Thursday, October 29, 2009

overheard in the mall

(working in my store, helping Genevieve refold sweaters):

"No, honey, this isn't the fat people store."

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

As my world turns...

I totally didn't post about the second half of my adventure.

Things I learned from Day 2 of Montreal:
-The SAQ does not give you a bag for your booze. You must buy one. And I mean that, don't leave without one.
-I cannot go into any other Jean Coutu Pharmacies in Montreal until I'm sure the pharmacy tech forgets who I am for dropping the bottle I bought at SAQ in her store. Whoops.
-I really still don't like all-seasoned chips. Remember, Ehjay, you do not like vinegar.
-I really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really love Montreal.

In other news, I would like your anecdata about choosing a doctor. I got my health insurance card yesterday and now I just have to choose a health care provider. This might make me an adult :( but I never had to choose my doctor before, my parents kinda did that. Also, there were like two pediatricians in the whole town. So that kinda limits things. But I live in a city with a medical school. So tell me, flist, how did you choose your doctor? Horror stories and excellent stories welcome!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

je t'adore, montreal <3

reasons why i love montreal more than your mom

-centre bell has lifesized statues of famous hockey players.
-there's such a mix of languages here and all of them i can understand (so far)
-the metro is really far superior to cdta (hell, most things are)
-there is a baked potato restaurant that i am going to try for science (again) tomorrow.*
-i got to stand less than two feet away from laura pausini omg and she came around the edge of the stage and shook everyone's hand and i got squished against the stage and i don't even CARE because omg i love her


missions for tomorrow:
do touristy things (ie walk around mtl and take lots and lots of pitchers)
eat baked potatoes @ restaurant
am iffy on smoked meat, but when in montreal...
i also need to have real poutine. that's correct sir i will be doing a lot of eating on this trip.
make it back to the bus terminal by 2100 or else


I forgot my cable back in the states so I can't upload any of my awesome photos from the concert yet. in the meantime i have a queen-sized bed all to myself and I found the ABC station out of Burlington, so I am awesome.

*Candice discovered this place when I first met her, and we tried it when I got to MTL for the original Trip of Doom.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

not even joking

Guys






Guys








Guess what?



Guess what I unpacked today at work?




If you guessed Stirrup pants you would be correct.

FMLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLll.

Friday, October 16, 2009

NCIS post!

should skip this post.

Guys, Michael Weatherly has come out against Tiva and I don't blame him. But Tiva stans are kinda frightening (see the comments on the article for an example). I'm of the (minority) opinion against hooking up single male/female coworkers on the show because they can (see DS9 for a great example of this, Friends* especially was notorious for this, or even BSG to an extent -- although that one was more understandable, but still annoying, Billy-Killer!). And Michael Weatherly's had to deal with that before -- when he was on Dark Angel they hooked his character up with Jessica Alba's (well, they were also dating off-camera at the time too, but shh).

What are your thoughts on Tony & Ziva getting together? Do you think it should happen or do you think the writers should just forget about it? Are there any good examples of UST-ending relationships that worked that you can think of?

*And if any of you say that you liked Ross & Rachel together, I may just have to beat you.

Friday, October 09, 2009

I got a new cell phone. I was tired of paying upwards of 60bucks a month to use mydamn phone five times a month, or worrying about running out of money on the phone while texting someone. So I got a Tracphone, with double minutes for life. If I wasn't buried under three or four blankets I'd go pull it out and tell you all the number. If you're on facebook with me you'll see it tomorrow. If you're cool I might even let you text me. ;) (I do so love the texting)

In unrelated news, I will be in your home and native land Oct 21-22 (mostly the 22) for to see Laura Pausini live in Montreal. If anyone wants to come out for the day on Thursday 22 October I would love to see you!

I also bought some new clothes today because I wanted to and they were on sale. I haven't had a chance to pull out. I got one of the watches my company is selling for BCRF.
-----

I have a confession to make. I had never read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. So I never really got the OH MISTER DARCY hype that the internets and most of my English major friends seem to have. But I picked up the book for a buck at Goodwill, and I just finished it. Darcy's cool and all, but Elizabeth is far more awesome than anyone else in the book, sorry to say.

Then I saw at the bookstore: Mr Darcy -- Vampire

.....


.....


What, I ask you, Internets, is this fuckery?

Friday, October 02, 2009

Things I like!

This article refers to Brian Leonard, the only NFL player to come out of Gouverneur, NY. It's really cool to read about your hometown on a major NFL team's site:

If you want lights, you have to go to Massena or Ogdensburg, or Indian River, the larger outposts in the upper reaches of New York State sprawling between the Adirondack foothills and the Thousand Islands perched in the St. Lawrence River.

But Brian Leonard put Class C Gouverneur on the map long before he saved September for Bengaldom with a DVD 11-yard run-and-catch on fourth-and-10 with 36 seconds left during a game the Bengals needed a touchdown to survive Pittsburgh’s annual tempest.

Or, it’s more like Gouverneur put Leonard on the map. If you drive into town on its one main street, Main Street (yes, really), it is also Route 11 and there is a sign that says it is the home of Brian Leonard, complete with the helmets of Gouverneur, Rutgers and the Bengals.

The same sign is on the other way into town, Route 58. And if you miss it and it is Sunday you can go to the Four-by-Four Country Club and catch him on the TV, where about 50 to 60 people are still watching Leonard ply his trade as an NFL handyman.

Or you could try the Casablanca, the postgame football hangout where Devlin and his coaches commiserate and mingle with the community and parents.


Hey, at least this time the Casi's getting GOOD publicity, amirite?

On an unrelated note, Chris Rock's comments about Polanski made my day: Rock says at the end of the clip: "The United States, we want to capture Osama Bin Laden, and murder him. We don't want to rape him - that would be barbaric!"

Thursday, October 01, 2009

My head hurts.

Books!

I figured I'd do a comprehensive recap of the books I've read this summer. I'm sure i'm missing some because all I did was grab the stack of books I have by my bed that I know I finished but didn't write up.

Golden Country by Jennifer Gilmore:

This book I picked up out of a $1 sale at Borders. I don't think it's anything I would have picked up if I had to pay more for it, but that's why I love this sale.

This book is the story of three immigrant families in Brooklyn in the 1950s. The protagonists are all Jewish Eastern European families whose children grow up and intermarry. It's really interesting to see the different sociological structures that come into play when you get to meet them. (Sorry, I read this book early on this summer, I'm not as quick to recall it as when I first read it.) But I think even for more than a dollar I would pick up this book again.

Petropolis, by Anna Ulinich:

Sasha is the child of a Russian woman and a half-black, half-Russian scientist. She and her mother are abandoned by her father when she is small, and she grows up idolizing her absent father. Suddenly finding herself a teenage mother, her mother sends her to Moscow to go to school and raises the child as Sasha's sister. Sasha instead joins a mail-order bride service in order to sneak into the US and find her wayward father. She finds a lot more than him when she gets to the US, though.

This is absolutely riveting and hilarious at the same time. Definitely worth the read.

My Answer Is NO (If That's Ok With You) by Nanette Gartrell.

This I also picked up for a dollar. I don't usually do self-help books, but this one I keep finding myself going back to. I have a hard time saying no to people, at least without feeling bad about it, and this book understands that. It's really good with real life examples and concrete psychological reasons to explain why I (and other women) feel this inability to say no without guilt. Definitely incredibly worth the read. I found it incredibly helpful this summer while working as an assistant manager at my store.

Malinche, by Laura Esquivel.

I had high hopes for this book. I paid a dollar for it as well, and I know Esquivel's other major novel, Como agua para chocolate, at least in movie form. I'm incredibly familiar with the source material, and I know the story of Malinche. I was horrifically disappointed in her take on her. I don't know if it's the English translation screwing the pooch or that it was just THAT. BAD. It was short so I powered through it.

The Lady Elizabeth, Alison Weir.

Last time I did a book review post I talked about Alison Weir's Jane Grey novel, and how I was slightly disappointed in it. I said then that I looked forward to this one to see if her fictional works had improved.

I did find it an improvement. I still find her dialogues to be a little stilted (I'm a little biased because most of my own writing is dialogue. I like to tell, not show ;)), but her characterisations are improving. Elizabeth is as fascinating a character as history can make her, and I truly enjoyed reading her life from her "own" perspective. I liked it better than Innocent Traitor.

(Side note: Weir is publishing a biography of ANNE BOLEYN, guys, ANNE FREAKING BOLEYN. How AWESOME is this book gonna be????_

Ok, just three more, I promise.

The Shipping News, by Annie Proulx.

I read this book years and years earlier, way before I had even considered visiting Newfoundland. (Yeah, that long ago.) So when I found this book @ Goodwill for a buck, I had to save it and re-read it. I knew the basic storyline -- guy loses his cheating slut of a wife in a car accident, and moves with his two daughters to his family's ancestral home in Newfoundland.

Having been to the island and actually having taken much of the same journey that Quoyle did, it puts this book in a whole new light. The whole time I was reading it I felt incredibly homesick, for a place I've never even lived in and only visited twice in my life. She did the island and its people justice. It's definitely one of my top ten books of all time. And if you haven't visited Newfoundland, I STRONGLY encourage you to do so.

Another book I picked up for a dollar: East of the Mountains, by David Guterson.

I read Snow Falling on Cedars probably about the same time that I read The Shipping News, so I only vaguely remember that I enjoyed the book. This time out was no exception. Guterson describes Washington state pretty well, although I've never been there so I can't say for sure. I didn't read the jacket insert that describes the book, or I don't think I would have picked it up. It tells me that it's the story of a man who is on a deathwish going hunting in the woods and all the strange people he encounters that make him want to live again. Sounds hokey, but Guterson pulls it off. After a while, though. It took me about 75 pages in to even really care about Ben, and it took til the end for me to sit there and say, "Hey, this book wasn't so bad after all."

Finally! Last book. FOR NOW DUN DUN DUN.

The Widow of the South, by Robert Hicks.

This one JUMPED off the store shelves at me. I wanted to read this one so much just from the back cover alone. It's a novel based on a real person, Carrie Winder McGavock. Hicks gives her a motivation for her devoted service to the cemetery at Carnton.

Too bad that it takes until the bad guy wants to plow over the graves of the Confederate soldiers, nearly 2/3 of the way through the book for things to click. Neither Carrie nor Zachariah, the solder whose leg she amputates, are that interesting of a character.

I'll admit a caveat about this. I keep trying to read Civil War stuff like Cold Mountain and i just. can't. get into it. I don't know if The Widow of the South suffers from that problem or if it's just a bad book. I need unbiased opinions ;)