Can You Hear Me Now?

In case you haven’t noticed, my last catch-up post was to the end of last month. I keep popping in here and starting a post, but get distracted, and frustrated at how long it takes me to type out what I want to say, and then it gets left for a couple more days. So, I’m not going to do any detailed catch-up posts, because they are too long and I don’t have the patience or typing power for it. So this is what you get:

• May 1 - 4 - I celebrated my 40th birthday with amazing friends and family, and it was an awesome good time. You can see photos here.
• May 8 - I went back to the Casino to hang out with Jason and Sheldon (The Polyjesters are on the air Friday mornings from 6:00 - 10:00 a.m. on Q107 broadcasting live from the casino, so Thursday nights Jason and Sheldon are staying at the hotel there so they don’t have to drive into Calgary in the wee morning hours). They managed to get me into the over-sold out concert that night, which I was sooooooo excited about - Jeremy Fisher (whom I’ve already established in the past here that I LOVE) and The Proclaimers! OMG “Sunshine on Leith” is one of my favourite CDs of all time, and 20 years later I finally see the band live, and get to meet them and get my CD signed. YAY!!! That was a super exciting night. Oh yeah, and for the 2nd time since I turned 40 I was kissed by a strange random drunk guy.
• May 11 - Mother’s Day - my mom, Bob and brother came over. We ordered in food and I gave my mom a couple presents, Barbara Walter’s book and a crockpot. Wheee!
• May 14 - my mom’s 65th birthday!!! I sent her a beautiful Azalea and a balloon to her office. Yes, office… she won’t be retiring any time soon. She tried that a few years ago with early retirement and was bored to tears. She works full-time as the office manager at a real estate law firm, and if things keep going the way they are, she may end up being the oldest person trained to be a Paralegal in Canada hahaha
• In May - I watched a few good movies… PS I Love You (Sobfest), Eagle Vs. Shark (I love me some Jemaine Clement and anything related to New Zealand), and Once. I watched Once 3 times in a row on a Saturday and 2 times on Sunday, then raced out to buy the soundtrack. LOVE.
• May 25 - Lilac Festival! You know what that means? Just like last year and the year before, an entire afternoon with The Polyjesters. It was raining, so they played indoors this year. Picture this: sitting in a cozy pub all day watching and listening to the Polyjesters do one of their best shows ever, and 4 full sets of it. NOTHING better than that! My friend Kim came out from Red Deer again and stayed over the night before. Oh yeah, the night before (Saturday) I dragged her waaaaaay down south to a divey bar to watch a hard rock band my friend plays drums in. Kim’s such a trooper. We got in late then dragged our asses out of bed early to be at the Lilac Festival before noon. After that great day, Jason, Sheldon, Joelle, Kim and myself went for awesome Vietnamese food. I was home by about 8:00 and pretty much crashed. What a GREAT DAY.

So there, I think that pretty much catches you up on the major stuff. Sorry for falling so far behind. I’ve been insanely busy again. I also sold a bunch of stuff on eBay and the whole packaging-up-and-shipping process is hard for me!! I made a deal with one of my favourite sellers on there that I would box up and send her a bunch of stuff for her to sell for me. That is a lot easier. She is in California, and a reputable seller, so she will sell more than I could as shipping is cheaper from there and she has a lot of regular buyers. We’ll just split the profits. I sent her a big box yesterday, and will send her another one in the next few days. I’ve got way too many clothes…

And finally, I bought myself a new espresso machine as a birthday present to myself. I can’t seem to buy a replacement carafe for my other one that broke, so I decided to get a new machine that makes both regular coffee and espresso. My coffee maker has been living way back in my cupboard because I didn’t want a ton of appliances on my counter, and when I wanted regular coffee I would use my kettle and a one-cup filter thingy. Now I’ll have one thing on the counter that does both, so I’m a happy girl!

With happy kitties.

Monday, April 21 - Wednesday, April 30:

After that busy Rob and Peter week, I had to get back to doing taxes on Monday. I had quite a lot to finish up before the 30th! I don’t think I did anything exciting that week of Monday to Friday, I just worked and stuff. (”And stuff” means my usual daily routines of home care, lattes, quick trips to the mall, Facebook, Ellen/Oprah/Dr. Phil on and off, eBay, all mixed around work). On Friday, my home care worker, who is about the sweetest lady on earth, came by a second time around 1:00 and brought me samosas and pakoras. She’s from India and knows how much I love Indian food, so she decided to bring me some. Seriously? How nice is she??

On Saturday, I made plans with Jason. We had been talking all week about going for that Indian food buffet that Peter and I had gone to at the Samosa Grill, so on Saturday we confirmed it. Jason also had a cousin playing in a band downtown later that night, so he asked me to be his “date” for that. It actually was very much a real date, with Jason paying and everything, but I can’t REALLY date Jason. I mean… I love him too much, I think! We’re family. Anyway, I took my wheelchair because I thought it would be easier to get me around. Which it was, but still a hassle. The Samosa Grill is upstairs, so we had to take their freight elevator, and wait for a staff member to be free to take us to that loccked area. She took us the long way around, which involved going through storage areas and knocking over bins of empty bottles and such. Getting me in anywhere can be quite the production. Finally settled, Jason was my server for the evening, since it was a buffet. He took good care of me. Leaving was a little easier, because the staff member who took us knew the shortcut that I had taken with Peter last time. A lot less stuff to knock over.

Oh, and I should also mention that Jason has a Monster Truck van that I have a very hard time getting into, it is so high. Lots of help and butt boosting required from Jason. We get into some questionable positions, and if either of us were famous, the paparazzi would have a GREAT time taking pictures. Anyway, we were finally headed downtown to the Palomino, which it turns out has no elevator to get to the live music downstairs (it’s a very old building). Jason was mainly interested in seeing his cousin and saying “hi”, than he was in actually seeing the band, so our plan was to just stay in the upstairs bar for a drink or two if the stairs were going to be a hassle. Parking downtown is, of course, hard to come by, but after driving around for awhile we found a spot a couple blocks away. As Jason wheeled me to the club, I was saying “I’ve gotta pee the second we get in there!” (I’m such a classy date). We got inside the main doors no problem and asked a waitress where the washrooms were. “Our upstairs bathrooms are out of order. You have to go downstairs”.

Ah, wonderful. It was only about 8:30, and the doors for the show downstairs didn’t even open until 9:30 (although you could use the washrooms, of course). We decided to just brave the stairs and hopefully they would let us stay down there. Jason walked down the stairs with me, slow and steady, then ran back up to get my chair. I used the facilities, then we got settled at a table in the empty bar. They let us stay there and wait for the doors to “officially” open. Jason ran back upstairs and bought us drinks. At some point I apologized for being so high maintenance, needing all this help from him! He said “this, to me, is not maintenance. This is nothing. Emotional High Maintenance is a lot more work!” (Referring to relationships - have we not all had to deal with emotionally high maintenance people at some point?) That made me feel good. Physically, I’m pretty demanding because I need help with stuff, and you’ve got to be in good enough shape to lug a wheelchair or walker when hanging out with me! But I’m not going to drain you emotionally, so I guess it’s whatever is easier for you. I need to learn to stop apologizing all the time, because I know I would rather help someone down the stairs and push them in a wheelchair, than deal with bitching, whining, complaining, and walking on eggshells with someone you don’t know how to talk to or are afraid will explode if you say the *wrong* thing. Yeah.

So, we stayed down there for a couple of hours, listening to live surf rock music, before we were both ready to call it a night. Going up the stairs we had many staff offering to help - “can we do anything to help?” to which Jason responded, “all we need is time!”. Good answer. Jason walked with me up the stairs and a bartender carried my wheelchair. He said they had hosted big parties for oil and gas companies and stuff, and one night there were 3 wheelchairs, and the men were paraplegics and unable to stand at all. Times like that they really wish they had an elevator, but renovating a building that old would cost a fortune. I’m just really glad I am able to stand/walk, because no one would be able to carry me up or down stairs. Ahhhh, to be a lithe 115 pounds.

Jason dropped me at home and wheeled me inside, making sure all was okay and no cats ran out before he left. It was a great night! I heart my Jason.

Sunday, I rested and Facebooked and eBayed. I replenished my shower gel/body lotion supply with Avon products that cost a total of 6 cents, and with shipping it only came to $18.05… when I received the box, she had paid $22.50 for the shipping. Sometimes, the deals on eBay freak me out. I don’t understand how someone can sell sets of shower gel and body lotion for one penny, spend more on shipping than they charge, and continue being a seller. Maybe she promised her husband she would give him all her eBay profits and then found out he was having an affair.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were the end of tax season. Naturally, the CRA’s website decided to conk out and I wasn’t able to file the last two I had. It was frustrating as HELL!! Luckily, the CRA became aware of their server issues and let everyone know they had an extra week to file online. I wish I had known that before I spent all day Tuesday fighting with their website! Anyway, alls well that ends well. Everything got done and my clients are happy. Now the late ones are starting to call me! I’ll be busy for another month…

Next up, my 40th birthday extravaganza! Wheee! Until then, here is a really cute video of Pita and Pepper (mostly Pita) chasing their new laser:

Okay, so where was I. Ahhh, yes. I’m only about a month behind…

Sunday, April 13 - Sunday, April 20:

Sunday brought Rob Szabo back to Calgary again, for a show at the Ironwood. My friend Kim came in from Red Deer and picked me up around 5:30 ish and we headed over to the venue to meet Rob for dinner. It was sooooo good to see Rob again! It had been too long, in my opinion. And Jason came to see him! That was awesome. Jason plays Rob’s music and videos on Kitchen Radio, so it was about time he came to see him.

Me and two of my favourite people

After the show and packing up his gear, Rob and I came back to my place. I got to keep him for a few days!! It was nice to be able to spend some time with him, as the last couple of times he’s been here it’s just been for the one night, and he left the next morning for another city. This time he wasn’t flying out until Wednesday morning.

On Monday, we drove out to Carstairs to hang out at Jason’s house. I had not been there for quite some time… the last time I was there, he still had part of a living room, where people could sit on the sofa and socialize. Now, the living room is cut off from the kitchen by one of those office cubicle partitions, and the entire living room is a recording studio. Two of the upstairs bedrooms are completely geeked out with various computers, studio, sound boards, radio station equipment and stuff I don’t even know where to begin… the hallway is lined with racks of CDs and posters from various gigs. It’s unreal! It made Rob very happy. Jason and Sheldon are becoming big time promoters in the area, with Kitchen Radio, the Mountainview Music Festival, and organizing tons of performances for other musicians passing through. Jason’s house is the headquarters! He basically lives in the basement, and the entire upstairs is devoted to the business of independent music.

After spending a few hours in Carstairs, we drove back here and I got on my scooter for a quick trip to the mall. I think. I can’t quite remember the order of everything hehe But I do know that after that I had to rest a bit before we went to My Favourite Vietnamese Restaurant for dinner. We finished up close to 9:00, then I was BEAT. Done. Ready for an early night after a long, busy day. So I stayed in and went to bed early while Rob went back to the Ironwood where the owners wanted to give him a night out and buy him lots of drinks.

The next day was a quieter, get-stuff-done kinda day. I took my scooter out, and we went over to the mall to eat and pick up a few things, I don’t remember what it was I needed, but I’m sure it was important. Then we went across to the Safeway, so Rob could get some organic food and I could get my Soy milk (Wal-Mart had run out). Also, so I could visit Starbucks and get a latte. I look forward to more warmer weather, which we are NOT expriencing as I write this, so I can scooter over to Safeway more often. It’s a little too far to go when it’s cold and/or windy.

After we got back here, I hid in my office while Rob re-arranged furniture in my living room. I needed the TV closer, now that I have digital and need to read so much small print on the screen. I gave Rob directions, then hid away. I came out once for a brief moment, but saw the mess in the living room (he had to empty everything from the cupboards of my hutch in order to move it) and felt so guilty about asking him to do this, that I hid back in my office until it was all done. I’m very, very happy with the set up now! I’ve got my chair and TV over to one side, like a little private area, and the living room is “over there”. I like it much better. And if anyone is ever over to watch TV, they can just turn the TV towards them a bit.

Then it was time to make dinner plans. We were meeting with Spencer and Sam, a couple of Rob’s friends we had Indian food with back in October when he was here with Peter Katz. This time, we managed to get reservations at Aida’s, my VERY favourite restaurant (period), for Lebanese food. We had a lovely dinner, everyone was very impressed with my choice of restaurants (it’s SO GOOD). I had one whole glass of wine and could barely walk out of the place. Geez!

When we got back here, Rob hard boiled eggs to take with him the next day and packed up while I watched The Biggest Loser finale. Rob was all, “I thought you hated all that diet stuff.” Yeah, I do, but I did watch the season premiere, and it’s always fun to see the AFTER stuff. Even if more than half of them will gain it all back. And a woman won for the first time!! YAAA! Actually, I’m not sure of the Biggest Loser long-term stats. They lose it so fast and are separated from all temptation for so long (even those sent home know there is a TV show to appear on at the end, so that is a good motivator). It’s only natural that when “real life” hits them again, that they gain it back (plus more). Hopefully they get addicted enough to exercise that they can keep some off. I’m just not a big fan of the unrealistic expectations of that show… “I only lost 6 pounds this week WAAAH!!!”

Aaaaanyway, the next morning I got up early to say goodbye to Rob, (sniff, sniff) and then I went to work at a client’s for the day.

On Thursday, Peter called. He was in town that day before heading down to Lethbridge for a show on Friday, then back here for his show at the Ironwood on Saturday. He picked me up and we went to the Samosa Grill for a wonderful Indian food buffet lunch. Oh man, I could eat that food every day! Peter is so sweet. He bought me lunch and then we went to Starbucks after for some lattes. It was a lovely afternoon with a lovely person.

On Friday, I had a doctor’s appointment. My doctor has moved his office (again), and I didn’t even know! Luckily I looked at his address online when booking my Access trips, but I didn’t even realize it was a different address than last time because it was still in the NW part of the city and I don’t go often enough to memorize it. Anyway, the driver was trying to drop me off at a giant Superstore (which is not only a grocery store, but has a gym and offices and stuff) and I was all, “no way! My doctor isn’t in the Superstore! He’s in a mall in Beddington…” but we were at the address I had given. So I reluctantly got out of the car and wandered into the store and found the elevator to take me upstairs to the medical offices. Sure enough, my doctor works out of there now. Nice of them to let me know. They swore they called every patient, but I never got the call. Now that I know where it is, I remember seeing the medical centre’s name on my call display, but they never left me a message or anything.

By Saturday, I was beat. After Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday being out and about every day, I just couldn’t do it. And we all know what happens when I push myself and don’t listen to my body. So I called Peter and left a sobbing voice mail message that I wouldn’t be able to make it to his show. Of course he totally understood, and if it wasn’t for the family friends he was staying with having a big Passover dinner, he would have come over to play a private show for me before going to the Ironwood. Awwww. As it was, he called me from the back room before he went on stage to play me a song over his cell phone (because he is about the sweetest person on the PLANET), a new one he just wrote:

As he mentions in the start of that video, “I’m stranded in Calgary because of the snow storm”. He was supposed to head to Saskatchewan on Sunday morning, but he wasn’t able to. So, he called me and said “the bad news is, I can’t get to my gig in Saskatchewan. The good news is, I can come over and play a private concert for you.”

That’s right, people, Peter Katz called me and offered to come over and play a private concert FOR ME IN MY HOUSE. bold italic all caps exclamation marks

Of course, this was a little difficult to keep to myself. I thought I better call a few friends and see if they could make it over. Joelle lives close to me, so I called and left a message for her. When she called me back, she thought she was too late, and apologized for missing it. I said “he’s not here yet! Get your butt over here!” and she called Sheldon, who was on his way over to Joelle’s, to meet at my place instead. Sheldon was the first to arrive, then Peter in his mis-matched socks (so cute haha) and finally Joelle made it, bringing coffee with her at my very desperate request.

It was, to say the least, amazing. To be seated all comfy in my chair with Peter Katz playing and singing just feet from me. Hello, heaven! I recorded this little video, which I’ve kept pretty quiet because I don’t know if Peter would want it seen by all You Tube users. But for you guys that read my blog, I’m going to allow it! Peter had sung his heart out at his (PACKED) gig the night before, so his voice was a little rough, but we don’t care.

Photos from the week (I didn’t take many) above can be seen HERE.

To be continued…

Thursday, March 20 ~

Did you know my babies are two years old now? I don’t know their exact birthdate, but I know it was the first week or so of March. And I still love them more than anything! They make me laugh out loud every day. It’s awesome. I highly recommend at least two cats per household.

Ah, yes. I remember it well.

And so do they.

I’m insanely busy with work at the moment, but today is full of other stuff, and I don’t have time to devote to work before I have to do something else, so I’m writing this. It’s much easier to be interrupted during a blog post and then pick it up where I left off, than it is work. You see, today I had Home Care at 10:00, a Home Care nurse/supervisor is coming by at 12:30 for a meeting/assessment, and then my friend Shawna arrives from Winnipeg sometime after that and will be heading to my place straight from the airport. I get her for a few hours before she goes to another friend’s to spend the night, and then I’ll see her again on Sunday. In between, she will be with her boyfriend. Remember, the guy AH brought out with him, like, 3 years ago, when we were dating, and I wanted to go out when Shawna was in town, so I told him to bring a friend? Yeah. That guy. They’re still together!

Hmmm… reading that old entry reminds me that I used to have a life. I really miss Christine, too! She’s living in Ottawa now, going to law school! Who’d a thunk it? Ahhhh, the days of only needing a cane to get around. Before all the surgeries and falls and broken wrist and extended hospital stays and weight gain and anti-depressants… God, I’m working on getting back there, I sure hope I can.

Speaking of AH, yes, we still talk and stuff. I actually got rather short with him on the phone the other day, when he called me in the middle of the day when I was knee deep in work. My head was wrapped around what I was doing, and he asked me “has the government made new laws or something?” Huh? “my (brother/nephew/cousin I can’t remember) received a bill for $500 for filing his taxes late. Why?” How should I know? Is he incorporated? Yes. When’s his year end? Don’t know. Well, it depends on when his year end is, how late he filed, how much he owed when he filed… I can’t help you if you don’t know all that, the CRA charges penalties and interest to late filers when they owe. Duh. I’m busy, I gotta go.

I haven’t heard from him since then, can’t imagine why. I get stressed when I’m really busy and the phone rings off the hook for all sorts of reasons. It’s that time of the year…

My psychologist at the Clinic for Mind/Body Medicine has moved her office over to the hospital close to me!! I’m sooooo happy. No more sitting in a car for over an hour each way. Best of all, both my weekly commitments (to Troy’s for work, and this appointment) are in the NE not too far from me, so none of my regular trips will be long ones. AND I get AH as my driver a lot when I go to places nearby. AND, this is the hospital with a Second Cup right in the entrance I use, so I think I literally cried tears of joy when Jennifer told me she was being transferred there.

The Home Care nurse just left. Wow, we went over a lot of stuff! I’m really excited. She’s referring me to a foot clinic, where they can make a bunch of stuff to help me walk better, including fixing up the ankle/foot orthotic I had made a couple years ago (when I broke my wrist and was staying at Carewest, where the physio dept. got one made for me - to help my right foot lift up when I walk - but I have never been able to use it because I can’t get it on by myself or even with help!) and special shoes and a lift for my right leg, which is shorter than my left leg. My gait is so messed up from all these years of funny walking (and breaking my ankle in 2002). She’s also going to check with their volunteer centre to see if she can find someone to go to the pool with me twice/week!!! Someone to help me get in and out of my bathing suit. She said it may take a couple of months, but there is hope that I can get back in the water. YES!!! Next week my Home Care worker, Harpal, is getting training and supervision to exercise with me 3 mornings/week, so if I get that exercise M-W-F and then can add in water exercise Tues. and Thurs., PLUS stuff to help me walk better and safer (so I actually will walk more), I am ON MY WAY. I’m so excited. She’s also referring an occupational therapist to get me a new walker… mine is wrecked up and an old model. Pita has pretty much ripped the foam off the handles, and the plastic tray I use every day is cracked and broken.

I LOVE SOCIALIZED HEALTH CARE!! There, I said it. We may not have a perfect system, but until I saw Sicko I didn’t realize just how GOOD we have it. I’d be living on the street if I lived in the U.S. with the amount of health issues and hospital stays I’ve had! Plus I’d probably have to buy my own walker. Which are, like, $600. Now, if we could just get air conditioners for persons with MS made a medical necessity instead of a non-medical appliance that isn’t covered by Aids to Daily Living, that would be nice.

My friend Sheldon made the funniest video ever, but he recorded it on Facebook, so I don’t think you can see it unless you have a Facebook account.

Please go here to laugh now.

If you’re unable to see that, I filmed it off my computer using my camera and uploaded to You Tube, but obviously the sound and quality is not nearly as good as the original. I’m hoping Sheldon will start a comedy channel on You Tube and upload videos so we can all watch his silly antics on a regular basis.

Friday, March 21 ~

Shawna showed up yesterday afternoon, and we went to the mall. Big surprise, huh? I bought Easter stuff for Jason and Sheldon ’cause we’ll be seeing them on Sunday, including a singing duck which I hope will become the official mascot for their Kitchen Radio. Anyway, we ate, shopped, and talked. Then I ended up getting caught up in Thursday night television without finishing this up. I think I’m going to like that new show Miss Guided, unless it’s on opposite The Office when it comes back. There is no contest. But Miss Guided was funny, and I love Judy Greer.

Okay, well, I better get my ass in gear and get some work done today! Happy Easter everyone, enjoy your weekend.

The litter boxes were cleaned and aired out to dry.

“Okay, let’s trade”

We have a winner!

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.