Once again, it has been a while :) Sorry about that, but I figure most people really aren't that interested in the minutia of my everyday life. Really, it's pretty boring - get up at o'dark hundred, shower, dress, pack lunch, make coffee, collect the bits for my bag'o'tricks, walk the dog, go to work, come home, walk the dog, have something resembling food (occasionally challenging, considering cooking for one it a bit of a pain), walk the dog at least once more, fall into bed, then wash, rinse and repeat for the rest of the week :P See? Pretty boring, no?

Having bored you to tears with the monotony of my days, I do have to admit that there have been some new and exciting things going on :) I got another cat!

His name is Milo, I was told he's about five years old (though my vet said that once a cat reaches maturity age is difficult to tell, but we stick with five years just for the sake of argument) and he's a rescue. He was found either abandoned or as a lost stray and was taken in by a shelter who cleaned him up and put him up for adoption. When I saw him, someone had already paid his fee in the hopes that he would be taken home by the end of the day :) Enter me :) He's a sweetie, he really is. He's been neutered and declawed, so someone at some point loved him, and his only issue was that he's seriously underweight. We're working on the weight issue with a combination of kitten food and regular kibble (Jakjak loves it! :P little pig that he is) and he's been eating regularly for a couple weeks now. There is something going on with him, he's developed an eye infection which is proving annoyingly tenacious, but hopefully we'll get that cured before I wind up owing the vet too much money.

Other than that, I suppose there hasn't been that much new and exciting. There are a few new shows I'm watching, though none have been entertaining enough to write a rant/review of them. I've even managed to get about 6 eps behind on Supernatural, though that was because I had missed the first ep and had to go find it. I have been recording all my shows in HD this season - figured since I'm paying for the HD pvr box I might as well get my money's worth, and boy, some of the shows are just so pretty, CSI:Miami in particular. I haven't noticed a particular colour theme in any of the eps so far, but the colours are all so pretty maybe I'm just missing it.

I got a new breadmaker yesterday.

I like bread, but I don't eat much of it and when I buy it it often ends up going mouldy, even when I keep it in the fridge. So, I hauled out my old breadmaker so I could make my bread on demand and it stuffed up two loaves in a row. Considering it was about 15 years old, I'm not really surprised that it wasn't working so well anymore. So, it just happened that my grocery store was having a clearance sale on a lot of the kitchen toys they stock, so I got this one (basically an updated version of the old one) for 25% off. I'm test driving it now, while I write this, so here's hoping it all works out well.

I've finished a couple of baby blankets for someone at work - one of our dispatchers had a little granddaughter, and the first blanket was made using mint green and white before she knew what flavour the baby was going to be, so she commissioned a second one in pink after Charleigh was born. Since I finished that last week I've pulled out a sweater that I started a few years ago. It was mostly done, I'd finished the knitting a long time ago, and sewn it together as well as weaving in all the ends. All that was left to do was to was the front border, but I'd misplaced first the yarn and then the pattern. It took a whole whopping two days to finish a sweater I'd had put away for about two years... sigh...

Anyway, that's about it for the excitement in my life - I know, it's not a lot, but for my loyal three, I hope that catches you up ;)

For the true purist, it's probably offensive what Paramount has done to spruce up the episodes, but in all honesty I think it's so COOL!!!!!!!! It's very pretty, the sound is amazing, the pictures are nice and crisp and clear again - it's like being a kid again and watching them all for the first time. That's saying something too, because I've been watching this show since I was six and I can't even imagine how many times I've seen each episode.

H'okay, so...

Has been rather a while since my last blog, mainly because I felt I really haven't had much to contribute to this site (or any other - I love to lurk, mostly :P ). That's changed a little recently, as I've rediscovered an older show that I really enjoyed, and so have been pecking away at the guide. I've managed to update the first season, recaps are still an option, and am starting with the second. It's a good time for this since we're coming up to summer, and considering I prefer sci-fi shows and the CSI franchises, I pretty much wind up with nothing to watch for three months. Luckily to fill at least some of the void are the summer blockbusters - if it blows up, you can usually find me there - and I've seen two of the three in line so far.

Star Trek - once I got over the screaming (not really, but I did get told to "shhhh!") I really liked it. I have to go see it again, as I was rather distracted during the first go round, but hey, it's Star Trek - I'm there! :D A friend of mine went to see it and was also told to "shhhh!" so we've decided we should go together, because we each understand where the other is coming from. :P We've also decided we should ALWAYS see ST movies together first, before we go with anybody else, just so we don't get told to "shhh!"

I've also finally seen X-Men Origins: Wolverine. That took a little while because my guy didn't want to see it - said the first X-Men movies left him rather cold - and I was trying to arrange with another friend to go see it but our schedules just weren't meshing. So, yesterday I gave up and went solo. I was one of a whole three people in the theatre - lol! I thought it was lots of fun, and filled in the backstory quite nicely. I have no idea how close to canon it is, I haven't picked up a comic since I was about nine and then it was usually Superman or Justice League, that's it.

With the possibility of being dragged to see Angels & Demons, I finally saw The DaVinci Code last weekend - may I just say "Meh..." It was okay, but as there was a fair amount of explanation required - aka talking - I found there were a number of parts that dragged a lot, and it's a long movie to have it drag. Luckily I had my laptop set up by my seat on the couch, so I was able to surf and snoop things out while watching to keep myself more entertained. Probably a good thing I hadn't found Vampire Wars on Facebook yet, or I wouldn't have watched any of the movie.

We also watched Passchendaele, a Canadian movie (*gasp* No, say it isn't so!!!) that's actually pretty good. I was more interested in that than DaVinci (more things went boom?) even though it, too, is not quite my usual type of movie. However, it was writted, directed by and starring Paul Gross whom I've enjoyed ever since Due South, and he's not looking pudgy like Tom Hanks is, so from the word "go" it had the advantage ;)

Work goes, home is more fun :D I just got a new kitty, finally, after having to put my cats down in the past year. My one cat went last July, and the other went in February. I missed them both, though the second one hit me really hard, because she was just so sweet and quiet and tired at the end. She was so snuggly, and that just wasn't like her usually - she was a kitty who perched on you, she never relaxed and lay down until the end there, when all I could do was try to say goodbye. I bawled like a baby on the way home, and even called in to work and asked for the afternoon off because I needed a little time to just be miserable and miss her. It still makes me sad to think of it. :( I have Jak-jak now, though - it took me a while to work around to having another cat, and I was always determined not to have a boy-anything, so of course here he is, thumbing his little kitty nose at me. :P A former driver at work was adopting out her three young cats - George, Trouble and Thunder - so I went to have a look. From the pics and descriptions I was thinking of taking George (really cute tabby stripe) but I didn't pass the interview with him - he kept taking off whenever I got near. Then Trouble, well, he could take me or leave me, but Thunder was just smitten - and so was I. :) So, I brought him home and renamed him Jak-jak, in part because Thunder was just too big and serious a name for this slinky little black and white kitty. He also knocked over my aloe plant and dug out some of the dirt the first or second night he was there, so he's a mischevious little sneak, too. He hid for the first couple of days, as to be expected, and I didn't drag him out to be mean, but merely because I wasn't happy with where he was hiding. I put him in the linen cabinet instead of one place he'd found, and then under the couch to substitute for the other place that was really not suitable. I made sure he didn't feel trapped or penned in, and tried my best to make sure Honey didn't bug him excessively. As a result, after a couple of weeks now he's happy enough that he's out to greet me when I come home from work, and confident enough around Honey that he'll even go walk right by her and smack his tail in her face to get her to play. :D I'm so glad he's happy. He's a sucky cat, too - loves nothing more than to start by sitting on my lap to be petted, then turning himself into a pretzel, twisting around so that I get all the good spots as I pet him.

The other exciting thing for me is that my upstairs neighbours are moving out! :D Now I just REALLY hope that whoever ends up moving in isn't worse... I had hopes when I moved in last November that we could at least be cordial neighbours, but there's something off-putting about being called a moron, even indirectly. There were also the notes, each with its own little dig, and the random moving of a bucket I kept outside the door. If they'd asked at the start, I would have moved it myself, but they didn't. There was also the matter of having the town paper delivered - I wanted it, he didn't, I'd call to start delivery, when the paper showed up he'd call to cancel it. Finally I asked if he wanted the paper too, since he'd taken the one that had been delivered for me, and he said no, he'd been trying to get delivery stopped for four months - the length of time I'd been there. I asked him to please stop cancelling it, and pointed out he was not the only tenant in the house. This guy (and his wife) are in their early fifties, at a guess, and he especially acts like he's about six years old. It's really annoying, and I'll be very glad when they're gone. Rod suggested we get a couple lawn chairs and sit wiith drinks in our hands and watch while they move out next weekend, which would probably be very entertaining. Yes, I can be petty and evil at times - I'm sorry, I'm human. :P

Anyway, that's about all that's going on right now :) Thanks for reading, you three - you know who you are :P

I've been working on a baby blanket for a while, not because I haven't told anyone anything important and not because I know anyone who's having a bundle of (*cough*) joy, but just because I found the yarn when I was packing stuff up and I wanted to have a project that was portable. I finally finished it last Thursday, and Rod mentioned a friend of his was expecting a baby with his wife very shortly - this week, in fact. So, my blankie has a home, but I just thought I'd show it off a little first. I do hope they like it. :)

I also ordered myself some new toys back in October when I read about them in my little email newsletter from my local knitting shop. They're circular needles with interchangeable tips, which is really cool. It means, if nothing else, that I don't have to spend half an hour in my storage unit trying to find all my needles.

That's all my excitement. :) We stayed in and had a lovely dinner of Chinese food for New Year's - had two small and one large bottle of sparkling wine and didn't touch a drop. I went to bed about eleven (I'd been up at three am, was very tired) and was woken up and told "Happy New Year" just after midnight. We spent New Year's Day watching the first half of the first season of 24. :D Ah, Jack Bauer, how I've missed you.

Hope everyone had a lovely New Year. Later. :)

I hope everyone has had a lovely couple of days off, assuming you don't work retail that is. I did that for far too long, and I know exactly how stressful that can be.

Rod got the perfect prezzie for me, to go along with my new tv and surround system -

a Sony blu-ray player! :D Along with that came a copy of one of my favourite movies -

to start my collection of movies in that format. :D I have to keep reminding myself that I can't go replacing all my dvds with blu-ray editions, because it's going to cost me way too much money if I do. :P I do, however, have an unopened copy of Wall-E to exchange for the blu-ray edition, and I still have to pick up a copy of The Dark Knight.

This year I gave Rod the gift of adoption - I adopted a red panda in his name at the Toronto Zoo. :) He got a certificate of adoption along with a photo of "his" panda, and a little polar bear stuffy that my darling dog Honey is seriously hot to play with. :lol: Her present to him was two packages of boxer briefs, as she has a distressing habit of chewing holes in his undies - so embarrassing. :? I also got him this -

(the bottom one is the men's fragrances) and some other little stuff that hopefully he'll enjoy. :)

Anyway, enjoy your weekend everyone, and have fun playing with all your new things. *hugs*

It's been a couple months since my last blog - I've been more than a little busy in that time. My house finally sold back at the end of August, and we set a closing date of 14 November thinking that would give us a nice stretch of time to finish getting our stuff together and time to find somewhere to go. My ex already had an apartment lined up down in Richmond Hill, about 20 min south of me, but I still had to find a place to live. I'd been looking at houses for a while, but came to think that perhaps it would be better to rent for a while if I could find a place that suited Honey and I. If I had bought, I would be moving at least half an hour away from work, if not further, and I have to admit I've been very spoiled for the last nine years, living seven minutes from work - with the red lights - five or six if I hit all greens. I did find a place even closer to work - now it takes me maybe a minute to get to work, and no lights - not even a stop sign. It was a rather fortuitious find, as I was looking at another place that was about two blocks from my old house when the real estate agent mentioned that he had a place just come available that day that was even closer to my work. I was happy to go have a look at it - the first place wasn't bad, but the kitchen was abysmal, so I thought if it's the same owner/property manager it would at least be well maintained, and I could always take the first place I'd looked at and make it work somehow. That kitchen, though, my god - was a little room maybe 7'x7', had maybe 4 sq. ft. of counter space in total - ugh. Well, then we got to the other place, and what does it have? An eat in kitchen in a basement apartment. I was sold - right then and there. The rest of the place was good too, I did look around and ask questions - pets allowed, there's AC in the summer (thank god!), one parking space, etc - but it was the kitchen that got me. I signed the lease for the place at the end of September to have it for October 1, though there was an agreement to let the previous tenants have til the 4th to be out, but then I didn't end up getting keys for the place for another week after that. I wasn't happy, because I'd signed a month early so I'd have time to paint and fix up the dings in the walls and so on, and then I lost a week because they didn't give me the keys when they were supposed to. Anyway, I finally did get the keys, and managed to get all the painting, fixing and some decorating done before I had to move all my stuff. Rod helped me move a whole ton of boxes and stuff from storage to the apartment one weekend, and I spent a week trying to unpack those and rearrange so that the next weekend when we moved the rest of my stuff from the house there'd be room to put it all somewhere. That was three weeks ago now, and amazingly enough there's been actual progress in the unpacking though I definitely have too much stuff. One of the hazards of going from a house to one bedroom basement apartment, I suppose. In the meantime, at work my union rep asked me if I'd be willing to run for the shop steward position that was open. A couple of the other (way junior) drivers were all upset that there was no steward and had been going behind Wendy's back to the union to have them appoint a steward, or at least have elections for one. Fine, no problem for me, I'll run - I really respect what she's done for us through the union, and I could work with her quite easily. I also have no desire to see either of these other two drivers get the position, because neither of them is in it for the good of everyone - they only have their own agendas and cliques that they're worried about. Then just a couple weeks ago we find out that the Worker's Compensation Board has determined that her injury (long story, not really relevant) is permanent and she can no longer drive a bus. Well, there were no other positions available for her at the company, either, so she's being let go and will get retraining for a job that will suit her better with regards to her physical needs. All of a sudden this means that whoever wins the election for shop steward will instead be filling in as union rep until the election is held for that position, which isn't until early summer next year. I know I have quite the support base among the drivers, and so now I have to deal with the very real prospect of being the union rep for the next six months - this wasn't what I signed up for, and it scares me - don't want to screw things up. However, Wendy has said she'll help me all the way if I get in, but if anyone else does they're on their own. So, been pretty much too busy to do anything other than breathe and sleep, and sometimes too busy for even that. Coming out to Rod's on the weekends has been my only time to relax, really, and I'm so glad I've had that chance to unwind. I've even been too busy to go to the gym until the last couple of weeks, and oh, boy, did I ever feel it after I finally did go back to BodyPump cla$$! Walking for the next couple of days was more than a bit of a challenge. (ow, ow, ow...) Anyway, time to wander off and see what he's up to - maybe go do some shopping :) Like I really need to spend more money - I've bought all new fixtures for the bathroom (towel bar, toilet roll holder, robe hooks, etc), a new tv - big HD one, looks like a movie screen in my little living room, it's great! - and surround to go with it, though that still needs to be set up, and a closet system that I still have to put in too - need to clear out the closet first as it's serving as temporary storage for the last of the boxes in the apartment right now. Should have that up this week, I hope. Not to mention all the paint I bought for the place, though I have to email the receipts to my landlord and he's supposed to reimburse me for the cost of that - hope so, that's worth about $300 all by itself. If you've made it this far, I'm proud of you - enjoy your weekend. :)

While I was perusing the new look last night, I noticed that in my little picture box it says "member since: Sep 18, 2005". I honestly had not realised that it had been so long. So, in honour of my three years here, I've decided to throw a little party. :D There are some snacks... ...and salads... ...and dessert. For beverages, my favourites are... ...and... ...and for the non-alcoholic variety... For the day after, may I offer... Hope you enjoyed your stay! :D Thanks everyone for a fun three years, and I'm sure there'll be many more. :)

Every once in a while I wish that someone had invented something that could translate thoughts to words, so that when I think of all these things that I'd love to share with the few who bother to read my blogs I wouldn't forget them later and not bother writing them down.

The house has been on the market for about three weeks now, and while we've had a couple of return visits, so far we haven't had any offers. This does not really bode well, as likely it means that we've gone too high in our initial pricing. That sucks. About the only good thing to come out of this at the moment is that my house hasn't been this clean in quite some time, and I'm getting used to keeping it that way again. Last year when the hubby and I initially split, I got told by him that, "I'm not doing any housework until we list the house." My response to that was to say, "Fine, neither am I, as I'm not cleaning up after you anymore." Unfortunately I am still cleaning up after him, and rarely even get a thank you in return. If there were a way I could clean the bathroom (we only have the one full bath in the house) so that he didn't get to take advantage of it being clean, I would. I know... cheesy and petty, but there are days, and you just have no idea how frustrating it can be.

Anyway, I'm currently stuck into the Olympics - Summer or Winter, when they come on I actually watch sports on tv, some of them sports I would never otherwise watch. I'm going to repost a comment I left on FrakkingFrakker's blog here, because maybe that way a few extra people will get to read it. Then again, probably not, as there are way more people who read his blog than read mine... :P

Being Canadian, we pretty much expect to suck at the Olympics, the summer ones, at least. As a result I have noticed the extreme tendency to concentrate on "so-and-so should have got this flavour medal" from the commentators and hosts. Don't get me wrong, I love Ron McLean and most of the rest of the CBC, but the attitude is still there. What feeds the problem is that we, as viewers, have been indoctrinated to think that our respective countries somehow deserve these medals just because the athletes come from those boundaries.

I personally don't care - I just love the Olympics. I love to see athletes from all over the world competing against each other. I despise the fact that there are professional athletes allowed into this competition - Venus and Serena Williams, anyone? - that was never to be the point of these games. They were supposed to be a showcase for amateur talent, for those who live and breathe their sport though it's not one the world tends to watch (fencing??), not a grandstand for those who already have millions in endorsement deals and contracts.

Having said that, some of those with endorsements deserve them - Michael Phelps, as a case in point. How someone can devote up to 8 hours a day to training and still be expected to maintain a job to pay for even a meagre way of life is beyond me. He is rumoured to receive a $1 million bonus should he make his goal of 8 golds in Beijing, and I can't really say he doesn't deserve it. Who am I, who is anyone, to put a price tag on what he has sacrificed since he was a child to achieve this dream? Besides, a million dollars doesn't go that far these days.

(gets off soapbox and trundles away quietly into the corner)

As for what else is going on in my life, I'm happy to report that at work we have finally had a chance to look at a contract hammered out by management and our union reps, and voted 69% in favour of accepting said contract. I was a little surprised that that number was as low as it was, as management did their darndest to buy the drivers off. The raise is substantial, and it is also backdated to 01 Feb 2008, which is when the previous contract expired. Definitely going to like that retro pay, and yes, I already have plans for it - Visa bill, meet retro cheque... Not all of it, of course, but definitely the largest chunk of it. I suppose the reason it wasn't more than 69% in favour is that the largest chunk of money was directed to the drivers who have 3 or more years in. That may not seem like very long, but trust me, there are days... Let me just say there are days when I really don't like people. :P As a result, there were those drivers who thought that this contract didn't benefit them in any real way, though if they have plans to stick it out that long, they, too, will eventually get the huge raise when they have served their time. Unfortunately we have a large number of drivers who come for the training, then bugger off to another transit provider who pays considerably more. If I wanted to be spit on or shot I could go work for the TTC and make a starting wage of about $7/hr more than what I currently make, but that's not my idea of a good time.

Anyway, that's about all there is that's interesting in my life. I'm on vacation this week, thank goodness - sleeping in is a marvelous thing that I really don't get to do often enough.

Having mentioned that, I'm off to bed shortly :) Have a good night, every one of the three who actually read what I write here. :P

Good night.

Well, let me see, where did we last leave off - it was a few weeks ago, and I was very excited about Wall*E. We did go see it, and had a great time - loads of fun, both of us running around saying "Wall-E..." and "Eve-a" for ages, and even contemplating buying the toys at WalMart, just because they were so much fun. :D

The next big one was, of course, The Dark Knight - fantastic movie!! Loved it, start to finish!! I can't stand spoilers, so I won't go into any detail, but if I may just say one thing - if you even think you *might* want to see it, do so!

In other news, my house is finally up for sale, sign on the lawn and everything. It was listed as of Tuesday morning, for what seems to me a rather obscene amount of money (relative to what we paid for it, anyway), and I got my first call from the listing agency on Wednesday that an agent would like to show the house that night from 6:30-7:30. I had been going to go see a movie with my sister that afternoon, but as I was on my way down the stairs I saw the two bags of garbage that needed to go out, and thought of all the vacuuming, mopping, tidying, etc that needed to be done before allowing anyone to see the house and put the movie off til Thursday. So I spent 5 hours playing Molly Maid, doing all the stuff that hasn't been done in ages, finishing with the cleaning of the bathroom, as it's nice and easy, doesn't take long, you know. However, since things seemed to be going smoothly at that point something had to go wrong, you just know it did. :P I decided to clean around my shower caddy, which, being rather old and well loved, promptly objected and fell to pieces. Literally. Dumped all the shampoo bottles, body wash, facial cleansers, body puffs, combs, razors, etc all over the bathroom floor. *sigh*

So, it was a quick trip off to Canadian Tire for a replacement, then home again - by now I had 45 min before the real estate agent was to show up, and was a little frantic. I finally get it together - I have to figure it out all over again every time I buy one of these things and I'm on about number 5 by now - got all the stuff on it like it was before, rinsed the tub again, tidied some more and thought, "To heck with this, I'm taking the dog for a walk." I got all my things - keys, iPod, leash, poo bags - got Honey ready to go, and just as we were walking out the door, my phone rings and it's the real estate office saying that the agent had cancelled the showing. I spent all that time, and they weren't coming...

Oh well, there was another one booked for Thursday, and three for Friday. At least everything I did isn't going to go to waste.

Bedtime for me, have a good night :)

I am sooo looking forward to this one! We're going to go to the latest show available on Saturday night in an attempt to avoid as many kiddies as possible. :D

I know I haven't blogged recently, but there's been a lot of things going on and not all of them are fun. My soon-to-be-ex has kicked into a higher gear in terms of getting his stuff together to list the house, so I've been busy doing things around the house - chief among them getting depressed at how much cleaning there is to do, and how I'm the only one doing it. :( There has also been the very difficult decision over the last six weeks or so to put down my thirteen year old cat, Booboo. She developed bladder issues and was making messes all over the house, and in the end it was decided that this was better for her.

There was some fun stuff - we went to the zoo a few weeks ago and had a lovely day - got a great sunburn which turned into a very nice start of a tan. I also got a new bluetooth to go with my phone, and I bought a collector's set of one of my favourite games. :D Yes, retail therapy is a good thing sometimes. Good thing I work too much, that way I can pay for it. :P

Anyway, I just thought I'd pop back in and say hi, let you all know I haven't fallen off the face of the planet. :)