November 2008

In Nov 2008 I was doing nanowrimo (the same story as I'm working on now) so not many posts. But what was funny is that I wrote the shortest post I've ever written, and it generated the most comments ever.

The post was simply this:

 

I was glad a Democrat had won the US presidential race, but one of my lovely friends made the mistake of posting a cynical comment, which set off a whole debate. Twain said humour was "Tragedy + time" (totally true) and I think cynicism is "Nice stuff + time." [I say cynical, but the comments may have just been realistic commentary on Obama-policy. I don't remember. You get the point! I don't want to start the debate again!]

Anyway, this was my next post:

A month or two ago I complained about all my political friends moving away. CLEARLY I was crying out for a political argument. And where my Supposed Friends there for me? Did they start a big assed argument in September or October? No! They waited until November, when I'm supposed to be writing a novel in one month. ...Nobody loves me. I go away and cries into my unwritten book.

And the next:

In light of my last post, I have decided to turn over all my email correspondence and blogs to Oscar the Human Resource Puppy, until November is over.

I first hired Oscar straight out of a bin at Maxi's, when I was having a bad day as a manager at my job (years ago.) Because you can sit him on the chair and tell him all your problems. And he wears his calm smile, and listens attentively, and pats you on the hand (if you move his paw for him.)







And finally:

Another flashback: November 2007

Nov 1 - [guess i was sick] Last night I had to put on flannel pajamas, and three thick blankets before I could get warm (and it was 18 degrees during the day--so the apartment was warm.)

Nov 6: Grading 78 exams is tiring, to say the least. I don't mind grading that much, but not in these quantities... no one can like it in these quantities.

Nov 13: Where there is Aretha, there is hope.

Nov 15: Fernando and I were watching back to back episodes about a show of a couple with 8 kids. !! I don't know... amazing what sucks you in when you're depressed.

Nov 20: So my school friend (more of a war buddy, really--one of the four who survived stats together last semester) didn't win Miss Canada, but she won Miss Earth! It's all very exciting. So if you see her on CBC or CTV this week, remember that I know her, and that makes me famous by association. Which is all that matters, at the end of the day.

Nov 24: ... Jennifer Crusie is Calgon for the mind.

Procrastination Time

Where was I in November 2006? I was doing a degree in Political Science. It was end of semester stressness. Here's a couple highlights:

NOV 4 2006

Tonight Haley turned into a chocolate soy milk aholic. She got one taste of it from an empty cup, and now I can't keep her away, she's making me mental. No one has ever taught this kid the word NO. My other cats know what it means--what's her problem?? I'm not sure if she hasn't been trained, or if it's just her show-no-fear-take-no-prisoners approach to life. 

[This post is reassuring. It tells me that Haley was once like Minion, and in theory Minion will one day SLIGHTLY CALM DOWN.]

 _____________________________

* BBC list of 100 things we didn't know at this time last year: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4566526.stm

Example...
Baboons can tell the difference between English and French.
Devout Orthodox Jews are three times as likely to jaywalk as other people
The Queen has never been on a computer
Oliver Twist is very popular in China, where its title is translated as Foggy City Orphan.

_______________________________

Nombly used to have his own editorial section. It was called One Cat's Opinion.

__________________________

Nov 5
Fernando has returned from a month long trip to Calgary, where he was emprisoned with a rather un-vocal and clumsy toddler. He was helping out his sister, who just had a baby, and already has a little guy. Fernando's job was to help babysit the toddling one. Needless to say (for those of us who don't want kids, which is 80% of my blog readership) this was an extremely boring month.

He's happy to be back to Never Never Land, where cereal is one of the four food groups, and spending an entire weekend playing video games and watching youtube is considered a Good Use of Time.

Ghosts of Bloggies Past 13

And the topic that started my blogging--my parent's cross-country move to Nanaimo.

Ghosts of Bloggies Past 12: One Cat's Opinion

Nombly used to have his own column called: One cat's opinion.

Ghosts of Bloggies Past 11

Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

[written when I'd just brought a third cat into my home and all hell broke loose]

A cold peace has fallen across the Meowee East, pockmarked by occasional gun fire and border incidents. It is difficult to find the right balance of power between three states, and all day they have been cautiously testing each other... a bum sniff here... a whack attack there... Occasionally the UN has to intervene and either doll out the softie food, or lock someone in their territory.

O kitties, give peace a chance!

20:54 Posted in Crisis in the Meowee East | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email this

Ghosts of Bloggies Past 10

On the subject of certain closed circuit video cameras (like they have all over London) that have an audio function:

I would like to install CCTV voice cameras in my store.

"YOU! Do not bring that book into the bathroom. And YOU over there! Stop ogling that bookseller and move along. YOU with the Chomsky book! It's CRAP. Hand it over to the nearest Customer Experience Representative so we can return it."

You wouldn't have to pay anyone to man the cameras. You could just put the TV and the microphone in the staff room and let 'er rip.

Ghosts of Bloggies Past 9

The body of a missing US woman has been found by her family, wedged upside down behind a bookcase in her room.
Mariesa Weber, 38, is believed to have fallen over and become trapped as she tried to reach behind the bookcase to adjust the plug for a TV set.

Ghosts of Bloggies Past 8

Prison poetry by Tommy Lee:

The floor has a sticky slime that
Is detriment to body and soul
I spin not in circles but in squares
From the shape of this room

And my description of the best story from the Motley Crue biography:

one day Nikki and Ozzie were by a poolside at a motel, and Ozzie said - oh I don't have any drugs and I want a line. I'm going to snort those ants. And he did. He snorted a line of ants. Then he peed on the ground, and drank it, and turned to Nikki and yelled "Top that Sixx!" Nikki felt he had a reputation to keep so he got up, peed on the ground, and was about to drink it when Ozzie got down and drank it. So Nikki admitted defeat. And always drew comfort from the idea that no matter how fucked up he was, there was always one person in the world more fucked up than him.

Ghosts of Bloggies Past 7

Apparently I wasn't able to hold Nombly in Haley's presence, in Feb 2007:

Fernando's allowed to pick up Nombly is H's presence, but not me. I picked him up today to move him from the back of the couch, to the side next to me - and she was in the window behind the couch, and came FLYING out, like a flying squirrel.

Ghosts of Bloggies Past 6

I'd forgotten all about Google Analytics, which shows you how much a term is searched in Google. So let's try some out...

Looks like Taylor Swift's profile was raised, thanks to Kanye. So the net result of his foolishness: Good for her career.

The climb of Stephanie Meyer (author of Twilight)'s popularity.

She by-passes Rowling!

Ghosts of Bloggies Past 5

Mann in Space episode 1.04

(my brother's online cartoon at the time)

Ghosts of Bloggies Past 4

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

I'm Smiling on the Inside, but Dying on the Outside

Trapped in the Library Part 1

Some girl just walked off and left her laptop sitting in the middle of the study room. I can't work, it's too disturbing, waiting for her to get robbed.


Trapped in the Library Part 2

This guy two desks down, who's been sniffing alarmingly (don't make me sick, sicko!), and whose techno music I can hear through his headphones, is now talking about loud on his cell phone. If I was actually coding the variables for my regression model, I could be in a towering rage of righteousness. But as I was forwarding an email about a Sanjaya parody... "Do you MIND?! I am forwarding an Amusing Youtube Video! SHUT UP!"


Trapped in the Library Part 3

Girl's phone buzzes. She retreats to a louder area to do her talking. But did she leave behind a laptop? I can't tell, the desk divider is blocking my view. How can I study when I'm constantly worried about people's property?


Trapped in the Library Part 4

He also keeps scratching his balls or something. Whatever it is that boys do.


Trapped in the Library Part 5

I've had two students approach me for help with the book reviews they're writing for the class I TA. The working day is never done. The library is bloody hot and humid.


Trapped in the Library Part 6

I'm really losing it.

Ghosts of Bloggies Past 3

On April 17, 2007 I posted an entry called: "Those child soldiers, they're so hot right now." (You need to see Zoolander to get the joke.) I was at a talk by Ishmael Beah, intro'd by Romeo Dallaire. Here's some of the content of that post:

And here's another thing--ah yes, it's all coming back to me now. Dallaire chided us (well not me cause I'm over 30) for not being willing to go out in -40degree weather to protest to the govt about, whatever. Darfur or something. (I don't know, he was just trying to make the point that if we don't care enough about other people that -40 weather would stop us, then we suck.) And I thought, man, if they said they were gonna pass a law tomorrow, that all London-Mabels should be put to death, and it was -40 degrees, I still wouldn't go out and march. Where was all that activism in 60s? In Berkely, man. That's in Califor-nie-ay.

Ghosts of Bloggies Past 2

"Just put on a smarty record
And some trousers that are checkered
And dance in smarty pants!"

Sometime in May 2007 I posted a long hour by hour description of my attempt to write a couple papers at the end of the semester, complete with what I was listening to, what the cats were doing, what I was eating, and the state of my health. Kind of amusing.

Ghosts of Bloggies Past 1

Since I'm re-reading my old blog, I'll post anything funny I find. This is a passage from a web site where you can submit lyrics you heard wrong. (I just like the categories the site gives you to fill in.)

Tears for Fears: Break It Down Again

The real lyrics were:
"Head strong like a horse" and later "Hot tips for the boys"

But I misheard them as:
"I'm hung like a horse" and later "I touch little boys"

The embarassing moment of revelation:
Singing along in the car with my parents

Age when I discovered just how wrong I had been: 25
I think my version is better than the original: Yes
I've convinced others that my version is correct: Yes
I take interesting medications: No
Submitted by Dennis Brennan on 1998-02-28 00:00:00