Can You Hear Me Now?

I must tell you about last Friday, a.k.a. I-Must-Have-Royalty-In-My-Blood night. It was the Polyjesters CD Release Party in their hometown of Didsbury, and I got to go. As Sheldon said a couple weeks ago, “if I have to drive in and get you myself, I will, because you HAVE to be there”. Luckily it didn’t come to that, because that guy did enough that night. He did, however, make arrangements for his girlfriend Joelle to pick me up, his parents to give me a bed for the night, and Joelle to drive me back the next day. Among other things.

I had considered taking my wheelchair, and when talking to Sheldon about seating at the complex, he said it was most likely those folding plastic chairs. So I said I’d bring my wheelchair. He said, “Oh, if it’s a chair you need, I’ll bring you a chair! Yes! I’ll bring a special chair, just for you! Then you don’t have to bring your wheelchair and can be more mobile”. I requested a La-Z-Boy, preferably of the electronic lift variety, okthx.

Joelle picked me up around 3:30 p.m. and after a stop for gas and coffee, we were on our way. I love Joelle, she’s super cool and fun to talk to. Didsbury is about an hour away from Calgary, so we got in some good boy talk. When we arrived at the Didsbury Community Centre, we were greeted with gigantic hugs and I was driven right up to the front door so I could by-pass the ice that hadn’t melted out back. (It’s been so sunny and warm, but that back area is all shade). A good friend of the band named Saunder (I’m not sure that’s how you spell it… he is Dutch and it comes from Alexander, so maybe it’s Xander?) paid an awful a lot of attention to me. I think the guys must have paid him to be my personal slave or something. (He lives in Ottawa and is married with an adult son, so it wasn’t THAT kind of attention!) He was just so helpful and took care of me. As so many others did that night, I’m still in awe of everyone.

Sheldon had yet to arrive with “My Chair”, but him and everyone else had been running their asses off all day. There was a big dinner being served before the show, African beef curry that Sheldon cooked up, and beef satay by Saunder. (If I ever get married, I’ll get Sheldon to cater my wedding, now that I know he can successfully cook and serve 100 people). The band rented the hall so they had to look after all the set up, tear down, food, liquor, etc. themselves. Lucky for them, they have very supportive and hardworking girlfriends, parents and friends! I felt pretty useless as I watched everyone else drag out stacks of chairs and set up big tables. Sheldon arrived with My Chair, and once I sat in it, I knew I would not be getting up. Literally, it was one of those low armchairs you sink right into, and I knew there was no hope. The wooden legs slid along the floor fairly easily, and Sheldon slid me right up to the front of the stage where I enjoyed watching everyone’s soundchecks. It was one of those chairs that even looks like a throne, if you know what I mean! Saunder brought me 7up and chips from Indonesia. They tasted a little too shrimp-y for me to eat many, but I could not refuse after he went through the trouble to wait on me!

The early crowd started arriving for dinner around 7:00. Sheldon moved me to the back again, so I could sit with people I knew. By this time Kim had arrived, looking fabulous as usual. She stood in line for her food and brought me a plate as well. I highly recommend curry with sliced apples and bananas. I think I mentioned this a couple entries ago, the first time I tried Sheldon’s curry. It’s sooooo good! After filling up on dinner, I got a couple strong men to help me stand up, and I was able to get to the bathroom! By the time I got back, the room was packed and the show was about to start. I’m not sure how many people were there, I don’t think anyone knows for sure, but my guess would be 250, which is pretty damn good for a local act in a small town putting on their own show!

First up was Tony Charron, a good friend of the Polyjesters, followed by Dave Taylor, another local singer/songwriter. During Tony’s set Sheldon raced me back up to the front, causing a bit of a commotion (there was some laughter and applause as he ran, pushing me in my chair, to my front row spot). I even got a “hi, Donna” from Tony onstage. Both Tony and Dave played short sets, and were really good! After that, CBC Radio got involved. They were broadcasting the show from that point on, attracted by the multi-cultural evening - a French band from Quebec played next, called Chakidor. They were absolutely brilliant. They only sang one song in English, but that was okay! Music is a universal language. They have an amazing fiddle player, and since the Polyjesters were without theirs that evening, I was wishing she knew their stuff too, so she could play with them! The Polyjesters are used to improvising without certain members when they need to, but I do miss the fiddle the most when they’re short a player.

After Chakidor’s wonderful set, the Polyjesters took to the stage. Oh, yes, and I will mention here that I was very well taken care of. Carol (PolyMom) told me she felt bad that I was up there all by myself, but I’m a listener, anyway, so it’s not like I’d be talking to anyone while the music was going. And I had so many people coming to visit me throughout the night; Barry (PolyDad) brought me drinks, Saunder made sure a second helping of his beef satay was brought to me around 11:00, and many friends popped around during and after. Being as close as I was, I managed to get a bit of video, and here are a couple of my favourites:

My photos from that night can be seen in my Public Facebook album, right here. They are all live shots because of my position for the night. If I’d had more running-around freedom (or wheeling-around, as the case would be!) I’m sure I would have some behind-the-scenes and other friends pictures too!

Following the show, clean-up had to be completed before we could leave for the night. Cut to me feeling completely useless again! Even Kim, in her high heels and no commitments to being a volunteer for the night, ran around tossing empty beer bottles into boxes and helped tidy up. There was garbage and empty bottles to go, chairs to be stacked, tables to be put away, floors to be mopped, a kitchen to be cleaned… it all took a couple of hours, and I just sat and watched. Seriously, I didn’t like that one bit. Even though Jason and Sheldon kept insisting it was their pleasure to treat me like a Queen for a night and pamper me. I WANTED TO HELP! Next time I’m bringing my wheelchair so I can at least carry a box on my lap and toss in empties as I wheel myself backwards, which is my specialty.

There would be no partying after this show, as Jason and Sheldon (I’m thinking, especially Sheldon!) had been running non stop all day, it was now 2:00 a.m., and they had to be in Calgary for a soundcheck by 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. I got my hugs and kisses then left with the PolyParents to stay at Chateau Valleau. Barry and Carol were a great help getting me inside, as there were a few steps up with no railing to face once we got there. Once safe inside and sufficiently tackled by their dog Suzie, they showed me to the spare room. Lucky for me the bed is high, so my struggles to stand up were over for the night! Not that I was going to be getting up again any time soon. I think it was about 3:30 a.m. by the time I fell asleep.

I woke up at 9:30 to the sounds of phones ringing, voices, activity in the house… so I figured I better get up too. I went into the kitchen and was greeted by a fresh pot of coffee and Carol making breakfast: pancakes, hash browns, and crispy bacon. Was this heaven? Turns out Carol didn’t even sleep the night before - “I stayed up on the couch reading. I’ll sleep later”. Non-stop, that woman is!! We had a wonderful breakfast and then I washed myself up. I tried to dress myself, but gave up when I was struggling with my pants, so I called Carol. “You’re a mom, you can help me…” of course, she was more than happy to. Pants on, bra clipped, top on. Easy as pie.

Perfect timing, because as soon as I was dressed, Sheldon, Joelle and their friend Dawn arrived. Sheldon was driving right out to Calgary, but my ride was with Joelle, and her and Dawn wanted to stop in Carstairs for some Chinese food. It hadn’t been that long since breakfast, but I did manage to sneak in a couple spicy won tons and dumplings. Oh, and the Ginger Chicken was delicious! Next time I’m going there on an empty stomach. Actually, next time I’m in Carstairs I want to try the Burger Baron, I’ve heard soooo much about it! Anyway, we had a nice lunch and good conversation. Great ladies!

I’m not sure what time I got home, probably around 2:00 or so. I’m pretty sure I spent the rest of the day lazing about.

Since then, I’ve been back to my usual life. Psychologist on Monday, work at Troy’s on Wednesdays, working at home, Facebook, TV, etc. The excitement starts here! Today I bought some Millionaire for Life tickets, so by tonight I’ll know if I’ll be getting a million dollars a year for the next 25 years. Yippeee!

“That was fun! Do you like your new blue carpet?”

I’ve been meaning to update for days because I have SO much to talk about, but as each day went by the thought of writing it all out was so overwhelming that I would put it off until I had “more time” and then the days just go by and there is more to talk about and AHHHH!!! So I doubt I’ll get it all in.

First of all, my friend Melanie had been staying with me from Jan. 23 - 30. Then she took off for London, England to start a new life over there. Ahhhh, to have dual citizenship and be able to work in other countries… I would have done that for sure when I was younger and healthier! Anyway, Tuesday night was her last night here, so I suggested I take her out to the Olive Garden for dinner. Not the smartest move because the weather was unbelievably cold and everything snowy and icy… it is in my best interest to stay indoors if it gets like that. But, you know, she’s moving to England the next day, we’ve gotta do something.

Melanie was out visiting her mom during the day, so she said she’d call me when she was leaving and meet me at Olive Garden. When I had about 45 minutes to get there, I started trying to get through to a cab. It was about -30 plus the windchill, so if you can even begin to imagine how cold that is, you can imagine how hard it is to get a taxi in that weather. I finally got through and asked for one, then got my coat and boots on, and began my attempts to get out the door without Pita running out. Then my phone rang… but I didn’t know where it was! I guess Mel had used the cordless earlier and just put it down wherever… something I have learned to never do anymore because it must always be within reaching distance of me. So I had to go into my office to answer it, and it was AH, who I had tried calling earlier as well to see if he’d be able to give me a ride. I told him all was fine now, a cab was on the way, but I had to hang up because the Pita Fight for the Hall was just about to begin. As I walked out of my office, my feet didn’t pick up (I hate wearing boots, they’re so heavy… I need summer so I can go back to Crocs) and I fell. It was kind of in slow motion as I fell against my walker and down, and my right eye hit a wheel on my walker, and then it rolled away, sort of trying to take my eyelid with it. I was laying on the floor, knowing I wasn’t seriously hurt, but when I touched my eye and pulled my hand away I saw all that blood, and then worried. I couldn’t see myself and I didn’t know what I had done; maybe it was serious and I needed stitches? I was afraid to move too much. I still didn’t know where my phone was, so it was easier to crawl to my door and yell for help at my neighbour across the hall (now that the drug dealers are gone, I have a nice couple over there!) He came to the door (and he was even wearing pants this time!) and saw me laying there bleeding, and said he’d call an ambulance. While waiting for the ambulance, my cab arrived. My nice neighbour ran to the main door and apologized on my behalf to the cab driver.

Soon the paramedics arrived, and my neighbour went back inside and let this team look after me. There were three women… and they were so awesome! (Although, I have never had Paramedics that were not awesome). They helped me stand up, which I had trouble doing, and started crying again (more on my crying bursts later…GOD) They got me over to my chair and cleaned up my face. They took my blood pressure which was very high and they asked if I had hypertension. Well, maybe at that moment. When I cry I can’t breathe or talk and hyperventilate, so, yeah. I managed to get out “I’m supposed to be meeting a friend at the Olive Garden right now!” After cleaning me up, one of them said “it’s not so bad, you know… you don’t need stitches…” while another one went into my office to get my phone book, and she also found my cordless phone in there. I called the Olive Garden to leave a message for Melanie that I would not be meeting her, but then the paramedics started saying, “it’s not so bad! Put some ice on it, you can still make your dinner date!” I explained that my cab had already come and gone, and it would take forever to get another one. They looked at each other and then said “well… if you don’t tell on us… we can give you a ride”. Seriously??? So I told Mel to hang tight, I would be there. My New Friends helped me get my socks and boots back on, cleaned the rest of the dried up blood off my eyelid, helped me get my coat on and out the door without a cat following, and off we went.

Once outside, they tried to help me in the side door to the back of the ambulance, but the step that pulls down was frozen. They were trying to boost me in, when one of them said “hey, this is an illegal ride anyway, why don’t we just put her in the front?” and so I did. I rode to the Olive Garden in the front seat of an ambulance. Then all three of them helped me out, and walked me inside to make sure I didn’t fall again.

Day 2. It was worse by Day 3, but it seems to be looking better now

So anyway, Melanie and I had a lovely dinner. Breadsticks, salad, pasta, red wine, ice pack for my eye, singing the theme song from “Golden Girls”, expressing concern about how we will get home since it’s so hard to get a cab.

After paying the bill we went to the front entrance to enquire about a cab. The bartender could not get through. We borrowed his cell phone for a bit, but could not get through. Mel ran outside a couple times to see if she could flag one down, but no luck, and she was getting frostbite. The hostess asked “where do you live?” and I said “so close! Just beside the mall, but I can’t walk that far!” and she said “…maybe I could give you a ride?” Mel and I looked at her, and then her boss, and begged “could she??” He couldn’t really think of a reason why not, since there were two hostesses on, and the restaurant was very quiet with no one but US being stupid enough to venture out in that weather.

So, off we went with the sweet, wee little blonde hostess with the cute accent from Bulgaria. Walking out to her car, I slowly and carefully stepped off the curb, but managed to fall anyway. ARGH! It was too icy to stablize my walker, and my legs were already jell-o from my earlier fall, and it was clear we would need help. So Wee Hostess ran inside to get her boss, and then we finally got me up and safely into the car and my walker in the trunk. SUCH a production.

Wee Hostess refused to take any money from us, but when we pulled up to my apartment and both her and Mel got out to get my walker, I shoved a $20 bill into her plastic thingy in the front that holds all the driver’s junk thingy. I mean, come ON! She was going way above and beyond the Call of Olive Garden Hostess Duty.

Finally, I was inside, warm, safe, in my chair. Melanie made me a hot chocolate and then took off to meet a friend for a few drinks at a nearby pub. Her last night, and all… freezing or not, she wasn’t going to sit around!

So that was Tuesday night. Melanie left Wednesday afternoon, and arrived safely in London. I was so sore from the two falls the night before that I don’t think I really moved much on Wednesday or Thursday. Thursday night my mom and Bob picked me up to go to the Chiropractor, and I don’t think I’ve ever needed a treatment so bad! My right shoulder is in such bad shape that it has resorted to stabbing pain in my upper right chest area every time I breathe. We came back to my place after, ordered Chinese food, and Bob did a whole bunch of things around here. Such as remove that walker carrier from the back of my scooter and hook up my new DVD player because I broke the other one when I hit my TV a couple weeks ago, with the walker carrier on the back of my scooter. Those cheap DVD players don’t respond well to falling to the floor. So now I am on DVD Player #3 and hoping for the best.

As mentioned previously, I have been weaning off my anti-depressants. Because they come in 20mg tablets and I can only split them in half, I have had to wean off in 10mg increments. I was at 40mg, then would go 30-40-30-40 alternating days for a couple weeks, then to 30mg for a couple weeks, and so on. A couple weeks ago I stopped my 20-10-20-10 alternating days and went straight to just 10mg/day. Holy CRAP. I have never cried so much in my life as I have the past two weeks. Every little thing and nothing at all could set me off. The entire process of weaning down has not been fun, but this was the worst. I had even been thinking about suicide for real… just wanting the crying to end, the feeling so shitty. I haven’t been sleeping, even if I took up to 3 sleeping pills. I don’t like the person I have been and my attitude has sucked. So yesterday I took 20mg again, and ZING!! Whole new person. Withdrawal is HARD, people. If you ever need anti-depressants to get you out of a dark place, by all means take them if you need to, but then wean off them right away when you feel better. Do not get caught up into taking them for years, to the point where it is hard, if not impossible, to stop. I went to my pharmacy today to see about getting my pills sliced up smaller, or if there was a smaller dose so I could cut down by 5mg instead of 10. The pharmacist totally sympathized with me… she said she tried weaning off her SSRI and just wasn’t able to. She still takes it because she can’t get off it. She told me Paxil does come in 10mg tablets that I can then snap in half for my 5 mg, so she would refill my prescription with those. Then she punched something into the computer and frowned… “your insurance doesn’t cover the 10mg size”. HOW STUPID IS THAT??? But being the sweetheart she was, she refilled my prescription with 20mg tablets, and cut each and every one into 4 pieces for me. So hopefully I can go to 15-20-15-20 for awhile then 15 instead of dropping right to 10. God, I hope it works. Withdrawal sucks!!

So, to sum up this past week: Paramedics, Hostess, Pharmacisit, Melanie, My mom and Bob: Divine Grace is everywhere.

I watched Sicko on Friday night (and again last night, and all the special features). I cried and cried and cried and cried and got so mad and cried some more. And I really want to move to France. I may bitch about our health care system here (it really is “sick care”, not preventative as in other countries, and Big Pharma still rules in the end), but at least we don’t have to pay for our doctor visits and necessary treatments and surgeries. I can only imagine how many times I would have filed for bankruptcy in the past 6 years alone!

STOP clawing at mom’s chair!

I seriously cannot take a picture of Pepper looking at the camera without the result being glowing eyes. Space Kitty!

Pay It Forward update:

Pictures of the things I have ordered and am waiting to arrive are on Flickr, right here. Not included in the photos yet are the things I already have here, such as lots of Dove soap, shampoo and hair products, and a bunch of stuff my friend Lisa brought over yesterday. Very soon my home is going to be filled with stuff for the shelter. Please, please, please, if you haven’t yet, send a few dollars my way to help fund this project!! There’s a PayPal button at the end of this entry, or you can send an email money transfer to donna@innereyes.com

As I mentioned, my friend Lisa came over yesterday. She is so amazing and wonderful. I don’t see her often, but when I do, it more than makes up for it. She pulled her car up and first unloaded a box and a bag of goodies for the Women’s Shelter. Then she parked her car and walked in with even more stuff… my Christmas present (we exchanged them now, but won’t open them until Christmas… last year we didn’t get around to doing that until March, so we figured since we had each other’s gifts, we better do it now!), a stocking full of toys for the cats (and treats and wet food) PLUS three foam containers… “I didn’t think we’d have time to go for lunch, so I thought I’d bring lunch to you!” She stopped at My Favourite Vietnamese Restaurant and picked me up an order of my #50 chicken satay!!! (Plus food for herself). On top of that, a container with CAKE. ‘Cause, you know, I hate the Cake.

How awesome is she??? LOVE!! (Seriously, thoughtful people who remember those little things, like what your favourite dish from a restaurant is, or that you love your pink Crocs and sunflowers, are the sort of people everyone should have in their life). She played with the kitties and even found one of their favourite toys waaay under the sofa. Now I will be kept awake all night listening to the little fluffy bird chirp every time their claws touch it. Thanks, Lisa

Lisa helped me get out of my apartment safely on my scooter, keeping Pita inside. She runs out EVERY chance she gets now (it’s gotten really bad) so I have taken to locking her in my bedroom every time I run over to the mall. I’m not gone very long, so it’s okay. I just can’t keep her away from the door when I’m on my scooter. It’s a little easier when I’m on foot. Today I knew I was going to be gone for a couple of hours, so I didn’t want to lock her in a room. So I’m glad Lisa was there to help. When she opened the door, there was a box from Amazon there… My Flight of the Conchords DVDs!! YAAAA! I knew what I’d be doing all weekend.

And what was I doing at the mall for a couple of hours, you ask? Since I’m NOT shopping anymore until I receive more donations? Well, I was getting my hair done. And what, exactly, does a turning-40-in-less-than-six-months-woman do to her hair, just for fun, these days?

She puts in pink highlights.

What the hell, right? You only live once. I’ve always wanted to… then I saw Avril Lavigne on TV the other night, and it reminded me. (Even my mom said “oh, GOOD! I was thinking about that when Avril Lavigne was on Dancing With The Stars! That the pink streak would be so cute on you…”) So, I did it. Except I did more than just one pink streak (I think that look suits longer. straighter hair). My intention was to have a few thin, light streaks throughout (a la Rachel McAdams), but my hairdresser sort of did what she wanted, and they ended up thicker and darker than I intended. But I don’t care! I think it’s fun.

Ahhh, the lighting in my bathroom… it actually looks like more streaks, and darker, in person. So maybe after a couple weeks of shampoo it will look like this!

Friday night I ventured out with my new hair, and was hit on by more men in that one night than I ever have been before, so perhaps the hair is a good thing…? Or maybe it was the fact that it was a divey, smokey bar and most of the men there were older and drunk? Whatever.

My friend Jon (that I met at Pam’s party the week before, so really he’s Pam’s friend, but I’ve decided to steal some of her friends for myself) is in a band that was playing at this bar on Friday. It was their first gig together, so they can’t be expected to play the A-circuit bars quite yet. I didn’t think there were any bars left in this city where you are allowed to smoke, but I guess the Official Public Smoking Ban doesn’t go into effect until January 1, 2008, and until then some bars can pay the government a certain amount to be able to keep smoking. Or something like that. Anyway, I was surprised when I walked in and could barely see through the smoke… it was GROSS. Everyone there was smoking… because it’s probably one of the few places left they can!

I seated myself at the only available table and started to get hit on. I was waiting for a couple of Pam’s friends to join me, but I knew they’d be about an hour… I wanted to get there a bit earlier, get a decent table, and eat something. I normally don’t mind sitting by myself for awhile, but I’m not normally hit on so much by drunk old men, and surrounded by smoke. Ick. Jon did sit with me for awhile, which was nice, (he’s a sweetie) and I gave him half my pizza. Got to keep those drummers fed. The first band started playing, but Tricia and Chris weren’t there yet. Two men were standing near me, looking for a place to sit, and I heard one of them say “maybe if we are really nice to this pretty lady over here, she will let us join her…” I told them I had friends coming, but they were welcome to sit until they arrived (they looked totally harmless). It was a good move, because they were really nice and fun. Even after Tricia and Chris arrived, these two guys (John and Art) stayed at our table and we all had a lot of fun. John even bought us a round of drinks. They left earlier than us, however… John kissed my hand and they were off. After (John) saying things to me like “I need someone to do my taxes… I should get your number” and “I should get your email address and send you these pictures blah blah blah…” he didn’t actually GET my number. My own fault for not having business cards on me? Still, he could have ASKED FOR A PEN. He was cute. Damn. And once that seat beside me opened up again, along came another drunk to chat me up. Sigh.

Aaaaaaanyway, the band was really good! Tight. The place was packed (read: SMOKE) and they rocked the joint. Who likes to rock the party? I like to rock the party! (Sorry, I break out in Flight of the Conchords sporadically) Around 1:00ish, while the band was still jammin’, Tricia and Chris gave me a ride home. And a couple Advil for my throbbing headache (from the smoke, not the music). I came home, peeled off my smokey clothes and threw them in the hamper. I’d have taken a shower too, if I wasn’t so tired.

Saturday was a lazy, sluggish sort of day, as a day after being out late/having a few beer usually is. I watched all the Flight of the Conchords episodes

On Sunday (today), my mom and Bob came over and did some of their usual stuff around here to help me out, and Bob installed a light above my kitchen sink. My mom also added an Oil of Olay pack to the Women’s Shelter box (and they brought me a couple empty boxes, because I will need them!) And dinner! Mom brought her roaster with chicken, carrots and potatoes and heated it up here. That’s one of my most favourite dinners on earth, and probably the easiest to make. Except for the gravy part. If it’s not in a can or “just add water” package, gravy will not be included. No problem for my mom, however. Oh, and a great salad, with a delicious dressing she just threw together with “olive oil and a few things from the fridge…” I so don’t take after her that way. I wonder where it all went wrong…

I’ve got a really busy week. TONS of work, a couple of appointments, and a couple dinners out. Jason and Sheldon owe me a dinner or two because of some work I did on the editing of their lyrics for the new CD. Which should be out SOON. I think the artwork is holding everything up at the moment! I have copies of all the songs (”it will be a lot easier for me to check the lyrics if I can actually hear the songs as I read along… maybe you should send them ALL to me…”) but it’s just not complete without the whole package in my hands!! Anyway, we’re supposed to be going for dinner this week, and Pam’s my friend Melanie and I are doing that as well. It’s her birthday tomorrow.

Have a great week, I’m not sure when I’ll have time to update. But I should start receiving all those things I ordered in the next few days!! Send me $$ so I can get more!!

I started this post on Oct. 18 and when I went to finish it, my blog was down. Then I had a super busy weekend and wasn’t able to get on here. Then I went to finish it, and my blog was (still?) down. Fingers crossed that it stays up long enough for me to finish it THIS time.

Started October 18 ~

We interrupt our vacation postings for a general ramblings post because it’s been a LONG TIME and I know you’re all wondering what’s going on in my life right now.

At this moment, I am trying to avoid obsessively refreshing my eBay selling page to see if anyone is bidding higher. There are a few hours left on couple things I’m selling, and I keep checking back. So I decided to come here to keep my mind off of it.

Yesterday I worked at Troy’s, and one of those Access drivers that has a crush on me picked me up. He’s the sweetest man. When I say “crush” with him I don’t seriously think he has a romantic crush on me… I think he just wishes I was his daughter or something. Although, he always offers to come over and scoop the cat litter and do housework AND make me coffee, so you never know. Yesterday he stopped at Mac’s for me and got me a large Seattle’s Best coffee. Some of these wonderful drivers really make up for the bad Access experiences I have! Oh, that reminds me, I should call Access and give him a compliment. They like to get positive feedback, they receive so little!

Okay, done. ****Refresh eBay page**** YAY!! All my stuff has bids so will sell for sure.

So what else… oh, Rob Szabo and Peter Katz are here this weekend!!! That’s right!! Saturday night at the Ironwood, anyone reading in the Calgary area had better be there!!! They’re touring Western Canada together again like they did last year. Remember, last year I got them their gig at Original Joe’s (ignore anything I say about that new food plan that lasted 2 months in that entry). This year, Rob made his mark at the Ironwood in April, and will never have to worry about scrambling to get a gig in this city again!

Oh, and speaking of Access drivers, I have hardly talked to AH lately! He did babysit my kitties while I was away, keeping them fed and actually scooped the litter this time (I gave him a lecture about that, and supplied dust masks). Then it was Ramadan, and since he doesn’t allow himself to even look at another woman during that time, (I asked him how that is possible, and he told me if he catches himself looking, he remembers it’s Ramadan and looks away immediately and thinks only pure thoughts. Whatever…) so he certainly isn’t going to talk to one on the phone. But I do intend to take him out for dinner (Olive Garden if we can get in, he still has never been there) to thank him for looking after my cats, I’m just not holding my breath for when it will actually happen.

The Polyjesters are almost finished their new CD!!! How excited am I? I can’t even put it into words. Jason has sent me the (possible) CD cover artwork, and it’s awesome. So I released the song titles to their Facebook group. Then, because of some help I gave him last week, he sent me two of the newly recorded songs. OMG. I also have 6 other very rough mixes of new songs on the CD and one that didn’t make the cut. Are you jealous? Yes, you are. OMG. I am soooo excited!!! It’s going to be so, so, so, so, so, so good!! Jason said Emma and I will get special seating and attention at their CD release. I think they should fly Emma out, no? And I requested my special chair be of the La-Z-Boy electronic lift variety.

***then my blog was down***

Continued October 24 ~

Obviously, it’s too late for y’all to see Rob, that was this past Saturday. And I’ve since sold another lot of items on eBay, will be shipping today or tomorrow. I’ve currently got a bunch of CDs up for sale… I’m cleaning stuff out!

I am anxiously awaiting The Office Season Three DVDs I ordered. I have spent the past month watching every episode, deleted scenes, bloopers, commentary episodes, etc. on my Season Two DVDs. I can’t get enough of that show. My Dunder Mifflin T-shirt is in the mail, as are some Dwight and Jim office supplies memorabilia. ADDICTED.

So, cheers to Facebook… the amount of people I am back in touch with after many, many years is astounding!! I went for coffee a couple weeks ago with my friend Carolyn and we were joined by Nancy, a woman I haven’t seen since high school! There are quite a few other school friends I’m planning to meet up with sometime soon. And I’m back in touch with my old friend Cheryl, who used to live with my former roommate Pete. I haven’t seen her since they broke up many years ago (except for a quick run-into-eachother at a Crafts fair in 2002). She came out on Saturday to see Rob and Peter! So we are going to hang out more, for sure. And then, there is Vlado…. ahhhh, Vlado…. I used to work at YTV in Toronto about 20 years ago. He was a sound engineer there, and an incorrigible flirt. It’s so cool to be back in touch with him… he is very successful in his field and has a wall of Oscars and Emmys to prove it!

Update on the AH situation - we actually went to the Olive Garden for dinner last night! Imagine that. It was fun. I drank red wine. I could barely walk afterwards; my right foot didn’t want to go flat. It liked twisting on its side. Thank goodness AH understands and was very helpful walking me inside. TWO glasses is all I had! And with a full meal! I am such a cheap date.

AH is back to being his helpful self for me… today he’s popping in to a computer supply store to pick up an adapter cord I need. I finally have my new computer set up (thanks to Rob, who did it while he was here over the weekend) but since it only has USB ports, my old printer can’t be hooked up. And I’m not getting a new one… this one was $2,300 back in its day and it’s a laser printer/fax/copier/scanner and it has served me VERY well!!

Hey, remember awhile back I was complaining about the waiting times to see specialists your doctor refers you too? And that one place told me “June, 2008″ and another told me they couldn’t even estimate, it was so far off? Well, I went to the first place today and am going to the second one tomorrow. I’m quite pleased. I’m not 100% sure either of these places will be of great help to me, but I’m giving them a shot. It’s FREE under our health care, unlike the other stuff I’ve done, like Quantum Release Therapy. Which, by the way, I went to one last time (?) a couple weeks ago, after not having been in over two months. Kevin told me he really didn’t think he could do much more, and that my physical damage is so far gone (11+ years since diagnosis, never mind all the years before that the disease activity was going on) that he can’t predict how long it would take (whereas usually he can tell his clients “3 more visits” or something). We did make great progress on the emotional side of things. And I do feel better since I last saw him… but that could be due to any number of things. Anyway, it could quite possibly end up costing me thousands and thousands of dollars and many, many visits, which I’m not able to do right now, and he doesn’t want me to. So… I have a couple other options I’m working towards in regards to improving my health, and I may toss in the odd Quantum session here and there.

Today I went to the Clinic for Mind/Body medicine, and I am hopeful. My goal here is to decrease or completely wean off my anti-depressants and sleeping pills, and improve my health overall. I will be seeing a psychologist there regularly, who I met today, and she is awesome. She’s on the same page as me with regards to pharmaceutical companies and the “over-prescribed, overpriced” MS meds, and she didn’t even balk at my mention of my quantum release therapy and how it helped me… she was very interested! The clinic works with the belief that our bodies can heal themselves (what a concept!! And this is actually funded by the Calgary Health Region, and they don’t PUSH PHARMACEUTICALS!) and the process is done through meditation, lifestyle changes, positive thinking, etc. Of course, I believe that too, and have all the tools I need to put it all into practice… my problem is with being consistent in keeping up the with the small changes. I’m hoping regular meetings with this psychologist and being held accountable (reporting in with my progress regularly) will help me stick with my program. I’m seeing her again on the 5th. She really liked me, too, so that helps.

Remember when I was in Toronto and I bought those ginger-encrusted roasted pecans at the Queen of Tarts and how much they helped my PMS and I was wishing I had brought a supply back with me? Well, guess who has 6 bags in her cupboard now? Yes, they were willing to send them to me, I emailed and begged and a nice owner let me pay with my credit card over the phone and mailed them. Awesome. ONE bag a month, at the appropriate time, is all I am allowed.

One of my cats or both of them just chewed the speaker cord off one of my brand new computer speakers.

So, yes, I had an awesome weekend. My friend Kim came out from Red Deer on Friday, and we went out for dinner to My Favourite Vietnamese Restaurant, and then she got me hooked on what Starbuck’s calls a Misto, and Second Cup calls a London Fog. (Earl Grey tea, steamed milk, vanilla syrup). I’m making those at home now too, but with whatever tea I have around (currently, vanilla… yum!) and they are $1 cheaper than lattes! But I have not given up lattes, oh no, don’t worry.

Then I forced Kim to watch several episodes of The Office. Oh, oh, oh, AND, she bought me the greatest present ever… one of those little things you see in a store and immediately think of someone and start laughing, so you must buy it for them? Yeah. It’s a cell phone holder that is a tiny pink Croc shoe!!! I love it!! Hee

On Saturday, she helped me out by going to Wal-Mart and pushing a cart home with a case of water, cat litter, and cat food. (”I must really like you… I am going to Wal-Mart on a SATURDAY!” she said). We also ate in the food court, because that Smitty’s (the only restaurant in the mall) service and food sucks balls. So instead, we had food court Chinese food, which kinda sucks balls, too.

Ohhhhh, but then it was evening. We headed to the Ironwood for 6:00, and at 6:15 on the nose (as Rob had estimated they would be there around that time) the boys arrived. They set up, we had dinner, moved tables about 4 times, etc. etc. Around 9:30 Peter Katz hit the stage and proceeded to amaze the audience… it was the best show of his I have ever seen, I was blown away.

Just as Peter started playing, my friend Cheryl arrived, which was awesome… and so did Jay and his brother Marc. Add our new friend Spencer (a friend of Rob’s) and his girlfriend Sam, we had a very full and active table. Actually, the Ironwood was packed, and so many people were singing along with Rob’s songs that it was awesome… he has so many fans here now!! Yay! Both guys sold lots of CDs and made a lot of new friends and fans.

Rob played a fabulous set as well,

For the encore, BOTH Rob and Peter took the stage and sang a couple songs and it was amazing:

The video cut off early because my camera was being wonky, but if you look at my other You Tube videos, I have the end up there too

I had to post this photo because it’s not very often you see me standing beside such a hot, young, strapping, hot, young man. This is Rob’s friend Graham, who sings in a rock band, and I met him at Rob’s gig in April. We talked a lot. He actually does have a brain and a personality, but seriously, do we care?

(I’m kidding… Graham is a sweetie and he has a gorgeous girlfriend - duh - but since he is 14 years younger than me I am allowed to tease him like he’s a toy. I think). After the show, Kim took off to meet other friends, and everyone else went home, so I sat at a table and waited for the guys to load up their gear and talk with their new fans. Rob kept me supplied with coffee and Bailey’s. Around 2:00 a.m. me, Rob and Peter headed to a 24 hour restaurant for some food… it was LOUD in there, all those late night partiers. Oh, so rarely am I one of them! It was almost 3:30 a.m. when Peter dropped Rob and I off at my place (Peter has other friends here he stays with). It was pretty much straight to bed for us. (Me = bed, Rob = couch! Geez).

The next day, Sunday, we slept in and took our time getting dressed. Around 2:00 we went to the mall for food, and actually considered Smitty’s for a moment, but Rob’s memories are not fond of it from the last time he was in town, and no one was seating us anyway. So off to the food court we went. I’m such a faaaaabulous hostess to my overnight guests. (It’s not MY fault Rob doesn’t drink coffee and lattes!). I grabbed a London Fog on the way back. Then, Rob brought my new computer into my office and my old one out, and hooked everything up, and now I am flying on here. (Not my typing, just the other computer things that involve speed). Yay!

Dinner plans, after much discussion and phone calls, ended up with meeting Peter, Spencer and Sam at the Tandoori Hut for some Indian food. It was so so so so so good! Great food, wine, and people. Good times.

You can see all the pictures I took from the weekend in my Facebook public album.

So, that was my weekend. Peter picked Rob up around 3:00 Monday afternoon and then they were off to continue the rest of their Lanky Wimps Tour.

On Tuesday, I cropped and uploaded photos and video and fiddled with my new computer and didn’t get any work done. Today, is almost over and I didn’t get any work done. Here’s to tomorrow!

“I am living in a box, I am living in a cardboard box…”

“I am living in a box, I am living in a cardboard box…”

Oh…My…God. I love my cats.

We’re on… Wednesday, September 19 ~

Tim called me in the morning after his meeting, and came to pick me up. I only knew Tim from our contact on MySpace and Facebook, and we have some mutual friends; for one, he used to play drums for Lobelia before she left Montreal (Lobelia, who I became great friends with while in Montreal last year, had a very busy year having to move from Montreal because she’s American and her Visa ran out, and then meeting her new love Steve, moving to England, touring all over Europe, etc. etc… she was supposed to be with us in Toronto and Montreal but health-related reasons kept her in London a bit longer. I was sooooooooo sad to miss seeing her!) Anyway, Tim is a very handsome man and talented writer/musician and you can check him out HERE.

We drove up to the spa Noelle owns with her mother. This was also my first time meeting Noelle in person, because last year she was in Los Angeles while I was in Montreal. We have several mutual friends, as well. Anyway, because of the death of her Aunt earlier that morning, the salon was closed and Noelle and her mom were just there making phone calls and re-scheduling clients. They are Jewish, so a death in the family means several days of “Shiva” and Yom Kippur was on Saturday… so it was, once again, not the best time for Noelle and I to be able to hang out. (Although, as she said, “there is no WAY I’m missing out on Saturday night!!)

The spa Noelle and her mother own is beautiful. Although they mainly do manicures, pedicures, massage, facials, etc. they DO sell things, as well. And I bought a bracelet, which it turns out was made by the Aunt that had just passed. So that felt nice, to have chosen that without knowing.

The four of us went over to a nearby restaurant for lunch. I spared Noelle and her mom from picture taking, because they were dressed in sweats and no make-up and I know they would BOTH kill me if I had photos and posted them. They are both gorgeous women and looked great to me, but, you know Jewish women and their vanity. Heh. I wanted one of the spa’s reception area, though, so I snuck this one and blacked out Noelle’s mom.

Over lunch, Noelle told me oodles of stories (because I asked and probed and asked and probed) about her time as a young Hollywood starlet. She grew up in L.A. and did a lot of acting, And has met almost everyone! She was on Buffy, Star Trek, Ellen, Beverly Hills 90210, all kinds of stuff. She moved to Dublin, Ireland for a few years, and that is where she started getting more into playing music (and partied with Johnny Depp OHMIGOD). She is also a photographer. Her website is right here and you can read all about that stuff and see how damn gorgeous she is. I picked up her CD while I was there, too!

After lunch we grabbed coffees at Tim Horton’s and went back to the spa. Noelle and her mom had lots of planning to do, so we didn’t stay too long. Tim drove me back to the hotel, where I rested for awhile before meeting up with my friend Patricia. First, I made sure to leave a key at the hotel reception desk for Emma, because she would be coming downtown and staying in the hotel with me the rest of the time. (She lives on the West Island and goes to school there). She would be bussing it down to the hotel sometime that evening.

Anyway, Patricia and I go back about 15 years. We were both involved with Carnival Diablo when it originated in Calgary in the early 90’s (now Scott is doing quite well with that show in the Toronto area!), and then a bunch of us left that and formed Virtual Insanity. Here is a picture of us from back in 1993:

That’s Patricia on the left in the back row, and I’m the blonde fuzz in front.

Patricia had a baby in 1996, I remember her being about 8 months pregnant at my 28th birthday party, and I remember meeting her son Sage when he was about two, but then they moved to Montreal. We lost touch and reconnected on Facebook! It was perfect timing, because I found her on Facebook not too long before I was going on my trip.

Anyway, I brought my wheelchair so we could wander around after dinner, and caught a cab to meet them in Mile End at Cafe Depanneur.

We had a lovely dinner and caught up on life. Patricia is super busy, working at a studio (she’s always been involved in the Arts, Theatre), going to school and being a single mom. Sage is 11 now and GORGEOUS. What a sweetie, I fell in love with that kid! After dinner we wandered around the neighbourhood and found a cafe where I could finally get a latte. (Cafe Depanneur kept forgetting to bring me one and we just gave up and decided to go elsewhere for dessert). We ate pastry and drank coffees and took pictures:

More pictures of our meeting on Facebook

Patricia’s friend Annie was hosting a launch party for her art magazine, Les Fleurs du Mal, not too far from where we were. It was supposed to be accessible, so we wandered over there. It turned out to be inside a building with a large concrete step out front (for which Annie apologized profusely). We could have gotten me and my chair up and over it with some assistance. However, I wasn’t much in the mood for mingling and meeting new people, so I sent Patricia inside what appeared to be a very cool party with lots of interactive stuff going on, to say her hellos to friends, and I stayed outside with Sage. There were lots of people mingling outside, as well, and we were brought food! Sage was so sweet… when his mom asked me if I wanted to stay or go, I answered “I’m not really in the mood for a loud party and meeting new people and stuff, to be honest…” so when she went inside by herself, Sage told me “I feel the same way and would have said the exact same thing, if she had asked me”. Hee!

After hanging out there for awhile, we left to find a busy street where we could flag down cabs. I guess it was about 9:30 p.m. when I got back to the hotel, and experienced the favourite moment of my entire trip. As I slipped my key card in the door and opened it, Emma came RACING over to me and gave me a huge, giant hug. It was awesome.

Pictures on Facebook.

Okay, okay, I’m sorry, I’ve fallen WAY behind. I haven’t written my usual rambling blog for weeks, and I still owe you the details of my trip to Montreal. My bad. It’s just that I’m in another phase where I have so much work to do, I don’t want to spend time at the computer writing in here when there is Facebook and shopping on eBay to be done (our dollar is so good right now, I’m almost finished my Christmas shopping!)

Okay, so, let’s get to Montreal.

Monday, September 17

Emma, Gaby and myself get up fairly early, finish packing, check out of the Toronto hotel and cab it to the bus depot. I take a seat right in the front, Gaby and Emma sit behind me. I’m hoping the seat beside me stays empty, because that’s always nice. Then I see a woman out the window arrive at the bus with all her clothes and things in a clear plastic garbage bag. She hands her bag to the driver to load with the other baggage, apologizing “I don’t usually travel like this, but…” and climbs the stairs. Naturally, she sits next to me.

Most of the trip was uneventful, a stop at Tim Horton’s for lunch and coffee… I like to travel by bus, I have decided, the seats are way more comfortable than airplanes. The lady next to me snacks on processed cheese slices, unwrapping them and munching directly off the plastic rather than peeling the slice off with her hands. It was a sight to behold… rather, uh, dog-like. Lucky for me, she got off in Kingston, ON and the rest of the trip (another 3 hours, I think?) I had the two seats to myself.

Emma got off the bus at the first Montreal stop, because it is closer to her house. Gaby lives downtown, so she would get off at the downtown stop with me and cab to my hotel to help get me settled. It was around 7:30 pm when we arrived at the bus depot. We got a cab, got to my hotel, and I’m really thankful Gaby was there because the whole hotel-situation was not as accessible as I’d hoped it would be. From where the cab could park to the hotel doors there were several curbs we had to go up and over because of a bike path in front. Then the hotel itself… well, I had received a call saying they were not “wheelchair accessible… our doors are not wider or anything… but we are handicapped accessible”. To me, that is pretty much the same thing. To them, that means they put one bar in the shower and that’s it. Even to walk in the door of the hotel room there is a raised piece of wood to get over.

Anyway, the room was really cute otherwise… a little kitchen and everything. Full fridge, stove, microwave… but the toilet was LOW and no bar to help me get up from it. I broke the counter behind the toilet the first night by pushing down on it to get up. Oops. Gaby went home after I got settled and I went to bed!

Tuesday

Tuesday pretty much sucked. I was on my own all day, because Emma and Gaby have school, and I hadn’t made plans to meet Tim and Noelle yet, or my friend Patricia. So I made a few calls that day and left messages with people, planned to meet Tim and Patricia the following day, and decided to do a load of laundry using the coin laundry facilities I knew the hotel had. I needed clean underwear and pajamas! First I took a shower and almost fell in the bathroom because of the lack of bars/poles and SPACE. I had to have my walker in there as something to steady myself as I came out of the shower. That meant there wasn’t exactly room for me.

I rounded up my change and went down to the laundry room floor. Steaming hot down there. HUGE step with no railing to go up and over to get into the laundry room, while struggling with a heavy door. Of course I had no soap, so I purchased a little package of Tide and a Bounce sheet out of their machine. Instead of a Bounce sheet, I received a liquid fabric softener. CRAP! I don’t even know how to use liquid fabric softener! Final rinse cycle… when is that?? Heh. It meant I had to sit in that steaming hot room and wait. I was not happy, but at least while my things were in the dryer I could leave for a bit and use the computers with free internet access on another floor. A floor with air conditioning. (Oh yes, the air conditioning in my hotel room was awesome, I’ll say that!!)

After laundry and computer time, I decided to venture outside of my hotel and see if there was a store really close by where I could buy a few groceries and snacks. And get a good coffee, or even a latte if I could be so lucky. Oh, yes, this hotel kitchen had TINY tea cups for drinking your coffee out of. NO THANKS. I wanted to get a big coffee in a big cup that I could use again tomorrow!

There was a store nearby, so I headed over there, stepping over and around all kinds of construction and boards. I walked in the store and… 3 big stairs, no railing. The coffee machine was right by the door, thankfully. I did manage to get myself and my walker up the stairs (at least they were wide) but once there, I had no idea what to buy. I don’t even know what language the things in this shop were. It certainly wasn’t French. There was a deli case with meats and cheese, but I was looking for bread, peanut butter, that sort of easy food. I did see a jar of Nutella, so I bought that. No bread, so I bought what looked like round breadsticks I could dip in Nutella. I also bought some sort of what appeared to be chocolate wafer cookies. Nothing was written in any language I recognized, so I went by the pictures.

I paid for my goods and a large coffee, went to the machine to get it, and tried to follow the instructions that were in French. Luckily it was a similar machine to one they had at the Carewest place I was in last year, so I managed to get my coffee. Then I had to stumble back to my hotel over curbs, curbs, construction and more curbs without spilling said coffee. It was then (once back inside my room) that I noticed the expiry dates on everything I had bought were long gone. The chocolate wafers were stale. The breadsticks were hard as rocks. I didn’t even open the jar of Nutella that expired in 2005, but I doubt that stuff goes bad anyway. I was just so pissed off and tired that I didn’t care at that moment. I ate some stale chocolate wafers (or, wafer… it was one big slab, not cut up like cookies) and threw the rest away.

I left another message with Noelle about maybe meeting for dinner that night. I texted Gaby to see if she could come meet me, but she had too much school work to do (she sort of slacked off homework in Toronto). Emma wasn’t going to be able to come over and stay with me until the following night. So, after a certain amount of time passed and I knew I’d be on my own for dinner, I decided to treat myself to a lovely meal at what was supposed to be a “fine dining French cuisine” elegant restaurant at the base of my hotel. I wandered in and sat at a cute little table with crisp white linens. A guy in faded jeans and a sweatshirt (?) came over and asked if he could help me. I asked to see a menu. “We have no cook tonight.” Excuse me? “The cook did not show up tonight. I am the bartender, no one else is here. I can make you chicken and fries, that’s all I can do.”

**insert hysterical laughter or tears here**

So, I ordered the chicken and fries. And you know what? It was the best damn chicken and fries I’ve ever had. The chicken breast was HUGE, grilled to perfection, perfect spices, and the fries were crisp and hot. That poor bartender was on his own making and serving drinks, handling the cooking of chicken and fries for anyone who wanted it, while trying to explain to hungry irate customers that there was no cook that evening. I gave him a MASSIVE tip.

When I got back up to my room, there was a message from Noelle saying she had just come home from the hospital, as that is where they have been spending most of their time… her aunt is very sick with lung cancer. So I called her and we chatted for awhile, and I heard about the sad state of her aunt’s health, who, by the way, passed away early the following morning. In July she had been in perfect health, dancing at a wedding, looking vibrant and healthy… in August she was diagnosed with lung cancer, and then she was gone September 19. 70 years old.

Wednesday

I’ll get back to this later! I actually started doing stuff with other people on the Wednesday. I know so far it sounds like I had such an exciting time hanging out in my hotel in such a beautiful and exciting city like Montreal. Go me!

You can see all the pictures from Montreal part of my trip in my public Facebook album.

Pita checks out all the new CDs I bought from the indie artists I saw while I was away.

One of Pita’s regular hangouts is my walker… seriously she is on that thing several times/day. I have the only walker in the world losing its padded handles to claw marks.

Saturday, September 15

Our day began once again with breakfast in the mall of the hotel concourse. There is a stand with Seattle’s Best coffee down there, have I mentioned that??

I think I have the days mixed up here, because according to my photos and what I was wearing, it was Friday we went to the Bay and tried on hats and I raided the MAC counter. Yes. So what did we do Saturday? Because I wasn’t picked up until about 2:30. So I’ll say… we went to the Bay, tried on silly hats, Gaby bought a really cute one, and I raided the MAC counter, buying mascara, lipstick and lip gloss. MAC rules. But the mascara stings my eyes, just like the Estee Lauder brands, which owns MAC, so there is something in their mascaras that my eyes don’t like. But every other part of my face likes MAC make-up.

Gail and Loren picked me up in the afternoon and Loren dropped Gail and I off on Roncesvalles for the Polish Street Festival while he took off to run other errands. It was great fun, especially the parts where we had to get me in my wheelchair over all the damn streetcar tracks!! Heh. I bought a few things, surprise SURPRISE. Mainly some handmade jewelry, and some $10 sunglasses that are designer rip-offs. I had forgotten my sunglasses at home, and actually looked for a pair in the Bay, but I wasn’t about to pay $100 when I knew I would be able to get some for $10 from a street vendor at some point!

Roncesvalles Village - Polish Street Festival

We also stopped at a wonderful vendor, The Queen of Tarts, where Gail talked me into buying a bag of ginger-encrusted pecans. She says she goes out of her way once in awhile to come buy these… and, I can see why. They were delicious, AND they helped my menstrual cramps!! (Ginger is great for that, and what a tasty way to get it!) I need one bag/month! I should have bought a year’s supply or so.

After roaming the street fair (pictures in Facebook) we stopped at a cute coffee shop called Coffee and All That Jazz for lattes and pastry while waiting for Loren.

Another day, another coffee shop

Then we went back to Gail’s place so I could see her condo and meet her cat, Pollyanna.

Pretty girl! Thanks for the Sigg water bottle!

We chatted and drank some yummy chocolate liqueur… I don’t remember the brand, but it was amazing! I also called my mom from Gail’s place… I wasn’t even aware Looney call existed. YAY! You learn something new every day…

Then it was off to meet my cousin Carrie and her boyfriend Matt for dinner at Dr. G’s. It was a great choice. Gail and Loren go there a lot, and when Carrie was trying to think of a restaurant nearby her that was accessible, Dr. Generosity was near the top of her list, too. So that worked great. AND they had my beer on tap, Big Rock’s Grasshopper, which you don’t see very often East of Calgary! (Pictures inFacebook, even of my beer).

It was an early night, and I was back at the hotel and in bed by about 10:00. Gaby and Emma had gone to see a dance performance by Peter’s girlfriend Andrea, and came back later than me.

Sunday was Lazy Day. I needed the rest! I did some packing, puttered on the computer, wheeled myself around the hotel and took pictures while Gaby visited with another friend of hers and Emma did homework. Sort of.

Waterfall in our hotel lobby

Nathan Phillips Square across the street

Just a picture taken outside our hotel

While hanging outside the hotel, I ran into the Scooter Guy I had met outside the bus depot the other day. He told me more about his terminal illness (liver and kidney diseases) and that he has been living in a long-term care facility for the past year. “I used to stay in this hotel a lot - I used to be rich” he told me. Apparently he gave his money to his children when he thought he was going to die, but he ended up living longer than anyone thought he would, and now his kids don’t talk to him and he has nothing. But, he would like to take me on a date, to see a show… “I’m leaving tomorrow,” I told him. He was a little creepy, and who knows if any of his stories are true (I imagine he drank his money and life away, but I believe his kids don’t talk to him!) Also, you don’t have to be rich to stay in the Sheraton, for the record. It was the cheapest hotel downtown I could get through my travel agent (but almost twice as much as my Montreal hotel. Oh well).

Anyway, Sunday evening was a BLAST. First we met up with Emma’s friend Gillian for dinner (at the Java House, of course). I had Pad Thai mmmmmm! Then it was down to the famed Cameron House to see Kevin Quain and the Mad Bastards. Our buddy Adam plays drums with them.

We parked my wheelchair in the back room and got a table up front. The band was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G and Kevin Quain is a crazy ridiculous talent. He played guitar, banjo, piano, accordian, even a SAW. I bought all 3 of his CDs immediately and asked him if he knew my old friend Scott McClelland, because his show made me think of Carnival Diablo and I figured they should be friends. Which they are, and Kevin has even done gigs with him! They are a good fit, I tell ya.

His trumpet player plays with Feist! AND gave me directions to the bathroom. While he was on stage haha The stage is so small that he actually stood on the floor, by the curtain that led to the back room. He walked back there with me and Gaby to show me where the women’s bathroom was, but due to all the stairs I said “you know, I’m just going to use the men’s…” and I did that while Gaby stood outside to make sure no men came in!

After the show, I was standing up, chatting with Adam, and then I turned to say goodnight to Kevin. I felt my right foot not land properly, and knew I was falling… the sort of stumble where if a table or something was beside me I could have stopped myself, but because nothing was there I had to let myself fall. So I landed flat on my ass and scared some people. I played it cool and asked for a chair to help me get up, and I got up okay on my own. The girls had just retrieved my wheelchair out of the back, so I held it to balance me as we walked out. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes, dammit, so I didn’t talk to anyone on my way out except to say a quick goodbye to any band members we passed. Then we got outside, I sat in my chair, and let it rip! Dammit, I hate when that happens. I wasn’t really hurt, but I guess falling in front of a bunch of people is an ego bruiser. Adam was there, giving me big hugs, as I was apologizing for being a big baby. I felt like such an idiot!

Anyway, we said our goodnight’s to Adam and headed back up Queen Street to our hotel. I was still sniffling so I didn’t want to stop in the Horseshoe, as was my original plan, to say hello to an old friend (and former Phantoms guitarist) who works there on Sundays. Emma asked “don’t you want to stop in there and see him?” (It has been, after all, over 15 years). But I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it. I have a hard enough time seeing people I haven’t seen in that long, who have no idea I have MS (it’s the looks of shock and/or pity that I can’t handle!) never mind running into an old friend while in a wheelchair when I’ve just been crying… I’d lose it and start bawling like a baby and not even be able to get out a “hello”! I could have done it if I hadn’t been snivelling. Dammit!

So instead we stopped at a hot dog vendor and bought hot dogs. There is nothing like getting street meat at 2:00 in the morning! (Gaby got a veggie dog. I should point that out in case she is reading!) Apparently, Emma and Gaby don’t have that in Montreal. We have them in Calgary… isn’t everyone hungry when they roll out of the bar after it closes? It’s a necessity.

We were back at the hotel and in bed by about 2:30, I guess. The next day we checked out and caught our bus at about 1:30 pm. Next up, Montreal!!

ETA: I changed the Phantoms video at the bottom, because I realized as much as I love “Target”, it doesn’t have Jerome on harmonica in it, and that’s kind of important to me!

Friday, September 14

The day began, if I recall correctly, with Gaby and Emma going out to get coffee and bagels from Tim Horton’s. (I tell ya, those two were a great help to me and I was lucky to have them there!) I think after eating and getting dressed and everything we went down to the computer area on the main floor. I was under the impression that every time we logged in with my name and room number that I was being charged $7/hour. Turns out, it was free for hotel guests!! Otherwise we would have spent more time online.

Anyway, around 1:00 Gaby and Emma wheeled me outside and we headed to Rob and Cath’s place, which was pretty darn close. They live in a great area (and in the same building as Scott and Stacey, so you can’t go wrong there!) Cath was at work, so us girl’s took over the apartment while Rob made us tea and served a variety of cheeses with rice crackers. With all of his allergies, Rob had a couple different kinds of goat cheese (I didn’t even know there was a Goat Brie!!) for himself and Emma. I ate the smelly cheese. I love EXTRA EXTRA OLD cheddar and blue cheese!

On the way over to Rob’s we had passed by the Rex, where the Hogtown Syncopators play every Friday at 4:00. I knew this, of course, because Terra is was a member and I post her show dates on her website. I had forgotten that I recently took down that particular gig because she no longer does it. So that day I was all set on us going to the Rex at 4:00 to see Terra. (At this point I figured it may be my only chance to see her while in Toronto… turns out I didn’t get to see her at all, which is too bad, because I was really looking forward to hanging with her and shopping!) Anyway, I managed to cry and whine talk Rob into heading down there with us. Once there, we realized that Terra wasn’t joining them, so we left. Which was rude (”oh? Terra’s not with you? Uh - okaybyethen”), because Rob knew the guitarist and he felt rather foolish just walking out, plus they are a great band and any other time I would love to see them. But I really was just hoping to see Terra and we didn’t have a lot of time.

So instead we wandered down to the bus depot so Rob could buy a bus ticket for Cath (or, I should say, so Emma could get it for him at her student discount rate!) where I met a man riding around on his very beat up and tattered scooter. The exact same make of scooter I have at home, but in blue. He started talking to me about scooters and health and the government (”they won’t get me a new scooter because I’m terminal”). He looked pretty beaten down by life (and alcohol).

After that, Rob walked us back to the hotel. We went up to our room to freshen up. Gaby and Emma were going for dinner with Peter at Sneaky Dees, followed by seeing Adam’s band at Mitzi’s Sister. I was heading out with my friend Anna-Marie and her boyfriend for dinner, and to see my old friend Jerome Godboo’s show at Healey’s Roadhouse for his CD release. I sooooo wish I could have been in two places at once that night!!

So the original plan was that Anna-Marie and Edwin would pick me up, and we’d head straight down to Healey’s for supper first and guarantee us a great table. However, Healey’s hasn’t completely renovated (they are in a new location) so the kitchen isn’t open yet! The first plan was to maybe stop in Wayne Gretzky’s across the street for dinner -

but instead we decided to just go into Healey’s, get a good table, order pizza from a place across the street and bring it into Healey’s to eat. The staff said that would be fine! We were also on the guest list, so I thinked that helped.

Anna-Marie and Edwin

The show was fantastic. Seeing Jerome again was fantastic. Jerome’s partner Jane is fantastic. She was handing out packages of bean seeds to everyone that bought a CD! There is a song on it called “Beans”, inspired by Jane’s work, which involves workshops and advice on organic and diversity gardening. She wrote a “Bean Keeper’s” story that teaches children why, and how to grow, rare beans. If you knew Jerome like I do, you would know that Jane is the perfect woman for him! She also used to go see the Phantoms back in the late 80’s… I told her we probably crossed paths back then!

Anyway, you can see pictures from that night in Facebook and watch this clip; I was right in front, so the sound quality didn’t come across on video very well:

Also, for anyone curious, I was very happy to find that former Phantom Big Ben Richardson uploaded a whole whack of old Phantoms videos and interviews up on You Tube! To see Jerome about 15 years ago, check out one of my favourite videos here, One Way Street (then see “more from this user” on You Tube for lots more!!)

So that was Friday! Don’t forget to see all the photos that aren’t posted here, in my Facebook album.