Surviving....continued

Just a few notes on my last list, and some of the responses.

#1) Self-medication: yes, do this. Don't be stoic. HOWEVER, don't overdo the red wine thing. It's easy to do. It tastes so good. But, it can kind of destroy you the next day if you aren't careful. Then, you don't feel like doing the long walk, eating the chocolate bunny, and all that good stuff. Unfortunately, that's where I'm at today. I overdid #1.

#2) Anonymous suggested flirting, and I think that is super. And, Pandora, I don't think flirting has to be "mutual", although that is fun when it happens. But, flirting just is. And, as Conch Shell pointed out last night, you can always deny its existence if you need to. You can say, "I was just being my usual charming self"... But flirting is tricky in Ottawa and I think it requires a whole lot more study and analysis. My experience with flirting here has been mostly unsuccessful, leaving me feeling fairly asexual overall. Not that flirting has to have an "outcome"; but even a little mild fucking acknowledgement or a nod of appreciation would be nice.

#3) Anonymous also mentioned getting a pedicure, and I think that is a good idea. Or, you can do it yourself if you are able to bend over without getting head spins. Again, be careful with #1.

#4) I recommend doing some Yin Yoga. It's a kind of yoga where you lie on the floor for a really long time. Lots of hip openers, which are really good for the mojo, and treating late-winter asexuality.

#5) There is no 5th thing.

Surviving the last gasps of winter

Here are some tips for surviving the winter that just won't quit.

1) Medicate yourself with whatever you need. Don't try to be stoic. Take the edge off, folks.
2) Do some shopping. Buy some cheap rubber boots for the meltdown that is coming. Buy a tank top, crank the heat, and walk around in your place. Buy books and music. Play the music loud. This is no time for moderation.
3) Take advantage of the longer days. Take long walks after work and walk really fast. Feel the spring fever that is starting to hit. Wear all the usual layers so you won't get pissed off in the middle of the walk.
4) Cook really elaborate meals and drink and rant about hockey violence while cooking. Pretend you are Italian.
5) Do something spontaneous that you haven't dared to do: buy a new pet, move in with someone, leave someone, get a Brazilian wax, take up snowboarding.
6) Learn to knit baby booties in gender neutral colours. The Knitnut told me that you can make them in one sitting. There are a lot of babies born in the spring.
7) Buy a beret and pretend you are a Parisienne. Adopt the attitude.
8) Go to a hair salon, ask for something modern and see what you end up with.
9) Go out and buy a chocolate Easter bunny on sale and eat it right out on the street while you are doing #3.
10) There is no tenth thing.

Oh Bob!

Bob continues to be one of Ottawa's most delightful bloggers. I can't even find words to express how much I love his postings. His latest one, "Mitten Birds", is possibly the most adorable, sweetest thing I've ever read. I don't want to pressure the man, but I would love it if he blogged just a tiny bit more often.
I know this is technically "metablogging" and deserves to be over on the ESI blog, but there is a lot happening over there right now.

Youtube and Shower Caps

Happy Easter, by the way.

But let's move back to shower caps and their uses. I did a little internet research on the subject and found two Youtube videos on the subject.

The first Youtube video is a bit dull, and in a slow, tedious way shows how shower caps can be used to cover bowls. Woodsy already told us about that one.

The second video is hilarious, and you will get lots of interesting ideas about uses for the shower cap (baby nappy and fart catcher are my favourites, but I have a penchant for toilet humour). Warning: this video shows a middle-aged guy wearing either a red speedo or red speedo-like underwear, if you are sensitive to this kind of thing. I'm fine with it, but think he might be cuter in boxers.

David Scrimshaw might consider making a Youtube video on his uses for binder clips.

Shower Caps

Happy Good Friday all! I hope you all had a good day like I did.

I seem to be stuck on the consumer theme here. Forgive me. Just wanted to let you know about the GREAT BUYS I got in Chinatown the other day. I went to Global Homeware & Giftware (708C Somerset St. West at Arthur St.) and bought THREE top-quality shower caps. I picked up their business card while I was at it. They advertise themselves as selling "powerful kitchen rangehoods", but they have SO much more. If you haven't been there, you really must go. Above are photos of TWO high-quality shower caps I bought for almost nothing. I gave the third one to a friend who called it "the cadillac of shower caps". Shower caps are underrated and extremely useful for those times when you don't want to wash and dry your hair, but you want to rinse off your body. It's a time-saver. A lifehack. You can also use shower caps as covers for your bicycle seat on a rainy day. Or, alternatively, you can buy a very funky bicycle seat cover from Mintyfresh here.

More consumer behaviour

I've decided I was a lounge diva in a past life. I continue to buy impractical things that a) I can't really wear to work, and b) that I won't normally wear when I'm just hanging with friends. I am buying all kinds of fancy shit that is both flashy and on sale. Today's purchase was......a silver suit. I was just going to buy the skirt because it is cute, and I thought I could get away with wearing a silver skirt to work; in fact, I thought it might brighten things up a bit there. Then, the saleswoman pulled out two other matching pieces: a short jacket, and a kind of bustier thing. She successfully convinced that I needed the SET and that I could wear the pieces separately or together to work, to a wedding, to a baptism. Yes, she mentioned baptism. Even though I can't recall being invited to a baptism, I was sucked into the sales spiel. But, I have the silver suit here, and I love it!
I was happy with my last silver clothing purchase, too. I assumed that one was mid-life crisis-induced. I'm not sure what this one is all about... So, any weddings, baptisms or other fancy events out there that any of you would like to invite me to?

Commercial break

A break from the Havana photos here. Let's have a commercial break, shall we? This is what blogging is really all about, is it not? Today I had a conversation with a friend about the Spitzer whore incident in which I ended up shouting: "We are all whores and johns on some level, are we not? We live in a whorish culture in whorish times!" My friend told me she thought I needed to spend less time in Cuba.
OK. Here comes the product endorsement, folks. I, Aggie, am endorsing a Winter Face Cream produced by the Green Beaver Company. It's local, it's green, and it's cheap ($10.99), compared to what women can spend on face creams -- you know, the ones that promise 40+ women that they can look like an Emperor's Club "model" after twenty applications. I've used this face cream all winter, and I've noticed that I haven't aged a bit. There are no new wrinkles. I repeat, no new wrinkles. And, because it's local and green and all that, you can feel all virtuous when you buy this product. Less whorish. Available at your local health food store.

Fresh papaya and banana plate

There a few tiny pieces of guava on this plate, too, but I had eaten most of them before the photo.

Havana street at night

I won't bore you with....

my dream about Obama last night. He was smooth as silk, and whispered softly in my ear. I told him I had been thinking about Hillary, but that I was open....quite undecided, really. As a voter.
Turning now to the Cuban phone booth. I have a bit of a thing for phone booths since they are becoming relics. This one looks like something from outer space.

More Havana people-watching

More photos to come...but a brief interlude

I dreamt last night of Hillary Clinton. We were hanging out together. She was beautiful in her beige pant suit. In the dream, she convinced me to vote for her. She said, "That other guy doesn't know his ass from his elbow." In my dream, I was completely taken with Hillary -- her style, her mojo, her intellect. I was totally on the Hillary bandwagon. I was in love with Hillary.

People watching

I love people watching. It's fun to watch people at their freakiest (like the time in New York when I saw two women fighting because one had opened up an umbrella in the other woman's face. "Relax!" screamed one. "No, YOU relax!" screeched the other one.) But, what I really like is watching people resting.

Birds in a Cage

Clotheslines

I have a clothesline fetish.

Large American Car

"It's like riding on a cloud, my secret dream
my guilty pleasure, my flying machine
my ocean liner, my home on wheels
I can't tell you how good it feels" - from "Large American Car" by Jimmi Jetz of Astronaut Love Triangle.

Kids having fun

It's fun seeing kids really having fun. These boys are swimming in a little pool beside the Malecon. Look at the expression of the boy stretched out in the water on his back. Pure bliss!
The scene below is a couple of girls I saw playing. At first I thought they were rough-housing, then the interaction transformed into a hug.

amor en el parque

I discovered a sweet little community park in Vedado with beautiful mosaic benches. This one used old typewriter keys as tiles. While I was admiring the bench, I looked over and saw the love scene below.

Truckload of Condoms

I'm back...

I'm back from a delightful vacation in Havana. I will show a few pictures of my vacation, starting with this one. This is the toilet in the lobby of one of the places I stayed. Fun, eh? I did use one of these toilets, but didn't do the in tandem thing.
I'm currently going through a bit of re-entry shock here, but I think I'll be ok. I had hoped that winter would be over when I got back, but this doesn't seem to be the case.