Can You Hear Me Now?

Grab a coffee! As previously warned, it’s a long one!

Topics for today:

1. Mountainview Music Festival
2. Hangin’ with Michelle
3. Lynda, my Childhood BFF
4. New Computer
5. Weight Loss Industry

1. Mountainview Music Festival

My friend Jay and his brother Marc picked me up around 3:00 to head out to Carstairs, about 45 minutes North of Calgary. Last year, this festival was a back yard party at Jason’s house. This year, it has grown into a big festival that all the surrounding towns are wanting to take place in their area next year! I was blown away by the size, and the number of people! (Probably around 850 - 1000?) The Polyjesters, their parents and a ton of volunteers had worked ’round the clock to get this thing off the ground. And was it ever worth it!! Rather than me go on and on about it, you can click these links and check out some great photos:

PDF file - Didsbury Review

PDF File - Didsbury Review pg. 2

Poster 1

Poster 2

Most of my day was spent hanging about the “backstage” area (where the beer was free hehe) and chatting with people while taking in the great live music. My friend Kim and her hubby were volunteers and had their motor home parked there, so I spent some time in there where Kim fed me lunch and gave me coffee. Woo hoo! I have awesome friends.

It was a beautiful day

Sponsorship is a very good thing.

One of the fun highlights of the Festival was the appearance by Randy and Mr. Lahey (Patrick Roach and John Dunsworth) from the Trailer Park Boys. I had to laugh because my friend Kim was chosen to drive them to their hotel the night before from a show they did in another town, and pick them up from the hotel and bring them to the Festival. The TPB designated driver (and she doesn’t even watch the show).

Mr. Lahey chats backstage

Mr. Lahey dances with a couple celebrating their anniversary

Randy is served a LARGE cheeseburger made special, just for him. His character on the show was once a male prostitute to fund his cheeseburger habit, FYI.

Michelle arrived around 6:00 pm and caught the best music of the day (IMHO - Dan Livingstone, Terra Hazelton and the Polyjesters).

The beautiful and charming Ms. Terra Hazelton in one of her great new hats

Terra on stage with the Polyjesters backing her up

Then I moved to a comfy chair at the side of the stage for the rest of the show, so this was my view

My view of the Polyjesters during their show

At 9:30 Patricia Conroy was to perform and then the party would be moved to a local bar where the Trailer Park Boys would do their comedy routine followed by the Plaid Tongued Devils. Michelle and I left shortly after 9:00, because she had to pick up her new puppy from the sitter, and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to last all night like Jay and Marc were planning to!

2. Hangin’ with Michelle

Yes, I mentioned Michelle has a new puppy. Oh my GOD. She is soooooo cute!! Remember this entry, when I mentioned that Michelle and I were at Eau Claire Market and saw a Bijon/Shih Tzu cross and she was sooo cute and I told Michelle she MUST get one of those?? Well, she DID!! And she is adorable.

But before I get to more on that, Michelle told me she would be out running errands on Tuesday, so I talked her into including me in her errands and taking me to a movie with her, and later a bank machine. I can’t find my usual banker buddy, AH. He’s either still on holidays or completely ignoring me. (I received a call from him while working on this entry, in response to my “are you DEAD??” voicemail message, and he did indeed take an extra week of holidays and is in Saskatchewan right now). I enticed Michelle with offers of Vietnamese food afterwards. So Michelle picked me up and we went to the cheapie movie theatre to see License to Wed. No, it’s not a great movie. But Mandy Moore is soooo cute and the appearances by about 4 cast members from the Office humoured me. Then we were going to go to the drive-thru bank machine, but when I opened my wallet MY BANK CARD WASN’T THERE. Ugh!! I NEVER do that! I had left it on the stove in the kitchen after having received a Debit-at-the-door delivery the night before. So we went back to my place and Michelle ran in to grab my card (’cause she moves much faster than me!) and then went to the bank machine near My Favourite Vietnamese restaurant so I could deposit my measily cheque that would soon be spent on eBay bills. Then we ate awesome Vietnamese food and then I came home.

The next day, however, Michelle came back, this time on foot, and this time with a PUPPY!!!! Eeeee! Her name is Ella and I want to eat her up and smoosh her little paws and nose and ears and OMG she is so cute.

A face only a Mother could love. HA!

Eeeeee!

We sat out on the patio for a couple hours and I took pictures and oooohed and ahhhhed over what a cutie Ella is. She is so friendly and playful and SO CUTE.

Michelle and Ella

Pita watched from behind the screen door the entire time.

Dog and cat sniff each other out

Pita wins this round!

3. Lynda, my Childhood BFF

My last big entry mentioned how my quantum therapy brought back memories of my best childhood friend, Lynda. The last time I saw her, she was about 12 when she came to visit me here in Calgary. The last time I talked to her, on the phone, was about 16 years ago. She was living in Ontario and had just given birth to her daughter. I thought… wouldn’t it be cool to get back in touch with her! Man, we were the best of friends when we were young. It’s really a shame that we never kept up with each other over the years.

So I went on a hunt for her, but I didn’t even know what her last name would be now. I managed to find one of her sisters in the Names Database (I apologize to anyone who was spammed with an invite from me; I had to refer a bunch of people in order to gain free access!) and she wrote me with Lynda’s email address. I was so excited! I wrote her a short letter, telling her a bit about what I’m up to and asking her about her life. I also mentioned I would love to be back in touch again, and that if she’s still in Ontario I’ll be there next month and it would be great to see her if she’s not too far from Toronto. My email had a few exclamation points, but not too many so I looked like geeky dork or anything. She wrote back a very basic email to me… married, two kids, owns a Fruits & Passion store, etc. No mention of where she lives. No questions for me or any exclamation points. Signed “Sincerely”, with no hint of wanting to continue communicating. I was a little devastated, I’ll admit… I guess some people just think they have moved ON from childhood and don’t want to go back there, even to get BACK IN TOUCH WITH YOUR BFF WHO IS TOTALLY COOL AND FUN. I wrote her back quickly just to ask where she lives, but never received a response.

My mom suggested that maybe she was freaked out because in my letter I (briefly) mentioned I have MS. Some people don’t know how to respond or deal or face stuff like that. True enough, I’ve experienced that (most people with MS will tell you they lost a few friends after their diagnosis!) I know I didn’t have to mention MS to her. But I realized, when I say I’m single (at 39), I feel like I need to back that up with, but, you know, I have MS, so naturally I’m single. I mean, who would want to take that on? I’m so much extra work and require so much assistance. Add to that the fact I’m a good 100 pounds overweight and, well, who the hell would marry ME?? (I don’t word it like that and I know I shouldn’t think that way, but I do sometimes. Especially when I’m talking to someone I haven’t seen in years… I feel like I need to supply an explanation as to why I’m still single, when, in fact, I totally do not. And I know it, but I do it anyway). I didn’t even bother to ask her if she’s on Facebook. I’m sure she’d just roll her eyes as she prepared her quarterly Fruits & Passion sales report and told her 16 year old daughter to block me on MySpace.

4. New Computer

I got one! It arrived on Saturday. It’s a gift from my Dad. Do I feel guilty accepting a gift of this stature from a man I haven’t spoken to in 4 years? Well, yeah… a little… but I justify it by saying I didn’t even get a chance to refuse; my brother called me up and said Dad bought it for me because he knew I needed it (I guess my bro’s been telling him about this old thing needing some upgrades). And Dad really wants to do this for me… so I will indulge him. I DO really need it. And, I mean, I’m sure he feels guilty or bad about everything, even though he still doesn’t understand why I don’t talk to him. (And neither do you because I haven’t discussed it here and never will!) One day I will most likely thank him in person and talk to him again, but it’s in both of our best interest that he be in a position where he is unable to talk back or use the word “should”.

Anyway, I got this computer, with a 21″ widescreen LCD monitor. I’ll be loading it up with my programs and data and moving it into my office sometime over the next week, with help from a friend. I hope it’s AWESOME, it sure looks like it will be!

I guess some of us will always be our Daddy’s Little Girl, whether we want to or not.

5. Weight Loss Industry

I’m just so pissed off at this industry now. I’ve given them thousands and thousands of dollars over the years, starting at a very young age (well, my parents paid back then, but not for the diet pills I snuck into my bedroom) and WHERE did it get me??? I’m almost at the heaviest I have ever been in my life. Show me a person who has dieted and lost a bunch of weight and KEPT IT OFF for five years, and I’ll show you a miracle. There is a commercial running here right now for a weight loss program where this woman says “I’ve lost a hundred pounds and I’m still losing! (Program name) worked for me, it will work for you, too!” Um, excuse me? You’re still losing. It has NOT *worked* for you. Keep that loss off for 5 years… not 2, not 3, not 4, but FIVE years, and maybe I will try your miracle program. I lost 90 pounds once, and extolled the virtues of the program I was following at the time to anyone who would listen. It’s all back on me now… it took a few years, with several down and back up attempts in between, but the end result is always the same. Also? This magazine cover?

Uh… is Valerie Bertinelli not in the process or recently finished her weight loss? How, exactly, has she “kept it off” already? Is she even eating human food yet? Apparently Kirstie has gained some of hers back (of course!) I mean… you don’t have to tell me how hard that struggle is, and that DIETS DON’T WORK. I will never give another red penny to a weight loss program again, ever. I have a client whose wife struggles with her weight, and every once in awhile he’ll fill me in - “she’s doing Weight Watcher’s, it’s really working, she’s lost X number of pounds” and then after she gains that back plus more, it’s “Jennny Craig, and it’s REALLY working for her!” and after she’s spent hundreds of dollars and gains that back plus more, it’s “Dr. Bernstein’s diet… it’s REALLY working for her!” Sigh. These programs are a BUSINESS. They WANT you to be fat, they are counting on it. Return customers, you know. Oh, and let’s not forget what they promise you - “eat what you want and still lose weight! Don’t feel deprived! Cake, lasagna, pizza, ice cream, you can have it all!” I like the way Kate puts it best, and I’m currently on her Lifetime Diet Plan.

How many programs and diets and books and shakes and pills and supplements and “nutritious meal replacement” bars did I have to blow money on before I finally realized this?? How many Mondays that I will “start over, get back on track” have passed? 29 years of my life worth. Too many.*

I’m starting a body acceptance blog, where rants like this will go**. I’ll let you know when it’s ready. Body Acceptance should have been a class I took when I was 10 (although I’m sure it didn’t even exist), not that first diet. Things may have turned out MUCH differently for me, my health, and my body.

* This is not to say that I believe I am at a healthy weight right now and don’t wish to be smaller. I do want to lose some weight, but to KEEP it off I need to make complete permanent lifestyle changes bit by bit, and that’s really hard to do. I also need to like myself just the way I am and not obsess about my weight and food, and let the scale fall where it may. Health at Every Size is possible, and my goal.

**Inspired by The Rotund and Shapely Prose, two of my favourite sites now!

I have so much more to ramble on about, but I’ll just have to do another update in a day or two so it doesn’t pile up like this again. Bad blogger Donna, bad blogger!

Talk soon xx