Cafe Press for the Poet

Just finished working on setting up a Cafe Press shop for my good pal T. Anders Carson. He is currently running for Council in Bastard & South Burgess County (out near Portland ON) and wanted to get some product put together for it. So please check it out and buy buy buy!

Anders is one of my oldest and dearest friends. We had similar beginnings (both starting school at Stephen Leacock Public School in French Immersion & on to the Earl of March in Kanata,) though never shared a class!

We have had many adventures together; from following the Grateful Dead in the early 90's to helping him move house several times (and he in turn helping ME) it has been an accumulation of amazing joy, stress, peace and solid friendly experiences. We have seen the mountains of Kentucky, the plains of Texas, while Spare Ass Annie chuckled through the speakers. We've slid into New Mexico in the dark, then out into rainy Southwest evenings, creaming into a tumbleweed we thought was a stray cow!


We passed the Stallion's Gate 5 miles N. of Trinity Site, crossed the Rio Grande and twisted our way up into the mountains looking for Soccoro and the Radio Telescopes. We stayed in Taos and chilled, and then parted ways; I headed North to home and Anders stayed on for a month to write poems at the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation.

We've gone to Lilith Fair, eaten greasy breakfast at Rockin' Rodney's (*grin*) and cleaned lead & cement flaking paint-encrusted pantries while rocking to Tom Waits, Lou Reed and Charles Bukowski.


We've scraped, painted, sung, smoked cigars, swum, cursed, shook fists at the sky, relaxed in the glory of sunsets, pines, Zen and shooting stars. We've dragged garbage across country miles, lurched ancient stoves across backyards and driven merrily in the gas fumes of an ancient LTD.

It's been some times, times times! So the least I could do when T. called yesterday to ask for hep was to get some images together for him for the campaign. If you want to, you can check out some streaming poetry from the Canadian/Swede HERE. You can also read a review from Broken Pencil of "The Dawn of Silence", his first chapbook, illustrated by moi, wayy back in 1995.

So, hopefully the stuff will arrive quickly and in one piece, in time to help promote Carson for Council Ward 1!

Now, to sleepy-time.
Goodnight Sugar Monkeys,
Suzanne.

Rattle & hum

(Above, me & my belly-dance teacher Lisa-Marie aka Sha'Vega Malibu, dancing it up at the end of year show in the summer! Whee :-)

Hmm, you know when you look down at your belly and think.. there *should* be abs under there somewhere (ok, everybody except EricB, KeithA & LeahH who all know perfectly well that there are abs down there..) You KNOW you have abs when they hurt! I may be more of a keg than a six-pack, but man-oh-man those babies are aching.

As you can tell, I must have excersized at some point to create the pain. Bellydancing classes started yesterday! Hurray :-) I signed up for Beginner's Class (again.. this time I swear I will practice more and try and remember ALL of my traveling steps. Right now I remember hardly anything..it's annoying :-P) I also signed up for Intermediate Class too, which is a bit daunting, but I do know a few things & it is to be a drilling class where you go over specific moves. Should be a blast!

I'm taking the dancing at Sir Guy Carleton HS near Centrepointe with Sha'Vega Malibu aka Lisa-Marie Serafin, Belly-Dance Diva Extraoridnaire! She is also doing Tarot Interpretation classes too; if anyone's interested... There is still room in the bellydance classes, and at $79 for 10 weeks (ok, it would be 9 if you signed up now :-) it's a deal.

It feels good to be moving around; even though my heel is still giving me some pain (I do believe there is a hidden sliver in there..haven't been able to find it yet.) Not fun :-P The new gang last night was enthusiastic and really into shimmying, trying the traveling steps and having a good time. I didn't recognize anyone except my teacher, but that was fine. They all were quite friendly.

The music kicks butt; the rhythms of the Middle-Eastern dance are infectious.. I found myself doing little hip twirls and figure-eights in-between our shimmies and snake-arms. Yay; it feels good to move about again. For anyone interested in joining up; a lot of the info can be found in my previous entry from the Spring! (Just remember to adjust the time and rate to reflect the fact that it is September/October and not April and that it is now $79 per session :-)

What else?
I think we're getting to the end of our time keying the HRSDC (acronym for "hellish, rotten, stupid, dorky, crap" we have to type!) Yay! I'm glad that it's ending and we're going to be doing a mail-out in the next couple of weeks. That's basically organizing surveys, stuffing envelopes, keeping track of everything and trying not to lose material. At least it will be different & not as mind-numbing.

Although tunes at work have been helping. Everyone trades CDs, listens to MP3 players, the radio or (thanks to JohnG here,) listens to MP3's saved on the computer's hard drive. I borrowed Bob Seger from my buddy MyraW which was awesome and also got to hear some great Johnny Cash, (a new sound for me :-) Some Trance, re-visited the Offspring and of course my old standbys, Colores Andinos and Conan the Barbarian. There's something oddly ironic about keying all this crap while Conan is thundering about in your imagination decapitating snake-priests. Yay!



This afternoon there was a big Census meeting for everyone who participated as a NRFU Enumerator in the Jean-Talon Conference Room. I debated about going. I didn't go to the luncheon at OID because I didn't feel like talking about the Census, or my involvement and my experiences. Everyone else had such a great time; I didn't want to be there to kinda drag it down. But, for the afternoon meeting there was supposed to be a big group photo and certificates handed out and such.. so I thought I should go.

It was strange seeing all the faces in the conference room again; the SOD NancyW was right, it all started here, wayyy back in July and here we all were again. We were officially thanked, officially recognized for our contribution (minor though it is!) to Canadian History by our assistance in collecting responses for he last question on the Census forms (YES you all have done your CENSUS, RIGHT??) anyway, if you haven't, take out a form 2A and give it a look. Inside the cover under all your made-up names and such there is a question that asks if you give Statistics Canada permission to release your personal info in 92 years for geneology and historical studies. Cool eh? Yes, that is a NEW question, and apparently the impact on generations will be very exciting.

heh :-)

I still have noticed that most men in Statistics Canada wear shirts that look like graphs. In 90% of the cases I have observed, apart from t-shirts and stuff, this holds true. Check it out :-)

So, I got my certificate & my name was spelled right. We gathered in the Jean-Talon Rotunda and the photographer squeezed like 66+ people into this leetle space, people sat, stood, lounged, knelt on the floor and grinned. I had NW squished against me to the left and my buddy LianneG to the right. Some head honcho was kneeling in front of me. It was kinda neat. We all mugged for the shot & laughed, compared notes and trundled back to the conference room for more chats.

I'm glad I went; it felt good to wrap it all up--the closure that we need when we've gone through an experience (traumatic or not!) Plus I'll be able to look at the certificate years from now and reminisce on my adventures in the wilds of Britannia :-D



So, tomorrow's Friday & ya can't be sad that it's the end of the week. I think Susie & I will go to Thyme & Again and have coffee (tea for me because of ye olde gallstones :-( but I might have half a cookie too! Saturday I want to go to the Forest Fair in Kemptville to see LianneG's photos & the other North Grenville Arts Guild people too! It should be fun; hopefully the weather will be nice.

Sunday, might do a brunch with some buddies at a Japanese place; if we can git organized for it! And of course Clay & I will try and see Mr. Savage. He has promised not to feed me deep fried brain or strong coffee laced with chocolate and whole milk. Well 1 out of 2 ain't bad!

Cheers & hope everyone has a good weekend.

Grinding through the week

Wahull, another Friday, and so sweet it rivals maple syrup :-) My upper teeth on the left side are hurting and it's going right up into my brain like a nail. Wonderful. I get over one pain or cold or what-have-you only to be thrown into another one. As I told MW at work, "I'm falling apart!"

It was a day; we were on HRSDC which are those leetle travel cards you fill out when you come back from a trip abroad. I think I raged about them a few posts ago. The music I've been listening to really makes the work go faster though. Today I listened to Sheryl Crow & Friends (live in NY), The Clash "Combat Rock", Colores Andinos and the soundtrack to "Farewell to the King", courtesy of Doc Savage and Basil Poledouris :-) The day flew by, and I rolled out at 3pm feeling dazed and experiencing nasty eye-strain. Yay! Another debilitating condition :-(

Speaking of conditions; I went to the Doc Wednesday, and as my previous post stated at the end, I have gallstones. Apparently I come by them honestly, as my Mom and her folks all suffered from gallstones. Even my brother mentioned he gets pains in that area. Whee! For educational purposes, here is a picture of the gallbladder (although, it's not MY gallbladder..and usually gallbladders are not a bright blue in colour..)



Pictures of gallstones are too gross to post. Go Google Image them yourselves if you want to see them. Yick.

So, I have to change my diet. No more fatty foods, red meat, dairy or anything remotely tasty like onions. The only things on the list that I think won't be a problem to give up are the banned organ meats: brain, kidney, tongue, sweetmeats (!) and whatever else you boil up to make head cheese. So NO deep-fried brains for me :-P

Other areas on the net have funky home remedies for gallstones and strange diets that include vats of oil to flush you out, or mega amounts of beets. I do like beets. But the idea of chugging vegetable oil is kinda icky. Anyone got any good ideas out there? The consensus at work was to forget the whole "control with the diet" idea and get surgery. My friend MW actually showed me her scars and they looked not too bad. In fact they were barely noticable.

Surgery??? :-O

Well, Enough o' that. After work, I drove to Bells Corners and dropped in on Mike, Shelagh, Bronwyn & Kiara! BABY :-) I got to hold her and everything. And she didn't barf on me (I like my new niece.) I gave her a soft Gund terrapin and a Winnie the Pooh letter "K" & some bday presents for Shel too. Mike put on some classic Sesame St.--lots of great, hypnotic 60's influenced animation *whee*. Took some pictures; hopefully they'll turn out!



I also got to see footage of Kiara RIGHT outta the birth canal. It was amazing; she was all brand new and howling her little lungs out, thrashing her little arms--the nurse was swabbing her down. You could even see the cool umbilical cord. Wow! It hit me right in the chest, I choked up--amazing :-O Whew.

Short post, but my eyes and teeth are killing me--I must medicate & then make some kind've dinner. Hope the weekend is good for everyone--
Cheers,
Suzanne.

PS--Anyone know the significance of the # 5318008 ???
There's a lolly in it for whoever guesses correctly :-D

Birthday bonanza

Geez, the week's going going and almost gone. Where's it off to in such a hurry? Where'd September go? Whatsis? October fallin' on us already, with that nip of frost in the air and the skirl of orange papery leaves blowing across the cracked pavement.

Last Wednesday, it poured rain, but I didn't mind. I was going to meet LH and Vix at Pub Italia for 5:30pm, so since I knocked off at 3, I had some time to kill. I browsed at Holland Cross, drove to Island Park and got gas at the retro Esso, swung around to the fantastic Ottawa Bagel Shop on Wellington and grabbed some sesame seed bagels YUM, then stopped near the Parkdale Market.

You know how if you try and pack a pile of shit into 1 hour, you can never finish anything and you end up running late?? Well, I kept piling stuff into my free time and because it was pouring rain, nobody was out and about..and consequently, it took no time at all for me to accomplish my stuff. The Parkdale Market was a ghost town. I bought my beets, zucchinni, garlic braid and stuff in about 5 minutes. Headed back to the car and vegged, as my windows steamed up. I listened to "Dark Side of the Moon" on my MP3 player.. yay--I'm moderately technologically catching up!

I waited in the car as the rain pattered, misted and poured on the windshield. Wrote 11 mini pages of a letter. Ruminated over turning 37, then thought "the heck with it" and headed to the Pub! Traffic was annoying because of the rain, but I parked in my usual spot on Norman St. just in front of the Lada dealership. Heehee! I always kid that I park there so I can pass my secret documents to the Russians who work there.. :-D

I got to the Pub and it was packed. A nice waitress (they're 98% nice at Pub Italia) took me DEEP into the back of the place, where I'd never been. I didn't have to wait long for Vix to arrive, a huge yellow bobbling flower under one arm! Yay :-D LH came next and we settled in for brews (LH loves the Trappist Beers, especially the ROCHEFORT “8" (BELGIUM) 9.2% Chestnut coloured, fruity aroma, malt and chocolate finish and the ROCHEFORT “10" (BELGIUM) 11.3% Dark brown in colour with lots of chocolate flavour and aroma) food, chatting and divulging of presents :-) LH gave me a cool Buddha statue & incense and a pile of books with a beautiful oriental card. Along with the flower, Vix gave me a great card that actually had rats on it! She also gave me some home-made plum jam and a dragon visor for my car. Hurrah!



After lasagna, beer, jalapeno poppers and laughter, we broke it up; dropped LH at home and then headed to Kanata to enjoy some maple tea in the livingroom. Vix put Swandive on the stereo and we chilled with the kitties. Hollee.. Arlo has also aged; he's now 16! So, time for the old grey dude to secure his driver's licence, eh?

THEN

I birthdayed on Thursday, attended work and had a big fuss made over me, which was sweet :-) Nhoj got me a very cool dragon for this DragonGrrl's bday and a cool card that *everyone* signed (even some big cheeses in there :-) And lots of cool little cheeses as well. Skywindcat got me a very cool glitter-flower card that stands up by itself. Everyone was super nice and I left work with a light heart.



Drove to the Stitts and hung out with my Mom. She was finishing off the preparation of Thai chicken and salad, as well as topping the home-made cheesecake with peaches! "Millions of peaches...peaches for Sue"! Mike, Shelagh & Bronwyn came out for supper too and we caught up. Bronwyn was so cute and chatty, she's utterly adorable. Clayton appeared, having successfully caught the Goulbourn bus from Bayview. After dinner, I opened prezzies: more cool cards, some moolah, insence holder shaped like a dragon, a Spongebob Pez dispenser, a wicked weird wine holder that looks like a Klingon battle weapon (now I have to get me some wine...) and other goodies.

We didn't stay too long, cause I had to work the next day, but we finished with lots of hugs and mooshy goodbyes (the best kind.)

FRIDAY! Everyone at work was in a pretty good mood (no kidding; it's Friday yo.) The day flitted by, accompanied by music. I listened to Tom Waits, Bif Naked, Pink Floyd and the radio. Afterwards... I hooked up with my animation pals at the Prescott (also on Preston) and parked in my usual spot. Mik, his wife Isabelle, Grant, Moira, Shivan, Jane and Craig were there, so it was a swell party. No sign of Terry though! Dude, you missed out on some good beer, convo and presents :-) We also passed Mik's little notebook around and drew caricatures of each other in it, which was fun. It was great getting one of Mik's super hugs in. It had been too long..like, a year??

Suu arrived around 8:30pm and whisked me away to the Market to catch up with the Bi-Grrls. We were supposed to meet at the Honest Lawyer for drinks and pool. It was the oddest feeling; although I'd never been there I got a sweeping sense of deja vu! I then realized that the place had had another incarnation in my youth: Grand Central! Wayyy back in the early 90's I'd seen Spirit of the West there, danced my ass off and got my first real kiss with a girl. Wow :-o Talk about a barrage of memories.

We had fun; I played ultra-lousy pool, but won through absurd luck, since honestly, the game could've gone either way. Although my pal CT and I had an audience, I tried not to let it rattle me and just have fun. I spent a good amount of time chasing the balls all around the table; and discovered that I am in dire need of lessons. JOSHAWA, where are you? I just remembered that the last time I played pool was like 2 years ago in a Legion near Summerside PEI with Troy's sister Judy and her son Josh. He was awesome at giving tips to sink the balls. All the trick and bank shots I try (and sadly fail at) were inspired by him :-)

It was great seeing my gals and catching up on news. It was the first time Suu had been out of the house without her baby since Niamh had arrived on the scene, so she was having a ball. Our waitress was awesome. She was so friendly, very cute and helpful. When we were about to split for cake she looked half-interested in coming with us when I explained that we were heading to the Oh So Good! In retrospect, I should've picked her up some mousse cake or something and given it to her. That would've been swell :-D

Man, this post is taking forever! I think I'll wrap it up and continue tomorrow with more news.

Oh yes.. and for those waiting with bated breath; I have *&%# gallstones :-( There will be an expository on THAT soon..

Cheers & thanks for reading.
Suzanne.

PS--WELCOME to the world: Kiara Lynn Marsden! My new niece arrived safe and sound Sunday, September 17th at 2:04 am, weighing in at 8.6 lbs Hurrayyyy!!! Congratulations to my Bro, Michael and my Sister-In-Law Shelagh. Great job guys!

Feed your head

Yay! Sue wins! I've been playing a Scrabble-like game at home and at work (at lunch occasionally.) It's fun. I don't get to play as often with my Mom, or Fiona or my good buddy Kerry T (now in London!) so, this not too bad version of the game is good for the old brain pan. The only problem is that it has an odd dictionary. I have to ADD words to the dictionary, like: gloam, gib and ret so the computer will know what I'm talking about. Then it'll throw out words like Elvis and Tony. Those words I get to REMOVE from the computer's dictionary. Slowly, I'm making it think more like *me* heehee hee....

Apart from that, I've been hammering keys at work, still at STC, switching between the Dwelling Survey and the interminable ITS cards (travel cards you fill out if you were out of the country.) Someone has to type all that sh*t into a computer, so barring turbulence, dudes can you PRINT a bit more neatly? Thank you :-D

For some reason, this chillier weather (which I love btw, brings out the need to cook. I figure it's the gather-nuts-and -store-for-winter actioned by the hind brain taking over. So far I've made spaghetti sauce, noodles, lasagne (with said sauce), bran muffins and stove-top chili (which even included a sweet potato.) I *hate* sweet potatoes! But, this particular recipe is fabu.. thanks to Vicki for introducing it to me. Anyone else finding the urge to cook, stew, bake, eat and begin hibernation preparations?



Yes, yes-- I know a few people at work will get a guffaw over that picture :-D It's a TUBER!

Tomorrow it will be ONE WHOLE YEAR that I've been employed. OMG can you believe it? I think it has only happened once before, at Dynomight Cartoons a few years ago. But holee.. it's unbelievable. Our little 2 1/2 month contract extended not only for a year, but will stretch all the way to November 2nd. Unreal. So, I'm making my patented Cranberry muffins tomorrow to bring in to celebrate. And, I might also pack some of my bran muffins in as well (in case there are not enough cranberry ones.) I know, muffins aren't the Halleluja Chorus of WOW we've been here a Year celebratory Fare.. but... some of my buddies have only been there 11 months (cuz they got laid off in December of '05 and were recalled in January of '06.) So; maybe we'll have *another* celebration in October. We'll see :-)

Any excuse for a pahhty, eh?

Speaking of which.. I VISIBLY AGE this week. I know, I know, it's not that amazing--keying for a year in front of a computer for 8 hours a day will age you of course. Those wrinkles and grey hairs popping out everywhere are no surprise (*GACKKKkk*). But, well, Thursday I officially will be able to quote "Monty Python & The Holy Grail" honestly and say: "I'm thirty-seven ... I'm not old." Thankfully, I'm not called Dennis :-) Now go watch MP&THG in honour of my special day & age thingie. Here's another Dennis sound bite :-D



Anyway, enough of that silliness. The week looks good; getting together for drinks Wed with VS & LH if all goes well. Thursday, off to my folks for Thai Chicken and peach cheesecake...MMMmm! Friday night, the Grrls are whisking me out for drinks and pool! Hurrah. The weekend will be filled with visits with the ex-Aylmerites (now Carleton Place-ites) and Mr. Savage, hopefully!

THEN.

Who knows?

Driving

This is a picture of where I work. When I'm not suffering from mysterious maladies, or wandering Bayshore with a clipboard as a NRFU Enumerator, Tunney's Pasture is my usual demesnes. I snagged this pic from a "John Lennon & Yoko Ono" tour of Ottawa photo thingie circa 1969, so that's why the pic is a bit funny. Weird to think the old Beatle was hoofing it where I work... he was actually visiting the Health Canada building at the time, not Statistics Canada. Anywho, that's the not-so-exciting history of the picture.

So this was my first week back in a long while. Monday, we worked on keying PISA bubble sheets using the Verifier. That was fun, and all too soon, it came to and end, and that was the last of the PISA project (that we've basically been working on since like February!) It was weird finishing it off. BT brought in strawberry short-cake as a celebration on Wednesday to thank us all for a job well done, which was nice.

I have to say that the strawberries involved were delicious. She'd hoofed it up to the Parkdale Market at lunch and had returned with huge baskets of fresh summer berries. MAAN. You could taste the sunshine still vibrating from them, bursting on your tongue with juicy goodness. MMmmm! No wonder Vicki & Carol L. decree that they are their favourite berries :-D [Pic by Glen Gower.]

After we completed PISA, we turned our considerable data-capture talents to keying the Dwelling Survey; which reminds me a bit of the Census, except it is in a bit more detail. It ain't bad keying it, a bit boring (although not as boring as the Terrible TAMs!!) At least you get to type in actual information, instead of just bluntly pounding the "enter" key!

I have amused myself by writing emails at work, catching up with my friends, enjoying good coffee, taking alternate routes to & from home in the Echo (which still needs to get that farty gasket repaired! *sigh*) The fastest & less stressful route home is from Tunney's Pasture to the Ottawa River Pky West, picking up Carling briefly, turning up onto Richmond and hooking to the 417 at Bayshore, then sailing to Moodie Dr., turning West onto Timm and catching Eagleson Rd. at Katimavik where you head South.



Sounds complicated? But consider.. The Ottawa River Pky is beautiful, and although you're only going about 70 kph, you get to see the river (I saw a gang of deer on Monday, browsing.) When you get off the 417 at Moodie and go West on Timm Dr. you're in pastures with trees and wildlife too; very pleasant and soothing for the soul.

Compare that to grinding your car South up Parkdale (which is ALWAYS a mess, even if the construction is finished) finally getting the 417 where it's stop & go (the buses whip past you insolently!) When it finally opens up, you only sail along for a little bit before you hit the Bayshore/Kanata bottleneck.. And I timed it. It took almost the same amount of time to get home--in fact, going Parkdale to the Queensway to Terry Fox and South to my place took an extra 5 minutes. So why bother?

Between working, getting to work, coming home, cooking dinner, taking care of animals and doing all that routine stuff that you have to do, I have been playing "NeverWinter Nights" with Clay on the computer. We picked this game up a few years ago and never got a chance to finish it (or really give it a good "go" for that matter.) It has been sweet getting a chance to play, but fried too. Time goes by so quickly when you're playing; you look up and it's like midnight! Then you crash and get up at 5am to go to work. Duh! Anyway, it is a blast though. It's put out by Bioware which is where my animation buddy Mark How works slavishly making fun games for us to enjoy. Hurray :-D

Got together last night at the Green Door for supper with my friends LH, and my Bi Grrl gang. It was wonderful--I hadn't seen the gals for ages nor been to the Door (in..um..6+ months?) The only sad thing was that they didn't have beets. They had carrots though, and the great Greek salad with the chunks of feta in it. And the triple berry pie. YUM! If you've never been to the Green Door, do yourself a favour and get out there for supper. You'll spend about $20 for a full plate of delicious organic vegetarian fare, and your tummy will thank you. If you have a spare $5, pick up an organic beer too (St. Peter's English Ale)

Well, I must prepare to go and visit Mr. Savage! I must get clean, pack my stuff, feed the cats and tangle with traffic. Whee....!

Tailspin

Too much sleep during the day = (you guessed it!) INSOMNIA!

Usually I read to make myself good and tired for bed, and last night was no exception. Btw, I'm feeling much better today. The pain has diminished and my plumbing seems to be reasserting itself (which is a good thing.) Just to be sure, I have concocted some yummy brownies from the "LooneySpoons" recipe book (a prime ingredient there being prunes! And am also planning on making a nice batch of Mom's patented bran muffins later today.

But back to trying to sleep! At least the weather last night was cool; it makes going to bed easier when you can have a duvet on you with one leg out and be reasonably sure you won't freeze or bake. My fever has broken, so that makes it a lot easier to sleep too. I finished the book I was currently reading around 1:30am and was finally able to get some shut-eye.

Ok, now on to my rant!

What summer reading would be complete without picking up a couple of books from a favourite author or two? I grabbed Anne McCaffrey's "Nimisha's Ship" and Morgan Llywelyn's "The Horse Goddess" from the library before my trip and figured I'd be in good company. I am an Anne Fan. And anti-Anne stuff will not be tolerated here (unless you want the equivalent of kicking an active bees nest like a football with resultant buzzing and stings!) That being said, I was really disappointed with the book I finished the other day.

I had hoped that "Nimisha's Ship" would be of the Ship series AM had begun so many years ago with "The Ship Who Sang." Sadly, it was set in an entirely different universe (The Coelura universe, if you're interested.) I kept waiting for shit to happen in this book, and nothing ever did. Man! There was no conflict, no crises, no character development! There was no danger--nothing ever happened that put the main character in the least bit of trouble. Can you imagine what a bore to read that would be?

The first like 70 pages were all backstory about a really repressed high class society and the main character eventually breaking free to go out on her own. Great, I don't mind hanging in there so that the heroine can go and do stuff. But she never got to do stuff! Even the aliens while not being completely uninspired were just way too happy to get along with everyone. Everything felt like there was a dusting of happy-drugs in the air that made everyone get along hunky-dory (somewhat like on Star Trek :-)

The single character that had been sort've introduce off-camera as it were as a threat NEVER materialized and nothing was ever resolved with this guy. He was just sort've in the background as a possible threat. Wooo. Another character that caused minor friction was introduced almost at the end of the book and then conveniently shipped offplanet before she could cause any..um.. ACTION???!

Ok, whew... Um, I'm not a big-name professional writer, and I am grateful that as a woman who is an octogenerian, Anne McCaffrey continues to write and 85% of the time really entertain me. But MAN! If this book had been submitted to an editor by a not-so-famous writer, it probably would not have seen print. I am sad to say that it was a waste of my time and 388 pgs I will never get back *sighh*.

Hmm, well one disappointment doesn't mean the world's ending right? The author Morgan Llywelyn who brought us "Bard" and "The Red Branch", in my opinion the best retelling of the CuChullain cycle (and on my top 10 of fav books) would not fail me...

But my G*D, "The Horse Goddess", a book I'd been looking forward to for awhile (I tend to "save" books that I'm really interested in to read later..) managed to do it. It is an earlier offering, printed in '82 I think, and runs at a hefty 480 pages. Where "Bard" and "The Red Branch" were intense tales of adventure, with haunting heroes with depth and beauty, "The Horse Goddess" just faltered and failed.

First, we have a heroine who is supposedly "free" and her own person, except for the majority of the introduction she just sits around and whines about her situation, not really doing anything to change it at all. There are descriptions in here that would put ME to shame; endless rambling about chewing leather, beading boots, breaking horses, collecting dung, making clothes, making cheese, drinking, eating etc etc. ENDLESS. This monolith could've been edited to about 300 pages with, well, probably a lot of difficulty. Just because you enjoy doing research for your book, doesn't mean the rest of us want to hear all about the cultural background of all of your main character's encounters with background characters. We don't care! The background stuff has nothing to do with advancing the plot and just bogs it down even more.

Urrrg, so frustrating. And I like stuff like Jean M. Auel's "Clan of the Cave Bear". There are limits though; you will eventually overwhelm and yes, bore, your reader. Of course I'm talking to someone who penned this like, 24 years ago, but still.

I, unlike some people I know.. never skim when I read. I respect the work of the author and I am a good appreciative reader (at least I think I am :-) I WAS SKIMMING this near the end. Ohh, the endless descriptions... Thomas Hardy would've been proud (check out "Return of the Native" for some endless rambling descriptions of furze and moors and stuff.)


Ok, so now I have put everyone off McCaffrey AND Llywelyn, which was not my intent. I merely was disappointed when my expectations for satisfying story-telling were not met. Please, if you have not read either ladies, turn to some of their stronger work: "The Ship Who Sang", "Dragonflight" or "The Crystal Singer", are some of my favourites from the Dragonlady. With ML, try "The Red Branch". This is a book I clearly remember my Dad reading to us around the table and we just all started to cry together: one of those intense, familial moments that stay with you. Of course we did the same when we listened to Jennifer Warnes sing Cohen's "Joan of Arc", but perhaps we are just mooshy that way. Or Celtic :-)

Off to make muffins..!

A bit of nonsense

Which Major Arcana Tarot Card Are You?
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You scored as III - The Empress. The Empress is a maternal symbol. She is the mother figure who loves, nurtures and protects. She will protect you, she will always be there when you are in trouble. When you fall over and graze your knee, the Empress will kiss it better. Yet she is not a weak figure. Her compassion is strength. If her children are threatened she will stop at nothing to protect them. If well aspected in a Tarot spread, the Empress can symbolise security, protection and unconditional love. If badly aspected it can represent over-protectiveness, fear of risk taking and refusal to face the real world.

Auurrgghh

I hate when medication runs out. Acetaminophen isn't the same... I think I'm going to have to call my Dr. and get a new prescription. *sigh*. I was actually up at 5:30am this morning, trying to get ready for work and felt awful. The pain in the side thing isn't like a cramp... just a pressure, dull and inevitable..and annoying. I slept for 3 hours and the Acetaminophen ran out. My other medication was of the 10 hour variety. Not fair!

Hmm, guess I should finish up my history of stuff.

So, I returned home, unloaded my gear and passed out. Until the next morning when I awoke in the state I'm currently in, only much, much worse. I ended up at Emerg. with my Mom at the Queensway Carleton. Now as everyone knows, Emerg sucks because you're basically sitting there forever, getting bumped down the line as people with sucking chest wounds get in ahead of your "possible appendicitis attack" or whatever I got categorized as..



Thankfully Saturday mornings are a good time to be at the hospital, and by the time noon rolled around, I had been sampled, probed, bled, *medicated!* and was on my way to being X-rayed. I did feel a bit like an abductee, except the Dr. in charge was a long red-haired Celt, not an androgynous alien dude. The fellow doing the X-ray was an enthusiastic little guy who moved the cool machine all over and ME on the table until he had 4 shots. Then I got dressed and we got to wait...

Waiting would've been ok, except I had a wedding reception to get to: the reason I'd had to get back to town from Toronto so quickly! At the end of it all, we escaped not really knowing much, except that they'd ruled out appendicitis and a twisted ovary (MAN that sounds painful...!) but they recommended an Ultrasound to get a better look. I don't know why we didn't just do it while we were at the Hospital and all, being tested for everything, but who knows.

We managed to get going and get to my friend LH's reception at Algonquin in time. I felt ok, the dinner was superb..capped with a dark chocolate dessert sprinkled in 18k gold. Wow! Thar be gold in me! Crazy :-o



I filled my prescription in Bells Corners on the way home at Shopper's--with the very cute pharmacist explaining all the ins and outs of my special pain-killer/ anti-inflamatory.

Got home and lounged below with Clay, feeling ok til around midnight when I just sort've crumpled. The night was hell, getting up every hour or so to pee, get more water, put a cool cloth on my burning head. By the time Sunday morning rolled around, I wasn't aware of anything except nausea and pain.. which eventually passed after a couple of hours. Spent Sunday in bed with a bucket handy and the aggravating hours pre-med and post-med to endure until I could relax and sleep once more.

So the week has pretty much been like that, only getting marginally better as time progressed. I think that my fever is pretty much gone..and I'm eating sort've normal stuff now, as opposed to just bananas and toast (and plenty of water.) I haven't had coffee in a week, and can't imagine it right now. Damn, that is NOT normal!

I called the various Ultrasound places in town and they all seem to be staffed by overly snippy women who didn't want to give me an appointment before the end of September & were mightily miffed that I couldn't tell from my Dr's handwriting whether I was to have an abdominal US or an abdominal/pelvic one. They can *sense* weakness I guess... Glad I have my Mom on board to help get things sorted out with her patented "teacher's voice". Yay.

Stay tuned....

PS: The only really fun things that have been happening have been watching "The Venture Bros." every day with Clay when we have supper. I really love this cartoon..it makes me laugh (which hurts). I love the snappy writing, the over-the-top characters and the timing. It is SOoo fun. Highly recommended. My favourite character is Dr. Orpheus :-D (That's the Necromancer waving his hands around in the left side of the piccy below.)



PPS: If anyone can guess the significance of the machine I included in this post, you'll get a lollie.

Will draw for food

Well, as you can see, I eventually DID make it to Toronto! I cruised in with Beth in the mornings and returned to Newmarket at night to chillax with Fi over brews, pizza and TV. Decode was awesome. It was really fun getting to see everyone; I think it's been at least a couple of years since I'd been in town last, working on an interactive game based on idea I had called "Moon Warriors".

I got to sit in the boardroom with a big stack of paper and basically draw all day long, enjoyed coffee and chats with my buddies and new people that peeked in to see how I was doing. It was delightful, quiet, just drawing--doing what I love to do. I had a couple of great lunches at the Dominion on Queen with Nancy and also at a little joint on the corner on Thursday that had great omelettes (when my tummy first started acting up :-P)

I got to meet the writer who is on board for Ivy & Dummy: Myra Fried--a very cool, whacky woman who has a great sense of humour and approved my "subversive" message of Ivy not needing a "real" boyfriend, just her stuffed guy (But she THINKS he's real!! That's the diff!) I also got to meet the animator who did the initial pilot last fall, Geoff Marshall of Crush & Chromacide. It was so nice putting a face to a name and really get talking Ivy & Dummy with an awesome and friendly dude who made them move!

Thursday I spent cleaning up a few drawings that were going to be used for promo for the next Teletoon meeting at the end of August. There was a fun drawing that has Burris slumped in the BG with Ivy all aglow in the foreground, talking on the phone saying: "I think it's going to be the "BIG RING" Christmas!!". Very cute :-) I also cleaned up one of Burris on a couch next to Ivy's Dad (Ivy's Dad looks a lot like Burris :-)

Thurs night we were going to have drinks and stuff, but I wasn't feeling up to it, so I just tootled on home to Fi's place, where she was elbow deep, making a Jig's Dinner for Unwind Yarn House in Newmarket where she works (when she's not wrangling twins :-) A Jig's Dinner is a trad. Nwfld dish that involves boiling salt beef with lots of root vegetables and then eating it up while trying not to have a heart attack. (The sodium content for one portion of the salt beef is 5000 mg!) :-O There was a bit left over from the gigantic pot, so I got a little taste. Delicious (and it didn't need salt...)


And now, "Buddy Whasisname and the Other Fellers" present Salt Beef Junkie from the THE SALT BEEF JUNKIE ALBUM


SALT BEEF JUNKIE

God bless my soul what can I do they say my salt beef dinner is a killer
It's got carcinogens and heavy duty fats it could serve as an elephant filler.
I'm as good as dead but I'm sure well fed 'cause I love those buckets of riblets
I love to drink that liquor and chew those bones even though I'm picking my giblets

Chorus:
Put on the beef, peas pudding and the greens
Carrots and turnips, can't you smell that steam
Some new potatoes with a puddin' good and lumpy
No I just can't wait, I'm a salt beef junkie.

Now some folks like to eat carrot sticks 'cause they're afraid they might become gluttons,
But me I don't like those rabbit foods 'cause I'm afraid that I might pass buttons
Every Sunday morning while some folks fast or eat food that tastes real crappy
I got my salt beef dinner cooking on the stove 'cause I wanna die real happy.

Jane Fonda likes to eat sesame seeds and Twiggy likes low fat tofu
But they don't live in Newfoundland where the winter winds blow right through you
Now if they lived in Wesleyville where the north wind blows right vicious
They'd enjoy their salt beef dinners just like me and the missus

I don't want to be some health food freak who eats alfalfa and bean sprouts
I don't want to live to a hundred and three if I got to throw my beef out
When it comes right down to preparing food I don't want to germinate or shuck it
I'll take my chances on salt beef dinners and keep my head in this bucket.

----(at this point, you put the empty salt beef bucket on your head and grin like a maniac)----

Anyway, it was fun and I hope the yarn store appreciates what Fi whipped up for them for their Taste International day (the rest of the street got to do different countries. I don't know why the store got Newfoundland..weird!)

Friday, we rolled on home, with Fi navigating and I got to see all the places I missed on the way through the first time, like Port Perry and Uxbridge. WHEE! We had dinner in Tweed at Kelly's and rested our dogs a bit, which was nice. Just rested the old dusty eyeballs before tackling the 7 again. I got Feef to her brother's place around 7:30pm so that was all to the good. Got back to Kanata in time to say hi to Clay and collapse on the couch.

Yes.. there is more to come.. later :-P
I'm feeling a *little* better..still some dull pain coming in the right side of my body, but not as sharp as on the weekend. Not looking forward to my medication running out (only have 1 dose left .. SIGH.) Got an appointment for an Ultrasound on Sept. 8th, so we'll see if I'm germinating an Alien, or if one of my PCOS related cysts has gone awol and is crushing up against an ovary or something. Maybe it's just a really bad pulled muscle?? Sigh.

more l8r..

Rolling stone gatherin' no moss (BUT I'M GREEN!)

Whew. I have not been looking forward to the post, because it's long, complicated and I'm tired & sick... My typing speed is uncharacteristically slow..and I'm not trusting my spellig abilities :-O So, apologies in advance for any wrongdoings related to my fever/flu.

Let's see..when did I post LAST? August 10th? Ok.. so a bit of history: The weekend of the Perseid meteor shower up at the Big Rideau was spent in town, because our annual family reunion was bringing all of my cousins and their kids HERE for once. Usually the reunion occurs part-way between Ottawa and Toronto at a campsite and everyone camps, swims, sits around fires eating Smores..mmmmmMMMMmmm and plays mini-golf & loose and fast rules with Scrabble.

Since my Dad's health and mobility were worse this year than last, instead of heading out, we stayed here and people headed to US (the old Mountain coming to Mohammed thing I think.) Friday we gathered in Aylmer at Lisa & Hugo's place and got to see everyone! I'm constantly amazed by how fast kids grow. Wow :-) Got to meet my cousins' new Newfoundland doggie "Elvis"; a friendly and HUGE puppy. Although, he's not really a puppy anymore at over 100 lbs!

Saturday we gathered at my folk's place in Stittsville, and the weather was generous to us: not too hot and not pouring either. Hurray :-D It was cool seeing my niece Bronwyn booking all over the lawn with a ball and her cousin Eric stumping along after her. If Anders has his way, he'll have a mini soccer team going in no time! We hung out, laughed, played with the 20Q game and the Scrabble cube game from 1971 I found at the Thrift shop in Bells Corners. I haven't laughed so hard in forever. The best one was the 20Q trying to guess "vomit" and guessing "fairy" instead... Hahaha! Look! It's Velma! The Vomit Fairy! Heehee... uhg.. anyway, I shouldn't laugh as I have been visited by Velma and it is NOT fun!

We said our "good-byes" and the quick reunion was over all too soon.

Sunday, I spent an annoying afternoon at Canadian Tire getting my little red Echo ready for my trip. Don't you love when initial estimates of $70 always go to $250? What are you supposed to do? Say "no", I don't want you to do the extra work and fix my back brakes before I go on a road trip? Sighhh. Just Clayton's & my luck; the Cnd Tire shuttle had JUST left when we dropped off the car. So we were stuck at the store for about 3 hours. Urg. Oh well, at least the brakes and the washer thingie got fixed. My blubbering gasket couldn't be dealt with because it was a part that had to be ordered from the dealer..and it was a SUNDAY. *sigh*. So, I got to sound loud and proud all the way to Newmarket and back...

Monday August 14th, packed artwork, supplies, clothes and cooler with water, a bag of cassettes (yes, I am living in the stone age I suppose. But a cassette player in the car is still an improvement over my old Mustang's radio that only got 5 channels!) I rolled out of Kanata around 12:30pm after topping up the gas tank. I took Hwy. 7 West and just stuck to that long and winding road as long as I could. It was perfect driving weather: bright blue sky, puffy white clouds and great music flowing from the speakers: mixed tapes mostly, and SOTW, Great Big Sea, Alison Krauss & Union Station and of course Bif Naked!

After Peterborough, I knew things would be a little more challenging, as according to my Mapquest map, I had to keep an eye out for the route that would hook me up with the 47 that would link me easily to the 404, then north to Newmarket. Suffice to say, that what should've been a fairly easy jog turned out to be like a 3+ hour detour! The last thing I remember was plummetting from the marked path onto a dirt road, and then by "feel" finding my way west, then north..past farmer's fields..more dirt roads.. Oh, then the sky clouded over and started raining on me..and the sun started to lower... EEP!

By the time I managed to orient myself, I was within spitting distance of Orillia! AUGH.. how did that happen? I blame the "Run Lola Run" tape.. lack of a good map and people riding my butt when I was driving. I had gotten turned around on dirt roads and was just so grateful when I finally found some hardtop (the 12 North) I just jumped on it and kept driving!

So, I bought an Ontario map at a gas station. And a Snickers bar to cheer me up. Then I returned to the Echo and figured out that the main problem that had been in my way (the reasons roads to the west stopped going, and were NEVER going to hook me up to the 404) was that there was a bloody great big lake in the way: Lake Simcoe! *&#^

I finally found myself on the 11 South and that mystically transformed into the 400 S, just past Barrie. BARRIE! Augh.. With Bif singing away and the car zooming in the correct direction, the sun burst through the cloud cover and lit the fields and trees bright gold and green. The sky was an indigo backdrop that was unearthly. The rigs and cars shooting by didn't bother me a bit. I was heading South! I had a map..and all was well with the world.

I arrived in Newmarket around 7pm in time to say hi to Beth, Fi, Brad and the lovely twins (who were on their way to bed.) They'd saved some Thai food for me for supper--how nice; and a cold Keith's as well. Just what I needed to restore my faith in the world and encourage me to sally forth yet again. By the time Fi and I got back to her place and threw all of my luggage down, I was all for bed. We did a quick run for beer and supplies, then I settled on Fi's futon and just drifted off to dreamland with CSI playing in the background.

More later, amigos.

For your amusement, a map of my forays..

Urban Legends, hoaxes and such

Every now and again at work, or at home, someone sends an email around about a shocking (or amazing) event, or someone holding a MASSIVE kitty, or HIV needles in theatre seats. Oh yes, and don't forget the "email tracking program" that will give you piles of money if you spam your friends!

Please, before you forward these Urban Legends around, go to the website Urban Legends and make sure they're real events and not fakes. The website has tons of pics, stories, and the like debunking the false ones and underlining the truth in the real ones.

The latest one at work is the Mars in August one being the size of the full moon, which *never* happened. Happened, past tense, you might ask? Yes, the email about Mars dates back to August 2003. While Mars was very bright that summer, it never reached the optical size of the full moon. And neither will it *this* particular August, because the email is 3 years out of date.


Anyway, just a quick rant because the immediate belief and instant forwarding of the emails happens so damned frequently and 90% of the time they're hoaxes! I'm not immune to getting sucked in by hoaxes and fake emails too. I'm just a bit more careful now before I run to my FWD button and send the msg & accompanying pic off to all of my friends and relatives.

So, before you fwd. CHECK!! :-O

Whew. What else? Work has been... quite dull really. No 48 degree heat, no knocking on strangers' doors. Just sitting and typing, sitting and looking dazedly at the monitor. We're keying the PISA booklets in EP-90 which is a pretty basic program with an intense blue screen. I turned down my monitor a bit, and that seemed to help. It was weird sinking back into sedentary work after walking all over the place for the last few weeks. But, air conditioning is *ni-ice* :-D


Some news: I'll be heading to Toronto next week to work at Decode Entertainment's studio on IVY & DUMMY!! Hurray :-)) I managed to get some time to go to TO and will be hooking up with my friends there and working my butt off. I'm really looking forward to meeting the team and seeing my old buddies. Worked on some more sketches and fwded them last night. It was fun, although tiring to work keying all day, then stare at PShop until 10pm. Then get up at 5:30am. AAGH.

I was so spacey this morning, I sailed right past Moodie Drive, which is normally where I turn LEFT (or North) to get to the 417. I winged right through Bells Corners, getting all green lights and caught the Queensway just before Pinecrest. Weird. Now I have to start leaving 5 minutes earlier so I won't be late (and so maybe I can score a coffee before hitting the old keyboard.)

So, more news later........
Cheers
Suzanne.

ISLAND OF THE BURNING DAMNED

In the inestimable words written by Pip & Jane Baker, and portrayed by Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, I repeat "IT's THIS DAmNED *HEAT*!!" Imagine Sue staggering around, sweat pouring like a fountain from brow, pits, belly, chest (are you supposed to sweat from your chest??) boobs, back, shins. The movie "Island of the Burning Doomed/ Island of the Burning Damned/ Night of the Big Heat"(1967/1971)says it all, without me having to do it.

Surprisingly, apart from some nice panning reviews online, the quotes I was hunting for were not forthcoming. So I must go on shaky memory: "First the glands go.. then the brain, some go faster than others" (speaking of the 100 degree+ heat baking everyone alive and making them act irrational!) Of course the aliens responsible for it, who resemble giant fried eggs are probably just pissed because the movie was shot in a cold climate and they wanted to spruce things up a bit.

Well, it was Valley of the Burning Doomed this week, as temperatures with the humidex soared to FORTY-EIGHT degrees C. That's like 119 F, for you Yankees :-P I had to check my eyes when I looked at the Weather Network. My left eye is a bit blurry, so I thought, geez 43 humidex, that's pretty bad. Then I saw the 48! I don't know why the 5 degree difference was such a big deal. Maybe because 48 is closer to 50 degrees and 43 is closer to 40 (in my head anyway.) I just imagined myself going out to enumerate and dissolving into a puddle. So, I stayed indoors, lay prostrate over the A/C vent in the basement (which is hard to do, because it's on the ceiling.)

My folding cooler has been working well. Wednesday, in a burst of craziness, I managed to throw 6 water bottles and an apple into it, overdue Library CD's into my bag and then exploded out the door on my way to an interview. The interview was for a term CR-3 at Stats, which is basically what I'm doing now, only it wouldn't be "Census Exclusive" (which is my current denomination.) that means that if I get the position (which is the same pay, same job etc) I would be able to apply for internal job postings. Which I can't do now.

Of course traffic was lousy (why?? it was like 10am?!), of course I outsmarted myself by taking Carling instead of the Parkdale exit (knowing the latter was closed for construction.) And ran directly into MORE construction on Carling. And, yes, I was late. What's the first thing they teach you when you're a callow youth, impudently reviewing your resume and beefing up on good Interview questions? DON'T BE LATE! Oh yeah, and wear something clean. And don't sweat in it, even though it's a million degrees out.

So, I was late. And sweaty, my brain fried to curry because of the heat, and the last 2 weeks of enumerating. I was buzzing. And part of me just wanted to let the whole thing slide. Why should I care? Why wouldn't I delight in getting laid off in November, go on EI and finish writing, drawing and painting to my heart's content? Because myself, Clay, LH and my Mom would kick my ass. Apart from putting the boots to my innate apathy (there's a reason my posts are signed "Apathy Girl") thar's bills what's got to be paid and a livin' ta be earned, girly.

So I was late.

But the security dude was helpful, the ladies at OID who were doing the interviewing; friendly and pleasant. I blanked out on a few things, but gamely hung in and peppered my answers with "flexible" "helpful" "reliable" and even knew that Statistics Canada conducts... the CENSUS. :-O

Ok, I'm an ass :-) It was nice getting the thing overwith though. Afterwards, because I wasn't frazzled enough, I worked the whole day enumerating. I chased after all my call-backs (people who finished their census forms and need it to be picked up by ME.) I hit every single place that was on my sheet. I knocked on doors, left notes (mostly mean ones) and completed a couple of 2Bs with some very friendly foreign people, who just were overwhelmed by the massive questionnaire.

Got home, peeled out of the wet clothing. The clothing was not "spotted lightly with perspiration", the clothing was not damp from a bit of exertion. The clothing was WET. It felt like I'd pulled it out of the washing machine. I threw it on the floor and passed out in bed. For 10 minutes. I could've slept much much longer, but Clayton called from the Wizard's Tower on Hazeldean, wondering if I could pick him up. What a sweety. Every day I complain that I'm tired and he says: "When you get home, why don't you just grab a quick nap?" Thanks buddy. The one day I try and do it--

Oh well!

So, what's next? My list was handed over to a new team and I'm left with my hands empty. I started working on crap here, organizing, cleaning and moving furniture. Joy :-D It is, actually.. 'cause the weather has broken and I am not outside pounding the pavement and dripping on strangers. Hurrah :-) Maybe the NRFU Task Force can nail the last of my respondents. Good luck to 'em; they'll need it :-)

One thing I learned from the whole deal was courage, fortitude and an endurance I didn't think I possessed. I met lots of cool people; and I think only a minority were drug-dealers (if that.) I got to talk with people of all different races and ages, with a variety of attitudes about Statistics Canada and the Census in general: again, mostly positive. Did I grow from the experience? Possibly. I think I lost a couple of pounds, so that's cool. I have a different outlook on the Britannia/ Bayshore area than I did before. I never felt threatened or unsafe when I was out, at all. Which goes to show that I went out during the DAY. Um, kidding. Would I do it again? Ummmmmmm....

Ok, enough stalling. The dishes & laundry are pestering me.

PS--for fun, here's a map of my Enumerator's Route..you can pick out where I went by following the glowing trails on the Google Earth satellite pic.

The perils of dressing in the dark...

Yes, I know it's a big BIG surprise!

You Are Beer!

You don't need to get totally wasted when you hit the bars. More of a social drinker, you just like to have fun with your friends. And as long as the beer keeps flowing, you're a happy camper. But don't mix things up: "Beer Before Liquor, Never Been Sicker!"

What Alcoholic Drink Are You?

This became obvious over Creemore #2 at Pub Italia with LH. Knowing that a cool drink, great company and deep-fried mushrooms, zuchinni, peppers and cheese awaited me at the end of a long day trudging dusty roads made it worthwhile.

It's going ok. Really. The "FEAR" rears its head sometimes, and I suck it in and try to keep on breathing. I meet people, mostly nobody's home, occasionally I throw Census forms at people in their cars, as they're driving away. No dogs trying to kill me yet, which is nice.

I hit retirement residences; it's good, because if they're home, older people will sit with you and patiently fill out the form and talk with you. I hit highrise apartments, where a polite fellow helped fill out his form while his kids ran around in the hall, darting back to check on our progress and zipping around again, like electrons circling an atom.

I've haunted houses with listings for BSMT apartments that don't seem to exist. Faced roads where the Civic Addresses across from each other weren't "#34, #35, #36" as you would expect, but "#8" across the road was "#1" and so on. That was fun. Like stepping on lego bricks at night in barefeet is fun...

It was hotter than Delhi yesterday. I packed my folding cooler with all the water bottles I had, a salmon sandwich and a burrito. I thought it was pretty funny packing all that water. And it was less funny the more I guzzled it. LH said that if you don't have to pee all day and you're drinking loads of water, it's transforming into sweat. Go figure. Guess it was a smart move bringing water. By the end of the route, my clothes were soaked, my hair frazzled, my face red and my temper thin. Definitely need to burn the clothes (although washing them would be more economical :-P)

The thought of beer, the friendly service at Pub Italia, the cool A/C, the dim interior, LH's smiling face, food, gossip and recharging the old post-work batteries...kept me going. It helps having goals, no? Sure it does :-)

Cheerio,
Suzanne.

Feed your head

Summer is a time for loafing, lounging, relaxing, sipping and reading! Anyone have favourite books they've enjoyed the last few weeks? Any nail-biting thrillers? Popcorn munching silliness? Deep philosophical quandries? Share!

I've been ploughing through books, savouring some, sitting on others. Earlier in the summer I was in a spiritual vein, mostly while travelling on the bus to and from work (which gave me almost an hour of reading time each day!) When I started getting dizzy, obviously, reading on the bus wasn't helping at all. Eventually I had to take up driving to work, so had to give up reading and travelling altogether (for safety reasons :-)

So, I read Ram Dass' "Journey Of Awakening", "Be Here Now", "Grist for the Mill" (with S. Levine) and "Miracle of Love: Stories about Neem Karoli Baba". One of the stories from "Be Here Now" that really stuck with me was an old Sikh legend, Dass recounted...


HERE'S A SIKH STORY ABOUT A HOLY MAN WHO GAVE TWO MEN EACH A CHICKEN AND SAID: "GO KILL THEM WHERE NO ONE CAN SEE." ONE GUY WENT BEHIND THE FENCE AND KILLED THE CHICKEN. THE OTHER GUY WALKED AROUND FOR TWO DAYS AND CAME BACK WITH THE CHICKEN. THE HOLY MAN SAID: "YOU DIDN'T KILL THE CHICKEN?" THE GUY SAID: "WELL, EVERYWHERE I GO, THE CHICKEN SEES."

I keep the Hazeldean Library phone system busy; every now and again I return home and the voice of Stephen Hawking would be on the answering machine saying: "THAIR- IZ- A- BOUK- WAITING- FOR- YOU- SOOZHAN- MAHRZDAHN- UNTIL- JOOLAI- 24TH.." and I'd go pick it up. And buy some books out on the little trolley for a couple of dollars (which is how I found a first ed. paperback copy of PC Wren's "Beau Geste". Wow :-O)

I just finished reading John D. MacDonald's "The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper", one of the later Travis McGee stories: very enjoyable read. Please, if you haven't read a John D. MacDonald...haunt used book stores, garage sales and the libelberry for any with a colour in the namesake. You will not be disappointed.

Previous to that, I savoured Charles de Lint's "Medicine Road" from the Subterranean Press. A library request, since I can't pick up his $40 hardcovers the way I used to. Beautiful story set in Arizona. If you want to take a road-trip and can't afford the gas, or the vehicle, or even to blow off from work for a month; pick up the book and de Lint will be your happy tour guide. His colourful characters channel his love for the SW, his delight in music, food, architecture, culture and faerie mythos. Lavish illustrations by the talented Charles Vess top a tidy book which is sort've a sequel to "Seven Wild Sisters". Finally, there is a wonderful sexy Bi Coyote-Woman in it too. Ya can't lose! :-)

Last but not least, if you have a penchant for complicated alien culture, or haunting Russian folk-tales, fantasy or s/f, deliver yourself into the skilled hands and imagination of C.J.Cherryh. I picked up "Rusalka" on the aforementioned Trolley, and it was part I of a trilogy: not cliffhanging like LOTR, each of the books are self-sufficient. BUT they do relate to each other ("Chernevog" is set 3 years after "Rusalka".) I finished the former and realized that I'd been holding my breath for like 3 days! Front covers by the master of gnarled trees and perfect light, the late Keith Parkinson, help to cap the beautiful descriptive words of Cherryh. Reading this stuff in the summer freaks you out because you want to huddle under a quilt and sip vodka by a fire. Even though it's 40 degrees outside: quite the feat!

So, what next? I have a tatty 1930's hardcover "Nevada" by Zane Grey, the aforementioned "Beau Geste", many comics to plunder, I wouldn't mind re-reading Natalie Goldberg's "Writing Down the Bones", since I'm in a writer-mode. We'll see. What have you guys been reading? :-D

Not For The Timid

Well the loose ends are coming together in a big...yarny lump. In chronological order, I attended another training session with the local Census dudes (and dudettes.) Guess where the training was? 19 Fairmont.. which for the uninitiated, used to be the old Atkinson Film Arts animation place, I think. It had the feeling of familiarity one gets in studios: twisty labyrinthine passages, places where you unexpectedly come across niches of offices and the odd photocopier. Good vibes, as they say. Although I think Clayton mentioned that the place was haunted!

The training went well, and many of my (see above) "Page of Anxiety" moments were alleviated. Yes, we actually got to role-play at work! RPGing.. although not as fun as the Clay/Keith/Robbie combos that I love and so rarely get to enjoy :-P But, it did make things less scary. I can now say "I'm from Statistics Canada" and not stutter. I think that's a plus. (Possibly one of the reasons the "Chief" did not send me west last week!)

I have phone #'s, and someone actually called me. Most of the time I'm waiting for calls, or leaving messages and waiting to hear back. In between, I have been working on designs for Decode Entertainment's take on the whacky world of "Ivy & Dummy". When I have minutes, I sketch in a tiny notepad and then scan, tidy and send them to Toronto. This one is one of a bunch of my faves so far. They're Xmas themed 'cause we're currently doing and I&D Xmas special...



It'll be fun getting back to doing what Sue does best: which is Design! YAY! That makes the dark heart/soul combo in the middle of my chest jump up and down and let sunshine and rainbows bop around once more.

Sue also enjoys writing. I've been getting MUCH writing done the last week or so (in between waiting for all the phone calls.) I've got a few roughs started for "Assignment 2", which is a Fantasy themed piece. Yes, that was fun to do: my biggest challenge is to TRIM the woids! Like.. write a story.. 1,000 words long. Beginning, Middle, End. Protagonist... etc etc. I started working on my *outline*, looked up and it was 1,250 words, by my MS Word-knockoff's word count. Crap.

But, I have an outline for a future "Sword of Superhamster" story. Remember that? I doubt that anyone does.. it was from a LONG WHILE AGO. 1981 to be exact! :-D I actually was thinking of dusting off the old beast, reprinting it and maybe passing it along to a trio of blond girlies I know out in Carleton Place.. and maybe a couple of other little sweethearts I know on the Big Rideau. That would be fun :-) I think the drawings in the book are eminently colour-able. And the story holds up ok too, even if parts of it are a blatant MP & The Holy Grail meets The Sword of Shannara rip-off! :-O



So, I have my Census silver bag, 100 names, a stack of 2A's a couple of 2B's and even a Form 6, if I find a farmer in my district. You never know. If I bump into a grow-op in Britannia, and they admit to having an agricultural product for sale, I could be in business. But.. it might end up being an episode of Sue vs. "The Fabulous Furry Freak Bros." trying to fill out a Census form. Or more likely the frantic scurryings behind a battered door with squeals of "It's a RAId! Flush it! Flush it!" with accompanying SFX in the BG.

The Fun Starts Now

Or around 1:30pm Whenever I feel the urge to hit the open hwy. with my silvery bag in hand, my clipboard at the ready and the steely look of the BORN ENUMERATOR. Welcome to the Page of Anxiety! I am Writing the Book!

Agent S.

Big wheels keep on turning

Yes, this is how I'm feeling lately. Spinning Spinning! Not too unusual I guess! The exciting adventures as an NRFU Program enumerator continue. I missed a Monday meeting because of a mix-up, but Thurs. there is another one. Hurray :-) So, I'm just poring over the material and trying to keep it all straight in the old cranium. We'll see friends... which will crack first..?

Fun times at 40 degrees with the humidex! Life doesn't get meltier than that. Thank G*d for central air. Of course, we haven't had our hydro bill yet... Eeep. At Midnight last night, just as the lightning and thunder were building up, Clay locked himself out of his room! You have to understand that the twinkie who "built" this house (or at least "maintained" it) installed 4 different doors in the upstairs hall, all of which are outside doors with different locks. And yes, we have no keys!

So, there I was, perched on a kitchen chair at the back of the house with a long screwdriver, trying to pry the window open. And the lightning's flashing all around. Um... not my brightest moment I reckon! No luck. We tried picking the lock, and because of wooden molding beside the knob, were unable to use a shim (or credit card) to pop it.

Finally, after cursing, thumping, and trying everything but: Clay struck the knob off with a hammer. It took a few blows, and me peeling up the metal with my pliers. But eventually the knob came off. And the lock mechanism (at least the bolt that kept the door shut) could be clearly seen, and opened.

Victory!

Today I finished & mailed my first assignment for the Institute of Children's Literature. It felt good finishing it up (after only 3 months or so of procrastination.) You may think that the Institute is a scam to get money, but they don't accept just *ANYONE, and yes, you get 6 College credits when you finish the course.

Speaking of which, I Googled the ICL and discovered a hilarious site called Silver Ladder Studios. Creator Shane's stuff had me in stitches! Highly recommend reading not only the *"Rejected: a little fun with the institute of children's literature" but also some of the other weird things on this site. They had me laughing. And I can tell you, I really *really* needed some laughter the last little while.

Well, Cheerio and goodnight, sweet darlinks.

--Suz.

PS Happy, Happy Birthday Lianne! I hope that the cowboy boots fit!!

The Gang

I drew this sketch last month for my buddy Susie's get well card (which is why she isn't in the piccy.) Our gang.. Catherine, (Me!), Diana, William & John (the tall dude at the back)used to be like glue, all through the Winter & Spring. But, as I look at STC and the curves life throws you sometimes, I realize that we have all been flung off in different directions.

We used to get together every second Friday for lunch at the Fast Food Garden at Holland Cross (if you check the ad for the restaurant outside, it actually says "Fat Food Garden" which makes me laugh :-) We'd hit the hot dog guy once in awhile, we'd chill at our desks and talk, play with John's computer games, plan creative things or just gripe.

Now, William is at Bluesfest, Susie, Catherine & Diana are in Hull doing PISA (so I guess, they're like a mini-splinter group), John is scanning at Tunney's and .. well, who knows where I'll end up? I miss our little "gang de co-cos". So, I guess I'll just have to plan things apres work to get us together; like forays to the Easy Garden in Bells Corners, or comic & toy stores, or walks along the parkway with Catherine, Alan and Mango!

If my post seems calmer, that's because it is. Well *I* am, anyway. I heard Friday that I am to be posted locally, so that took a big worry out of my thoughts. Not that I didn't want to go West, I just was having many sober second thoughts about the whole venture. I have to say mentally, I'm happier to be away from the computer, although I miss my friends. Being outside on training was cool, if nerve-wracking, but it was absolutely beautiful out there--it was one of those soft, summer evenings that just blossommed into a late golden pink sunset around 9pm. Much nicer than pounding a keyboard from 7am - 3pm.

I don't know if I'll solely be in the Ottawa or Kingston, or further afield as the needs arise. We'll see what happens. More news as I git it!

Cheers,
Suzanne.

PS--HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN!!! Don't eat too much cake :-D

Well, what next

It's been a blurred flurry of activity, stress, stark terror, excitement, madness. Never, ever wish for "change", especially if you're happy and warm in your own particular pile of sh*t! Cause sometimes you get what you wish for. Good Lord, never anticipated the whirl and speed with which this project is thrusting. All tentacles, no head. If that makes any kind've Chthulian sense.

We had another day of training, going through a stack of documents that only served to confuse me even more. People who had been out in the field collecting Census from lost souls that hadn't yet been "got" told their stories. I felt the mad fear running through my veins, as I envisaged my own trial of fire in the field that coming evening. Flight/Fight panic pounding in my blood..and the irony is that I had chosen this. But why? I hate having to knock on doors, interract with people--what the hell came over me? And now I'm just rolling along in this pulsing ball of wax going "What do I DO? What do I DO??"

After training, I had a modest supper at the Cottage; the very place I'd had my first beer with Leah, wayy back in the Fall (seems like a lifetime ago!) Spicy quesadilla, rice and a cold Steamwhistle to wash it all down. Did more Decode sketches for the "Ivy & Dummy" promo project, that helped keep my mind from jabbering and gibbering. Helped keep me from running to the car and skiving off from the field experience.

Got back to Stats early and NW, the Chief of Survey Operations Division was there. I connected better with her today, I think. There were 9 of us in total, with our crew Supervisor Eric. We carpooled to the first place (because after, we were to try and do field work downtown at the condo where the old Daly bldg used to be on 700 Sussex. Yes, the same condo where Alanis Morissette lives! ooh!)

My hands were shaking, and I couldn't breathe. I tried to stay cool and calm, my cultish-alien silver satchel on my hip. This swell girl, Xi-yun was amazing; she knocked on doors and rattled off the spiel without a pause for breath and while the people blinked in amazement, shoved a 2A form their way, along with a pen. I tagged after her, trying to learn by osmosis the procedure, and get a little courage to rub off on me as well!

When we'd finished with our first bldg, we headed for the Market. It vaguely reminded me of my 2nd class of Driver's Ed, when our instructor took us to the Market on a Saturday morning. All the feelings were the same: fear, woeful unpreparedness, more fear, oh yes and the knowledge that no matter what came pass, you were liable to fuck it up somehow. And the fear.

I shouldn't have worried though, because after hoofing it for close to 3 1/2 hours, all over the Market, up Sussex, down Clarence, up Dalhousie, down George and across to York... 90% of the places we tried to get into were barred to us. Either people slammed their phones down when we tried to call to get buzzed in, or security dudes had no clue as to protocol for our non-guest, non-tenant status, or places were simply locked with a blank keypad to which we had no cypher or key to access. The excersize served to rub out the fear, like an emotional brillo-pad on over-wrought, rusty nerves. By the time we were clustered on Dalhousie, like a lost tour group, all I wanted was to get home Home HOME.

Thankfully, the lady who'd carpooled us there was in the same frame of mind, and (eventually) homeward we sped.

Rumours abound! Two of my friends take their first tour tomorrow, and are flying out to either Fort McMurray or Grande Prairie AB. As far as I know, I am probably on Monday's list...but I have no idea where I'm going. Could be AB, could be Montreal, could be Toronto, heck maybe even Ottawa/Gatineau or Kingston. It's good to be in the loop, eh?

More news as I get it! Now, to prepare, clean, shop, pack, read, phone, organize... ACK Pfffblblpbpttt! (As Bill the Cat would say.)

Agents in the field

Well, there's a crisis at Stats and folks from "head office" (that's us!) are being recruited to Go West and help out. Apparently there's almost 1.5 million Census Forms still at large, and lots of them are in AB, particularly in the more northern regions. We had a meeting Friday with the people organizing the push and trying to explain what would be necessary. It sounded really interesting: 3-4 weeks out west, working 37.5 hours a week, but most likely Sun-Thur shift, interviewing people who hadn't had a chance to fill in their forms, both short, long and the really long agricultural form "6"

I applied for the position, just the thing to defeat the anxiety, panic and doldrums I'm stuck in. Or is that a rut? I don't know.. but an all expense paid trip to someplace I'd never been (including accommodation, rental car, salary, food, gratuities) sounded like the cure I needed. Of course at the end of the meeting we headed back to our section, all chatting and curious. BT was at the door of our area, urgently talking with a group of mostly women: "Oh you know, you'll be talking to people who REFUSED to fill in their forms! They could be crack dealers, or it could be a grow op! And you'd be all alone, a woman, no cell phone!" "What if it was a pig farm and they were all psycho??" And on and on and on. And the inevitable "Of course if you were a guy, or in pairs, I wouldn't worry at all!"

This angered me so much. I felt this rise of indignant rage at the gender-bashing injustice pour into me. I said "If I lived my life in fear, I'd never leave the house. What stops you from walking out and getting creamed by the #86 in front of your building? Anything could happen!" (Besides, some of the guys in our group are smaller than the girls.)

BT "Well, what would you do if this really hostile pig farmer came at you?" Me: "I'd clock him in the jaw!" Of course, I'm taller and broader than say, my buddy Catherine, but still.. geez! Of course, with my luck, I'd end up trying to get Census forms filled by people in a dog-patch farm right out of "Trainspotting". "It's ok, d'you guys mind if I just walk through and count you?"

My friends Myra & Joy piped up at the crack house comment "Wow! That'd be our lucky day!" It was just so strange to be encouraged to take this opportunity to go west, help head office with the special project on the one hand, and on the other to be completely terrorized and intimidated by our Supervisor over the possibility that solo female members of Stats in the field could be murdered, fed to pigs or worse... Maaan.

Anyway, it's probably moot, cause I didn't get a confirmation email this morning. So who knows. More later this week--!

Suz.

12:10am

From The Man of Steel and myself, Clay & the animules, hope y'all have a Happy Canada Day & a sweeeet long weekend.

Cheers!
Suzanne.