Can You Hear Me Now?

You must, must, must see August Rush.

It’s been an emotional few days. First, my friends Lisa and Russ got engaged. We all knew it was going to happen sooner or later, it was just a matter of making it official with the ring and stuff! So that was done on Thursday. Then, the worst thing that could ever happen, Lisa’s dad died suddenly on Friday. He had a heart attack while fishing alone out at his cabin. I like to think he made sure his daughter was going to be safe and happy in her life by getting engaged to a great guy, and then he went off to his favourite place to go fishing, and died peacefully and quickly doing what he loved, knowing his kids were going to be fine (Lisa’s brother is getting married in a few weeks). I just can’t believe it happened, so close to Father’s Day, and he was only 62. I LOVED Lisa’s dad. I talked about him in this entry a few years ago, the first time I spent Christmas Eve with Lisa’s family. I’m heartbroken, and can’t even begin to imagine what Lisa, her mom, and her family are going through. It looks like, after the first funeral I ever attended was for Lisa’s uncle, that my second will be her father’s. It’s so very sad.

Saturday morning is when I learned of Sam’s death, as it happened late the night before. The news came in an email from Lisa, which I read just as my Home Care worker walked in the door. So I burst into tears as she was asking me how I was, and me and crying are kinda ugly. I’m one of those criers who can’t talk or breathe when I’m crying. So it’s rather useless to try to get anything out of me. Poor Harpal, she had no idea what was going on. I managed to calm down while in the shower and was able to tell her what had happened when I got out, but that just made me start blubbering even harder all over again. You know how it is… anyway, I managed to pull myself together by the time my mom and Bob arrived to take me to the chiropractor, but there was no point in putting on make-up, lemme tell ya. I even remembered to bring my chiropractor the sonic mole repellers I got for him off eBay. He’s been wanting some for awhile and wasn’t able to find them/order any himself from anywhere. So in comes me, eBay expert extraordinaire! He was very pleased.

My mom stayed over on Saturday, and you would not recognize my office!! She re-organized everything. Well, I helped a little, but she totally outdid herself. My air conditioner (did I mention I got an A/C for my birthday? Wheee!) was being installed on Sunday, so I needed some help with my filing and getting stuff out of the way to make room for moving the filing cabinet to the other wall and re-arranging things a bit. My mom has a tendency to overdo it and would not stop until she was happy. Gee, I wonder where I get it from? Anyway, she worked her arse off until I made her sit down and watch a movie with me. August Rush. We cried and cried and cried, so the second it ended I sobbed “okay, now you have to watch PS I Love You!” (The whole cute Irish musician theme was going on with me… I WANT ONE). I really love Video on Demand, especially since I received my last bill and none of the movies I had rented in May were on it. So on Sunday, we watched Dan in Real Life, because I love Steve Carell and it was time for another dose of him. I cannot WAIT for Get Smart.

I had a dream about Steve Carell last night. I drempt that he was just like his character on The Office in real life, and I was the only one who truly understood him and loved him (SO not true, I would smack Michael Scott quite hard at times if I knew him, but in my dream he was the love of my life) and it broke my heart to watch him try so hard with other women who just didnt get him and dumped him harshly. I was his best friend who was always there to pick up the pieces, and he had no idea how I felt, and I just couldn’t tell him. I was so angry at these women who treated him like shit and didn’t realize what they had, and wished so hard he would just SEE ME. I do believe I have played that scenario out in real life on a couple occasions with male friends in my past. It never ended happily; no Vanessa Williams song here. Oh, and I was doing some sort of treasure hunt thing with all the cast of The Office on my team, Jim being the leader, Michael being at home crying over his last girlfriend, and me running over there whenever I had a break from the treasure hunt to tell him it would all be okay.

Aaaanyway, my A/C was hooked up on Sunday thanks to handyman Ian, a friend of my mom and Bob’s. He brought his puppy Rosie over, and while Pepper ran and hid in my bedroom, Pita stayed in the living room by the coffee table and just stared. Rosie ran around my apartment sniffing everything and chewing cat toys, and then she spotted Pita. She wanted to play, she meant no harm, she wandered over in Pita’s direction. Pita hissed and hissed at Rosie and eventually Rosie went away. But then she came back, and when she got too close, Pita hissed and SMACKED Rosie across the face, claws first. Rosie whimpered as only a puppy can, and ran away. Poor little Rosie. Mean little Pita. She does NOT like dogs, and I don’t know why, because she’s been an indoor cat since the day she was born, so it’s not like she’s ever had a bad run in with one. Two other dogs have been around her in the past, all perfectly sweet and harmless (and very small), but Pita would have none of it and Pepper always hid. I guess we know who’s boss around here.

Today, I got up and sat in my clean and organized office and turned on the A/C just because I could. Actually, it’s warming up this week, so it was good timing getting it installed yesterday. Not that it’s HOT out, but the sun beats in here pretty strongly and heats up my apartment… I tend to need a fan on me when it wouldn’t be necessary if my windows faced another direction. But today was a gorgeous day!! My friend Joelle picked me up and we went to My Favourite Vietnamese restaurant (next time we'’ll go to hers) and chowed down. Then we went to her place, stopping for a Slurpee on the way. I haven’t had a Slurpee in YEARS! We sat in her yard for hours and I talked so much my speech was slurring really badly. It actually started slurring in the restaurant, which is how I know I’ve talked too much. Also the fact that Joelle was way ahead of me in the eating department. So I told her she needed to do the talking at her place, to give my mouth a rest so I could talk normally again. That didn’t last long, though. I was talking really funny, but Joelle said she could understand me. Tonight, I will NOT be making any phone calls. That’s one of those MS symptoms that only pops up once in a blue moon, but when it does, I need to take a night off from talking. Oh, the horror!

Oh my God, I am so mean. I just changed a couple of photos that stupid people were hotlinking to from my blog, to this scary naked dude. One of the sites was using a photo I have here as the entire background to the Welcome page of their Chat room. And now everyone will be welcomed by Ugly Naked Guy. I CRACK MYSELF UP.

By the way, Ugly Naked Guy is a man that contacted me on Facebook once (and then I blocked him), and when I looked at his profile, there was only a photo album with 2 naked pictures of him. I laughed so hard I decided to save them to use just for this purpose. He is simply naked, standing over his underwear drawer, sorting tighty whiteys. And he is quite unattractive. If you want to see the picture, you’ll have to email me and ask for it, ’cause I’m not posting it here! Or you can hotlink one of my photos and wait for me to catch you and change it. Hehe. But please don’t.

My mom was here over the weekend. I barely recognize my apartment!! The clutter in the living room, dining room and kitchen is gone. The filing in my office is done. She did SO much to help me sort through crap I’ve been meaning to sort through for ages. But I put it off because it is easier with two hands and some of it involved standing for long periods of time. Last weekend my Stepdad put together my new CD stand, and finally, it is full. And the top of my hutch in the living room is not littered with stray CD and DVD cases and discs. YAY! It looks nice in here again, I actually want to live here.

Oh, update from last entry, my new friend is Sander, not Saunder. He requested me on Facebook so now I know for sure. He also has an 80mb audio file of the Polyjesters‘ show last Saturday which he’s letting me download as I type this. YAY I like new friends.

I am just crushed that Jeff Healey passed away. I only ever met him a couple times myself, briefly, but some good friends of mine have worked really closely with him over the years. So it was very sad news.

Back in December I ordered some tote bags off Make It Right. I finally received them today, exactly 3 months after I ordered them! At the time I ordered them, they didn’t have all the notices they have up now, about how the bags are hand made from the pink material used to showcase where the houses would be going (OMG maybe Brad Pitt touched them!!), and wouldn’t be available until after January 15, and that they’re not in mass production, etc. etc. I had no clue and actually ordered a couple for Christmas gifts!! Then they changed the site. So, Lisa, I have a pink bag for you. Happy belated birthday, even! And Kim, I know pink’s not your colour, but it’s for a good cause, and they don’t come in any other colour. Carry it proudly.

Today was our Provincial Election. I was out all day, as my appointments at the Clinic for Mind/Body Medicine take all day because of the way Access Calgary schedules things. So my day consisted of sitting in a car, sitting at my appointment, and sitting in a car. Long day. I was pretty beat by the time I got home (sitting in a car for well over an hour each way is draining! Especially when the driver is singing songs in Punjabi the entire time) but I still mustered up the energy to get my scooter out and go to the school a few blocks away and vote. My neighbour Richard was working at my polling station, handling all the voters from my apartment complex - about 750 people. He said I was only the 35th he’d seen ALL DAY. That means probably 700 people in my complex didn’t even bother voting! Ugh. Oh well, can’t blame them really, it seems this province will never change parties*, so why bother. PC stands for Political Corporation, not Progressive Conservative, as far as I’m concerned! Hee. Political Corporation. I just thought of that. Did I make it up? Political Corruption. Political Caca. Whatever. Can we get a Hillary over here?

*I’m writing this a couple hours before the election is over, so we don’t actually know yet, but based on the past 37 years it’s an educated guess.

Whoever wins, I hope they do something about AISH (Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped). I still don’t have my benefits for March, which were supposed to be deposited last Tuesday. When I called about it, I was told they couldn’t release my funds because I hadn’t “filed my annual report”. Well, I never received an annual report to file! “Oh, well, my clients are responsible for knowing their Diary Date and getting their reports in on time, I don’t call them if they are late”. Well, in the past 10 years, there was only one other time I didn’t receive the report, and I was called about it, sent another one, and filed it. Every other year, I just file it when I get it. I wasn’t even aware I had a “Diary Date”. And thanks for changing your rules without letting me know. So, she faxed me a report and I filled it out and mailed it (they won’t accept a fax back because they need your original signature). I was able to fax over attachments, however, such as my tax assessment and bank statements. So I did that. And this morning she wakes me up by calling with a million questions, and “fax me this, fax me that” because she doesn’t understand what self-employment means, and I’ve only been doing this for 10 FUCKING YEARS, BITCH! I am NOT ripping you off, but how in the hell do you expect someone to live off $1,050 AISH benefit when their rent is $1,000 and they’re not allowed to earn more than $400 a month before they are deducted benefits. So EXCUSE ME if I collect more than $400 a month, I have write-offs because I am self-employed, it is one of the great benefits of BEING self-employed on the AISH program. And I’ve been doing this for 10 FUCKING YEARS, so why don’t you just ask your boss and stop bugging me. Sigh.

It’s been awhile since I updated, but even if I did a play-by-play of the past two weeks or so, it would go something like this: sleep, work, watch TV, eat, go to the mall, cuddle kitties, sleep. Life has been very quiet lately.

The only thing worth writing about is February 8, when my friend Kim came into trown for the weekend and we headed down to the Ironwood to see The Plaid Tongued Devils. The last time I saw them was at In Klezskavania in April ‘05, a play they wrote which is AWESOME and even garnered them a spot on Jeopardy as an “answer”. Before that, I used to go see them in the mid-90’s at the Ship & Anchor Pub, so it had been many years since I’d seen them live like this! The temperature was minus 150 degrees or something, so kudos to everyone who made it out. I felt so bad for Kim, because I wanted to bring my wheelchair (having fallen enough lately, I didn’t want to take any chances) so I’m the one who gets to sit in the car right away while Kim has to stay in the freezing cold, getting my wheelchair in the trunk and stuff. I always feel bad about that, and like I’m such a hassle to get out anywhere, so I really appreciate how willing my friends are to accommodate me. Especially when it’s minus 378 degrees or whatever.

We arrived in good time and saw our friends Sheldon and Joelle right away. Damien made it out, too. It was great to see them! Sheldon is hilarious. The guy seriously makes me laugh so hard I get tears.

Funny in a slightly creepy way, no?

Anyway, the show was great, and we had a blast. Kim stayed until Sunday, but she had other people to see and things to do so I did not get to keep her for myself.

The past couple of days I actually feel like I hit a point in my anti-depressant withdrawal where I’m okay. I’ve been at 20mg for a few weeks now (and staying there for awhile) and I think my brain finally figured it out. I feel like myself again! I’m not going to lower it any more until after my busy work season; it’s too hard on me and I need my wits about me! Some people have asked why I’m going off them in the first place, and the reason is because I don’t need them, I’m only addicted to them because my brain is used to getting that Seratonin Rush every day. But brains can and will produce their own seratonin. I used Paxil to help get me out of a really rough place, but didn’t wean off shortly after. I should have, I know that now. Most people don’t need them long term. It’s just that our brains get used to it, and getting off them is so hard. I AM under medical supervision for my weaning off, no worries. In the long run, this is for the best. THEN, we tackle the sleeping pills…. sigh.

I watched Ellen yesterday, and could NOT take my eyes off Christina Aguilera’s breasts. Am I alone here?

The other day my phone line went dead. It rang at 11:00 a.m., so it was sometime after that. I was in the living room and picked up my cordless to make a call, and it beeped at me “line in use”. So I went into my office, and the light on the phone in there was lit up, with “extension in use” on the screen. Normally when my phone is off the hook, I get a “beepbeepbeepbeepbeep” thing happening. This time the line was just dead quiet. Now, this happened before, a few years ago… my line was in use, just not by me! A utility company used my phone line to transmit data. I figured they just borrow an available phone line to do what they need to do. I dunno. Anyway, my line came back on its own eventually. This time, however, several hours went by and still no phone line, so I emailed my mom at work and asked her to please call the phone company for me. I also filed a repair request online. I was told to unplug everything for 60 seconds, then plug it back in. If that didn’t work, they’d be sending out a technician the next day.

I’m not able to reach everything to unplug it, so I just left it. It wasn’t until I was going to bed that I saw the phone from my nightstand sprawled on the floor, off the hook and unplugged. CATS! Haha I didn’t even bother checking that phone earlier. But I did remember to call the phone company before I went to sleep to cancel the technician for the next day. Can you imagine. That’s like calling the printer repair company to fix your printer just for them to discover it’s not plugged in. Oh, and speaking of, I finally got a guy over to fix my printer so it works with my new computer. It needed a lot more than just to be plugged in I’m not sure what, but I was happy to pay him $63 to figure it so I could print T4s for my clients.

And speaking of repair, my blog is going to be moved over to a new server VERY SOON which means it won’t be going down anymore!! (I mean, no server is perfect, but outages will be limited to minutes and not days). The day of the move, however, I may be down for a day or so. But I can live with that if it means future glitch-free blogging

Tomorrow (Friday) night the Polyjesters are having their CD release party in their hometown of Didsbury, Alberta. I am receiving the Royal Treatment as a special guest, and am very excited!! It’s going to be a great show. They are broadcasting live over Kitchen Radio starting with the opening acts at 8:00 pm my time (7:00 EST or 10:00 EST). Tune in! It’s going to be a blast.

My friend Russ came over on Monday night with the intent of helping me get my new computer set up and transferring files from this old thing to my new hard drive and all that stuff. Why aren’t things ever as easy as they should be?? The external hard drive my brother lent me was not the kind Russ thought it was going to be, so there was some fussing about to get that set up. Then we started copying files, and went out to the living room to watch some TV for a bit, not knowing how long it would take at that point. Russ said it actually might take several hours, so he would come back the next night after work to finish up.

About half an hour later, we went into my office to check the status, and it had stopped altogether. I forgot my computer is set up to go into stand by mode after a certain amount of time and that cut the transferring off. So he started it over, and left, because there was no sense in sitting around here waiting, it was already 9:00.

I went back into my office, and there was an error message on my screen. The external hard drive didn’t like some of the files I was transferring. In the end, I stayed up until 1:30 a.m. transferring files folder by folder, so I could catch the error messages, delete whatever file it was, and then copy the rest of that folder without having to start ALL over. This went on the next day as well… it took me most of Tuesday to finish it up.

Then I get the call from Russ… he had to work late! Damn responsibility! No worries, there is always the next day. Which was Wednesday, and Russ called me and told me he was sick… bronchitis. Which, of course, is not only contagious, but can turn into pneumonia if not taken care of!! So, now it’s Sunday, and I think Russ is over the worst of it. I haven’t heard from him yet, but I’m hoping he will be able to make it by tomorrow. In the meantime, I will have a bunch of files to transfer over again, because I’ve got another week’s worth of work and stuff I’ve been doing. I hope it’s all over and done with soon, I want to be working and playing on my new computer!!!

I received my Mary Jane style Crocs on Friday. I love them! I hope I get the other ones before I leave for Toronto and Montreal. I’m selling one pair of my Crocs on eBay, and they’re already up to $19.50 US. (I started the bidding at $10). Not bad, considering they’re used! The other shoes I’m selling have no bids on them. Crocs will always sell! The clothes I put up have sold/are selling. Everything ends by tomorrow night, and I’m hoping a couple things sell for a bit higher. One woman has bid on and is so far winning 4 of my things! She lives in Canada, which sucks for her, because shipping within Canada is way more expensive than shipping to the US.

Oh, and my latest eBay phase is Philosophy products. Yes, I am going to smell like freshly baked cinnamon buns or gingerbread or vanilla birthday cake with chocolate frosting and YOU’RE NOT! But I’m done now, I swear. No sense in ordering things that won’t arrive before I leave for vacation, right? As it is, some stuff will arrive while I’m away because the post is soooooo slow.

Pita is a BRAT. The cutest, sweetest, friendliest brat ever, but a brat nonetheless. Here’s what she did NOW. I like to keep those toys around that are a bird or mouse or feathers or something that hangs from those elastic strings, and provide hours of entertainment for everyone involved. The problem with Pita is, she MUST chew the toy off the end of the string. Which ruins everything, and leaves her with a useless toy that doesn’t do anything fun. (Except the chirping bird one Lisa got them - oh, my, when Pita finally chewed that one off, the bird still chirped when she tapped it, so both cats had a lot of fun racing around with that. But I don’t know where it ended up, haven’t seen it for weeks). Anyway, I was all out of the toys on strings, and I like to have at least one, that I keep in a drawer. I will keep Pita from chewing it off for as long as possible. I picked one up the other day, a blue fish one. It was in plastic packaging, but the fish part was loose on the outside of the package. I had it in a bag with a few other things, and when I pulled it out of my scooter basket, I put it on the sofa… to be put away whenever energy returned or I felt like it. I made sure the toy was tucked under the other stuff, and the bag was closed.

Can you guess what happened?? The next day I went out, and when I came home, there was a blue fish on the floor. The rest of the package was in another area of the apartment, on the floor. She found the toy inside the bag and chewed the damn fish right off the string before it was even out of the package!! B-RAT!!!!

It’s the Evil Eye of the B-Rat

Rob Szabo is heading out West again with Peter Katz. Yaaay!!! They’re calling this the “Lanky Wimps Tour”. I’m so lucky I get to see them in Toronto in a week and a half, and then again a month later here. I’m sooooo excited about my trip!! Do you remember, back in September ‘04 I went to Toronto, and after I had booked my flight and everything, I found out my friend Jerome Godboo was having a CD release party at Healey’s?? Yes. Well. GUESS WHAT!? I just found out the other day that Jerome is having a new CD release party at Jeff Healey’s Roadhouse on the Friday I am in Toronto. HOW AMAZING IS THAT?!?! It’s so kind of Jerome to make it a habit of releasing a CD for me when I come to Toronto.

This trip is going to be so incredible. Toronto is going to be such a whirlwind, I have so many people to see and so much to do in such a short amount of time. I’m going to have to do many entries when I get back!! Montreal will be a little more peaceful, I don’t know as many people there, so until the weekend when Scott, Caroline and Lobelia are there, the days and nights will be spent hanging out with Emma, Gaby, Noelle and Tim (the latter two I’ll finally meet in person!) and some of their other music friends! It’s going to be tons ‘o fun.

Oh yeah, I first brought up Rob and Peter goig on their Western tour because I have to get started on some promo for that. If you have any media contacts in Western Canada let me know!! Check their websites for details if you live out this way and want to check them out; they’ll be here in Calgary on October 20 at the Ironwood!!! Oh, and even if you’re not out this way, check out their websites for tour dates. You never know, they could be near! Rob will be in NYC on Sept. 28 and Johnstown, PA on Oct. 6. The man never takes a break!

And I shall leave you with Peter Katz’s video for “Forgiveness”, because it’s awesome, and has an inspiring message. Listen carefully!

Lots to ramble on about today! For starters, the wonderful Maggie tagged me as one of her favourite Female Bloggers who Rock. Awww, thanks Maggs! Now I have to list five Female Bloggers who Rock. These women have amazing blogs/journals that I click on daily, hoping for updates.

Robyn - I’ve been reading Robyn for so many years, I feel like I know her. She inspired me to get Pita and Pepper and take buttloads of photos of them! She’s a crazy cat lady who lives in Alabama and has a zillion cats, plus fosters baby kittens, volunteers at the pet store, helps out the no-kill cat shelter, etc. etc. She recently moved to this awesome house in the country and now they have chickens, too. Robyn does more before 9:00 am than I do all day.

Shauna, a.k.a. Dietgirl - I started out reading Dietgirl several years ago, and eventually found her other blog as well. Now she is famous (many magazines/papers have written about her because of her huge weight loss) so she can no longer keep the two identities separate! Shauna has transplanted herself from Australia to Scotland, found herself an adorable husband, lost oodles of weight, and is an inspiration to everyone. She’s funny as hell and I can’t wait for her book!

Kate Harding - A recent find and fast favourite. She talks mainly about feminism and Fat Acceptance. She really knows her stuff. She is smart, funny and awesome.

Jane - Damn, this woman is a riot to read. She’s a working mom and wife, living in Kansas. That may not sound like much excitement, but you’d be surprised. Her writing is spectacular and she has a huge following for good reason!

East Side Girl - Also a fairly recent find. Sometimes her posts are only a sentence long, but they say all that needs to be said. She has a way with words like no other, and is what a blogger is supposed to be!

I don’t think any of these ladies read me (Robyn does, but probably just for the cat videos haha) so I don’t expect them to know I tagged them. I just wanted to mention them because they are all amazing and you should all be reading them regularly.

I mentioned awhile back that I ordered myself a Twister Sweeper. Can I just say, if you’ve ever wondered if the items you see advertised on TV work as well in real life, you can be assured that this one works BETTER. It is the absolute most amazing thing ever invented. It’s light as a feather, picks up anything and everything, works on carpet and floors, great for picking up spatters of cat litter without needing to pull out the vacuum, gets that broken glass right away, no dust pan needed, easy to empty… and if you’re prone to dropping your bottles of pills on the floor and watching them spatter all over your 70’s yellow camoflauge linoleum which hides everything you drop (and really, who isnt?), you’ll be glad to know you can run the Twister Sweeper across the floor once, remove the bottom and then pick out your pills in about 20 short seconds. My mom loves hers too, my brother uses mine and wants one, and my mom’s co-worker decided to get one after my mom brought hers in to work because vacuums are so darn heavy. Honestly, if you have so much as considered getting one, if you hate dragging out the heavy vacuum all the time, if you have pets, (great for cat hair too), if you hate trying to sweep into a dustpan… just GET ONE.

Shoes. Shoes and boots. And sheets and towels. Next on my list of things to sort through and donate what I can. Clear up some closet space and get real about the shoes I actually DO wear (Crocs and a few select others) and the ones I don’t or can’t (anything with a heel or laces). Also, bedroom closet. It’s overstuffed again. It happens so quickly!! If I would just stay ONE SIZE for awhile, perhaps this would not happen…

Reasons why yesterday sucked:

1. I cut my leg while shaving. Usually, a little nic in the shower while shaving is no big deal and all you need to do is put some pressure on it for a second and it stops bleeding. These ones were cuts in several places (because me and left handed dexterity while shaving are not best friends) and WOULD NOT STOP BLEEDING. After a couple hours I finally gave in and put bandaids all over my cuts before heading out with my friend Pam.
2. At the restaurant, we sat on the patio in those cheap plastic flimsy green patio chairs. Now, when I get up from a chair, I am quite rough on it - pushing and pressing hard on the left arm because that’s just how I have to do it. This chair did not take kindly to that, and the left leg started breaking underneath me. Pam tried to save me from falling on my ass, but she is all of 100 pounds soaking wet and I’m a big girl, so two people from a nearby table ran over and helped, and eventually we got me up to being seated on my walker. I had to sit there and catch my breath for a few minutes… get over the embarrassment and give my legs a rest. They worked very hard trying to keep me from falling and are sore as hell today! Pam tried to make me feel better by insisting those chairs are pieces of crap and it had a bit of a crack in it already, and just needed that push I gave it to break down. I choose to believe her.
3. We went to Starbucks after dinner. Last time I was there I sat in a big cushy chair and had no major problem getting out of it by myself. I was about to sit in the same chair, when two people came along and sat at that exact table. So I chose the one beside it, with two different styles of cushy chairs, and the second I sat down I thought, “I’m not gonna get out”. Way too low. I drank my latte and didn’t worry about it until it came time to leave. I struggled to get up, and I just could not. Pam was going to help me, but again, tiny person! A woman at a nearby table asked “do you need some help?” and I said “yeah, actually, I do” and she came over. Her and Pam helped lift me up from my right arm while I pushed on the chair with my left. Done deal, easy enough. But still… all attention on you when half the customers are helping you get out of a freakin’ chair.
4. By the time I got home, my legs had pretty much given out on me. I settled in to watch a movie (Stranger Than Fiction - I really liked it) but when I got up to go to the bathroom, I stumbled and fell forward against the sink, basically landing on the top of my nose between my eyes, on the edge of the medicine cabinet that is just above the sink. It hurt like HELL. I bawled like a baby and sat back down with an ice pack and sniffled. Now I have a lovely, sore red bump there. And my legs hurt like hell, have I mentioned that?

Now, to put a positive spin on the evening, I have to point out that Pam was gracious and wonderful, and wasn’t the least bit embarrassed to be with me; it was great to get out with her; the weather was nice; the food at the restaurant and the latte were delicious; I didn’t fall and break anything, and I certainly could have broken my nose in the bathroom if I’d landed a little differently, yet I DID NOT; I really enjoyed my movie; my friend Shawna called from Winnipeg. So, not all bad. Plus I have cute cats.

OH! Biggest, bestest News of the Week. I finally heard back from Calgary Housing and they are going to subsidize my rent! I’m part of a new program in which my actual suite is not becoming a subsidized unit, but I as a person am subsidized. So I pay my regular rent and Calgary Housing sends me a cheque every month to help out. It basically cuts my rent in HALF, which is awesome!! I sign papers on Tuesday and it goes for a year before I’m reviewed again. So the only downside is, if my rent goes up within the next year, (which it most likely will), the amount of my cheque will not until I am reviewed again. I’m okay with that, because it will still be more than I had before.

Oh my goodness, this is long. So I’ll end it. But not before saying Michelle and I saw Emm Gryner on Thursday night, and she was wicked-awesome.

Oh yeah, and Happy Canada Day!!

I guess I’m accident prone. Lots of people are using their Facebook Notes section to fill out those little surveys that go around, and many of them have questions like “Have you ever ridden in an ambulance? Have you ever had stitches? Have you ever had surgery?” And most people are all, “no, no, no”. WHAT?? Is that possible? I’m all “oh, hell yeah, I can’t count how many times!!” Geez. I actually do consider myself a lucky person overall, but those of you that have never needed an ambulance or surgery and have never had a broken bone or anything, you are some lucky people.

Speaking of being lucky, how about that couple in Ontario who won $32 million in the lottery, and while they were driving to Winnipeg to pick up their winnings, they bought a scratch and win ticket, and won another $10 million? I kid you not. It was on the morning news yesterday, but you think I can find a link?? No. You just have to believe me. How do I get me some of THAT lucky energy??

Speaking of accident prone, I fell the other day and landed smack on my tailbone. Many of you probably know how much that hurts, and since I cracked my tailbone when I was 14, it has always been a sensitive area. Anyway, my chiropractor has been away, so I’ve just had to wait it out. In the meantime, not getting treatment for that I believe led to pulling a muscle somehere around my ribs on my right side yesterday (while doing nothing strange - just drying myself off after my shower - it’s like it was just sitting there, waiting for me to turn that way or something) and now I am in SO MUCH PAIN, every move is agony. I will finally get to see my chiropractor tomorrow and he will fix me up, but until then I’m living on Tylenol while hunched over grabbing my ribs or lying down with a heating pad. I am soooore.

Robyn tagged the hundreds and thousands of people who read her journal, so since that includes me, I have been tagged! I’m going to try to think of things you don’t already know about me if you’ve been reading a long time, so this may be “Seven Things about my Past and Juicy Gossip”.

1. The oldest single I own was autographed by two of the members who wrote/played on it, almost 20 years later! Here’s the story. My first ever ‘45 single was “Boogie Oogie Oogie” by Taste of Honey (1978). Many years ago, I was working at a local talent agency and re-organizing their band files. I came across one for a “Don Johnson” whom I had met years before that, when he was playing drums at a gig with Steve Pineo. I read his file, and it turned out he had been the drummer for Taste of Honey. I thought that was cool, that he lived here now. In the mid-90’s, when I was doing accounting for a pub called the Unicorn, Don Johnson was coming in to sing with his new band. I came down that night and brought my single to get it autographed. He signed it and then told me “Perry Kibble is here, too” (another former Taste of Honey member and co-writer of the song). So I met Perry, and he also signed the single. I think that is so cool. Full circle moment. NB: Perry Kibble died a couple years later in 1999 of heart failure at the age of 49.
2. I used to work for the (Famous One Or Two Hit-Wonder Band That Shall Not Be Named). They used to own a chain of pubs across Canada and I worked at the Head Office, doing payroll and all kinds of stuff. After they fired the Best Accountant Ever who then Sued Them and Won, I took over most of her job as well, and worked there for as long as I could until I ethically could no longer take it. After I returned from a business trip to Toronto where I really saw Mr. CEO’s true colours and what my “options” were if I wanted to move up in the company, I quit. (Not the FOOTHWBTSNBN’s fault - they were nice guys, but not being involved in the day-to-day business, they weren’t aware what an asshole the CEO they hired was, and everyone was afraid to say anything because the Best Accountant Ever was fired after 35 years of service when SHE tried to say something). After I left, the Truth came out, (because… WHY would Donna leave?? There must be something going on…) and that CEO was fired. I then received calls at home from FOOTHWBTSNBN, begging my return (lalalalala! I rock!) but I was still unhappy with the people they chose to continue running the business and didn’t return, except to come in on Saturdays to help out the one person I DID like in the company (the new accountant) and she paid me big bucks to do so. But after a few months she had seen enough as well and was going to leave, and so I never returned, and shortly after that the main pub they owned in Calgary mysteriously shut down and the company went into receivership. NB: The FOOTHWBTSNBN are still milking the one or two hits they had in the 60’s and 70’s for all they are worth and keep releasing “Best Of” compilations and touring.
3. I once walked out on a job I stayed at for 6 weeks, which was the most pathetic working environment since FOOTHWBTSNBN, by going in at 8:00 in the morning, leaving an “I quit this bullshit” note on my boss’s chair, and going home before she even came in.
4. I used to work with a Freak Side Show. I really just sold tickets and worked the concession stand and helped with promo, but occasionally during rehearsals I would try different things, and I’ve done fire eating and tongue transfers with fire. When the show had to close its Calgary location, all the props (such as the 2 headed calf, creepy things in jars, the haunted Dummy) and carnival-like decor were stored in the basement of the house I lived in.
5. One of the stars of that Freak Side Show, the Impaler (he stuck long needles through various parts of his body and hung fish hooks from his chest, and he really did it… it wasn’t a trick… the guy was into being “tortured” and liked pain… his hero was Fakir Musafar) (do not click that if you have a weak stomach) was my room mate for awhile. He was 19 at the time. He pierced his own penis in our basement one evening. We had visitors, and were like… “don’t go downstairs!” When he was finished, he came upstairs as if nothing was any different, just another day. A few weeks later he took the piercing out when he was sleeping on a hide-a-bed at his parent’s place, and the ring at the end of his penis sort of slipped over a piece of metal at the side of the bed and hooked itself there, and he rolled over….

   Okay, I know, all you guys are hugging your privates right now, feeling his pain. Sorry. Some of these have very little do with things about ME, but I’m having fun reminiscing! Hehe But this is taking too long so the last two will be short and simple.

6. My biggest pet peeve is gum chewing or the sound of someone’s saliva smacking in their mouth. If you are anywhere near my ears and chewing gum or eating (and are a saliva smacker when you do it), then I am going to FREAK out and will try my best to do that politely and leave the room if I am able. But nothing makes me shiver with disgust more than that. Sometimes I’ll be beside a cab driver who is chewing gum, and I want to scream!!!
7. I always get excited about receiving, opening and reading my fortune cookie after a Chinese food meal, even though I don’t believe a single word of those at ALL.

If you’re reading this, consider yourself tagged as well, to write Seven Things about Yourself. You’re then supposed to tag seven people, but do whatever you want!

I popped in here today thinking I was going to be opening a post I had started working on and adding to it. But, no, it’s totally blank. I wish I could say the same about my “to do” list.

My office? Still a mess. The floor is scattered with all the work I’ve been doing lately and need to file away. My own tax return is 80% finished, and all my papers are in a pile in front of my fax machine. My desk is covered in more work I need to do, the beginnings of my 2007 files I have yet to put away, and various other papers I need to file. Plus a coffee mug, a water bottle, my Starbucks take out cup, CDs, my South Park “Kyle” doll Pepper knocked off the top shelf, everything else Pita or Pepper has knocked off the shelves, my digital camera, and books. On the positive side, AH picked me up some file boxes the other day, so at least I have those for when I am ready to store my old files and tax returns. Of which there are plenty in my over-stuffed filing cabinet.

I SWEAR I’m going to get it done this week. Did I already “swear” to that recently? I believe I did. I can’t even keep a promise I make to myself, never mind you guys. That is why I am so frustrated with myself lately. I’m pissed off at myself all the time for not doing what I say I’m going to do, and then I get pissed off at myself for being hard on myself, then I think I’m such a loser, then I tell myself to “baby step” it, and then I get tired and want a fucking MAGIC WAND to take care of everything so I can just crawl under a rock until it’s done, or better yet, the same Rehab place Britney Spears is in, and come out and find sunshine and happiness, and then I kick myself in the butt because that’s not how life works and I need to TAKE ACTION for anything to get done and to have the life I want, and then I get depressed because I don’t have the drive in me right now, and then I tell myself to “baby step” it, and then I say “fuck it” and eat chocolate and toss everything on the floor, and then I meditate and say positive affimations and re-start my gratitude journal, and I tell myself “I’m trying”, and then Oprah says “trying is failing gracefully”, and Yoda says “do, or do not: there is no try”, so that’s not good enough, and then I think tomorrow will be better, and then it isn’t, and there is STILL NO @#^$%^#% MAGIC WAND in sight.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

So let us focus on the good parts of the past few days, shall we?

• I am back in touch with an old friend that I haven’t seen or talked to in about 14 years. She found me on MySpace. She lives in South Korea right now!
• Lindy called me on Wednesday night from Toronto, and was all excited about seeing the Polyjesters the following night. I introduced them to each other’s music and there is a whole helluva lot of mutual admiration going on there. And when they see each other, they talk about how much they love and miss me. Hee!
• Rob called me from Toronto the other day as well, and Shawna from Winnipeg, so there is no shortage of friends calling long distance;
• I talked to Emma on Thursday night;
• My dear friend/client Ken took me to My Favourite Vietnamese Restaurant for lunch on Friday;
• I mentioned to AH that I needed some file storage boxes, and without me even asking he stopped at Staples on the way home from work and picked up a package of 5 for me, and refused to take any money for them when he dropped them off later;
• I ordered AH this shirt for his birthday:

• My mom did my laundry and changed my bed sheets;
• I have an appointment for an ion cleanse on Tuesday;
• I have a few things planned in May that I’m not ready to talk about yet, but am very excited about.

Okay, fine, so life isn’t totally sucking. I’ve got some damn fine people in it.

I’ve got a busy week. Work at the Pub tomorrow, the ion cleanse appointment on Tuesday, work at Troy’s on Wednesday, and I re-start my Living Well with a Chronic Illness program on Thursday. In between all of that I need to do the million things I just don’t want to think about right now. It’s Sunday! The day of rest, right?

“The Day of Rest can begin AFTER you rub my tummy”.

Today started off rather crappy. After my shower and getting dressed, I went back into the bathroom to check how my hair was drying. As I often do, I did a little lose-my-balance dance. I usually catch myself, but this time I stumbled and fell. (I didn’t break anything, no worries). So I’m on the floor, half in the hall and half in my bathroom. I figured I would be able to get up if I could get to my La-Z-Boy in the living room, so I crawled in that direction. (I learned the hard way that my bed is too high to help me get up).

Once there, I was too tired to make the attempt to get up. And a little weepy, because damn, I just fell and had to crawl on my hands and knees to the living room and now I have no energy. I’m so pathetic, blah blah blah. I called my mom to talk until I regained some strength, but then there was a buzz at the door. Expecting my $250 cheque via courier, I was really wishing I could get up. After the second buzz, I hung up on my mom (sorry mom, but you had put the phone down and I couldn’t tell you first) and called the rental office of my building. I asked them to buzz in the person at the door for me, because I had fallen and I couldn’t get up.

The office manager came to my door and asked if she could bring the package in, (see, wooden doors, you can hear anything through them) and I said sure. She came in and put it on the counter, then called out to me and asked if I was okay. I said “well, I can’t really get up…” she came around the corner and saw me sitting on the floor in front of my chair, and said “hang on, I’ll get someone!” and ran out, telling “someone” to come “quickly! It’s an emergency!!!!” (Oh, brother). Suddenly there were three people standing over me and by that time I had regained the strength to pretty much get up on my own anyway. That didn’t stop them from fussing over me, which only made me cry (Argh!! Why do I have to be such a GIRL!) The man was all, “it’s okay, sweetie” and the receptionist from the office was offering to get me water or something. I was fine, just embarrassed now, thanks.

Anyway, after they left I just sat there and regained my composure. A few minutes later the office receptionist called me to make sure I was okay, and to ask me if I needed anything, help getting to bed to lie down… and to call her anytime I need anything because she knows CPR and has her First Aid. I thanked her and hung up, then proceeded to head for the kitchen. After wolfing down rice crackers, half a package of goat’s cheese and a Larabar, I realized food is not going to solve my problems. If it did, I would be the most problem-free person on the face of this earth.

Anyway, the first package wasn’t the cheque, but it came about an hour later. So the day started getting better immediately, as that means I’ll be seeing Pam later and we’ll buy gift cards and go for dinner.

I took pictures of all the family gifts today, I tried my best to display them like a Price is Right showcase. I should be able to have them up by the weekend.

I’m getting my scooter back tomorrow! $60 later. Nothing wrong with the batteries, thank God, that would have been a few hundred dollars I don’t have. It was something wire-related blah blah blah techietalk blah blah.

Pam’s on her way, I gotta go! I’ll write more later (and a kitty pic).