The 3 Step Plan to Waste My GST Rebate

Step #1:



Step #2:



and Step #3:




Actually to be fair, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs T-shirt featured in Step #3 was ordered well in advance of the gst cheque's arrival. But at least now I don't feel quite as guilty.

My Imaginary Trip

At this particular moment I want very badly to be writing an actual post about my adventures in Europe. I am not in Europe however, so I would like to tell you about the imaginary trip that I have planned there.


Friday October 13th- Depart Toronto on British Airways. World Traveller class (slightly bigger seats, but not so pricey as to be out of my range)

Arrive October 14th in the morning- check into downtown London Hostel. Sleep until 5pm. Go out for a light dinner and do double decker bus tour. If there's time a play at the Old Vic. Hit up pub and drink heavily.

October 15- Wake up next morning whenever humanly possible. Eat lunch on restaurant over looking Thames. Afternoon: tour of the tower of London, dinner- something cheap. Evening: either a play at Drury Lane or go see The Mousetrap. Night: find cool Tavern my Aunt went to hidden in old wine cellar. Drink heavily.

October 16- Early wake up to get on tour bus (courtesy of Travel Cuts "The Full Monty")



"Day 1: London - Bath
Leave the smog of London behind and travel through the rural English countryside with its green fields and thatched cottages. We stop at the mysterious Iron age Uffington White Horse and then wander amongst the 5500 year old Avebury Standing Stones. Next to the Roman spa town of Bath, one of England's masterpieces. See the Anglo Saxon abbey, beautiful georgian architecture, and visit Sydney Park (from where the Ozzie city gets its name!) or walk in the footsteps of Jane Austen before settling in for the night.
Day 2: Bath - North Wales
Heading west we travel into Wales, learning a bit of the Welsh language before crossing the mighty River Severn. The magnificent Chepstow Castle provides an awesome backdrop where you can stand in 2 countries at the same time! Lunch is in the border town of Hereford with its stunning cathedral and the Mappe Mundi, the oldest map of the world in existence. We end the day with a tour through the lovely mountains of North Wales before arriving at our fantastic farm house hostel to enjoy a truly unique BBQ.
Day 3: North Wales - Lake District
After a hearty breakfast, we leave the gorgeous farmhouse and head to Mount Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales, and then on to the walled town of Conwy, home to a magnificent 13th century castle. The tour then travels northwards through Welsh speaking Wales (Cymru) and over to the Isle of Anglesey to visit a tiny place with a huge name. We conclude the day with a stunning drive through the Lake District to the picturesque lakeside village of Ambleside.
Day 4: Lake District - Edinburgh
We start the day driving through the northern Lake District and head for the largest construction the Romans ever built, Hadrian's Wall! (all to keep the warrior Scots from invading the Roman Empire!) Across the border into Scotland for lunch and an afternoon tour of the rolling hills of the border region, which was William Wallace's (Braveheart) stomping ground. We regale you with haunting stories of the battles which took place on these hills before arriving in one of the world's most beautiful cities, Scotland's capital, Edinburgh!
Day 5: Free day in Edinburgh
Explore this World Heritage listed city, enjoy the lively nightlife or why not head off on an adventure around Scotland with HAGGiS! 1, 3, 6 and 8 day adventures available. (please enquire with our sales team if you wish to 'hop off' in Edinburgh and take a tour in Scotland before 'hopping on' to return to London).
Day 6: Edinburgh - York
Leaving Edinburgh we visit eerie battlefields, border towns, North Sea villages and perhaps more castles! Then it's back into England and on to York, ancient Viking capital and staging post for every invasion of Scotland by the English. We spend the afternoon exploring the medieval streets (including the oldest street in Europe) and city walls but nothing prepares you for York Minster Cathedral (the largest in England!) To end the day we head outside the city to Beverley where we stay in a 600-year-old haunted Dominican friary!
Day 7: York - London
Passing through the industrial heartland of England, we leave Beverley and make the journey into Robin Hood's Sherwood Forest for a walk to see if we can find any men in tights! Here you will discover the ancient oak tree where Robin hung out with his merry men! Next it's on to the birthplace of the man himself, Shakespeare's Stratford-Upon-Avon. See the house where the world's greatest dramatist was born or retrace the steps where the young bard courted his muse - Anne Hathaway. We arrive back in London around 6pm."
Drink heavily

By this point I've lost track of days and time, but who cares? Because...
On week the second I make use of my Eurorail 5 country pass. I chunnel to France and visit Paris, I then proceed to Germany for two days. Amsterdam (for undrug related purposes, ahem) the fourth day, on the fifth I double back toward Italy, spend some quality time in Florence, and round it all off with my dream since the fifth grade: Greece! Most specifically the old ancient theatres from the Dionysis festivals.

I return to London on November the 4th and stay one day extra to purchase a white mask and some firecrackers. No one ever hears from me again.

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Is it snowing in Sudbury?

Because it is flipping blizzarding here!

And nearly cold enough to freeze your winnebego (if like me you are foolish enough to try to get groceries in this weather when you are sick).

Thank god they found each other

Just kidding guys, Happy Anniversary!

"You'll see when you move out it just sort of happens one day and it's just gone. And you can never get it back. It's like you get homesick for a place that doesn't exist. I mean it's like this rite of passage, you know. You won't have this feeling again until you create a new idea of home for yourself, you know, for your kids, for the family you start, it's like a cycle or something. I miss the idea of it. Maybe that's all family really is. A group of people who miss the same imaginary place." -(Gardne State, courtesy of imdb)


Andrew: You remember that idea I had about working stuff out on my own and then finding you once I figured stuff out?
Sam: The ellipsis?
Andrew: Yes, the ellipsis. It's dumb. It's dumb. It's an awful idea. I'm not gonna do it, okay? 'Cause like you said, this is it. This is life.
-(same as above)

You can take this job and fill it!

I am officially bidding a fond(ish) farewell to The Keefer Mansion Inn. It's been... a job anyways. Had it's ups and downs like any, but it is ultimately time to move on. I got two shifts this week, one tonight from 11-7 and another on Thursday morning at 7am. I don't know how they expect anyone to support themselves on two shifts a week, and they must because it's almost impossible to juggle a second job when you're flipping back and forth between overnights and early mornings (ie; I had to work at 1pm on Saturday and had to be woken up forcefully at 11:30am because I hadn't been able to sleep until 7am).

So there it is. As I bid the Mansion a fond farewell, I think back the last six months of my life.

- I had the lead female role in a Shakespearean comedy. (crossed off the Life's ToDo list)

- I went to the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago (crossed off the Life's ToDo list after realizing that it should have been on there all along)

- I volunteered at the Toronto International Film Festival and got to see a couple of foreign films that will probably never make it to mainstream cinema

- I overcame my fear of birds (and can watch people bite fabric without freaking)

- In the past three weeks I have lost 5 pounds as a result of healthy eating and moderate exercise. I haven't been able to say that in years.


Not everything has been this great. In fact lots of stuff has been tougher that I imagined. One of my personal struggles (that pretty much everyone reading this is already painfully aware of) is a preoccupation with my being "strong". I often worry about being a weak person, and sometimes excessively worrying about this compounds my problems far beyond what they actually are. So I needed to get my head wrapped around that, and I think that since my move here I have had some real success doing that.

But now it's time to move away and shine :) I will be everything I've ever dreamed, but maybe I don't need to accomplish all of my goals right this minute now. Maybe what I need to do is take my time and live for the moment.

I am applying to York University, the Stratford Conservatory Program and the National Theatre School and a neat little program at Flemming College called The Expressive Arts. I will also apply to McMaster University for the Child Life Specialist program, Humber College and Algonquin College for the accelerated Child and Youth Worker Program. I have a couple of different ideas of what I'd like to do, including working with at risk youth by introducing them to theatre (specifically Shakespeare) and doing theatre work with children with physical disabilities. I also hope to audition for the Stratford Festival, attend the Atlantic Theatre Company training program, or pursure some other exciting acting opportunities.

I think I enjoy learning about acting even more than I actually enjoy acting. It's the process and the struggle and being pushed that motivates me more than the performance (darn that Val!). This is one of the reasons why I didn't enjoy my experience this summer as much as I thought I would.

So I've analyzed, and thought to death and there it is. I know where I am right now, I have at least some idea of where I'm going, and I'm a lot happier with myself now than I was. Now it's time to just be happy the way I know best, and go back to listening to my heart. My head isn't that reliable anyways.

I've Been Drinking and here's what I think VI: Return of the Jin & Rye

I tried to make a video for this post. I had this joke at the end where I would say "and technically it's not drinking alone if I do it with people on the internet" and then to a shot of Whisky straight from the bottle. As it turns out, ten takes in a span of less than 15 minutes, does not increase video quality. None of those are acceptable for posting. Instead I will leave you with this picture of me in my new hat:



"We did 35 takes and this was the best one."

Liz's World of All Things Geeky

A couple of busy days with some news, but first-

Soundtrack of "The World According to Liz"-

Opening Credits: Little Plastic Castle-Ani DiFranco
Waking Up: Sunrise-Norah Jones
An Ordinary Day: Ordinary Day-Great Big Sea (because I'm a smartass)
The First Date: *ahem cough* Lightning Crashes-Live
Falling in Love: Between Us to Hold-Hayden
The Rumble: Not About Love-Fiona Apple
The Break-up: The Scientist-Coldplay
Getting Back: Ants Marching-Dave Matthews Band
Life's Okay: Sleeps With Butterflies-Tori Amos
The Mental Breakdown: No No No-The Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Cruising: Girl Anachronism-The Dresden Dolls
The Flashback: Do You Realize?-The Flaming Lips
The Party: Jamie-Weezer
Everybody Dance Now: All These Things That I Have Done-The Killers
Sex Scene: Crash Into Me-Dave Matthews Band
Regretting: Red Rain-The White Stripes
The Long Night Alone: Each Coming Night-Iron and Wine
A Death: I Will Follow You Into the Dark-Death Cab for Cutie
End Credits: I'll Believe in Anything-Wolf Parade

So I went to a job interview for this cool night club in Hamilton (where, incidently, I unknowingly missed You Say Party We Say Die, Controller Controller and Stars while I was in Sudbury :p). I thought it sounded like a pretty sweet place to work, but as it turned out they wanted to "go in a different direction". My Dad said "What hire somebody incompotent?". I love my Dad.

Here's something awesome: Jedi Ka-nig-hats
Other possible dialogue:

"What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen death star?"

"Your mother was a fuzz-ball and your father smelt of bantha-fadder"

Vader: Luke, join the dark side and some day all of this will be yours!
Luke: What the curtains?



There's no redemption at this point. I am the hugest nerd of all time.

Ah yes and speaking of my geekdom, 3 points:

1. The answer to my previous entry about Miles Davis's Birth of the Cool was... a Simpson's trivia challenge in disguise! It's Lisa.

2. I got a webcam, and I am having far too much fun with it. Finally I've made the grand leap to the year 2001.

3. I plan to make a video entry soon. I will have some time off Tuesday evening, and heaven knows I have nothing better to do. Wednesday on the other hand :D ... well I might just have to leave you in suspense on that one!

False Alarm

The fire alarm just went off and I just successfully pretended that I knew what I was doing. The Fire Department was impressed and my boss actually gave me my first praise since I began this job. Aparently my handling of the false fire alarm was excellent. What they didn't see was the two-three minutes leading up to their arrival of me running around the building shutting doors and windows while trying to go through the fire alarm manual and remember what the hell I was supposed to do. None-the-less, I retract my previous statement about how boring this job is at night. May it henceforth remain as such.

Part the second

"How are you organizing them, alphabetically?... chronologically?"
"No. Autobiographically"
"That sounds..."
"Comforting? It is."

By the way, I should have explained first that a few people have been posting top ten album lists, and as the biggest wanna-be music nerd I decided to jump on the band-wagon. I do not pretend to know anything about music... well actually I do pretend, but when pushed I'm usually honest about my cluelessness. Anyways, favourite albums post 1990 are:

1)


Tori Amos: Little Earthquakes
1991
Key tracks- "Silent All These Years", "Precious Things", "Me and a Gun"
My aunt said she got tired of this album after playing it a million times over. I have yet to experience a similar fatigue. I'll just have to try for two million I guess.


2)



The Dave Matthews Band: Crash
1997
Key tracks: "Two Step", "Crash", "#41", "Say Goodbye", "Trippin' Billies"
You can file this under TMI if you like, but most of my adolescence was consumed dreaming that Dave himself would make love to me tracks 2 through 6. In fact that's pretty much still my ultimate goal in life.


3)


Weezer: The Blue Album
1994
Key Tracks: Buddy Holly, Undone (the Sweater Song), Say it Ain't So
This album is in the key of rock and goes out as a dedication to Rhonda from Adam. And for anyone other than Joe: the sweater song made a surprisingly good campfire sing-a-long for disenfranchised counsellors after our camp director banned "Red-hooded Sweatshirt".


4)


Radiohead: The Bends
1996
Key Tracks: "Fake Plastic Trees", "The Bends", "High and Dry", "Blackstar"
Actually I could have kept that list going. I know that OK Computer is the best known and mostly highly rated Radiohead album, and it probably is of superior musical quality, but I just can't tear myself from The Bends. I think it speaks to me lyrically more than any of the others, and I have the most fun listening to it. Anyone that doesn't know... secretly... I don't own it! I own every song and have played them in order on several occasions, but I don't have the actual album. Sigh. I don't think Thom Yorke needs my money THAT badly.

Hm, OK so blogger is giving me a hassel about uploading pictures, so the remainder of the post will have to be album coverless. I try not to judge an album by its cover however...

5)

Ani DiFranco: Evolve
2003
Key tracks: "Icarus", "Evolve", "Shrug", "Welcome to:"
Of all the covers not to be able to show, this one actually won a Grammy for Best Album Art, and deservingly. I think it's a shame however that it's musical merit was overlooked in favour of who knows what. I love Ani, and this album is the beginning of a jazzier sound for her with a new band. Evolve is an alltime favourite song of mine: "It took me too long to realize that I don't take good pictures 'cuz I have the kind of beauty that moves"


6)

The White Stripe: Elephant
2003
Key tracks: "Seven Nation Army", "I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself", "In the Cold Cold Night" and the disturbingly addicitve "It's True That We Love One-Another"
When my friend Greg in first year started cranking the White Stripes in his dorm room I had no idea that lasting relationship that was forming. Not with Greg, I don't really know what he's up to right now, but rather with the White Stripes, who I understand were recently on The Simpsons.


7)


The Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Fever to Tell
2002
Key Tracks: "Date with the Night", "Maps", "Pin", "No, No, No"
I went straight from a White Stripes addiction to a serious Yeah Yeah Yeahs addiction. A natural transition for many reasons. There are obvious similarities, also though, I attribute the recent rebirth of rock and roll in large part to both bands. This album is my "party album" I have been known to use it to get ready for a night on the town, or just to make life suck less. Some how it works everytime. They are now #1 on my list of bands I want to see in concert.


8)

The Shins: Chutes too Narrow
2003
Key tracks: "Kissing the Lipless", "Pink Bullets", "Those to Come"
The Shins have in fact changed my life. In so much as I am exactly 12% happier having heard their music, and an additional 16% happier having heard their music from four rows away. There is a point in nearly every song where they hit a note that gives me happiness shivers. I just realized that these are the silliest album reviews of all time. I really hope some day a Rolling Stone writer writes something like "the notes give me happiness shivers".


9)

Iron and Wine: Our Endless Numbered Days
2003
Key Tracks: "Naked as we Came", "Love and Some Verse", "Each Coming Night", "Sodom, South Georgia"
And not just because I have an autographed copy! "Each Coming Night" is the most played song on my Windows Media Player playlist at 143! Which is actually a little disturbing. I got the song about 10-11 months ago, which means I play it roughly once every other day.


10)

Wolf Parade: Apologies to the Queen Mary
2005
Key Tracks: 6-9 Are everything pure and wonderful in the world
It was hard sorting through all of my most recent album acquisitions. I believe a friend recently called it a "musical enlightenment". Via the Rootman himself I've been finding more and more current music that fits my taste and of all the albums I've actually been able to purchase this one amazingly stands out. I seem to end up making a lot of people Wolf Parade CDs when I play them "I'll Believe in Anything", which is simply an incredible song, and strikingly so right from the get-go. Time will tell if I ever get sick of it, but for now I'll keep playing the same disc every night


Runners-up:

Coldplay: Parachutes
Ben Folds Five: Whatever and Ever Amen
Fiona Apple: When the Pawn Hits...
Death Cab for Cutie: Plans
The White Stripes: White Blood Cells
The Dave Matthews Band: Under the Table and Dreaming
Radiohead: OK Computer
Greenday: American Idiot

and many more...

"Oh that's so obvious... tell me Rob, how does someone with no interest in music end up owning a record store?"

I feel the need to do two top ten lists. I have an "all-time classics" list, which is full of albums that, well, the best way to explain it is that they make lists like this all the time for a reason.

The second list is everything post-1990, and is not necissarily what I deem to be the greatest musical acheivements, but just what I like the best.


Part I) My "all-time classic" favourites (in alphabetical order):


The Beach Boys: Endless Summer
1974
Technically not a "Best of". It is a compilation, and includes "Good Vibrations", "Wouldn't it be Nice?", "California Girls" and "All Summer Long". Yes, it's kind of lame to go with a compilation, but it's also kind of lame to put Pet Sounds on a top 10 albums list of all time.


The Beatles:Rubber Soul
1965
Somewhere betwenbeing a borderline boy-band, and popularizing the work of Frank Zappa, the Beatles recorded an ablum that is not only ahead of its time, but stands the test of time. I always compare this album to the White Stripe's White Blood Cells, and if I had to pick a genre I would call it "quirky-pop". "Norweigen Wood", "Drive My Car" are particularly addictive, and "In My Life" is always a favourite.









The Clash: London Calling
1979
Why yes I did just jump from The Beatles to The Clash. Thank you for noticing. The only majorly addictive Clash song this album is missing is "Rock the Casbah", but hey it's still solid listening. "London Calling, Jimmy Jazz", "Rudie Can't Fail" and "Lover's Rock" rock my world, in a very anti-rock kind of way. Never let it be said that I don't like punk music.




Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool
1950
Ten points to anyone who can tell me what TV character has this as their favourite album. Actually, I feel a little badly that I have to go and grab this album to determine a highlights list ("Move", "Moon Dreams" for sure). I confess it has been a while as I've been off the jazz lately. I wonder what else I've been off of lately that would be lessening my interest in jazz
music...



Bob Dylan: Blood on the Tracks
1974
I have a terrible confession. I used to hate this album. I loathed it. I would complain everytime my Dad put it on in the car. I also used to think that I would like to be an astronaut, that Step by Step was a good TV show and that I would marry Ben Affleck. What can I say? Live and learn, I now think pretty much the opposite on every point, thus: I LOVE this album. So much so that I would like to marry it. Don't even know where to start on highlights... "Idiot
Wind", "Tangled Up in Blue", "Shelter from the Storm", "Jack of Hearts"... it just goes on from there.









The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Are You Experienced?
1967
Not that I have to explain many of these, but least of all this one. Although I don't know if I can ever really fully enjoy the song "Hey Joe" for some reason or another. Though I must thank Scott eternally for bringing its context to my attention. Among the tracks of greatness, "Purple Haze", "Foxey Lady", sigh and yes "Hey Joe".






Janis Joplin w Big Brother and the Holding Company:
Cheap Thrills
Rosanne: We didn't have enough women musicians like that. Thank god for Janis.
Jackie: Oh yeah (sings) "I learned the truth at seventeen"
Rosanne: Not Janis Ian you idiot! Janis Joplin.

That exchange just always amused me a lot. I do like "At Seventeen" but it takes a lot in my books for anyone male or female to compete with Janis Joplin, and in particular "Summertime", "Ball and Chain" and one of my alltime favourites "Piece of my Heart". I want to be her. Less the Southern Comfort.



Van Morrison:Moondance
1970
Joe: Do we have a song?
Me: Yeah "Moondance".
Joe: Oh yeah, but every Van Morrison couple has that as their song.
Me: I thought that was "Brown Eyed Girl".
Joe: Every REAL Van Morrison couple.

I later settled on "Wouldn't it be Nice?", but for a while I enjoyed the most melancholically sexy music imaginable. How was I sad and turned on at the same time? I have no idea, but I still kind of think of a chilly october night in Peterborough everytime I hear it this album. That, and driving through Pennsylvania. "Moondance", "And it Stoned Me" (which I was told at age 10 was not about biblical stoning) and "Crazy Love" are favourites.



Pink Floyd: Wish You Were Here
1975
I hear that if you start this album playing at the exact same time that the MGM credits start rolling and listen to the album straight through, while watching "Gone With the Wind" high, that "Gone With the Wind" is a much better movie. Frankly my dear Scarlett you'll enjoy "Shine on You Crazy Diamond", "Wish You Were Here" and "Welcome to the Machine" (a definite Radiohead precursor).




The Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense
1980
Despite the superior album art of Remain in Light, the unbeatableness of an ablum that includes "Psycho Killer", "Heaven" and "This Must Be the Place" goes unquestioned in my books. This album also makes it look as though I didn't overlook the eighties entirely, despite the fact that the songs were mostly recorded in the seventies.

Movie Madness

Well the film festival has come and gone. The last insane 7 days I've been on a "there are 24 usable hours in every day" kick. I think if I were going to do the festival next year I would take the week off of work. Hard to know if that would actually be a financial possiblity ever, but really necissary to fully enjoy the event. And to avoid severe sleep deprivation.

I did however get three very cool experiences through volunteering.

The first was a panel discussion on war and conflict in documentary film-making. My favourite topic brought up and explored was how much the camera effects what's going on and whether people behave differently in front of the camera- and thus what responsibility does the documentarian have? So difficult to say. Violence is often amplified in the presence of cameras, but do the cameras also make governments more accountable to acts of violence (ie: showing the coffins of soldiers draped in American flags/prisoner abuse photos swayed public opinion about the war). Also the issue of the documentary serving a wider political purpose or simply telling a story from the war, and whether it is just simply important to have as many perspectives and stories as possible. I will limit this to a short blurb rather than a giant essay.

Then I took in two and a half movies.

The first I only saw about 20 minutes of, it was a Chinese film called The Banquet, and I will refrain from discussing it at any length, since I was unable to watch more than the first sequence of events or so.

The second was Princess, a Danish animated film with English subtitles. This was a fascinating, uncomfortable and beautifully animated piece. A child is rescued from a life of abuse and sexual slavery by her priest Uncle. The pieces of her childhood and her family history are unvieled through a series of events and the videos made by the Uncle (which are shown as live action videos seamlessly woven into the animation). The story is complex and at moments completely appalling and at others immensely touching. I really enjoyed the opportunity to see the movie, even if the ending pretty much sucked the spirit right out of me.

The third was the film I watched today called Glue. Completely brilliant. I don't even have words. An Argentenian film with English subtitles, the director and lead actor were there, as well as one of the film's producers (with whom I got to speak!). The story is about a boy growing up in Argentina. His friends, his family, his coming of age/sexuality. Sounds all very over done in the west, but man oh man. Full props to Hector Diaz as the young man, he is so likeable from start to finish, very believable, and shows a maturity with his acting that is remarkable for his age. I laughed, I was geniunely moved. I laughed a lot actually. Talking with the film's producer, they don't seem overly conifident that it will get picked up, which would be a grave injustice. It is so wonderful, and I really hope to be able to purchase it in Canada at some point.


All in all I was kind of glad I went to see smaller foreign films. I will likely get a chance to see D.O.A.P. later, as it will almost certainly get picked up, and by the sounds of it so will the Australlian MacBeth (had I seen these two by the by, I would have watched films from 5 different continents!)

Had a fun time in Toronto, and as a matter of fact I will be back there tomorrow... surprise Sudburians, I'll be seeing you soon! Really soon.

Pictures to follow

It's 12:00 and I'm officially at hour 17 of 60 hours without sleep. I'm just about to hit that 20-30hour wall where I will be undoubtably aloof and useless (good thing I'll be at work most of the time). I'm still not totally sure what was going through my brain when I decided to volunteer for the film festival and continue to take regular shifts at both jobs, but here I am pulling an all-nighter only to hop on a TO bus in the morning and start right back up at the box office. Why might you ask would I partake in such an activity?

Today I arrived 5 minutes late at the volunteer office as a floater for the day (stupid GO transit). They informed us that there was a possibility that we could wait in the office until 11:30 without being assigned anything before they would send us home, which sounds worse than it is. I spent the first hour and a half watching High Fidelity and drinking some mighty fine coffee before volunteering for what I guess sounded to some like a boring job: Industry Initiatives.
I got the job of greeting guests at a hep restaurant downtown (where they schmmoooze with Canadian Film industry folks and network) and to seat guests for the panel discussions. Today's discussion (which I got to sit in on) was Documentary in War and Conflict. Life is good.

The not so good news of the weekend is that I can't see any of the movies I intended to see due to Sell-outs or scheduelling conflicts. None the less I intend to enjoy my crazy week, and if you don't here from me for a while... I'M LOST IN TORONTO PLEASE COME FIND ME!

Smooth Operator

Tonight I came into work and the new guy server (Ian) was in. I have to confess, I'm a little smitten. He's quite handsome and a sweet-talker. At any rate, we're chatting away and I'm helping him close off for the day, and he's very appreciative and we're mostly hitting it off. I manage not to say really stupid things I'm thinking ie: Him- "You're brave staying in here by yourself all night", My brain-"Well it is pretty dangerous mayber you should stay and look after me". Anyways, I'm in the kitchen polishing the silverware while he goes to punch out for the night. It's at this point that I look down and notice that my tube top has fallen down and is revealing a good portion of my bright red bra and a rather healthy dosage of cleavage.

Was I being too forward? I think his parting line, "Have a goodnight" speaks for itself.

Almost Famous

As an official volunteer for this year's Toronto International Film Festival I will be given a small number of complimentary tickets to attend screenings of countless incredibly cool indie films. Now before you think of killing me to take my place, please note that I won't be able to go to "Babel", "Stranger than Fiction" or the special pre-screenings of Michael Moore's new films in progress as I have schedueling conflicts. However, I am intending on seeing D.O.A.P. which is intriguing from an artistic perspective on so many levels, a modern adaptation of MacBeth that is supposed to be awesome and a number of other wicked cool movies. Word.



In other, let's say amusing, news, I decided to take my G1 written test and passed. I then learned that I could take my exit test for my G2 ANY TIME I WANT. All this time I thought that I needed to wait a year before I could take it again, but I can go and do my G2 driving test any time at all. I decided to wait until I've gotten comfortable driving again, as it has been a while. If all goes well I will be a fully liscensed driver again in no time.

That's all for the world of updates. It might be kind of random like this for a little while as I am now bouncing between 2 and half jobs and the Film Festival, but hey it's all good.

Somedays you just can't get rid of a bomb

I spent the finest $4.99 of my life Sunday. I bought the Batman Movie (Adam West) on DVD. I don't think this requires any further explanation.

Though I should also note that I spent a rather fine $10 or something today as well, on Little Miss Sunshine. This is a must-see. It was so much fun and uplifting without being condescending or sappy. I loved it and laughed and had the most fun I've had at the movies in a little while. Go enjoy it- now! (shaking fist)

3/3

I've been trying for days to make a post about the anniversary of my computer being brought back to life, and of course I've been having problem with my computer getting on the internet. "Oh the ironing!"

Any doodle, my compuversary will have to be delayed, in the mean time, please enjoy a picture of me singing to Nissah at her birthday in January.



I wanted to make it my display picture, but the file name is too big or something.

The Internet is for Porn

One of my new favourite vices is a site called Overheard in New York. Basically it's just a bunch of funny things people hear other people saying in various places, usually with amusing headlines to accompany. Twice a week they run a headline contest, where readers come up with their own amusing title to accompany the quote. This is the headline contest for this week:


Tourist husband: So what is this show about?
Tourist wife: I believe it's like a Muppets story.

--Avenue Q, Golden Theater, W 45th St


Go to Overheard in New York to enter.

I was thinking: "The way South Park is like a Charlie Brown Story"

2/3

I think I might have made this too hard, I added a few lyrics. Also HTML and I don't get along, so it's bolded if you got it right.


1. Shuffle your playlist.
2. Using the first twenty songs, no matter how embarrassing, post a lyric from that song.
3. Have your friends guess the song and artist (WITHOUT use of search engines).
4. Once that song and artist has been guessed, strike it out and beside the lyric place the name of who guessed it followed by the song and the artist.


20. Then she opened up a book of poems and handed it to me, written by an Italian poet from the thirteenth century. Joe

19. I tried my best to leave this all on your machine but the persistent beat it sounded thin upon listening. Andrew

18. I didn't notice but it had got very dark and I was really really out of my mind. Just then a policeman stepped up to me and asked us said, "Please, hey, would we care to all get in line,Get in line." Unguessed: Misty Mountain Hop-Led Zeppelin

17. When i turn ‘round you stay frozen to the spot you had the pointless snide remarks- Joe (nicely done!)

16. But if you dig on vegan food, well, come over to my work I'll have 'em cook you something that you'll really love Andrew

15. Walk around on both legs, fight the scary day, we both pulled the tricks out of our sleeves. Angelo

14. But she doesn't make wishes on them when she wishes, she wishes for less ways to wish for more ways to work toward it Andrew

13. No one dared, no one cared, to tell me where the pretty girls are those demigods
with their nine-inch nails Unguessed: Precious Things-Tori Amos

12. Made off. Don’t stray. Well, my kind’s your kind, I'll stay the same. Andrew

11. The little thoughts came rushing in while I watched for a sign from him. When all the while was clear as day that I should go and he should stay. Unguessed: Simple Story-Feist

10.Touch your lips just so I know, in your eyes love it glows so- Andrew

9. Is it overwhelming to use a crane to crush a fly? Unguessed: Waitin' for a Superman-Iron and Wine (The Flaming Lips)

8. If they could see us now in leather bras and rubber shorts, like some ridiculous new team uniform for some ridiculous new sport Unguessed: Little Plastic Castle-Ani DiFranco

7. And if you want to find me, I'll be out in the sandbox Joe

6. A whole long lifetime could have been the end. I could be yours so true I would be, I should be through and through. Scott (unofficially)

5. I didn't mean to hurt you, I didn't know what i was doing, but i know what i have done Angelo

4. New bottoms on barstools, the people remain the same, with prices inflating - inflating Unguessed: Movie Script Ending-Death Cab for Cutie

3. Like a fool, I fell in love with you, turned my whole world upside down. Angelo

2. I know I'm a mess that he don't wanna clean up. I got to fold 'cause these hands are too shaky to hold hunger hurts, but starving works, when it costs too much to love. Unguessed: Paperbag-Fiona Apple

1. Yeah well the thing is, what I really mean- yours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen. Your Song- Ewan McGreggor (from the Moulin Rouge Soundtrack)

1/3

That should stir up some comments.

In other news:
I picked up a second job which is very cool. I am giving out samples at the LCBO, which should be pretty fun, plus money is becoming an ever more urgent need.

Thankully I also found some economic joy in the form of savings yesterday. I met with a guy to do my headshots who is giving me a great deal on the sitting fee and is letting me keep all of my photos on a disc without copyrighting them, thus allowing me to make as many prints as I want much less expensively.

Secondly I got some cheap buttons. This might not seem like something I actually needed to spend money on, but that's only if you don't know about my recent sad loss. Yoda bit the dust. As pictured in my last post I was crammed body to body with a number of rowdy Shins fans and at some point in the crowd my button reading "Look at me, judge me by my size do you?" came off. Although I can never truly fill my Yoda void I did find a number of very cool buttons for very little money:







The pictures are a little blurry, but they give you the idea. The one next to da cheat is a Talking Heads button. The blurry trampish figure sprawled out with the roller skates is Charlie Chaplin.