We Built This City

OK, I woke up this Monday morning with Starship's "We Built This City" in my head. Apparently, this song has been considered by some to be one of the worst, if not the worst of all time. And yet, it is spooling through my brain. I don't think it's as bad as they say.

Someone always playing corporation games/Who cares they're always changing
corporation names/We just want to dance here someone stole the stage/They call
us irresponsible write us off the page. Marconi plays the mamba, listen to the radio, dont you remember/ We built this city, we built this city on rock and rollWe built this city, we built this city on rock and roll/Built this city, we built this city on rock
and roll.

Lost and Found

Yesterday I lost my watch, then found it on my own wrist. Still hoping the completed passport application will turn up.

Why I love my art teacher - Part 2

My art teacher has boozey breath with coffee overtones. His latest bit of wisdom was the following:

It's difficult to find solutions if you are still searching for the questions. Stay with the questions. And if all else fails, just make a bold broad stroke in a bright colour and hope for the best.

Here is a sampling of some questions that came up for me today:
Is John Baird the missing link?
Why can't I remember to bring my lunch when it's sitting there all ready to go on the table?
Why do I like huge American cars when I'm supposed to hate them?
How could a person lose a completed passport application before sending it in to the passport office?
How do people have the energy to jog?
Do I have any clean socks for tomorrow?

20 things I have lost in my life (in no particular order)

1. a pair of handmade green leather sandals.
2. a wrist watch
3. a red bicycle
4. a wedding ring
5. a passport application
6. a handmade basket given to me in Indonesia
7. 50-60 earrings
8. a rug inherited from my grandmother
9. a set of dishes
10. numerous CDs
11. numerous books
12. a pair of black leather platform shoes
13. a wallet
14. a walkman
15. my virginity
16. my pride
17. a quality cheese grater
18. approximately 50 umbrellas
19. my hard drive
20. approximately 20 pairs of sunglasses

Good news story of the week: Fruity cocktails are health food!

After all the tragedy of this week, followed by wanker media stories about the media, there was finally a good news story that came out. Turns out cocktails are good for you! Yayyy!!!!!
Get thee to a patio, and drink. Antioxidants, here I come!

Reasons why I love my art teacher....

1) He has boozey breath.
2) He tells me to push the paint around and see what happens.
3) He says supportive things like "I see transformation in this piece. Bring it back next week. We can work with this."
4) When I responded with, "Yes, I'm seeing some addition of red in this piece", he responded with a punch in my arm.
4) He encourages us to get out and look at a lot of art.
5) He hates Renoir.

A few of my favourite things....(today, April 19th)

I'm an in the moment kind of person, but in the spirit of Audrey, here is my list of favourite things (besides sex) today, April 19th, 2007.

1) the feeling I have 2 hours after my B-12 shot.
2) the Danish film "After the Wedding" - GREAT melodrama - loved it!
3) the way my cat licks my nose in the morning.
4) the Ritter sport chocolate I'm eating right now.
5) Double americanos
6) My assistant at work (who tells me to take time off for myself!)
7) Pistachios (which I'm also eating right now).
8) a warm day after a bunch of cold shitty ones
9) miraculously waking up feeling great after drinking too much wine the night before.
10) acupuncture
11) waiters
12) Bob
13) the ESIs
14) walks with Conch Shell
15) blogging at work
16) raindrops
17) roses
18) whiskers on kittens

Monday snapshot

Here is a snapshot of today:
1) Why do I live in this country? It's snowing slush this morning. It's April. Yeah, the cruellest month, but still!!
2) When I arrive at work today, two people are getting their knickers in a knot over a box of lost clear, transparent push pins. Were the push pins lost? Could they have been stolen?
3) During the day I wonder if the silver lining of my spider solitaire addiction will be that I won't lose my mind in old age. Will people say, "Her liver's gone, but she's still sharp as a tack."
4) I need exercise. I can't rely on an empire waist to do everything for me. But no, better to stay at home with a movie, a cup of tea, pie warmed up in the microwave and a magic bag (also warmed up in the microwave).
5) I hate tanned people and their all-inclusive lives. And, no, I'm not jealous!
6) I understand people who don't go outside.

Boobs and the Empire Waist

It seems that the ESI men (Coyote, the Chair, 4th Dwarf and the IO) are obsessed with boobs and confused about fashion. Last evening, they fixated on our server's hooters, insisting that they had augmented in size since the last time. They speculated that she was perhaps in the family way - hence the larger cup size, and hence the floaty top. I informed them that the Empire Waist is in fashion now, and that with a good push-up bra, anything is possible. The boob job possibility was ruled out because, as one ESI put it, "She's not the boob job type." I informed them that I have a friend who definitely didn't seem like the "boob job type" who, in fact, got a boob job. My friend's boob job wasn't a great success, however, because of her poor posture. Her chest continues to appear concave because her slouch. As a small-boobed woman, I rely entirely on my good posture as my personal boob job. And, clearly, I'm going to have to get one of those empire waist things.
It's not nice the way those ESI men were objectifying women, was it?

More random musings

I love Megan's idea of punching someone in the face in yoga class and blogging about it as a way to make her blog more interesting.* I may have to resort to that. I'm lacking material right now.
Possible reasons for lack of material:
1) I'm in incubation mode.
2) I need an "M".**
3) I need a better computer.
4) I'm too tired.
5) I'm too busy.
6) I'm not sleeping well because I'm reading half the night.
7) I'm having communication problems with people this week, but I'm afraid that if I blog it and they read it, communication will become more strained.
8) I need a sun holiday.
9) I'm in a crisis.
10) I'm not in a crisis.

* Megan mentioned the punching someone in yoga thing as a sarcastic response to David Scrimshaw who blogs about binder clips...
**M was the former, asexual lover of the 5th muse.

Easter Monday Aggie Update

Nothing much to report here, except the following:
1) Easter chocolate overload, resulting in serious zit outbreak.
2) I'm exciting about Bob's new drunken group Ottawa restaurant review blog. I'm looking forward to their next installment.
3) I didn't have the day off today, but decided to take the day off, and don't seem to be in any trouble.
4) I'm enjoying a new Eliza Gilkyson CD, "Paradise Hotel". This woman can sing.
5) I'm enjoying a new book by Lisa Moore, "Alligator". Twisted yet likeable characters.
6) I watched The Fog of War - a documentary about McNamara. I went in thinking he was a total hawk. In the film, he's a reflective teary-eyed old fellow with some regrets about some of the shit that went down during his time in office. Highly recommend it. I learned some history, too, something I never picked up in school.
7) I've switched my cat from "Sensitive Stomach" to "Selective Cat" food. He loves it. Apparently multiple kibble shapes appeals to finicky cats.
8) I'm not going to talk about the hockey situation here.
9) If you thought "Mommy and Me" yoga was too much, check this one out.
10) I think winter is going to be over tomorrow.

ESI feature profile: The Chair

One of the ESIs, the Chair, is a very funny man. He used to have have his own blog called Exile on Elgin Street, which he abandoned for reasons unknown. The blog was so popular that it was even included as one of Musie's link in her original blog, along with such blogging greats as Mintyfresh and Lana (sorry, I don't have their current links). 4th Dwarf might argue that the Chair's closure of his blog was a result of laziness. Others might suggest that he ran out of material about dating. Others might contend that his commitment issues made it difficult for him to stick to one blog. Whatever the reasons, I am secretly hoping for a resurrection of the Exile blog.
Speaking of resurrection, last evening I watched hockey with the Chair and a rowdy group drinking pitcher after pitcher of beer. Audrey was there, and asked why Good Friday was called "Good" when it resulted in an execution. The Chair answered, "Well, it was good for some." The Chair then continued with his witty remarks, until Audrey and others chimed in, "You should be blogging all this!"

Emails that don't bode well....

I'm compiling a list here, and need your help. A lot of attitude and tone can be communicated by email these days. I'm trying to make a list of some of the expressions, etc.. that signal that things could turn/are turning ugly. Here are a few:

1) "As I mentioned in my previous email...."
2) "I had assumed...."
3) Name repetition. For example: "Aggie, I thought we had reviewed that problem before. If I remember correctly, Aggie, it was you, Aggie, who .....
4) Had I been apprised of this situation earlier....
5) Use of all upper-case.

Toxic Bounce

Conch Shell and I had a wonderful stroll through Chinatown the other day. We nursed our hangovers with Vietnamese soups, then hit the Chinese Herbalists. Conch Shell bought a tea called simply "Health Tea", a bag of unknown herbs that you have to boil for about an hour. We tried some in the store, and swore we felt better immediately. I ended up purchasing a blood tonic/liver cleanser. Upon leaving the Chinese pharmacy, we walked by the laundromat. We smelled a wonderful, comforting aroma, which we realized was fabric softener. "Too bad bounce sheets are toxic," I said. A guy walking past us stopped dead in his tracks. "Bounce sheets are toxic?" he asked. "Are you sure?" he said. "They are a total nightmare, man." I said. He walked away looking forlorn. I ruined his day.