12/30/2004

p.s. wedding-related blog blowout to begin next week!

Dang

My cold is definitely getting better but I'm still a little congested. Last Sunday I totally lost my voice, now I sound like a breathless Kathleen Turner, which everyone agrees is kinda sexy.

I have been doing waaaaaaay too much sitting and lying down over the last three weeks, and absolutely no working out. Now my formerly injured left shoulder, hip and knee are starting to get all stiff and sore. So most of the time, I actually sound more like a very grumpy, breathless Kathleen Turner.

The workouts will resume Monday afternoon.

Perfect! Just enough time to get over the New Year's hangover I'm planning.



12/28/2004

Happy Holidays Everyone!

My Internet access has been wonky the last few days, which has been fairly convenient seeing as I've also been sick with a nasty headcold AND have the worst cramps of the year.

YAY.

I was living in a crazy bubble of sickness for days. I hadn't read a paper, listened to the radio or watched anything on TV that wasn't movies at all the whole weekend. Then Melissa came over yesterday to take Oscar for a walk for us and she told me about about the Asian Tsunami. Talk about a reality check.

I'm donating all my Christmas money to the Canadian Red Cross.

12/20/2004

Feist - Let it Die

I'm sitting here thinking about what to say about the last few days and how shitty they've been. Instead, I'm sitting here, in total bliss, listening to this CD that Melissa gave me yesterday for Christmas.

Feist it sultry, sexy, soulful AND sweet. I haven't seen or heard anything like this since Jeff Buckley.

12/15/2004

How to get on my Naughty List

Tell me how much you wish you could stay home to take care of me (yes, I'm still sick) then leave for work without replacing the empty toilet paper roll.

12/13/2004

die auspumpenhütte

Kirk is still home sick today and I left work early today after having barfed 3 times in less than an hour - with only green tea and a hard boiled egg in my tummy.

We've officially dubbed our home "die auspumpenhütte", which is a literal translation of "the poop hut" using BabelFish.

Translated back it reads: the pumping out hut.

When Kirk found this for me to cheer me up, I laughed so hard I almost pooped myself.

12/11/2004

Wedding Fever - Volume 1

I'm going to warn all of you right now that Kirk and I are planning to get married next fall. That means that I'll be posting to my blog about it, about EVERYTHING; dresses, banquet halls, flowers, family, friends, photgraphers, invitations.

EVERY. SORDID. DETAIL.

Our current goal is a late September/early October 2005 wedding. I'm not sure where yet 'cause evry in Toronto books over a year in advance, so I'm scrambling a little for a place to hold it. All I know is that I want to have the ceremony and reception at the same spot. Probably something non-denominational since I was raised Roman Catholic and he Lutheran, we figure we're going to hell anyway for all those years of living in sin.

My parents have generously offered to help us with most of the cost of a reception as long as (there's always a catch) I invite certain people that I hadn't originally wanted to invite. Since my father IS Italian and likes to get his own way (a infuriating trait that I've inherited from him), my first instinct was to tell him that I'm not a little girl anymore and IT'S MY GODDAMN WEDDING AND I'LL INVITE WHOEVER I DAMN WELL PLEASE. But don't worry, I didn't actually say it out loud this time.

My dad is very Italian, very Catholic, and VERY protective of me. When I moved out of the house at the age of 23, he thought I was insane. Even my grandmother told me that no man would EVER want me because I didn't live at home with my parents like a good girl. Then 2 years later when I told him that Kirk and I were moving in together after only 6 months of dating, and that we had no plans to get married, I thought he was going to have an aneurism. Here's a brief excerpt from that conversation.

ME: "I'm moving in with Kirk next month."

DAD: "No you aren't."

ME: "Umm, I love you and know this is hard for you to accept, but I'm not here to ask your permission."

DAD: "Obviously you don't care about me or what I think."

ME: "Dad, I care very much about you and what you think, but I love Kirk and it's my choice to make."

DAD: "So you're having sex then"

I'll just leave it there cause it's at this point that things really started degrading. I mean, this was the only time my father and I had, and have, spoken of me and sex in the same sentence.

After so many years of uncomfortable dinners, and lots and lots of therapy to get over the guilt and shame of dissapointing my dad and the joy of living with my best friend and the love of my life all at the same time, we're finally at a good place in our relationship.

I just couldn't ruin this for him and tell him to take his generous gift (which will help so very much) and shove it. He is just so proud and happy that we're "doing the right thing" and I know he just wants to share this special day with as many people as possible - and I love him for it. All this means is that instead of an intimate attendance of 80 we're looking at about 130 - I can deal with that.

OK, that's enough wedding talk.

Here are some pics of some of my recent artwork.

Sunset on Salerno
This one is titled Sunset on Salerno. It's from a photo I took at the cottage. I gave it to my aunt Debbie and uncle Vic cause they used to have a cottage on the very same lake years ago.

Most recent comission.
This is the comissioned portrait that I did of Keira, my boss' 7-year old daughter. It's from a photo of her jumping up and down on a bed.

Painting of my mum, age 3
This is a painting of my mum, age 3, done from an old photo. It's about 40% completed.

This morning Kirk woke up with the flu. Oh boy. I've been so crabby all week, with adjusting to working full time and all, so I've set aside my grumpiness to take care of my sick shmoopee. In a few hours I am going to be mean though and go out to meet Jen, a university buddy, that I haven't seen in about 4 years. We're going to Saigon Sister for some delicious vietnamese munchies while he's all snug in bed. Oscar will keep him warm and safe for me while I'm gone.





12/04/2004

If no news is good news, then what does a lot of bad news mean?

There have been a few things that have happened here in Toronto over the last couple of weeks that have made it just a little harder to get up in the mornings, much less blog:

Handguns are NOT necessary. Not EVER.

If there is ANYONE out there who believes that this is the only way out, please, please get help. Props to Heather B. Armstrong- an amazingly courageous woman, and mother, who GOT HELP.

I love living in here but what the FUCK is going on????

Oh yeah, I'm also starting back to work full-time next week. For the first time in 3 years.

11/25/2004

just keep on dancin'

Last night Kirk and I went to see The Pixies at Arrow Hall. When it started snowing yesterday afternoon, I was starting to feel kinda uneasy about driving out to the airport in the middle of rush hour. People in Toronto always seem to forget what it is like to live in a country that experiences WINTER. Sheesh.

Things didn't improve much when I got home from work when I had to clean up a shiny new Oscar turd that was hardnening right in front of my easel, which must have appeared somtime in the 4 hours since I had last been home (I come home on my lunch hour to take him out). I totally freaked out cause he's been doing it a few times a week since we turned the clocks back. I got a wee bit yelly (I'm so tired poop paranoia) and broke out Oscar's puppy training crate, where he spent the rest of the evening while we were out. We've tried everything, but he's a 2.5 year old border collie living in an apartment - time for a little hard-core, non-yelly discipline.

I picked Kirk up at work and we stopped for a bite to eat to avoid the worst part of the evening traffic. We go there around halfway though The Datsun's set, which, while hardcore, unfortunately sounded like one very long song. At least that's all I could tell while I was chugging the Mike's Hard Lemonade I was double fisting. We made it to the front of the "beer garden" and had a perfect view of the stage. "Beer garden" is a major misnomer by the way, "beer pen" is more like it. Once The Pixies took to the stage, every person within a 10-foot radius of us lit up a smoke - in a non-smoking concert hall festooned with signs threatening a $5000 fine for lighting up. The Pixies opened with pretty sober rendition of Wave of Mutliation, which made it seem like they were playing someone's wedding or bar mitzvah.

Now, I quit smoking cigarettes a while ago when I realized my little habit might have had something to do with my 10-year stint of quarterly bronchial infections, leading to a total lack of interest in physical exertion or proper diet and finally to depression. One of the things I had to do when I quit was think of how DISGUSTING it was, always remining myself of all the toxic fumes I was breathing in besides the tobacco. Obviously it worked because I had to GET OUT of there. Part of me wanted to bitch slap those asswipes 'cause why should I have to give up my spot just so I can breathe air that wasn't suffocating.

Two songs later the band redeemed themselves (around the same time Kirk, my sweet shmoops, talked me down from my increasingly bilious mood and we moved to a bit further back). Every single song from there on in was incredible. After so many years apart, it was amazing to see a group of extremely talented musicians hit every song full on just as tight as ever. The first time I heard The Pixies when a friend lent me her tape of Dolittle. I was floored by how music could be so velvety, melodic and hard rocking all at the same time.

With more room to move and air to breathe, I downed the last of my Mike's and danced like a maniac for the rest of the set. Concert goers in Toronto are pretty uptight and most people just stand around, afraid to let their hips sway in any sort of suggestive, potentially-image-shattering manner. Not me.

About 45 minutes into the set, a mildly drunk woman in her early 20's tapped me on the shoulder. The last time I was at an all ages show at Arrow Hall, I saw the Foo Fighters and had a couple of 17-year old punks behind me who kicked water bottles at me because I was dancing too much. So you can imagine that I was a little taken aback at having a stranger come up to me. She proceeded to tell me, while clutching 2 cups of bad beer, how she thought I was "awesome" and that she was having fun watching me have such a good time, "even though your partner seems kinda bored." It's hard to tell, but beneath Kirk's stoic, "I-don't-dance" stance at concerts, rages a hard-core music lover. "I just wanted to tell you how cool you are and that you should just keep on dancin'."

Powered by the energy of Mike's and the nicest compliment I've received from a total stranger in EONS, I jumped and shimmied to U-Mass, Gigantic, Here Comes Your Man, Debaser, Monkey Gone to Heaven, Mr Grieves, a second more rocking version of Wave of Mutilation, Where is My Mind?, Caribou, Vamos, La La Love You and a few others that I can't remember because I was too busy ass shaking.

They ended the show with the most AMAZING encore - EVER. I'm not sure what the song was, but it was instrumental. It was all massive beats and kicking guitar riffs generating the most incredible electonica-ish sounds I've ever heard, and not one computer. Oh and the dancing that was done.

A million thanks to that nameless drunk girl whose selfless act helped me to forget all about the traffic and the dog poop and the smokers and just enjoy the music.

11/22/2004

one down, one to go

I just finished one of the commissions I've been working on since early last month. YAY! Now I've got to get as much of the second one done as I can by the end of next week. Come the first week of December I will be working full time, for the first time in 3 years, and I want to make sure I have enough time to work on it. Especially since I've got another painting on the go at Katrina's. It's from a photo of my mum when she was 3.

It still blows my mind that someone would actually want to pay me for something I've painted.

11/19/2004

what NOT to get your child for christmas

Happy 30th Birthday Dom!

Tonight is my cousing Dom's 30th birthday party and there's a surprise party for him tonight at Windy O'Neills. I was TOTALLY serious when I said I was going to go buuuuut after my work out yesterday, Kirk getting home from work later than I had thought he would and the fact that I'm working tomorrow at 8AM,I'm pretty much wimping out and not going. On a clear day, It's about an hour drive but on a Friday night? Just after a tractor-trailer had jacknifed on the 401? **shudder** Which is too bad, cause Dom has the biggest sunniest smile EVAR (it's all about the dimples) and I'm sure they're all have a lot of fun right now...sigh...I love being 30, but jeebus, what happened to the days when I would have welcomed any opportunity to party?

11/15/2004

Photo Friday Challenge: Family

This is my entry for the most recent Photo Friday Challenge.


family, originally uploaded by the shmoops.



Here's a recent shot of Oscar with his new winter booties.
booties
Yes. I am one of those people.

OK. Now this is a picture of the engagement ring Kirk gave me.
wow


I KNOW.

11/09/2004

Photo Friday Challenge: Radiant

Photo Friday Challenge: Radiant

I've been meaning to do these photo friday challenges FOR EVER. I'm goin' to try harder from now on. pinkie swear. Anyway, this is our lake.

I wish I could be there. Right. Now.

11/08/2004

Heard any good ones lately?

A few moments ago, when I got this joke in my email, I caught myself reading it aloud to Kirk, like I do sometimes. Except he is in Rohnert Park, California. And I'm pretty sure he couldn't hear me.

------

A man died and went to heaven. As he stood in front of St. Peter at the
Pearly Gates, he saw a huge wall of clocks behind him.

He asked, "What are all those clocks?" St. Peter answered, "Those are
Lie-Clocks. Everyone on Earth has a Lie-Clock. Every time you lie, the
hands on your clock will move."

"Oh," said the man, "whose clock is that?"

"That's Mother Teresa's. The hands have never moved, indicating that she
never told a lie."

"Incredible," said the man. "And whose clock is that one?"

St. Peter responded, "That's Abraham Lincoln's clock. The hands have moved twice,
telling us that Abe told only two lies in his entire life."

"Where's Bush's clock?" asked the man.

"Oh, it's in Jesus' office. He's using it as a ceiling fan."

11/07/2004

Kirk left this morning for California on business.

Oscar definitely knows something's up. He's been extra herd-y with me and keeps whining "Hey, umm...where's Kirk? Hello? C'mon where is he?".

DAMN, I miss him already.

10/25/2004

Answer: What the hell took you so long!?!

Question: Marry me?

Yes, friends, after 2 years of being a girlfriend and 5 years of being a common-law partner, I am now officially a fiancee.

The last few days had been kinda strained with all the overtime Kirk's been putting in (working 12 full days in a row is NOT my idea of fun). So we decided that we were entitled to sleeping in on Sunday morning past 8am. I can't remember exactly what we were talking about but all of a sudden Kirk dropped the bomb.

A short while after I said yes (actual answer found in post title), we got up to find our slacker plans had backfired. At about 7am while we were sleeping in, Oscar had taken the largest dump EVAR in the middle of the loft floor. The little bastard didn't even TRY to wake us up.

10/20/2004

so here's the problem

I went to see the doctor before dinner this evening about this headache. I was a little concerned about the constant popping in my ears and was afraid it was an infection. No. I just have a whoppingly nasty case of rhinusitis

I'm such a wimp....sniff.

Oh yeah.

Props to the folks at Family Practice Health Centre at Women's College Ambulatory Care Centre. Even though I had to wait a whole half hour to see a doctor. They were able to fit me in at really short notice and are super nice.

Oh yeah.

I also forgot to tell you I finally saw Shaun of the Dead on Saturday.

Go. See it now.

I'm gonna go again on Saturday.

oh i wish i was an oscar meyer weiner...

I've been home from work for a large part of the afternoon. I've had a pounding sinus headache for about two days now. When I feel this crappy Oscar is the only thing that seems to make me feel better. How can you not love a face like this???

scootie
Alternative names used at some point in time:
Oscuardo
Scooter-pup
Scootie
Petit Monsieur
The Pooper
Monkey Boy
Puppers
Mister Dog
Squardles
Squardly-buckets
Squarlofo-mofo
and my personal favourite: Dr. Piddles

10/18/2004

Deep-fried turkey is DEEEEEEEE-LICIOUS!


turkey, originally uploaded by the shmoops.

Here's what Spencer's dad cooked up for brunch the day after the wedding.

The best part? Watching a dozen guys standing around the pot of roiling oil, giggling like little girls.

Congratulations Anny and Spencer Fowler!


annyNspence, originally uploaded by the shmoops.

On the first weekend of October, Kirk and I went up to Sundridge, Ontario to attend the wedding of Anny and Spencer. I've known Anny since she was born. Both our mums were roommates in 1970 and have been friends ever since.

When we were kids we lived about an hour apart from one another and only really hung out during holidays and birthdays and whatnot. We really became close in high school, where we both attended the only all-french language catholic high school in the Greater Toronto Area. See, both our mums are from Quebec so they had decided it was important for their children to grow up being able to communicate both in English and in French. All subjects were taught in French; Maths, Sciences, History, Shop, Geography... EVERYTHING except for English of course.

When we were rockin' teenage catholic school girls, Anny and I even dated two friends on the same hockey team. Ahhh.....sweet memories.

I had promised myself that I wouldn't bawl uncontrollably during the ceremony (I can be irrationally sappy sometimes). And I didn't. It was later, after the dinner reception and a lot of white wine that I weeped openly during the speeches.

We're all grown up now. I was going to say old...but 30 isn't old is it?

10/17/2004

bug killer

A hundred fruit flies on the ceiling upstairs in the loft.

Kirk is also upstairs with a flyswatter.

20 minutes later, Kirk is victorious.

My hero!!!!

10/03/2004

9/30/2004

comissions ROCK!

The opening was last Saturday and was, by all accounts, a success. The place was pretty packed. My parents were there as were my aunt Nancy, cousin Nancy (it's a often recurring name in my family), my brother and his girlfriend. My friends Jen, Trish, Lorne, Natalie, Kathleen and Missy all dropped by.

The most touching moment of the evening, and of my life, came when my father cried openily when he saw the painting I had done of my grandfather. It's based on a photo that was taken around 1942 where he is dressed in his Italian army uniform. Makes me a little teary now just thinking about it. As we all sat around, gabbed and drank really good coffee, I felt like my grandfather was actually there in the room with us. My parents ended up staying right until the folks at Javaville had to kick us out. I think Dad felt Grandpa there too.

Just as things were winding down I was approached by a local resident who really liked my dog portraits and asked if I could do a portrait of her dog. YAY A COMMISSION!!!! Since none of my paintings were for sale, I am very excited about it. Oh, and I also got a commission from someone at work to do a portrait of his daughter. WOOHOO!!!

Pictures coming soon. I'm a lazy ass...

9/22/2004

side effects may include mild concussion

Styrofoamkitty's most recent post reminds me of a special time, back when I lived alone. I think it was 1995 or 96 or something.

Anyway, one fine Sunday afternoon, I spent about an hour rearranging the cupboards, as I do at least twice a year (yes, I am that anal) when I decided to start vaccuming the kicthen before I was even finished the other shit I was doing (yes, I am that obsessive compulsive).

I bent down to pull some shrivelled up bit of food that the vaccum was refusing to suck up. Then, I stood straight up whereby my skull cranked full force into one of the cupboard doors from the bottom up.

Next thing I know, I'm lying in the middle of the kitchen floor with my 15-pound cat sitting on my chest, mewing worriedly.

I had no idea how much time had passed, but I had the biggest nastiest headache I have EVER felt in my entire life. Turns out I had a mild concussion, and couldn't work the next day for the lightning bolts shooting out of my left eye. I had to tell my manager what had happened.

Though I had considered lying, I was just too exhausted to bother. He almost didn't believe me seeing as only a couple of months earlier I had given myself a hairline fracture in the nose by smashing my face into a sliding-glass door (which unfortunately DID actually happen - but that's another story).

Not that I really cared what he thought of me. He wore shorts and leather sandals to my interview. Oh, and he called me the afternoon before my first day to tell me that he had changed his mind and that I woulsn't actually be starting work atOHNOI'mjustkiddingahahahahahaaaaaaahahahaha..ahem...

Bastard.

9/16/2004

SAWEEEET-TAH!

Here's the official invite. I'm first on the list.


9/08/2004

Smother me with your sweet love

My grandmother came home from the hospital today. She is having some kind of lower-intestinal issue due to the lack of fiber in her diet. She's OK, but still a little shaken.

Hell, if I woke up one morning bleeding profusely from my ass, I would most certainly FREAK THE FUCK OUT. And I'm not someone's 81 year-old grandmother.

I haven't been sleeping very well. Basically, I'm over-emotional with a hair-trigger, snappy-retort reflex set off by just about everything that Kirk seems to do/not do and/or say/not say. My hormones certainly have added fuel to the fire.

I think he is just about ready to smother me with my own pillow.

9/07/2004

damned kids

holy shit

8/20/2004

I'm STOKED, yo.

I'm participating in a group exhibition coming up at the end of September for Toronto Arts Week . I was planning to do a solo show, but I just don't think I can handle the pressure of hosting, curating and promoting a show all by myself.

Plus, the timing really blows with the TTC streetcar track "reconstruction" on my street from mid-September to mid/late-October. I don't even want to think about what driving, parking or just plain getting around will be like.

...shudder...

Anyway, I'm heading over to meet the other artists tonight at 7. YAY!

8/12/2004

I just about peed myself

This was sent to me by my gay boyfriend Steven.



Dearest Steven,

You'll always be MY favourite fag.

Love,

Your favourite hag

p.s. only 37 days until Talk Like A Pirate Day!!!!

8/10/2004

8/03/2004

ahoy me mateys

Looks like blogging gets the rumble seat in my life right now, as are most things computer-related. I'm still getting used to my new schedule. Man it's hard when everything in your life shifts...even incrementally. I mean, the whole yard I work at is Internet and e-mail free. Every job I've held in the last 8 years has been a place I could chat, surf and talk to people throughout the day. Now, I count stuff and sort paper in alphabetical or numerical order all day. And, I'm busy from the moment I walk in, to the moment I leave. Unlike my last few jobs in the IT world, no one is sitting around looking bored. Everyone is busy and people actually like the work they do. Granted, it's not the most intellectually stimulating work, but somehow it is fulfilling. At the end of the day I can say exactly what I've completed and know that I've contributed. I haven't felt that way about work in a long time. And anyways, what I DO to make a living doesn't define WHO I AM.

Okay, time to go work out now. Surprisingly, I actually miss my work outs if they don't happen. They're definitely making a difference. In the last 6 months I've gone from a size 12 to a 10 and went from 165 to 155 pounds - thanks to those workouts AND less time spent in front of the TV and computer. YAY!



7/22/2004

whaaaaaaaa????

evolution rocks!!!!

yay! insomnia!

My body clock is all fucked up. Even though I have to get up at 6:30 am every morning, I just can't seem to fall asleep before midnight, which was my bedtime pre-job.

Hey Maggie - a friend of ours got the shirt here in Toronto.

Since I can't sleep, I've taken on a new obsession: Kingdom of Loathing. Thanks styro!




7/19/2004

duuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhh

About 15 minutes ago I sat down to write. Something. Problem is, that for the last 14 minutes I've been sitting here staring blankly at my monitor.
 
My brain is FRIED, yo.
 
Nighty night....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
 

very short update

Just a quick note to let ya'll know I'm still alive. Work is pretty good. These people do their shit old school. Almost everything is done by hand. I have to share a PC with 5 other people. Oh...and no Internet access or e-mail. 
 
What's a modern girl to do?

7/13/2004

eek!

I start my new job tomorrow a the lumber yard...at 8am. I've been getting up earlier and earlier each day this week to try and get used to it. All I can say is that I am sooooo not a morning person. I'm the grumpiest biatch at 6:30am.

7/09/2004

Photo Friday Challenge: Cool

7/07/2004

Huzzah!!!!

E just called to tell me that her friend has 2 extra tickets to the sold out Pixies show in September. My day is now purrrrfect.

It's official.

I'm now employed!!!!! This is good since we have a GAPING hole in our bathroom's tub enclosure that's been there for at least 6 months. I'll be working in the office of a lumber yard 3 days a week, which means I'll still be able to paint in studio the other 2 days. The downer? I have to start at 8am and they don't have internet access or email.

*GULP*

Speaking of painting, here's my most recently finished oil painting - painted with a palette knife. The 2nd time I've painted that way. I kinda like it!

7/06/2004

SUPER GAH!!!!!!

Got the call this morning about the job, but i was driving kirk to work. Now we're playing phone tag.

...sigh...

6/30/2004

nepotism RAWKS

OK, so last week my dad and I had a really long talk. Ever since I've realized that I'm healed from the injuries I sustained 2 summers ago when some dickhead decided that he wouldn't bother checking to see what was going on ahead of him before he slammed on the gas and proceeded to drive right into me crossing the street...on foot.

Anyway, we were talking about the fact that my friend Natalie and I are trying to startup a 2-woman painting business. So far we've bid on a couple of jobs, but nothing concrete has come out of it yet and we want have a few more completed jobs before we really start marketing ourselves. That means that I need some other way to make money in the meantime. He told me he'd ask around and see if there was anything could do to help.

It was amazing. My dad. Offering to help me without criticising me and actually being nice about it. I didn't feel like a little kid asking for my daddy's help. He treated me as an adult and with respect. I almost started bawling right then and there. I left for the cottage and put it out of my mine. Monday morning he calls and tells me that there is an opening at the office of one of the lumber yards that's a division of the company he works for.

Today, I went in for the interview with the super dude that runs the place and it was really cool. He would like me to work Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays which means I won't have to sacrifice my work outs with my brother AND painting in the studio. I almost peed myself. It's exactly what I need AND it's in the city, so I won't have to commute to the suburbs!!!! WOOHOO!!!!

Anyway, boss dude is going to talk to the owner and get back to me early next week with an offer. Plus, it's Canada Day tomorrow, and Kirk took Friday off, so we're heading up to the cottage once again, but this time for 4 whole days.

I'm so happy I could explode!!!!!

6/28/2004

6/27/2004

6/23/2004

dagnabbit!

So I didn't actually get to see Marie's babies yet. I had a NASTY reaction to caffeine around 11am. (Puking and such...happens from time to time...mostly when my allergies are bad...and right now they are...)

I was a little concerned about walking into a hospital and possibly handling infants so soon after retching for a good half hour. I'm not the least bit contagious but I figured it was better to be safe than sorry...sigh...you never know...

6/22/2004

shame shame

DOUBLE GAH!

Our water has been turned off since 8am this morning due to the perpetual road work happening outside my home.

Now my plans for the day have all been shot to hell.

Can't make tea
Can't take a bath
Can't brush my teeth
Can't flush the toilet
Can't put fresh water out for Oscar and The Poupee
Can't wash the floor in my bedroom where Oscar puked up his breakfast at 8:30 this morning.

...sigh...

I know it could be a lot worse...but still...

bye bye comments

ok...so I updated my template and am using the blogger comments tool now...so all my old comments are gone.

POOP.

6/21/2004

Congrats to Marie and Joe!

This afternoon, Marie had her twins!!!! Both boys were delivered by C-section and are healthy. Hoping to see them later this week. Will post images when I can.

6/14/2004

look out, she's gonna blow!!!!!!!

Going to spend the afternoon with my cousin Marie. She's preggers with twin boys (shudder) and is on bed rest with no one but her father to keep her company today. She was in the hospital for a whole week a little while ago because her blood pressure was all messed up. They were worried that, for her health, she might have to birth the babies before they were really ready to be born. Ultrasound tests estimate that Baby A is just over 5.5 pounds and Baby B is just shy of 5 pounds. That means that it's safe for her to have them before her original due date of July 14th. This will be the first set of twins in our family.

My biological clock isn't ticking yet...ahem....not really...sigh...

6/10/2004

Will Ferrell is my hero.

Check out the new Anchorman music video

Fuck Reagan...we should all be crying for the death of this man.

Ray Charles - dead at 73

If you believe in real democracy

and you're Canadian, then you should sign this petition.

Everything you ever wanted to know

about pot in Canada. This is a hot topic in many party platforms for the upcoming election (June 25).

6/08/2004

Here's a pic of Oscar and I - sent via Picasa's Hello appy - okay...me go sleepy now... Posted by Hello

gah

A few words of advice to all you cottaging virgins out there:

1. When you go to your cottage, don't go over and visit your neighbours, have too many beers and offer to help lob heavy rocks, while ankle deep in lake water and standing on slippery rocks, to fill out your cottage's shoreline that's slowly being eroded away by the wake of far too many jetskis and power boats, and slide on your knees down to the edge of the rock shelf that ends in a 50 ft. drop to the lake bottom.

2. Don't have a few more beers, offer to "help" your mate, who's replacing the locking doorknob, by closing the door before both knobs and internal mechanism are securely in place, especially when you were told you not to, then say "oops!" when the doorknob comes right off, and promptly almost pee yourself laughing while you offer to "help" get out, then actually wrench the mechanism right out of the door with a screwdriver when your love isn't looking and say "oops! I think I broke it".

3. Do pass out right after eating the haphazard meal you slammed together while in a drunken stupor and force your mate to head on over and explain to the nice new neighbours why you can't come over and share that wild blueberry pie you had bought especially for the occasion and had gone on and on and on about over beers earlier in the afternoon.

6/04/2004

Even dogs need friends!

Oscar is now a member of Dogster.

5/31/2004

the spring cleaning that never ends

After watching The Passionate Eye last night, I had a little trouble sleeping.

Hey! That means it's the perfect time for another hilarious movie to
improve morale! Witness the glory that is Ron Burgundy.

5/28/2004

testing again

now with publishing deliciousness

testing the mail-to-blogger address

hope this works

5/21/2004

i am no survivor

Spending time at my cottage has made it quite clear to me that I couldn't survive alone in the wilderness if my life, and the lives of others, depended on it.

Oh...and if I don't have a rock hard ass by the end of the summer, there is no god. It's a 10 minute hike downhill to get to the water and cabin, but a 20 minute hike back up to the road.



5/07/2004

so...what's next?

Hey there folks,

Just wanted to let you know that I'm still alive, and yes, we had a VERY successful opening accross the board. Three separate media outlets shot footage at a couple of venues in The Junction. Though unfortunately none at our location. I did get lots of great feedback about my work and I even sold a painting!

I've had no more than 5 hours sleep a night for the last week, so I'm going to go lie down now and sleep for 3 days.

Peace.

4/26/2004

I'm super STOKED, yo.

Tomorrow is my last day working for Beth!!! WOOOHOOO!!!

I'm showing Penny (my replacement) the ropes and she's going to be AWESOME for Beth. Way better than me considering how not effective I've been for the last couple of months, oh yeah...and her 40 years of experience. I feel kinda silly walking her through everything, but I guess at least she'll understand how I've been doing things and will have a better idea of where to find everything.

ALSO, I've put together a little page of my show info. Figured I'd make the most of my .mac account while I still have it.

Anyway, here's an update on where I'm at with the show:

EXHIBITION
I'll be installing 15 digital shots (13" x 19"), plus 5 paintings. The photos I used to paint them will be framed (5" x 7") and hanging alongside the paintings. Have the frames, haven't yet printed the shots. Seriously people, this was the hardest part. I have over 5000 photos sitting on my mac's backpack drive. Took me FOREVER to figure out which ones I wanted to use.

SELLING
All the photos are for sale, plus I'll be offering additional digital prints at a reduced price, in case people can't afford the pricy $175 a piece. The paintings are already spoken for, but I'm hoping to have another show in the summer of just paintings, this will basically be jsut a preview of my work - AND I'm going to make myself available for comissioned pet portraits if anyone checking my shit out is innerested.

PRINTING
I had considered having someone else print my photos for me (which really would have been faster and less of a pain in the ass) but I'm kinda on a tight budget so it's taking a little longer than I had expected. I'm stuck having to re-print almost ALL of my shots, since I was an ass and didn't bother to do any test prints OR bother to write down what print settings I used and went ahead and printed anyway on my $5.00/sheet premium quality glossy paper. 5 done. 10 left to go....sigh...oh yeah...plus the 5 smaller shots.

FRAMING
I've got all of my frames which were pretty cheap but look good. I'll need to put in my own hanging hardware since the shit that comes with SUCKS.

INSTALLATION
Still waiting to hear back from our venue to find out if they're hanging everything for us or if we have to do it ourselves. Everything will be displayed against brick walls that will probably just be screwed into. There's 4 of us exhibiting at the one location, so odds are he'll want to take care of it. Hopefully I can just stand there, looking pretty and direct them, which is MY FAVOURITE.

OPENING
Not sure what we're all going to do yet, but I'm sure it will be nice. There are 9 venues in our little area that are working together on promoting it to the public, all opening simultaneously, so hopefully we'll get a lot of traffic off the street, beyond our friends and family.

CLOSING
There will be a silent auction to close up our participation in Contact, which is yet another piece to print and frame.

EMOTIONAL STATE
Excited with a hint of panic...but way less stressed than I've been over the last few weeks. I'm learning a lot about how all this art-show-stuff works and am glad that next time I'll be able to just whip through everything.

4/18/2004

2 more weeks

currently, i have both a) 2 weeks to go for Contact; and b) 2 weeks to go before my job ends.

ok guys, i think i'm kinda freaking out.

everyone keeps telling me i shouldn't be.

that i have nothing to worry about.

shouldn't that be reassuring?

why am i so worried?

4/14/2004

It's official

HUZZAH!!!!! The CONTACT Toronto Photography Festival website is now up and I'm listed!!!!

4/13/2004

HAVE A HEART FASHION GALA

If you're in Toronto on Wednesday, April 14th 2004, you should check out my friend Kate Jackson and her Dirty Skirty clothing line at the "Have A Heart" Fashion Gala in support of the Canadian Red Cross.

On a more somber note.

4/12/2004

are you registered?

To all my American friends - Don't forget to register!

4/05/2004

I didn't sell a damned thing at my show last Sunday. Most of the people that showed up were students of the studio...so I guess I don't feel so bad.

...GULP...

OK...I so want to so be able to post pictures to my blog. Too lazy to figure it out. Need help. Suggestions?

lovin' that daylight savings time

Don't get me wrong. As far as jobs go, it's not so bad. No dress code. I get to pick the days that I work. Take as many breaks as I need. Take as long as I need for lunch. There's two house kitties to keep me company. No office politics. I've learned a lot about managing the day to day operations of a business. And I've even become friends with the person who employs me. The pay is not the best but it's not exactly minimum wage. Despite all of that, two weeks ago today I gave my notice. It's becoming harder and harder to spend two days a week sorting through the constant disorder of someone elses personal and business affairs. I'd much rather be managing my own.

Spent all day yesterday with Natalie painting a massage therapy clinic space. It's a great room in a big old house that was converted to office space a couple of decades ago. We've got to go back on Friday for a last round of touchups and to paint the door. I can't remember when I last had so much fun working so hard.

We're only a few weeks away from Contact 2004 and I'm getting really excited slash nervous. I still have to finish getting my photos printed and framed. Everything's going to be for sale, but I think I'm going to offer unframed signed prints as well. Also still need to work out my pricing too.

My work. For sale.

...GULP...

3/30/2004

my horoscope for this week - courtesy of the onion

Pisces: (Feb. 19—March 20)
An important warning sticker will be missing this week. The stars can't tell you where it should be, but it should say "Caution: Rotating Knives."

What's yours?

3/26/2004

Open Studio This Sunday!

Things are really looking up with my artwork.

The studio where I paint is having an open studio this Sunday and our instructor, Katrina, asked me to being a few of my paintings in to display as well as to actually paint during that time!!! Then she told me that she had placed an ad in today's paper and my name is on it. NEAT! It's the 2nd publc exhibition of my work in her studio (last time was 2 years ago).

Then in May, I'll be exhibiting at some of my photos at Contact 2004. Oh yeah...I'm also working on pieces for a show of my pet portraits sometime later this year.

I'm so excited I could....I could....well...NOT STAB SOMEONE! YAY!

3/24/2004

i feel better now

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

The knot that's been sitting between my shoulder blades since 3:30pm this afternoon has finally eased.

Now I can sleep


.....zzzzz.....

Honesty may be the best policy, but it's important to remember that apparently, by elimination, dishonesty is the second-best policy.- G. Carlin

Dear middle-aged burnout,

Eat shit and die.



3/23/2004

When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.

Hunter Thompson found safe!!!!

I got lost in the time vortex. The TARDIS brought me home.

YAY!

Dr. Who is coming. Dr. Who is coming!!! HE was my favourite.

Oh my gawd, guys....I'm such a geek.

3/22/2004

...gulp...

Can someone please explain the logic used to determine STABBING another person as the RIGHT way to solve a problem?

My little po-knee

Can I have this puleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese?? hunh? Can I? Can I?

3/18/2004

When I grow up, I'm going to Bovine University!

OKay folks, I've got a new gallery up of shots taken in Montreal. Check it out, yo.

3/17/2004

back with a vengence

Montreal was great. Spending 4 whole days with my mom was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Our plan was to hit as many art galleries as we could. Instead we went shopping, which was good, cause my wardrobe has been lacking. Seriously lacking.(I can totally relate to you kalli!)

I've been second handing it for a while, and I would say for the most part that it's worth it. Except for the last little while I've been feeling pretty frumpy. So some new clothes definitely boosted my ego...especially since I can now walk into lots of stores and find SOMETHING that fits me (Thank you Marc and your ass-kickin' work outs).

We DID manage to get out and see some art in Old Montreal on Sunday and ma favourite gallery there is Yves Laroche. They have a great selection of works by very diverse artists. We spent almost 2 hours there just trying to take it all in. Yum!

I'm definitely going to be dragging Kirk's ass down there sometime this spring/summer.

3/10/2004

cya next week

Leaving for Montreal in the morning (fuckin' 6:30 am) with my mom.

Taking the train. First class.

Will be back on Sunday night.

Toodles.

3/09/2004

...sigh...

Spalding Gray's brilliant struggles

.: T E C H N O S E X U A L :.

I think these guys need a little less techno and whole lot more sexual.

burning hot tea just shot out of my nose

I love The Onion

smooth as a baby's bum

Nebraska Mayor Implements Shaving `ban'

Besides the fact that it's obvious that Nebraskans need a hobby, did anyone else notice the mayor's name?

3/08/2004

Be-Dazzled!

ummm....

3/05/2004

Let's gance!

Here are some alternate "gances" that are sure to please (courtesy of my sexxxxxxxy loving partner Kirk):

The Pooper Scooper: where one guy pretends to be a dog, takes a dump and the other picks it up.

The Last Tango: one guy grabs stick of butter and jams it in othe guy's ass for lube; then pounds him in the ass.

The Crystal Dick: were the guy masturbates furiously on the dance floor to no avail and the other guy just leaves.

The Prince Charles: one guy gets on his knees in front of the other grinds his face into the other's lap; just two guys having fun, doesn't mean anything.

The Redneck: where one guy beats the shit out of the other, then picks him up, apologizes, tells him how much he loves him and buys him a beer; variations include simply pushing the other into the bonfire.

The Yellow Brick Road: where one guy pees in the other's ass then before he takes a dump.

3/01/2004

Gah....the excitement is over

For the first time ever, I wish that birthdays could last way longer than a day. Kirk worked so hard getting everything together so that I could have a stress-free, relaxing weekend. Here's the run down.

Friday (27th)
I worked out with my brother, which was, well, pretty painful. He did a fitness assessment which helped me determine a few things for me:

1. I need to strengthen my abs so I can do more than 17 proper situps.

2. I need to strengthen my abs and pecs so I can do more than 20 proper push ups (the wimpy girlie kind).

3. I'm doing pretty good in the cardio department, so I jus' gotta keep on truckin there.

4. I have 32% body fat, which I need to bring down to somewhere between 26% and 29%. In October when I started working out it was at 35% so at this rate, it just may happen before the summer.

5. I weigh basically the same as I did when I started...now I just have more muscle - so for all you fat busters out there, get out your measuring tapes and go for reducing inches instead of pounds. Water retention can make you weigh 2-5 pounds more!

6. I love having a personal trainer - and I HATE exercising. Sure it IS my brother and he is helping me for free...but I can't believe what a difference 1.5 hours can make once a week. Now that I know I can commit to that, I'm considering joining a fitness class of some kind. Hm...maybe yoga, or kick boxing, or dancing... I just have to get over my fear of making a total and complete arsehole out of myself in front of others. Any suggestions??

Anyway, Marc (that's my bro) and I had lunch together and just talked for an hour afterwards. I never would have thought that I would actually look forward to spending time with my bratty little brother...but I do.

Later that evening I met Kathleen for dinner. We went to Okonomi House for some deeeelicious okonomi. I won't bother explaining what it is, just try it if you ever get the chance. Then we dragged out full tummies back to my place for an even more delectable chocolate decadence cake from Daniel et Daniel one of my favourite caterers in Toronto. After having worked out like crazy and then gorged on so much food Kirk had to tuck me in at 10:30pm.

Saturday (28th - MY BIRTHDAY!!!)
I woke totally refreshed and a little sore, but I was determined not to sit on my ass all day. My friend Jode had an art show, and we bought a small canvas of his. I really love his work, I couldn't resist. Then we trucked around Queen West. We did a lot of window shopping and stopped in to see Kate at the Fresh Collective and Kirk bought me a couple of really pretty and inexpensive rings. Then he took me to the Australian Boot Company to get me a new pair of boots, since my old ones look like I trekked across the outback 10 times over. I usually DESTROY shoes and boots in one season. These lasted 3.5 years. I swear by my Blunnies and wear them religiously when I'm not wearing my birks. I know they're not all sexy-like, but FUCK IT. The only time I'll suffer for pretty shoes is if I've got a formal do to attend (which happens almost NEVER).

After that we walked all the way home to Cabbagetown and had a whole mess of Japanese food (again) for dinner. Kirk had tempura and I ordered the sushi pizza. Then we slept like little piggies in blankets until about 9pm, which was kinda unfortunate since we were supposed to meet Ren and a whole bunch of people at Andy Pool Hall...at 9pm but didn't get there until 10pm. When we arrived Missy had set up a small lounge area with a MASSIVELY HUGE sign just for me! With balloons and everything! That's when I started pounding back the gin and sevens. I think everyone and their mum was smoking in that place, so most people left by midnight. Missy, Melissa, Kirk and I checked out around 12:30 and headed over to the House on Parliament for some Jager. Kirk and I staggered home dragging the sign and ballons with us, since Missy made me bring it in to the pub. Slept like a fuckin' rock.

Sunday (28th)
Kirk drove our sorry asses to my parents place in our car at around 1:30pm (gold 1988 Volvo 240 DL wagon - A BEAUT!) and we had a gigantic Italian feast with my mum, dad, grandma, aunt Nancy and brother. Then about an hour later, the whole rest of my family showed up, along with some old family friends! I was so surprised that so many people showed. We ate lots more (cause that's what Italians do when they party) and opened presents. Didn't get home until 8:30pm. I did rake in a bit of dough which will come in handy for the trip to Montreal my mum is taking me on!

I feel so blessed.

and bloaty from all that food!!! NO MORE!!!!

oh my gawd, guys!!!

Not sure what to wear to the prom?

Here's some ideas

it's official!

god hates shrimp

2/29/2004

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Ahhhh...nothing says "you're an old bag" quite like a hangover.

2/26/2004

feel better beth!!!

Beth had a migraine today, so we had to postpone our dinner tonight. I was looking forwad to it, but I know how hard her headaches are on her. There's no way she should be anywhere other than her bed. Her headaches can trigger seizures. So Kirk and I had sandwiches and tomato soup for dinner. We also watched The Office. I seemed to have caught it for the last 2 or 3 episodes and I think it's one of the funniest, most terrifying shows I've ever seen. The Ulimate Weasel Central.

I was over at Kate's place yesterday to take some photos of her artwork for portfolio website in exchange for some kickass new apparel. Kate has a line of clothing called Dirty Skirty, which she is selling out of Fresh Baked Goods' Fresh Collective store on Queen West. She makes great skirts and earrings and shirts, soon bags and other goodies. I'm just burning a CD of the shots I took. As soon as I she gets her site up I'll post a link to it. I'm also bartering my photography skills for time in Katrina's art studio. In the spring I'll be painting my massage therapist's office in exchange for free massages. YAY bartering.

The more I use my camera the more I realize I want this camera.


1.5 more days!!!

2/24/2004

4 DAYS LEFT PEOPLE!!!

So far, Beth is taking me out to dinner on Thursday, then Kathleen and I are going out on Friday night, then Kirk and I are going to spend the day outside on Saturday (this IS a special occasion after all), then a romantic dinner for 2 THEN we will party our asses off. I don't really drink that much any more (mostly since I quit smoking cigarettes), but it will SO be worth it. On Sunday, my parents are having a little thing for me and you know it just wouldn't be the same unless I was extremely hung over.

nothing says i love you like...

So I'm sitting here reading barefootgeek and The Poupee is sitting in my lap (I was going to say on...but she's practically in there, so...). She's purring away, butting her head against my arm all sweetly-like and suddenly her whole body start rocking. Next thing I know, she horks up the biggest hairball I've ever seen. Good thing I shoved her off of me as fast as I could, or it would have ended up on my lap instead of on my foot. yum.

2/23/2004

IS it OK that I'm bored?

I just spent the day sorting through a kajillion receipts and bills and reports and shit, to get Beth's taxes done. It's fucking insane what a person has to go though. Maybe that's why I this time of year is so depressing for a lot of people. I suppose it's a small price to pay to stay out of workplaces like Weasel Central (Ren, we gotsta get you out).

Regardless of what I said earlier, I am excited for my birthday. Kirk's mum sent me some birthday money, which was super nice and totally unexpected. That means I now can go to the yarn factory outlet on a yarn shopping spree. NEAT. Kirk also gave me an early birthday present when he said he was cool that I dip into our savings to buy some new clothes. I'm in serious need of pretty things.

5 days left

In the past, when someone I knew turned 30 I would calmly reassure them that "it's only a number and it doesn't really mean anything". Now that it's my turn, I'm trying desperately to hold on without freaking out (unsuccessfully). That's why I've ordered left it to Kirk and Missy to plan things this year because a girl should'nt have to plan her own fucking party goddamnit.

2/22/2004

6 days to go...

until my 30th birfday!

2/16/2004

now with spanking new stuff!

Finally finished updating my photo galleries with photos of my crochet projects, some new oil paintings and some shots of Oscar and La Poupee.

2/13/2004

happy friday the 13th

My massage therapist gave me a fitness assessment today and she proclaimed me so fit, that if she had met me today for the first time, she'd never have guessed that I had been mowed down by a brainless fucking moron in a minivan.

WOOHOOO!!!

What a great day.

2/10/2004

concentration beyond my reach today

Yesterday I got so much done here at work. I was so proud of myself. Today I can't seem to concentrate on anything more complex than checking each of my 7 email accounts every 30 minutes.

A few days ago Missy lent me some of her new CDs. I don't really listen to the radio much unless it's the CBC or Jazz FM. I throroughly enjoy all styles of music, but would not consider myself an afficionado by any stretch of the imagination. I just appreciate good music whether it's the blues, bluegrass, folk, country, R&B, hip hop, punk, rock, jazz, pop, reggae, classical or anything in between.

There's a serious lack of original musical programming out there (CFNY was so great in the 80's - truly the spirit of radio. Now it's just the edge - though I still catch Alan Cross' Ongoing History of New Music from time to time). I get pretty bored of most popular music about 3 weeks after it's release so I've come to depend on Missy to bring me up to speed on what else is out there.

Over the last year she's introduced me to The Darkness, Andy Stochansky, Deadbolt, and Princess Superstar among others.

Now she's lent me:

* Peaches - Fatherfucker
We went to see Peaches at the Guvernment a few months ago when she was on tour supporting this album. I think she's a fucking genius.

* Michael Franti and Spearhead - Everyone Deserves Music
I haven't listened to it all in it's entirety yet, but from what I've heard, the mix of hip hop rhythms, jazz, reggae and rock influences and socially conscious lyrics is EXACTLY what the world needs right now.

* K-OS - Exit

This is THE best hip hop album to come out of Canada so far. Read a review.

What are you listening to right now?

Officially the lamest test EVER

take it like you know you want it

2/09/2004

We shall slack no longer...well...mostly not...sort of...

I can't believe how much CRAP one person, nevermind two people, can collect. Well, no matter, Kirk sure made it all look purdy.

We have a 350 square foot space upstairs that once was an attic with a sharply slanted ceiling which makes most of the space useless for anything other than storage. And boy, did we store a ton of shit! Well, not actual shit, but just lots of stuff, y'know?

Anyway, most of it had been jammed at random into whatever open space was available, and it was generally impossible to find anything you think you might have remembered possibly being up there. Then there's all the stuff you totally forgot you had and had been thoughtlessly tossed aside, into an half-empty box.

Oh yeah, and a home office (with 3 desks, 2 computers, photoprinter, fax/copy/printer combo , typewriter, files and office supplies), a workbench (with hand and power tools, drill press), a sewing table (with machine and trunk of fabric and yarn), a fish tank and gardening supplies.

It was a pretty scary place to hang, and not the kind of place you could imagine getting anything actually done - somehow now it all works. I actually like working up here. Well for one thing, it's the cleanest it's been in months. And he did it all with NO prodding or even any asking at all.

...sigh...

I love my man.

wite-out is fun!!!!

I've been concealing a line of fax information on a 50-page document for the last hour. WOOOHOOO!!!

2/08/2004

Happy Birthday Natalie!

Today is Nat's birthday and we're having some people over for breakfastables to celebrate. Here is the menu:

Scrambled eggs
bagels with cream cheese
Frech toast with blueberry maple syrup
bacon
turkey bacon
fruit
coffee
tea
juice

mmmm....hungry...

2/04/2004

let's talk about the weather

Like everyone else in Toronto, I'm really starting to get tired of the snow and cold now. After Monday's news that Wiarton Willie (Canada's groundhog supreme) saw his own shadow, preducting 6 more weeks of winter I just about had a conniption. My face is covered in dry skin and blemishes from the the cold, wind and wearing a scarf wrapped around my face while I'm outside.

I have to admit though that it IS nice out today which is good (yeah, a sunny -14 degrees celcius). BUT, because it's sunny everything's sorta melty, but it's not cold enough to stay liquid for very long. By tonight it'll all freeze into huge sheets of ice. YAY.

What sucks the most is the number of homeless people in Toronto that will once again be stuck making a choice between spending the night in the freezing cold or in an overcrowded, tuberculosis ridden shelter.

1/30/2004

i like steve!

We're at the tail end of getting things set for our registration with Contact which is due tomorrow. So far this is all gone waaaaaaay smoother than I had anticipated. Working on this with someone else definitely makes it a hell of a lot more fun. Steve and I have a lot of the same artistic aspirations, interests and goals so it seems there's a lot we can do to support one another. YAY! We hadn't really had a chance to hang out much in the last year or so, so it has been great catching up with him. Anyway, once I have the final details of the show, I will post them here so all you Toronto folks can drag your lazy asses out to check out my shit.

1/27/2004

i like snow but hate the cold.

Had a really bad headache yesterday. Today is better so I decided to brave the nasty weather and come in to work. Except now, I wish I had stayed at home.

...sigh...

A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

1/25/2004

Don't hate me because I'm beautiful...

ahem...

sleep is good

I've been going like stink for the past week or so. Today it is time to RE-lax. Well, at least until about 2ish when Kirk and I set out for my grandma's birthday party.

I noticed that I was starting to get a little testy last night while I was cooking dinner (mmmmm...lasagne...mmmmmm). I kept dropping stuff, knocking things off the counter and absentmindedly lapsing into that tone of voice that Kirk loves soooo much.

Maybe it's just PMS...

1/20/2004

BAD BLOGGER

Well as you can see, blogging has certainly not been on my list of priorities of late. Things have been a lit-tle crazy.

I've been working on getting some new pics of my artwork up on my .mac website (well...still working on it). Last week I finished a portrait of my pup Oscar and I thought it was about time that some recent stuff got up there. Frankly, I think it's my best work so far. The 8-10 hours a week I spend at Katrina's private studio has REALLY paid off. The whole time I was painting it, I felt so amazingly confident. When I was done it took my breath away - I thought "Wow, I'm a real artist". CRAZY.

I also started a new part-time gig, well, short-term actually. I'll be coordinating (with Steve) the Contact Photography Festival for one of the local BIA's. Basically we have until the 30th of the month to get all the venues and photographers together, which will be a little tight but we don't care 'cause it's going to be KICKASS! Oh, did I mention that I'm going to enter a few of my own photos in the exhibition? WOOOHOOO!!!!! I'll get to hang with my friends, throw a few opening parties and have my work seen by hundreds of people over the whole month of May!

I've been wanting to exhibit a show of my paintings for a while now, but haven't really felt ready to do it. This newest painting (photos soon - I promise) is definitely showable, so I just need to paint many more of them (I'm thinking of a series of pet portraits) to have enough to have an actual exhibition - but then this opportunity arose to show some of my digital photography off (most of my photos were taken with the hope of turning them into paintings someday). So, now here's a chance to cut my teeth without having the time to really worry too much about it. I'll have a kajillion other things on the coordination side (thanks goodness) to preoccupy my obsessively churning mind.

The other thing that's frickin' awesome about all this is that it's the perfect opportunity to take my corporate(whore)-world skillz and apply them to something in the arts community.

Oh yeah...and it PAYS :)

...sigh...

Life is pretty damned good right now, I must say. Now I just have to figure out how to get some of that shit thrown Ren's way...hmmm...ideas?

1/17/2004

now with comment-y goodness

comments back up!

1/16/2004

arrrrrgh

sorry about all the errors. comments are down right now. the provider i used is being taken over by haloscan. Will hopefully have them back up this weekend.

1/13/2004

The Darkness | Men What Do Rock, Baby

Last night a few friends and I went to see The Darkness at the Pheonix Concert Theatre. THEY FUCKING RAWK.

1/06/2004

Monobrow.com - Celebrating the Unity of Your Eyebrow

My dad has a monobrow...though in our house we called it a unibrow.

Hmmm...

According to this test, I am an INFJ. What are you?

HA-HAH

I knew it!

1/05/2004

new year's resolutions anyone?

Kirk and I spent the last week purging our stuff and rearranging our furniture to better suit how we use everything. It gave me an opportunity to reflect on my life and life-style, and think about what I like (want to keep) and don't (want to trash).

BEHOLD - my 2004 new year's resolution:

In 2004, I will DO things, not just TALK about doing them.


Yep, that's it.

For so long I've been felt like an incomplete person who wanted nothing more than to be happy. But what does that mean, really, HAPPY? It's so arbitrary and fleeting, why resolve to be something I can't control with so many happiness-party-poopers out there.

Here is my basic line of reasoning: ACTION + SUPPORT + MISTAKES + SELF-LOVE = TRUE GROWTH = FULFILLMENT = HAPPINESS.

Let me explain. If fulfillment is a by-product of DOING (challenge or not), then to DO, I must :

* be fearless in asking for help/accepting help when I need it,
* allow myself to make mistakes and to learn from them, and
* accept myself as I am (good and bad alike),

So that I can GROW and ACHIEVE and feel FULFILLED.

Yes folks, I know this all sounds hokey, but I think I've been going about this all wrong my whole life. I mean, I could have resolved to lose weight, or eat better or exercise more, or a whole litany of things I want to change (like in past years), but in the end the beauty of this resolution is that I can apply it to every facet of my life - health, art, work, relationships, ANYTHING - and not get all bogged down in the details.

I mean, all I really need to do is TRY and I'm living up to this resolution, right?

*sigh* I guess I should get started by getting back to work now ;)

britney did whaaaaaaaat?

Who gives a crap?

No really...