But the mild sauce has less butter!*

Tonight? I skipped my Weight Watchers meeting to go out for beer and wings. Something isn't quite right there. :p


*Apparently the hot sauce has more butter. This is not why I ordered mild. I ordered mild cuz I'm a wimp. But I'm still claiming it as a healthy choice!

Purge post

I keep feeling like I have things I want to talk about. And yet I can't quite put a post together. And yet, especially tonight, I feel like I need to talk about some things/get some things out. So instead of insightful, themed posts, I think I need to resort to point form.

Thoughts from the last couple days...

* I cannot, CANNOT, believe I forgot to make my World Cup pool picks on Saturday, causing my score to plummet (when I would've picked correctly - and thought I had). It's just a meaningless game, but ARG!

* Woke up on Saturday to realize, in exactly one week, my oldest friend in the world is getting married... to a man I've met about 5 times and don't know at all.

* Can't wait for Saturday. Especially for the cake. May even have the soccer games under control, what with the ceremony fitting nicely between the two matches (and pictures at the bride's parents' house). Well planned day. Well planned.

* If a white swan with a black beak and a black swan with a red beak cross-breed, what colour is the swan?

* How did I get so busy the last couple weeks that I completely forgot to go look at the cygnets when they hatched?

* Italy is driving me crazy in the World Cup. They play in such a defensive way that as soon as they score, they become turtles and climb back into their shell. And today's game! They can't win a world cup on a last minute penalty shot! Why can they never just go out and win? Why must it always be a drama?!

* Francesco Totti is, quite possibly, the most beautiful man on the planet.

* Ditto England. It's like they keep accidently making it to the next round. WTF?!

* Would love to see Ghana kick Brazil's ass. Go Ghana!

* Feeling uneasy about work this week - and I have no clue why.

* Saw a play yesterday. Well acted but, somehow, I kept completely missing the change in the characters' motivations so I could never figure out why they were doing 180s and totally changing their paths. Very odd.

* The two ladies next to me read the interpretation of the plot in the program and then proceeded to discuss it. Presenting the comments and thoughts of the ideas as their own. So that they were essentially making the points that they had both just read. Overhearing pseudo-intellectual conversations always cracks me up. Pseudo-intellectual conversations that don't actually contain original thought but simply regurgitate information just presented to you are unbearable. I wonder how they decided who should claim each paragraph as their own thought.

* I'm having MAJOR deja vue after that last point.

* Read a line in the book I'm currently reading where the two characters get a little pseudo-intellectual and overly analytical themselves. One then laughs out loud at how pretentious they're being. Brings to mind how I get torn about sounding too pretentious and overly analytical (and so, self-absorbed) and yet love to philosophize and seek the depth in the world - the only way to appreciate it fully. Hard to balance not sweating the small stuff and sucking the life and joy out of every minute, sight, smell and taste. It may be an intense, exhausting way to live, but is oh so much better than being numb to the world.

* I have decided there is no meaning to life. That we must simply enjoy it. So, if we are doing our best to maximize the joy in every minute, we are fulfilling our purpose.

* I don't know how much longer I can stand watch Canada's Next Top Model. Whereas America's Next Top Model humiliates the candidates for sport, CNTM is actually just mean. Becoming unpleasant to watch.

* Watched the premiere of Whistler last night. Newspapers called it the O.C. of B.C. Bothers and saddens me that the comparison for trashy teen soaps is the O.C. and not the original, and best, 90210. Sorta like when Elmo put out a sequel to "Monster at the End of this Book". It's awful when the cheap knockoffs become the standards. Sad day. Like the show though.

* Bought an outfit to go with the new striped shoes I've talked about here. Finally the whole package comes together.

* At some point I REALLY need to get my diet and exercise program on track. And it needs to stop being "tomorrow".

* Watched The Cabin Movie - a film fest flick. Reminded me that "independent" doesn't necessarily mean good and that, maybe the reason the film wasn't picked up by a studio was because it just actually sucked.

* Took this coming Friday off so I could get into town for the wedding without rushing. At one point, long ago, didn't know if we might need it for pre-wedding manicures and pedicures. Will now be spent watching two very important soccer games and having a nice lunch with my dad. May still paint my nails during the games (if I don't get them done beforehand). From pedicures to soccer - I love being a girl.

* So. looking. forward. to. this. extra. long. weekend.

World Cup Thought of the Day

The Argentinians have really bad hair.

Random crockpot thought

I made a dish for our department's potluck tomorrow.

I took the food out of the frying pan and put it in the crockpot, which I will use for transporting and warming tomorrow. I am waiting for it to cool a bit before I put it in the fridge.

I just checked on it. And it occurred to me. Perhaps I should not be trying to *cool* food in a container meant and designed to *hold* heat in.

Some days I'm downright brilliant.

Waiting to Exhale

That pretty much describes my day. Or, really, the last 5 days. Until about 1:50 this afternoon. When I was standing at my coworker's desk and the internet page, after what seemed like an eternity, finally loaded.

AZZURRI WIN 2-0 OVER CZECHS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was so overjoyed watching the Ghana beat the Czechs on Saturday. The classic underdogs coming up strong story (and I'm not usually a "cheer for the underdogs" person). They played such an amazing game and their goalie is now one of my favourite players in the whole tournament.

However, it really threw the Group E rankings into a hailstorm. Especially with Italy just tieing the US. Suddenly no one was guaranteed entry into the next round. And, while I cheer for them, I can't/don't count on Italy to ever actually deliver.

So all week I've been anxiously awaiting Thursday. If I hadn't had a customer visit *and* a visitor in for training, I would've seriously considered taking the morning off. Instead I sat through an all-day meeting wondering, every minute between 10:00 and 11:45, how everyone was doing.

The meeting ran long. Finally escaped for a couple minutes at 1:45. Went to see a coworker about another project. Couldn't take it anymore and asked him to check the score.

I stopped breathing as he loaded Internet Explorer. I asked him to wait one minute. Could I really take knowing? Not knowing was even worse. I told him to go ahead. He loaded the sports webpage.

That's when I saw the headline. And squealed. And tried to quietly cheer.

And finally exhaled.

Ghana and Italy advance. I couldn't have asked for a better result.

Chill out

Okay so I'm at work today and I'm walking next to this rail that's been put up by one of our assembly lines and I touch it and accidently lean against it as I walk by. I wonder when it went up and got painted (as I hadn't been in that area in a couple days).

That's when I discover the paint is still wet. Apparently the answer to my question was "just now." :p

As I'm trying to stop touching the wet paint, the kid who painted it (and was over further stirring some other paint) gets all attitudinal and says, in a nasty tone, "Hey! The wet paint sign is right there!"

And I'm like, buddy!
1) The wet paint sign is nowhere near close enough to the wet paint if I've been hanging around this area for 5 minutes and didn't notice it. In fact, the wet paint sign is in a place where nowhere one would really look even if they were just wandering around casually. So it's useless.
2) It's MY clothes that are painty now - and you can't even see the spot where I hit the rail
3) You're some random summer student. You have no idea who I might be in the organization. Do you really think it's smart to get snarky and rude with me? This isn't your daddy's random construction site. Plus, you're 12.

Chill the fuck out.

Unfortunately I couldn't say any of that as I was touring a guest around. But I mean, really. You're painting. You're STILL painting actually. You can touch it up. It's hardly a life-threatening issue. Get over yourself.

I left my heart...

I really think I did.

Just after Christmas, my sister and I took a trip out to San Francisco. It was a city I've wanted to see for years, and had planned on seeing sometime this year. So, when she desperately wanted to go away for New Year's and suggested there, I was in. We booked our tickets. And then sorta forgot we were going. So it was one of those wake-up-one-day-to-find-oneself-on-a-plane-heading-across-the-continent trips.

And it was fabulous. It seems so cliche to absolutely adore San Francisco. And yet, it's the prime example of cliches existing for a reason.

The thing that got me about San Fran was that, in addition to being a wonderful city, full of charm and character and lots of fun, great things to see and do, I felt completely at home there. Like, not just "comfortable even though it's a strange city" but actually "I could easily live here" at-home. I even picked out the neighbourhood I would live in.

When I came back, I didn't just look back fondly on the city and trip as with other holidays. Part of me actually missed the city.

Last week I watched "How to Get the Guy". A reality show about 4 women trying to find The One. It takes place in San Francisco. The next day, I kept having this feeling like I had just had a good talk/caught up with an old friend. I started to realize those feelings were related to show. Did one of the women remind me of one of my friends? Nooooo.

Then it hit me. It was the city. The shots of the Golden Gate Bridge.

I actually actively miss San Francisco. I completely understand what Tony was talking about.

Latest guilty pleasure

This happens every Monday. I start seeing commercials for it. I forget the day it's on. I also forget what day it is. So I start wondering if it's on tonight. Then I decide, no, it's Tuesday night. But wait, isn't it Tuesday? No, it's Monday. Okay then, tomorrow night. The I remember Tuesday is actually the rerun of last week's. So it's on Wednesday night. But that's okay cuz it's Tuesday. No wait, again, it's only Monday. But it's definitely on Wednesday. So now it's resolved. Less than 48 hours until it's on. The excitement starts to build. I feel the need to call my friend to dissect the show. Except it's not on for another two days. So I'll have to wait to call. Because calling to express excitement that it's on in 48 hours seems like it's going a bit too far. How will I ever make it that long?

Wednesdays at 8:00. Canada's Next Top Model. Even worse than America's Next Top Model. My latest guilty pleasure.

Everything in its own time.

(I've been meaning to write this post for awhile now. Like everything else here, it apparently needed to come at its own time)

Over a year ago, when I took on a new position at work, I didn't really have much time to cross-train with the person I was replacing. We covered the main topics/issues and I jumped in, head first, to figure out the rest - classic baptism by fire.

About 5-6 weeks into the new position I noticed a small key hanging from a pushpin on my cube wall. (Yes, it took me that long to notice it and wonder about it - I spent VERY little of my first 6 weeks - well, 3 months really, at my desk) I tried the key in my desk. Didn't work. I put it back on the wall, deciding I would figure it out later.

Over the next several months, as I worked through the massive learning curve, the key - and its unknown origin - became something I looked fondly on. It somehow represented a calmer time in the future. A time when huger issues would be resolved and I would be able to ponder its purpose. More importantly, it represented the fact that I didn't need to know *everything* right now. I decided to leave it hanging there, a little mystery in my day, and just await the moment its use would be revealed to me.

That day came this past January (about 9 months into the position - around the same time I finally moved into my desk - but that's another post). The coworker I sit next to made a comment one day about a spare desk key. Turns out he and the person I stepped in for had swapped spare keys for safe-keeping. My mystery key was the key to his desk.

In a lot of ways January was a bit of a turning point for me. I had finally learned the purpose of the key and it was at just the proper moment.

Likewise, shortly after I bought my house, I was in a conversation about weed eaters. I didn't own one at the time and just the thought of having one made me feel suffocated. Somehow I could commit to an entire house, but a weedeater was like a ball and chain. It was far too settled and domesticated. About 4 weeks ago, (again about 9 months after I bought the house - this timing is a weird coincidence) as I was cutting the grass, I realized I wanted a weedeater. I now own a weedeater. And instead of feeling suffocated, I love how what it does for my yard.

That was the point where I started thinking about this post. And how everything comes in its own time. How we can't control the way and time life throws things (especially all-important things like weedeaters :p) at, or reveals things to, us and how, often, we shouldn't try and should just roll with the punches for a while.

And then tonight. I went outside to move my car in the garage. I saw the neighbour's kid out front. I was trying to figure out what he was doing. He was taking down the Christmas lights. 9:40 pm on a Sunday night in the third week of June. I started wondering what prompted this decision at this time. Then I realized I probably couldn't explain why I do half the things I do when I do them. Like learning the key's purpose, and the weedeater, it must've just been time to take the Christmas lights down. Everything in its own time.

Next time comb your hair

That's what my mother said to me when I told her this story.

Last night I went for a walk around the river. Being a gorgeous night, oodles of people were out during my first lap. Halfway through my second, I noticed that the crowds had definitely thinned out. I was travelling through this area bordered on one side by the river and some tallish bushes, and a couple small deciduous trees on the other. No one else was around. I heard a bird chirping rather angrily to my left. I look to see a red-winged blackbird who was definitely not happy I was there. I took a quick scan but didn't see a nest anywhere. I forged ahead, in the middle of the path.

The bird flew further up to another tree on my right. Squawking right at me as I walked by. Again, I kept up my pace, eyes forward and kept walking. All of a sudden I felt this hard, pointy force ram into the back of my head.

OMG! The bird was attacking me!! I wave my arm behind my head. He backs off, still squawking. Then, again, bang! Into the back of my head. I squeal/scream and jog a couple steps. No! Don't run! It'll only make it fly faster! No wait! That's if a dog attacks you! I stop running! And yet try to run! The bird is still squawking. I feel it come closer again. I wave my water bottle behind my head and hold it against the back of my head. I hear the bird squawking but the volume starts to decrease. He seems to be leaving me alone. I might escape without further harm.

I cross the bridge and continue on my path. On the other side of the river, I watch as others walk past the same spot with no issue. How do they get off scot free? What did the bird have against me?!

I phone home and tell my parents I was attacked by a red-winged blackbird. My mother helpfully suggest that next time I comb my hair. Thanks mom.

(I'm scared to go back. :p)

Is it because they like to play with yarn?

So lately I've been reading many knitting blogs. One blog I started reading for other reasons is part of a knitting blog ring and, purely coincidentally, as I started reading these "outside" (non-knitting) blogs more, I also rediscovered my love of knitting (I was still knitting but somehow my excitement over it returned at that point), so I started following the knitting blog ring and reading some of the blogs.

I've noticed something in reading these blogs. It seems that, to have a knitting blog, one must also have both a cat and an obsession with discussing the minutaie of one's cat's life. Also a digital camera to post endless pictures of one's cat.

Aside from the fact that I don't really intend this to be a knitting blog (though I don't at all promise not to share some stuff with you - especially the OMG SO CUTE outfit I'm knitting for my boss's baby-to-be - OMG it's SO cute!), I realize I *can't* make it a knitting blog. Because I don't have a cat. Or the desire to post endless pictures of cats.

Truth be told, I don't really understand the strong correlation. Why is no one posting pictures of their gerbils?