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.

Cranberry Streusel Muffins

BECAUSE YOU DEMANDED IT!

You will need:

Oiled/ paper-lined or nonstick muffin pan
Bowls
A couple of beers (or coffee, depending)
Wooden spoons
Grim determination

Oh yeah, and the following:

2 Cups Flour (I use whole wheat)
1 Tbsp. Baking Powder
1/4 tsp. Salt
Egg (or Egg substitute)
2/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/4 Cup Veg. Oil
1 Cup Milk (or Soy Milk for CL & KG!)
2 Tbsp. Grated Lemon/Orange Peel
1 & 1/2 Cups Fresh or Frozen Cranberries

1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Tsp. Cinnamon

Combine flour, baking powder, salt and put to one side. In another large bowl, beat together egg, granulated sugar, oil, milk & lemon (or orange) peel. Combine flour mixture with egg mixture, then stir in the cranberries.

Scoop batter into 12 large non-stick, oiled or paper-lined muffin cups. Combine brown sugar & cinnamon. Sprinkle over the top of uncooked muffin goo. Bake in pre-heated 400 F (or 200 C) degree oven for 20-25 min.

These babies stick like there's no tomorrow. Be careful easing them out of the muffin pan. The sugar/cinnamon/gooey cranberry juice combines into an almost glue-like substance!

The muffins were so popular that out of a double batch, I only got to eat TWO. John got 3, my friends' children ate a bunch too. Thanks to *Mom* who introduced me to this deeelish recipe.

Bon apetit!

Bbq Season!

We have some truly nice, "loafin'" weather happening in O-Town. 25 C, sunshine, puffy clouds, gentle breezes AND the perfect addition to loafing: friends, drinks, family and nothing to do but relax and enjoy.

Drove out the Baarhaven yesterday afternoon with Clay to see Myra & the Gang From Work for her BBQ. On Monday, half the crew heads off to Hull for a month to do the next part of the PISA project and the rest of us are staying at Tunney's keying and doing whatever it is that we do :-Q It was great seeing Catherine, John, Linda, meeting Sarah & her friend and of course making a super fuss over doggies (Becky & Brody.) I have doggie-envy!!

I brought Cranberry Struesel muffins, pretty much right out of the oven. Everyone loved them! I'd been promising to bring them to work for..months? So, I figured this'd be my last chance to give my buddies cranberry muffins before they left for Hull. [Ed. note: cranberry lemon muffins are the best ones that the Cafeteria at Tunney's makes (IMHO) and they go so quickly that by the time break arrives at 10am, there are none left and we all end up crying and lamenting about it (and eating corn muffins instead.)]

We had to leave early because my folks had invited me for the Richmond Firemen's BBQ Chicken Fundraising dinner thing wayy, way long ago and I'd said "sure!" not knowing that I was going to be triple booked :-O (Yes, Clay's Aunt & Uncle had called like Thurs. to see if we wanted to come out to Kangaroo Lake and have an impromptu bday celebration for Gloria.) Ever wish you could clone yourself?

We got to the Stitts and Mom & Linda had already headed to Richmond to get the chicken, so we caught up with Dad & Bob. The weather was perfect; cedar waxwings whistled and stripped berries from the nanny-berry bush beside the house, the construction next door was quiet cause it was Saturday (although a lone Security dude sat desolately in his car.) Dinner was delicious! I don't know what the "secret" recipe is.. but *man*, it's too bad it only comes around once a year :-P poo!

We got home after 10pm and decompressed *whoooooo*. Today, hopefully more nice weather as we head to Carleton Place and see the ex-Aylmerites and Keith for BBQ! After all this activity, I'm gonna have to go back to work Monday to relax (*BROAD wink*)

Cheers y'all!
Suzanne.

Nathan's Pants

As per my buddy Carol's suggestion, I have entered the contest to win Nathan Wiley's pants. I'm so excited! What could be better than owning someone else's pants?? :-D The contest ends Sept 17th, so that gives me exactly 3 months to lose enough weight to fit into "...Zara pin-striped brown, size 34 waist (77% wool, 21% rayon, 2% spandex; lining: 65% polyester, 35% cotton)" pants!



Ya, ya, here's da link: NATHAN'S PANTS! So you can try yer luck :-) And here's my entry letter.. which is WAY better than anyone else's will be! Nathan is sure to take pity on me and send me his pants. Maybe. Maybe I'll stop talking now...

--------

Dear Nathan,

Carol L told me about the "Pants" contest & I had to enter, as my CD of yours ("High Low") got destroyed yesterday and I was in a terrible state. So, please send me your pants. I know it can't replace the CD, but it might make me feel a little better.

Thanks!

Suzanne Marsden
[personal info deleted]

Superbeautifulmonster RIP

Everyday, After a While, you feel Let Down, you feel the Abandonment. Even though That's Life, you figure that at least your partner, your buddy in crime, Yeah, You..not Henry, would stop singing the old Question Song. You storm in from work, say I Want a drink, this ain't no Ladybug Waltz buddy! It's all bad news from here on out, the Funeral of a Good Grrl. The CD's in pieces Nothing Else Matters and the World Is Over.

*sniff*

(While tidying, Clay managed to accidentally smash my Nathan Wiley "High Low" CD, Star Wars III Sndtrk AND BIF NAKED *arrg*. And I took him out to see X-Men III as a reward. I must be nuts. :-P)

Backwards

How long do you think it took me to realize my shirt was on backwards yesterday? 2 hours! Thankfully, I (hope) no one noticed... Switched it around in the bathroom. Now, before you cart me off to Alzheimers Land, remember that I'm doped up on 12 hour xtra strength Gravol. And I own shirts that have crew necks..so it felt sort've ok. Anyway, enough of that, it's just another sad thing that happened cause I'm not doing as well as I should!

Had my appt. with my new Doc and he (you guessed it) wants to run MORE tests. What is happening here?! So, back to the lab I get to go. The only thing he could see from the last barrage was that there was some protein leakage happening. Weiiiird. Thankfully, my blood sugar seems ok. So, no Diabetes. YAY :-D

But, I'm still dizzy. Which, is aggravating. I can't ride the bus, I can drive to work, if I'm doped up, but it makes it really hard to concentrate (both with the driving and with the key punching.) Well, I supposed I must remember the old Zen adage "This Too Will Pass" and just try and chill. On the way back from the Doc, stopped at the Licensing Bureau and picked up a temporary plate for the Mustang and a Driver's Ed. book for Clay. Yes, Clay is going to study to get his license. I figured it would be a good idea, if the dizzy state continues (or continues to worsen.) SIGH *again*!!

I'm in an ok mood though, all things considered. The RPG campaign I'm currently in is fun (Rifts partial Borg Merc Campaign :-) I'm writing, getting assignments done for the Institute of Children's Literature. I'm drawing like a mad woman, which always cheers me up. The place is looking not too bad; Mom swooped by last week and put on another coat of the salmon peach colour and it is faboo! Hurrah :-)

Now if I could just get over this "condition" grrr....



Oh yes, and Happy Summer Solstice everyone :-)

Muckle Hammer

I'm home today because of that weird dizziness/nausea thing that happens when I travel (mostly by bus.) It ALSO happens when computer images flash in front of my eyes..which is a drag, cause that's pretty much all I do at work :-( I'm waiting for the lab to give me the results of my tests from last week. C'mon lab! The nurse at Stats said it could be Labyrynthinitis (a viral infection in the middle ear) and another friend thought I might have Candida (a kick-ass yeast infection gone Postal.) I should set up a betting area where people can lay down their cash and when we all find out what's going on, we can make some dough too!

So, I was reading email this morning and the usual Spam appeared. The Penis Enlargement (or whatever) part of this particular spam is actually an imbedded image. How odd! But the oddest was the header and the rest of the message. I felt like I was reading some Alien instructions in code for an upcoming invasion :-O

Go figure :-)



Non-mediterranean orphreyed miter nettle cell middle-horned palm-leaf fan pardon bowl New jersey pair production milling machine morphological analogy nitrogen peroxide old-looking o-o nine-hour

morning-winged Minorca clematis mousing hook nursery rhyme ore body ostensible partner niff-naffy oil meal open-mindedly old-womanishness mis-space Non-catholic milk run old-time pallid-fuliginous nimble-pinioned origanum oil paddle wheel net value naked floor Narodna skupshtina open-roofed N-shaped Non-bantu montan wax oblong-elliptic origanum oil mis-sing music speech Pan-latin never-silent neural axis

parade rest New england myrtle bird peace-bringing mountain adder offset staff oil mold net income panel saw mille marin nonmember bank one-septate Paleo-siberian
observation mine myogen fibrin party wall myogen fibrin Non-yahgan orange madder pea mildew mid-stride opera box

Non-congregational Non-vedic mud-lost oxide blue paroquet auklet os magnum pain-fearing nectar-secreting opal-tinted oil-seal nickel calciner mist gray pardon bowl Neo-kantian nomination borough mist-laden motor-camper ninety-acre

Not summer yet

You can tell it's the weekend.. you know why? It's 10 degrees outside and COLD, rainy and grim. As soon as the new week starts you'll be able to tell it's Monday! You know why?? Because it'll be 35 degrees in the shade with the sun scorching the shadow out from under your feet! Yeargh. What's with that?! Weird weird weird weather. Not that I'm complaining about the coolness (or as my buddy Anders would say: a "Swedish Summer") I like it when the temp doesn't fly over about 23 degrees. Perfect PEI style loafin' weather. But 10 is a bit chilly, dontcha think?

Saw a cool short my buddy Rob put togethergo check it out it's very cool! This is what we do to keep from going bananas & to keep the creative fires nice and lively. It works :-D

The weekend was ok, Friday night went to Keith's after work and had a lovely Margarita. Got settled on the deck with drinks just as the Heavens opened up and drenched everything. But I didn't care; Keith has a nice gazebo/canopy type thing and the drink was fabu. Dinner was bbq'd rubbed meat! (Ok, that sounds gross--it was a pork tenderloin) and a super salad with plenty of herbs and greens in it with a mustard vinagrette. The dude is so talented & he's STILL single! I told him he should open a restaurant & share his skills with the rest of the poor shmucks out there.

We played Palladium RPG (Heroes Unlimited) for the evening & headed back around midnight. It was a little rough driving back. I'm still experiencing that weird disconnected/ vertigo/ faint feeling that hit me last Wednesday. I managed to get us home safely with an audible *whew* and hit the hay.

Sat. slept mostly, then hooked up with Catherine, Alan, John & Clay at the Yang Ming for Dim Sum! William was supposed to join us with his son, but I neglected to check my email before heading out to read that he'd cancelled! *sigh*! :-P We waited half and hour, but our bellies dragged us over to the lines of food, people and delicious smells. We were helpless. Deeelicious. It was great chatting with Alan again & hanging with work buddies in a non-work environment. You can actually talk! For more than 10 minutes :-)

I was supposed to go to a bday celebration Sat. night, but I was beat and not confident behind the wheel as I guided my little Echo homewards. I didn't like the feeling of faintness and weird vertigo that would occasionally sweep into me. I took some Rexall Motion-Sickness medication.. I don't know if they're working or if it's just a placebo or what. But what the heck, it's better than nothing I guess :-P The clinic said that they would have the results of my tests for next week, so I should have some idea about what is going on (I hope!)

Today was fairly relaxing. I was still full from the buffet from yesterday so we took everything light in the food department. Tidied a little, listened to music, got my head together & spent time with the animals & Clay. Got caught up on the phone with my Mah & my buddies Rob, Leah & my belly-dance teacher Lisa-Marie (since I sadly missed my Wed. class :-( There's a super belly-dance extravaganza happening tomorrow night that should be fun to go to! Hopefully I'll be with it enough to attend. I love watching people who know how to really dance, *dance*!

And then of course there's WORK.

Dontcha love Mondays? *sigh*!

Cheers y'all,
Suzanne.

Photocopying

You Are 56% Open Minded

You are a very open minded person, but you're also well grounded. Tolerant and flexible, you appreciate most lifestyles and viewpoints. But you also know where you stand firm, and you can draw that line. You're open to considering every possibility - but in the end, you stand true to yourself.

How Open Minded Are You?

Ok, that had nothing to do with photocopying. So-- but that's what I did today. Not as fun as it sounds; stacks of booklets, stacks of paper, leetle stacks of post-its. Wheee. Photocopying is much more fun if it's a fanzine or an independent comic or something. Sigh. Who knew photocopiers could be evil?

Off to bellydancing tonight. yayy! Hopefully my legs are ok.. I'm still pretty burnt out from painting for 2 days str8 with my Mom. The living room is looking good though. One more coat of "licorice stick" on the wall should do it. Then I get to put all the switchplates and things back on. And unearth our couch (now shrouded under a blue tarp!)

zzz

Wales revisted

Sweeet! I just Google Earthed the Worm's Head in Wales! Man that takes me back. I remember February '95, Vicki and I took a bus out to the Gower and just walked along this very beach, picked up stones, checked out the sand, the garbage, the cool wee algeas. Wow. :-D

Well, I'm back

What a week; not that I feel that I have battled the Minions (or mini-onions) of Mordor and wrestled with Gollum; only that the week preceding the Victoria Day Weekend felt longer than it should have and I am far more tired than I should be. I blame late nights, early mornings, lack of cranberry muffins and enduring endless meaningless prattle at work.

Still-- Connie Caldor is on the CD player (borrowed the music from the liberry to see if I liked it), I have a Creemore beer in my hand; the bra and socks are OFF and I just finished reading the last couple of pages from "The Hour Before Dawn" a skinny Charles de Lint book from Subterranean Press (also borrowed from the liberry :-) I had tried to finish it this morning before work, but that wasn't possible, or I would've seriously missed my bus. BEWARE of being late for the 6:40am #63. It is driven by the Smilin' Sikh. I don't really know if he is a Sikh, but he has a big bushy beard, a turban and a wonderful penetrating grin. He drives like it's New Delhi and slows for no one!

The work went ok; I was filling in batch information into the giant ledger, which I actually enjoy doing. I don't mind organizing things at work--I wish I could transfer some of that Virgoan nit-pickiness to my HOME life. But, well, perhaps in small bites this too will happen. William, Lianne, Catherine and I hit the Fast Food Garden at lunch and there was a BIG line up. By the time I got back with my noodles & broccoli, there was like 3 minutes left to eat. How can one survive with a half-hour lunch??? I miss animation daze :-P [Editor's note: 2+ hour lunches were the norm!]

But, when we got back, Anna was there with her wee son Ethan & we all cooed and oohed over the little fella. I got a burble & giggle from him and that was sweet. I ended up having to eat at my desk, to the annoyance of the new gang, but, well, too bad. My guilt level was non-existent since the morning had been churned by chattery *loud* girlie-girl talk. MAN! How much can you rehash partying, drinking, barfing, sex, boyfriends, ex-boyfriends, ex-boyfriends of ex-friends, etc etc etc??? I was getting annoyed not only at all the Hetero-petty stuff, but feeling very very old to boot. I'm glad Patrick got to talking about his old college days. It was pretty much the same drinking/ passing out/ where-the-heck-am-I? type stories, but he's at least older than I am and a good story-teller :-)

Whew. So--the weekend promises to be busy. I'm going to be painting the livingroom, and tidying..and probably learning a bit of 3D Studio Max at William's place with John tomorrow. AND I have to remember to look after Mike & Shel's cat. It's weird.. I know that time stretches (I've seen my buddy Anders DO it!) but I bet that it also compresses. I bet the weekend will fly by as quickly as a 1/2 hour lunch and next week will drag like molasses. Sigh!! More Creemore please?

Clanging and Banging

Do not nurse a hangover and try to do laundry at our house. The washer is VERY loud! Possibly this is because it has become unbalanced...? Not that I'm hungover.. or unbalanced. But I AM doing laundry and having a drink; possibly the combination will prove disastrous. Only time will tell!

Mike swung by after work and brought the electric mower.. yayyy :-D The backyard is 95% mown (the extension cord was only SO long :-P) The front lawn looks sweet; I managed to avoid flattening the only flower planted in the yard. The violets live! Mike was also sweet enough to fix the sound on the computer. Hurrah! I can't believe it's been almost 2 months of no sound. Boy all those little movies people send me will now be a whole lot funnier!


TAMS merchandise will soon be available (t-shirts, buttons, magnets etc. Or say, what about a Ban the TAMS thong?! :-O) Let the madness continue!

Work was ok... PISA is proceeding well. Spent today going through bins, grooming booklets and filling in little bits of information on ledger sized paper. Then I got to punch little sheets that come with the bundles and file them in binders! Around 10am I got instructed on the intricacies of the New Photocopier! The neeeewwww photocopier can copy, collate, fold and bind stuff; like comix! Indie Comix! Wooohooo :-)

But I would never do that.

Never :-)

Happy Census Day!
Bellydancing tomorrow! Wheeeee :-)

Spend your hard earned bucks!

Yes, the moment you have all been waiting for has finally arrived: the opportunity to have your very own "Ban the TAMS" coffee mug! Simply go to Cafe Press and follow the order instructions and soon you too will be sipping beverages from an anti TAMS ceramic container of your very own. HURRAH! :-D

More postings to come *promise*!

Cheers,
Suz.

Beltane

Happy Cetsamhain! For many things May Day related, check out the link.

BELTANE

If you feel the urge to dance around a May Pole, leap over a fire or engage in other fun and naughty Spring-time rituals, Now's the time! At last, the weather is warming and the earth is ripe and fertile, awaiting planting.

My gardens are languishing a little: mostly they have weeds covering the multitude of strawberry plants and raspberry canes that gamely survived the winter. The Herb Garden is renamed the "Garlic Chive 3 x 3 foot Quadrangle" in honour of it not containing herbs, but solely Garlic Chives! NUM :-D

The front garden is named: "Strip O' Clover-Thistle and Whirlygig Plastic Parrot" (yes that about sums up what it contains as well!) But, never fear, my spice drawer contains many seed packets, including favourites like Cilantro, Asters, Sunflowers and the like. The weather is perfect for planting and who could resist?

Except of course, work gets in the way of things (like gardening!) Still, another Monday over and done with and the TAMs fading from my memory like a bad hangover. I got home after a speedy bus delivery and devoured the first half of "Angela's Ashes" which I'd borrowed from Boo on the weekend. GOOD WRITING! :-D I'll have to renew some of my library books, cause there's no way I'll finish 'em all by Saturday! Yikes..



The new little rattie girls are settling in. They are delightful! One is a curly rex albino, named "Fable" and the other is smooth furred white with a grey hood. She's temporarily called "Lark", but I'm working on other names.

AND my friend Catherine at work got a puppy. A puppy! And me, with no puppy to speak of.. *sigh*. And she named her lovely little-cream-fuzzy-girl puppy: MANGO.

I'm going to bed now.

*pout*!

Animals Animals

I talk a lot about my animules... without them, I'd be a lot crazier & even though they wreck things, tag pant cuffs (rabbit!) hork 3am hairballs (Nellie!) and drag anything chew-able through the bars of their cages (all ratties!) without 'em, life would be pretty dull. I'm sure Clay would give a slightly different opinion, but that's cause he's been on litter-duty ever since my sciatica went kablooie :-P

I found a hilarious site with some gr8 kitty pics on it that you should check out! It's called the

Moggy Horde.

Very funny! Just open the link and scroll down to The Silly Sleeping Pose Olympics!

Here's my contribution, and probably the first in a series of pics & info on my critters. We'll start with ARLO since he is my most famous kitty. Each entry will feature a picture (if I have one) a bit of history and the like. This is in preparation for getting YET MORE ANIMULES (tonight I'm off to meet 2 baby female rats--oh yeah, and their owner.) There was a free Sheltie posted on the Stats bulletin board and I was WAY tempted. Yikes. (She looks just like my sweet Buffy.) But dogs in the house with no one at home ain't fair.



ARLO

Born probably Sept 2nd, 1990 somewhere near Hawksbury. My buddy Andrew Raff's folks found a box of kittens in a field at the end of a dirt road. Arlo was the "fiesty one" and joined me in my first apartment! (253 York St...Ah, the glory days..) Arlo was never a heavy cat.. at his biggest, he was 11 lbs. and as he's aged, he's slimmed down to maybe 7 or so. He has a great "What the heck are YOU looking at?!" expression at all times because of the grey mask and splotch of grey on his nose.

He is named after Arlo Guthrie (who I get to SEE LIVE IN CONCERT on May 10th! Can you tell I'm excited? :-D) And my wee kitty has been with me to every place I've lived, has disappeared twice (once in August 1998 for a week.. then the following year around the same time for 3 months. ARG.) Too bad cats can't talk Hooman; then I'd know where he'd gone. I figure aliens took him up. After that, I got him microchipped, and of course he hasn't escaped to unknown domains since!



He continues to be the Coolest Cat Ever and I love him so much. He stars in my first published b & w comic "The Tale of Minkie's Kitten" (c) 1996 and was the inspiration for all my

"Uburkitty" comics.

His pawprints are on an acrylic painting from 1990 called "Skytoes" which was shortly after I got him. When he was teeny, he used to sleep on my neck, holding my face between his paws. At night, he'd carefully groom one side of my face and then the other. It made getting a decent night's sleep challenging! Good thing I worked in animation...

I'm sure I could go on and on! But more later--as I find pics and comix.
Cheerio :-)

Shimmy to the Laundromat

Or was is Wiggle to the Laundromat? I forget. It's some crazy Dennis Lee book from the '70s anyhow! But that is neither here nor there. I have SHIMMIED and the SHIMMY was good! And my poor ass is *sore*! But it was good fun. I have to get me a hip scarf with bojangle deelies on it so I can be as cool as my instructor. OR, more likely, I'll stand on the side and shuffle around trying to watch peoples' feet and attempting to figure out the "travelling steps" we're learning.

This week... I've been doing TAMs. The less said the better! :-D For more information on TAMs, see the archives. WHEEEEEEeee!! And no, TAMs is not some Scottish affectation. In fact, it has nothing to do with Scotland at all.



I finished

Charles de Lint's "The Blue Girl"

and enjoyed it very much. I love CdL and have read his stuff since 1986. That's like TWENTY YEARS of fabulous Canadian cool urban-faerie weavings. Thanks Charles! :-) I really enjoyed the book. It's teen fic, but I've never let that stop me from reading anything. Heck, I still love Anne McCaffrey and she's supposedly for teens as well. Piffle!



Also--Clay shanghaied me to see "V for Vendetta" last night at the AMC. It was amazing. I went in knowing *nothing* about co-creator

Alan Moore's comic

and came out with weepy eyes, staggering and going *whoaaaaa*. I highly recommend this film! Now I must root around in Clay's comic boxes and find the original comic to read. Wow. (**note, I KNOW that Alan Moore didn't like the film--that's cool. I liked it. I'll update later when I read the comics..)

So! Tomorrow, more TAMs (probably) and maybe beer with LH after work, if I'm good. I have to get a bunch of art done for people, AND find JG's disk *sorry man!* and what else... c'est tout. Talk l8r,

Ciao
Suze
*shimmy*shimmy*shimmy*shimmy*.

Passing notes

Yes, we've been reduced to playing HANGMAN on Post-It notes at work. We're done our work assembling all the envelopes and labels and we're offically back on TAMs! AUgh. So, to pass the time, we've been playing movie genre guessing games together.

Which was fine when we could email! But then, we were encouraged *not* to email while keying. SIGH. How to stay awake during the horrific TAMs???? Well...there is an internal computer messaging system called NetHail which contacts specific users on their PC's! Yay! Our game was saved; we NetHailed all morning and John got stumped on the above clue.

The answer?? GODZILLA!!! (He did get a little help from ChippEric tho'!)

And of course we got caught by our Supervisor NetHailing. John stuck to his guns and didn't turn me in, but Susie snitched in 2 seconds and our cover was blown. Next, we had a 10 second meeting telling us that not only was NetHail an important technical tool used solely by the LAN guys, but that it was really easy to accidentally NetHail the ENTIRE Stats Can staff if you weren't careful. Oopsie. Don't you just love the thought of mailing the entire staff something lame like "Wait, the Sound of Music isn't a genre film!?" *sighhh*

So, no communication. Except.. yes, we've regressed to passing notes. But it helped make the Friday go faster.

Then we had delicious buffet at the Easy Garden in Bells Corners with William and his family. CRABLEGS FREE FOR ALL. The staff cowered when William strode through the door (and rightfully so.)

All in all, I'm glad the week's over!

Cheerio
Suz.

jiggle wiggle giggle

Whew! I'm just coming down from my first bellydance class. What fun! It was a great group of beginners & cool seeing my teacher Lisa-Marie again. The music was exotic with infectious beats and increasing tempos! I felt like not only did I have two left feet..but I didn't care! I wiggled and jiggled all around, tried to keep up, tried to *remember* key moves, forgot things and kept moving. What a blast!

Looking fwd to next week's class :-D

There is still a possibility of joining the Intermediate class if anyone's into it. That would be a hoot, just getting more dancing in. Check the instructions in the previous post if you need help.

Work was ok; we finished up the next phase of PISA today which was kind've surreal. We've been plugging away at this particular part for a few weeks now! All the moisture has been sucked out of my fingers and my brain is putty.

It was good getting 2gether for coffee and Bridgehead sandwiches with Leah after work and reminding myself that I DO have in fact, a functioning brain! It just took a bit for the old engine to kick over. Thank goodness :-) We had a nice drive to Westboro beach and walked around a bit. There were ducks out! Cool :-) Ducks are like, the *happiest* birds around. Have you ever seen anything as happy as a duck sitting in a little puddle of water?

Anyway.. the bed calls.. and I must answer.
ZZZZzzzz

Cheers!
Suzanne.

Online Comic! Woohoo :-D

I drew this up last August just after two dyke teenager roomies moved into our place. I got A LOT of drawing done over those last 2 months (before they moved out again.) This one is just a weird little tale about bunnies and ratties. It's Easter, what the heck.

Happy PaganSpring!
Suz.

Bellydance Your Blues Away

The sitch is *dire*!

A very cool lady; Lisa-Marie, who is a potter and wonderful bellydance teacher, is teaching two classes at Sir Guy Carleton HS starting April 19th (yeahp, that's next week!) There are 2 classes scheduled, Beginner (7:30pm - 8:30pm) and Intermediate (8:45pm-9:45pm.) I took dancing with Lisa-Marie a couple of years ago when she taught Goddess Size bellydancing in Orleans & I had so much fun, it was unbelievable. Picture about 8 large women in a class, jiggling, laughing, moving their bodies and having a great time. Now include WAY more laughing. I really enjoyed the classes & was delighted to see that she was going to be teaching again. So--I signed up for Beginner (because I really only barely remember all those jiggly-wiggly moves and need to be refreshed..)

The *dire* part is that no one has signed up for the Intermediate part of the class. So, I thought I'd post and hope that some of you might be interested in shaking, jiggling and wiggling for a couple of hours on a Wednesday night. The classes are reasonable (see below) and it would be so good to get out and moove. If there is a great interest, some could even car pool.

Anyway, I know this is kind've an ad, but hopefully you won't mind and might enjoy signing up for dancing. I'm going to sign up for both and hopefully still be able to walk come Thurs. morning :-D

Please, even if you're not intested, mention it to your friends who might be & fwd the info! Thanks a bunch,

hugs
Suzanne.


---------------

Beginner
Wednesday, Apr. 19 until June 14. No class May 3.
7:30 - 8:30 p.m. 8 weeks, $63.00
Sir Guy Carelton School, 55 Centrepointe Drive, Nepean
To view details for this class, please go to:
http://www.ocdsb.ca/continuweb/general.htm
To register please call (613) 239-2751

Intermediate
Wednesday, Apr. 19 until June 14. No class May 3.
8:45 - 9:45 p.m. 8 weeks
Sir Guy Carelton School, 55 Centrepointe Drive, Nepean
To view details for this class, please go to:
http://www.ocdsb.ca/continuweb/general.htm
To register please call (613) 239-2751
For questions or information on these classes feel free to call Sha' Vega (Lisa-Marie) at 819-281-3307 or write to potbelly@lablanchepoterie.com

AND for anyone who hasn't scrolled down to reread my Mustang post.. here's a link for my sweet baby who is official *for sale*

BEAUTIFUL VINTAGE MUSTANG NEEDS NEW HOME

Thinking

I was just thinking of Stephanie before going to bed and remembering that it's been a year since she died. It's incredible that the time passed and it's April again. I remember last year, working at the CRA and listening to Sarah Slean "Night Bugs" and "Day One", Sophie Zelmani's "Time to Kill" and Jann Arden over and over again. The songs wove together and helped move me through the bewildering pain and loss. I listened to k.d.lang's "Hymns of the 49th Parallel", Tom Waits, Indigo Girls and Elaina Martin. I just tried to remember Stephanie singing, Stephanie being herself, playing bongos on the porch, cooking, dressing in smart clothes, driving, telling stories, shooting pool at the Lookout with me and all the memories that made her *her*.

Wherever you are Steph, I hope you're doing cool.

miss you,
S.

Mustang on the lawn

For fun, here is a short email correspondence with my buddy Barb, a wonderful, lovely lady & an old friend from WAY back :-D

> Barb wrote:
>
> > And.....from checking out your website.....is the Mustang gone, gone , gone. The last vestige of Dorothy?...............gone?
> >

> Hiya Barb ;-)
> The Mustang is still here.. but possibly not for long, now that I have my shiny candy Echo. I do feel some poignancy.. I had her for 10 years! We've been on crazy road trips down East & all over the place.. and yeah, it's pretty much the last vestige of Nanna that I had.. For your pleasure, a piccy. (and, yeahp, if you know anyone looking for a 25 year old Mustang...?)
>
> hugs!
> Suzanne



> Barb wrote:

Why let the Mustang go? It's part of your family heritage. I'm sure your neighbours would be good sports if you turned it into a lawn ornament. Ya know, just like on the reserve. Put it on blocks in your front yard, leave the doors open, spread some soil in it and grow flowers. Open the hood and insert a nice, big, plastic Virgin Mary sculpture and light it up with Xmas lights. Leave the trunk open and collect found objects in it in sculptural form. Hub caps, fence posts, Javex bottles, pop cans, beer bottles, bundles of chicken wire. It will be great. Something to talk about with people who wander by.

------------

Hmm.. Mustang as a lawn ornament? Possibilities.... *wink*
kidding!
Cheers all
S.

To see an ad for the above 'stang, please click below:

BEAUTIFUL VINTAGE MUSTANG NEEDS NEW HOME

Tnhak G*d i'st Fidary!

We made it! Woohoo :-))

Somehow, another grueling week slides to its finish leaving only the pulped remains of the undertrodden and the dismal, to rest weary bodies and renew tattered souls over 48 hrs until we're spewed once more into the horrific morass of toil.

But until that happens, FRIDAY!! :-D Work drudged by until lunch when William, Susie, John & I forayed abroad for noodles, eggrolls, bocali (;-D and tofu. *yum* We cranked out the PISA. I have no idea how fast we went..it just sort've "went", then it was done. Met up with Claytor at the bus station and we drove the new car up to Westgate.

I arrived at the Licence/Thingie Office at 4:45pm (yeah, it closed at 5pm!) I got an awesome lady who helped process all my stuff. I basically said "I just got a used car, and well, here are all my bits of information" (as I slid a file folder towards her.) We managed to get me done before they locked the doors & I exited with temporary plate, used car package, new ownership, and taxes paid receipt in hand... only setting me back... $377 *yarrg*! (with our rent paid, that's my paycheque basically blown in TWO DAYS !) Is that a record, or what?

But it's good having in done. Now I return Echo-dude's plate to him tomorrow before we head up to Tom & Gloria's for a pre-Easter feast. That'll make him happy (& me too :-) Plus I'll get to see how Li'l Red does on the open highway.

And now some pictures (that have nothing to do with Echoes, or Statistics Canada.) I sketched these a few days ago, same set-up & pencil. Mayfly is a character Clay & I brainstormed on who basically only lives for 24 hours before being reborn (which although cool, is pretty much unplayable as a PC, but might make a nice NPC)



Next, we have a fire or lightning based character, possibly related to a 40's campaign because of the jacket and boots (not sure.) Hope you like!



Cheers,
Suz.

Like a molasses snail in January

Zurg. Slow *slow* day. Thank G*d tomorrow is Friday! Maybe that made it go even slower -hmmm-! Our production over the last week on labelling, bookletting, organizing, QCing etc was TOO FAST. So now we have to slow down! But it's all good. I mean, we get paid the same amount, no matter what speed we go. But the day just drags. And it's weird, you make *more* mistakes when you go slower. I don't know if it's just the mind turning to pudding, or being numb or what, but that's what it felt like.

Tomorrow we're going out for lunch at the "Fast Food Garden" at Holland Cross. They have deeeelish (and fast--no kidding :-) broccoli, tofu and noodles. And eggrolls. YUM. Something to look forward to. In the evening, depending on what happens, I might go to the Psychic Fair at the Congress Centre with Susie, Diana and John--we'll see. I still have to get the ownership transferred on me car and plates and the like. Dunno.

Wednesday night was awesome. Put the cheque in the bank, so my cheque that I wrote for bellydance lessons wouldn't bounce (always good, since TD upped their rates on rubber cheques to like $37.50 or something :-O). Lessons start after Easter! That should be fun; it's with my old Goddess Size Bellydance teacher Sha' Vega (also a primo potter--check out her blog in my links area--under Serafin!) Basically when I took it before, it was a class filled with large jiggly ladies and we just laughed and laughed and jiggled around for an hour and a half *whee!*.

I met up with Leah at Bridgehead to chat, then we wandered around Westboro and ogled the little shops, finally ending up in a nice little Italian coffee shop where she got some freshly roasted beans! I drove her home, then headed back myself, wondering if I would get back before having to turn on my (still burnt out) lights.

It's awesome bouncing ideas off each other and getting excited about the Project. I have to use Allie (my Mustang) a few more times to transport material from Stittsville here--one item is my transformed wringer washer, that I use for paper-making. THAT'LL be fun. I don't know if it'll even fit in the hatchback.

Well, I should go and make food. And wait for my insurance dude to phone. Apparently all the computers are down at the Head Office in Toronto. *sigh* :-P

Cheers!
Suz.

The Flash

As per suggestion from the previous post--here's the Flash logo. Do you think that'd look swell on the hood of the car? :-) Of course I would FOR SURE be stopped for speeding. And what would I say? Duh.. Yeah, ya caught me. I *am* the Flash.

For those of you who are still patiently waiting to see the bed pic.. I finally got it uploaded from work and HERE it is!



I am finally (sort've) getting used to the bed and was able to sleep on it without tossing and turning so much. The pic you see is *lower* than my mattress sits. I feel like a little kid in the bed! I was having anxiety imagining falling out the side and onto the floor. *sigh*! :-)

Work was ok, more of the same, labelling endless amounts of envelopes. Still, lots of good chatting and laughs, tossing big wads of sticky paper balls at each other and other shinanigans. Posted my cheque in the mail at lunch for 8 classes of *bellydancing*!! with Sha'Vega, my dance teacher from a couple of years ago. I'm super lookin' forward to that. Yay!

Tomorrow, coffee with Leah after work and picking up my old Mustang from the Ex-owner of the Echo's place. Oooh yeah, and payday! Hurrah :-) It is all worth it, eh?

Cheers & peace
Suzanne.

The road to enlightenment is long and difficult, so bring snacks and a magazine

Happy Weekend All!
I am reading "Journey of Awakening : A Meditator's Guidebook" by Ram Dass and enjoying it very much. I found it was a natural progression from the Goldberg book I read on writing and is jiving with many of the other Zen books I've browsed from the Shambhala line. Reading it on the #63 makes the trip go fast too, occasionally I'll glance out the window and there will be bare branches, quivering in the wind, or the Ottawa river, crusted in rotten snow. But the sun picks out crystal diamonds in the ice and the trees' graceful branches are slender and beautiful. Even rushing towards Tunney's Pasture and endless, mindless work, I find some peace and quiet for my angsty soul :-P



I picked up some very cool Bodhi beads Fri night after drinks with Leah. We headed to 3 Trees so she could return her ring and just browsed a bit. They have *so* many cool and neat things, great music playing in the bg too, bellydance material for sure ;-D Checked out beeswax candles, turned amber beads over in my fingers and helped Leah model pink embroidered delicates with her leather jacket as an impromptu screen. It was fun.

I drove my Cyclopean Mustang down the Queensway, the thin right beam lighthouse-like as I flew home to GlenCairn. I had to truncate my Friday to get back in time for the end of an eBay auction. Auction you say? Yes, I babysat that sucker for 40 minutes, watching the time tick down on a cute lil' cherry red 2000 Echo for sale, here in Ottawa! I couldn't wrap my head around the idea that I wasn't bidding on a CD or a book.. but an entire car. Hmm...:-D And, to suspend the suspense, yes, I won her! I still have to get Frank (my mech-dude) to check her over, tomorrow or Monday, but if all goes well, she will be MINE *bwahahhahaaa* Yes :-))

I have to pick a name for her, I thought either "Cherry" or maybe "Jean" (y'know, Phoenix?) So, any opinions out there? It's gotta be better than "Reddy" *grin*.



Well, that's it for now... Just recovering from finishing putting together my bed frame with Clay. It only took 2 hours... so much cursing and swearing--the air must've been BLUE. I better start working on that inner peace and quiet mind stuff or I'm gonna be totally wound up! Finally we got 'er done. The bed is SO HIGH--I'll need a ladder to clamber up into her. But I love it. I still have to find the pic of the bed to post, so you can ogle it too. Now, off to my Ma's for lasagna and to try and *ignore* the fact that the weekend is coming to a close. :-(

Oh yeah, check out my pal John G's awesome manip of a Samus:

very cool!

Adios muchachos--
Suz.

Spinnin' Bifficus

First off, here's another sketch done with those awesome StatCan pencils. This is a fallen villain who has just been blasted by the heroine (the lady gripping blondie's chin!) I actually really liked the villain's outfit and have done some other drawings of her. Who knows who these two whackos are.



Next, we have a Feral Girl of some kind. I really like the way

Bill Willingham ("Ironwood", "Elementals")

draws hair. This guy *really* knows how to do hair. Take a look at his stuff, then go and get your

Jack Hamm "Drawing the Head and Figure"

book and just get busy. So this sketch was me trying to get all fancy with hair. Also, Bill Willingham's erotic drawings are also nice and inspirational :-D

Anywayz, I WASN'T drawin' today, or listening to Bif Naked, with whom I have become enchanted. I was sticking stickers to booklets at work for our current project (PISA). Many *many* stickers, many *many* booklets. But the day passed quickly, the caf coffee was ok and I have another date Friday! Hurray :-) Green Door delights beckon and I must answer the call.

"I go now, to return when a new day dawns, and I'm in human form once more..."
Paul Chato from The Frantics, "Four on the Floor", late-80's comic genius :-D

Cheers yo,
S.

Crooked

Once upon a time my sciatic nerve was all str8 and happy, and not compressed and f*cked up. Like... before I started doing Data Entry in fact! Coincidence? :-P Every now and then, I'll do something dumb-assed and get "all crooked" as my friend Moira M. says when her back goes out.

So, my friend is Robaxacet and I'm trying not to bend over to do anything. This can be a challenge if a) you have to turn on water for a shower, b) your cat drops a fuzzy mouse at your feet and wants to play, c) you are trying to brush your teeth and *not* bend near the sink, d) anything involving getting dressed (try trying your shoes and not use your spine! Fun times...

The weekend rocked however! After much bending, cursing, crying, taking of drugs and finally driving up to The Big Rideau Lake, I got settled with my buddies, food, freewheeling kids all over the place and muchos cervecas. Vicki's taste in music was superb and we grooved while catching up on all the news. I got Anders' latest copy of "Freefall" and an xtra one to mail 2 Carol L. in PEI! Hurrah :-)

It's never long enough up at the cottage though. 2 days speeds by like a stock car race track through a Zen monastery: soul-fulfilling activities at 78 rpm. Then you get plunked back in your life feeling breathless, nourished and slightly dizzy (or nauseous--coulda been all the chippies we were eating too!)

We introduced a newbie to the Joy that IS "Thumbwars" (If you haven't seen this, go, GO NOW and dload it from somewhere and prepare to laugh your guts out.) We also watched half of Monty Python's "Holy Grail" which was awesome. The kids all got to see the whole thing too. Yay! Yet another generation corrupted by those crazy Brits. I totally remember being like, 8 and watching the movie, taking the whole thing seriously and being confused and angry by the crappy ending. The ending is STILL crappy, but the movie is legendary.

Well, off to try and str8n' myself out.
Cheers
S.

PS--here's a shot of the cottage during a previous non-snowy visit :-)

Some drawings

Above is a sketch I did a couple of weeks ago on rough 11 x 17 paper using a Bic #2 0.7 mm pencil. These pencils are THE BEST for quick sketching. They were chosen by my Supervisor at Stats Canada for filling out those little circles you get in surveys and stuff. She said she went through *tons* of pencils trying to find just the right one.. dark enough lead, super nice eraser to completely erase said lead.. and voila. She found it--and I *ahem* borrowed one from work to draw with at home. Thanks B.T. :-)



So yeah, the 2nd drawing I sort've got inspired watching some 1950's TV Superman 1/2 hr. shows.. the Council on Krypton had these FUNKY leather collars, which I had to swipe. The first drawing reminds me of the psychotic chick from Kill Bill 1 (ok, ok there were a lot of 'em. You know.. GoGo? Anyway.. I like her hair.

More doodles to come.

Cheers
S.

Nourth Vancover

tAM tee TAm...
Some people can't spell--the above is a mild example of what I run into. I have also seen: Otowa, Hamlton and many other interesting efforts in BAD SPELiG! :-O

I am alive! I went to the Museum to do the test..after driving down a long long long bumpy road (Pink Rd. in Gatineau btw--don't attempt this if your car is limping along with no shocks :-) Apparently 70% of the collection is housed out there instead of the castle downtown we all know & love (which mathematically must house the other 30 %)

The test was basically manipulating 3 images then burning files to a disk. The first two were pretty easy, but the last one involved scanning a 5 x 4 transparency. They had little non-static Mickey Mouse gloves, a scanner that was bigger than my computer and an obvious absence of said scanner software shortcut on the desktop for me to use. SIGH. Needless to say, I tried, *tried* _tried_ to finish everything in the hour allocated, but was stymied not only by having to use software with which I was unfamiliar, but PhotoShop was biting my ass.

urg.

So, less than impressive finish. We'll see what happenz..

After, went to Pub Italia, drank Creemore and ate Jalapeno poppers with Leah H., who was not feeling so good. I got half an Uberkitty comic done while I was waiting for her (she *just* missed the #6 ! :-P) so that was cool. It was good recharging creative batteries with my buddy. We are cooking up some GOOD ideas! Yay :-)) Hopefully she'll feel bettah soon.

So, nuff fer now. I go--**"to return when I'm in human form once more!" No.. I go--to get a Queen sized frame & headboard... the one I've been drooling over for months. Yayyyyyyyyyyy. Maybe I'll post a pic of it, if you're good.

Cheers,
S.

**kudos if anyone can figure out the origin (or spoof-origin) of that quote. HINT, it involves Canadian comedians, a cake and a bowling ball. An original doodle to the Winnah! :-)

Mini contest

For no particular reason: Anyone wanna guess who the sexy pirate lady is? A free, original doodle goes to the winnah! :-) Good luck!

Let's raise a toast to another buried Monday! The week rolls on and Tuesday is in the can too. Tomorrow is Payday, Wotan's Day, Hump Day etc etc--no one can truly be angry at a Wednesday can they?

Got a call from a job I applied to last week with the Museum of Nature. They want me to come in for a test.. TOMORROW :-O So.. I only get a half day of hammering the Tam (for those of you who do not know the joy of TAM, I should refer you to an amusing link (stolen from Rob A.'s blog): http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1189/1281/1600/unknown.gif

Then I get to drive out to Aylmer somewhere and find the place where the test is being held. I have this gnawing scared-panicky feeling in my gut which I can do *nothing* to alleviate because a) I haven't a clue what the test is about, so therefore I can't prep for it and b) I don't have enough time to freak out over it cause it'll be over tomorrow (it's only an hour long) c) regardless, my imagination will conjure up horror after horror until the bloody thing is DONE.

After the test, I will drive around for a bit, maybe hit Staples and get a mat thingie for the hardwood (to protect my studio's floor from getting gouged by my drafting chair.) Then, hopefully I'll meet Leah at Pub Italia for a brew or two. Then, Wednesday too, will be put to rest.

Cheers
S.

1,000 mile stare

Got my scanner working & stayed up way too late playing Bejeweled II (Thanks John G. :-O) and drinking beer (and working on the computer!) Now my eyes are bug-tired and I have the--what curled up in the back of my mouth and expired taste happening *yech*.

Once I grind coffee and get a broccoli frittata started I'm sure I'll feel bettah, but for now... zz. Hope you like the pic above--I don't have PShop installed yet, so I had to manipulate her in PAINT. Ye Gods! Usually when I get home I draw from 5-10+ quick sketches while the TV is going... she came from one of those sessions. More to come!

Now for chores: laundry, dishes, clean the rats, rabbit & cat paraphernalia, oh yeah and get some artwork together to apply for some Character Design Artist positions! Yeeeha :-D

Bottoms up,
S.

Yo, check out this link to my LiveJournal with results of Which Superhero Are You Quiz.. it's kewl!
http://lyracore.livejournal.com/

deedle-deedle-deee

No I'm not nuts yet, but just happy to be headin' to bed. At work, we finished counting the pamphlets--hurray! Then, as a reward, we got to key TAM (remember the uber-boring survey I was telling you about previously?) *sigh*

After I got home, I cracked a Keiths and worked on the 'pooter for a bit, hoping that my talented WebMistress will update my site for me *hope-hope!!* :-) Then, met up with Clay at the Wizard's Tower in Kanata after he'd dropped off his resume at the Bulk Barn. It was cool being surrounded by comics again.. and as always, intimidating too. I alternately feel excited/good being in a comic store and terribly depressed as well. Nothing on the racks looked familiar--well, except for some TPBs of the Sandman, Tank Girl and some "Growing up Enchanted" comics too :-D

All the myriad of X-titles jostling each other with characters that look like they're 12.. I mean, Wolverine isn't a kid for gosh sakes. I bet I would be lost trying to read them, utterly :-P Still, it was nice & Clay got a book and I scanned the dice at the cash.

Then. Then we had supper at the Hong Chow next door...buffet! YUM :-))) We are exploring our environs..

more 2morrow maybe
Cheers
S.

Yes, Hallowe'en was many moons ago.. What am I saying? This is how I dress normally :-D Sue the GREEN FAIRY. Now I have sorted out how to upload pics. Hurrah! More to come, when I scan some, that is.

ZURG

Zurgmrrzzzz

That's what your brain says when you count things way too much. I've been counting since 10:30am. 68,000 pamphlets, leetle bundles of 35 each. By the end of the day, William Y. was saying, hey, let's count in the language of our heritage: like French, Cantonese, German, Spanish. That was fun. And I realized I can still count to 35 in French (trente-cinq!) My buddy John G. could count to ten in Japanese. Cool.

So, yeah, that was what I did today. WHEEEE! I'm still reading "Writing Down the Bones", mostly on the bus. Which gives me a bit of motion sickness; maybe 'cause the print is so little. It's a pocket book from Shambala--done in the style of Zen monk prayer books. Monks used to have to learn all these Koans (Zen riddles) by heart before they could reach a certain level (paraphrasing here.) Anyway, the novices would tuck these little books up their sleeves and kind've crash course Koans in the bathroom secretly. Then, after they'd managed to memorize like 3,000 of them, they could join the super-Zen-monk club. Or maybe I'm getting Koans confused with Haikus. So.

I'm reading this little tiny book and enjoying it, but the type is going up and down and jiggling all around, and my tummy is going: REMEMBER the vegetarian sandwich you had a couple of hours ago? And that pear at 2pm? Oh, and the peppermint gum you're chawing on? You may soon be getting a review of them. Soon.

But I'm really enjoying the book.

So I close my eyes and look like I'm being swept away by Zen knowledge, when in fact I'm trying to breathe deeply and not barf. Enlightenment via the gut... has possibilities.

So, I have no pictures to post yet, but I will when I figure out how. Soon y'all :-)

Cheers,
Suz.

Beer in th' fridge

And now beer in ma' bellie :-)

What a long, awful, boring day. In animation-land you would never say that. You would say maybe... I had to deal with a jerk today, or gee, my hand is tired from drawing like a maniac, or hmm, maybe I should've come back at 1:30pm instead of 3:00pm and I would've gotten a few more drawings done. But NEVER boring, awful and looooong.

I am keying TAM which is a travel survey. Basically I hit a return key and sometimes I have to toggle a little square from green to red (and vice versa.) It is the *most* boring survey I've ever had to input at Stats Canada.. mind you, I've only been there since September :-P We just kind've endure, crack jokes, send emails to each other, the funniest of which were from my buddy John G. and contained one word: DISTRACTION!!!! (That was to wake us up periodically!)

What else? Came home, made popcorn, opened beer. Cruised the 'net and found more blogs from my friends. Hurray!!! :-D Looked at the mail. Mail contained *no* news about my application for a job at the Census. So, in two months, I will be a bum once more, since there's no news coming from them.

I'm reading "Writing Down the Bones" by Natalie Goldberg... and finished Dave Sim's "Guide to Self Publishing". Now all I want to do is draw like a maniac! Again! Of course, this happens at work, where you are pressing the return key and toggling things. For 7.5 hours! GARG.

Bleah. So, off to draw. Or claw me eyes out, whichever is easier :-)

There should be doodles a'-being posted soon. Hang on to yer hats.

Cheers,
S.