate to let him know that very important fact. And now he's on the tv! In LA! As a terrorist! Imagine.

In the end, I was sort of glad that his character died, because I don't think I could have watched him all season. The part that I'm not glad about is the fact that his character died in a nuclear explosion. It's quite grim, because usually Jack Bauer and CTU can counteract such disasters, but it was not to be today.

BTW, it's totally a snowstorm outside. Beautiful.

Babies are special.

Michelle and I went to see Children of Men tonight. This movie taught me that babies are very, very special, and that we as the human race should do whatever we can to make sure that people keep having babies.

Because if we stop having babies, the world falls apart in an intense and disturbing manner.

I might sleep with the lights on tonight.

12 of 12 - January 2007

Welcome to the first installment of 12 of 12 for 2007!


9:29 a.m. Yay for Flex Days! I work extra long days so I can have every second Friday off. That means sleeping in. Woot.

1:35 p.m. I decided that today would be a day of leisure and relaxation. I had a nap in the morning, and then I watched a few episodes of Fame on DVD.

2:40 p.m. I must say that I am quite dismayed to find out that Paul cheated on Elizabeth in For Better or For Worse, but, if you will recall, I did see this coming.


3:41 p.m. Finally dragged myself out to run some errands. No, Michelle, I did not go to the infamous Head Shoppe, but I did make a quick stop to the Blue Cross office.



4:25 p.m. I forgot to put money in the meter when I parked downtown, and as I approached my car, I saw the meter man hovering nearby. Fortunately, he ticketed the car behind mine. My meter had time leftover from the previous parker.


5:01 p.m. Went out for a walk with my snazzy iPod shuffle.


7:34 p.m. I refuse to eat these cookies that Michelle and I made last night. I already had 5 of the 12 cupcakes we made. Any takers?


7:45 p.m. De-decorating my Christmas tree. Insert sad face here.

9:02 p.m. See my pretty star pick? Rosey gave it to me.

9:30 p.m. Chatting on the phone avec Michelle, making plans for tomorrow evening.

9:42 p.m. Bonus Pic: Something New! While I was downtown, I bought a keyboard to help me learn my choir songs faster. I haven't owned a keyboard since I was 12, and I'm really looking forward to picking out a few songs. Maybe I'll even learn how to play competently with my left hand.

10:14 p.m. Spent a good chunk of the evening de-dustifying my room. Good times.

11:36 p.m. Managed to do some laundry while de-dustifying. Yay for multitasking!

"I guess raw egg really is filling."

This evening Michelle and I celebrated "Freddymas", aka "Christmas in January". Our plan was to gorge ourselves on cupcakes and cookies while enjoying TV Thursday.

Things were going as planned until we made the cupcakes. You see, my cupcake pan only holds 12 cupcakes, and the mix makes 24 cupcakes. So there was a lot of batter left over, and it tasted so good when we licked the beaters that we decided it would make sense to eat the batter raw. By the bowlful. Then we discovered that it is quite possible to eat too much cake batter.

We tried to eat the cookies and baked cupcakes. I think I managed half a cookie, and forced down a solitary cupcake at the end of the evening. My stomach is still uncomfortably full. I may never eat again.

And by the way, if they kill George's dad on Grey's, that's it. I'm done. I absolutely adore George's dad, and he better not die. I love his bed hair, and his chubby cheeks, and the way he says "Georgie". He's adorable, and he deserves to live. Seriously.

Can't type. Must sleep.

Today in Woodstock was very busy. Things were not going my way. And I have to go up there again tomorrow. Humph.

Tonight I had Wednesday choir. We're doing a complete 180 with respect to our pieces this term. Instead of 40 pages of Bach, we're singing ABBA, The Rankins, Beach Boys, and The Beatles. We're singing "We Rise Again", and it's the same arrangement that I sang when I was with the Dalhousie Medical School Chorale (yes, I have a habit of covertly getting into choirs I shouldn't be in). We sang it once at a church in Lunenburg, and it was absolutely thrilling - one of my top ten choir moments for sure.

Ahh, Bach.

Tuesday choir resumed this evening. We're singing Bach and Beethoven this term, and it looks like lots of fun. There were a few new people there tonight, and I managed to snag an actual seat, in the third row, no less. I actually did end up enjoying being in the supplementary back row last term, so we'll see how things work out.

And, I got two new DVD sets in the mail today: Fame Season 1 and St. Elsewhere Season 1. Classic 80's tv that reminds me of my childhood. Although, to be honest, I never really watched St. Elsewhere when I was little, but it's critically acclaimed. And you all know how I love to watch critically acclaimed shows. It makes me feel tv-smart, almost as if by watching them, I am somehow a better person.

Dance, dance, wherever you may be.

I remember the watching Lord of the Dance on tv lots of times and revelling in the cheesy, over-the-top clackety-clack dancing. Who can resist the arrogant and flamboyant dancing sensation that is Micheal Flatley? Tonight I went to see Lord of the Dance at the Aitken Centre, hoping to see a passable reproduction of dancing phenomenon that I remembered from years ago.

The evening got off to a shaky start. We were seated in the 10th row of the floor section, close enough to see plastered-on smiles and poorly executed arm movements. Sadly, the stage wasn't quite high enough, so we could only see the dancers from the waist up, so they looked like Celtic Barbie's and Ken's bobbing atop a sea of audience heads. Add to that a large fuzzy head of hair directly in front of me, and I was not a happy camper.

That's when I put my FOH skills to work. As soon as the lights went up at intermission, I scouted for empty seats. Then I persuaded my friend that where we really wanted to sit was at the back of the rink, where there wouldn't be any heads in our way. After consulting with our usher, we settled into much better seats. Sure, we couldn't see facial expressions, but really, it's all about the feet.

It's amazing how seeing dancer's feet can improve my opinion. Sure, it's still a cheesy show, and more than once I found myself snickering as Pixie!Girl, Princess!Girl, Skanky!Girl, Evil!Guy, Not!Micheal Flatley and company pranced around and made ridiculous arm gestures. But just as I was scoffing at the notion of fighting and banishing someone through dance steps, all of a sudden the stage would fill with dancers tapping and clacking in harmony, and I was mesmerized. At the end of the show, I was genuinely compelled to rise to my feet.

So now, I've dusted off my Lord of the Dance cd, and I'm wondering where I can get my hands on a copy of the show on VHS or DVD. Must see again.

Snow?

Huzzah! I left my apartment for the whole weekend and my tree remained upright the entire time. Thanks, purple Christmas ribbon.

Right now I'm in a tizzy over a possible precipitation event tomorrow. Environment Canada has issued a "winter storm warning" for Fredericton, and says that we can expect "dangerous winter weather conditions", which looks like 5 to 15 cm of snow followed by 10 to 20 mm of rain. This could be the only storm-ish happening of the month, so I'm hoping it's a good one. Hopefully, people will have enough sense to cancel their hearing tests, which will give me a slack day tomorrow. Bring it on!

I spent a thoroughly enjoyable weekend in Halifax with Rosey and Liam. On Saturday, we went shopping, and I got two lovely sweaters and a super deal on a pair of Gap pants ($10!!). We had a great stir-fry for supper, and then Rosey and Rosey's friend Dee and I went to see Oliver at Neptune. I was underwhelmed by the Oliver movie musical, but the stage version is so much fun! Lots of great songs, lots of dancing, and it seemed like half the cast were Confed Centre alum. I feel a burning need to get the soundtrack now.

Today we had two "celebrity" sightings as we were out and about. There were some curlers eating at Smitty's when we were there (I tried really hard not to stare at them in admiration), and we saw Pete at Pete's Frootique!

Cross your fingers for lots of snow tomorrow!

Just breathe.

So, if I weren't so sick, I would write about how great it was to resume the Lynda/Michelle Thursday Night TV Party. And I would write about how sad I am that Kerry has left her job, and how mad I am and Luka for even thinking that he could cut her position.

But alas, all I can do is wistfully remember the days when I could breathe through both nostrils and make /m/ and /n/ sounds. And now I'm going to bed.

Good thing I'm not bitter.

Explain.

Explain why my Downstairs Neighbour sees fit to invite her boyfriend over all the time so they can play their music and talk in bed and stomp all over the place and generally threaten my sanity.

Also explain how one of the few people I know in Fredericton, who moved to Fredericton after I did, who does pretty much the same things that I do, has recently gotten engaged to a man she met in Fredericton.

And also explain why, when I was at home in PEI, when I was not working, when it was the perfect time to relax and recuperate, I did not get sick, but now, when I am back at work, and have big plans for the weekend, I find myself with a cough and sore throat?

Bah.

Oh Christmas tree again.

This is the sight that greeted me when I returned to my apartment. Fortunately, my desk caught the tree, so it was only a partial topple. To prevent further mishaps, I have tied the tree to the bookcase with purple Christmas ribbon.

Lynda is in serious like with Facebook.

It's been less than 24 hours, and Facebook is taking over my life. I'm checking it way more than necessary, and I'm obsessing over the number of friends I have. I usually like to keep a low profile when I first sign up for things like this, so don't feel bad if I haven't written on your wall yet.

The weather looks kind of iffy tomorrow for my trip back to Freddy. Darn.

If everyone else jumped off a bridge...

*Sigh*. All the cool kids talked me into it. I joined Facebook. Bear with me as I learn how to use it.