Heaven is

• a two hour plane ride direct to Winnipeg from Rankin
• Wired magazine's May issue - guest edited by JJ Abrams of Lost fame
• Fried calamari and a green apple martini
• A new haircut and color that make me feel pretty again

I love travel.

Hammer-time!

Nothing makes me laugh more than a MC HAMMER slide.




Oh baby. I'm sooooo doing the MC Hammer Slide allll the way around Toronto this week. Did I mention I'm going to Toronto? Yes. Yes. I did.

I'm going for union training (talk about fun timing, downsizing anyone?) but have many excursions planned with one of the condiments including a Jay's game and Medevial Times. It will be a gong show, and I can't wait. And I leave tomorrow.

See y'all on the flipside, suckas!

The placating smile

So I've gotten really good at an invaluable skill lately; one I call "the placating smile."

You see, sometimes people bug me. Generally, I'm okay. Generally I don't let people get to me. Actually, if we're speaking generally, GENERALLY I'm actually pretty fond of people. I like people-company. But normal people can be hard to come by in Rankin Inlet. There's this theory I have that the people who come here (here, as in the north) are either being pushed or pulled north. Often running away from something else. It's not an iron-clad theory. But it explains some of the whackos we have (probably myself included).

Seeing as "normals" are getting hard to come by, and I'm tired of being crotchety, I've developed "placating smile" to help defend me against the nutsoid masses.

It's a great response to "HOLY CRAP YOU LOOK TIRED" (um, no, I feel fine, but thanks for saying I look like shit) and "Do THIS totally unnecessary busy-work chore."

So next time a dingbat asks you to do something they think is PARAMOUNT, just raise your eyebrows and make your eyes medium-wide (think: a "really?" expression), and give the sweetest little half-smile. Then blink your eyes a couple times, like their request is taking some time to process.

That mix of disdain and innocent sweetness is enough to convince the eejit that you have heard their request/comment, and processed it. But also lets you snarkily but silently tell them you think it's dumb/rude.

Try it out.

Before I trademark it, yo.

Good for a laugh

So I was doing something disgustingly nerdy Friday morning (reading random articles from Merlin Mann's website - - seriously, how someone with such a TERRIBLE name can become so well known is freaking beyond me) when I discovered a new blog/website: "5ives"

I don't consider it a blog, because for me, blogs feel just much more personal than this (but maybe that's because I primarily read personal blogs). But that doesn't mean it's not incredibly entertaining.

Premise: random lists of five, anything from "Five Web 2.0 ways to break up with your boyfriend" to "Five terrible fake names for villages in England"

And I think my personal favourite?

Five terrible fake astronomical pickup lines
March 13th, 2008

1. Ever wonder what’s happening under Orion’s belt?
2. Hop in my van, and I’ll show you something else that’s constantly expanding.
3. Was Democritus the first one to postulate your mysterious Milky Way?
4. I’d like to Sagittarius your Pisces, and that’s no Taurus.
5. How about we go outside and discover Uranus?

Another reason to listen to Q

As I think I said back when that whole BBT thing was going down (yes, I'm still making references to it, but it will forever be enshrined in my memory, so deal with it :P) I think I made reference to the fact that I'm not really a "Q"/ Jian Ghomeshi fan.

Not normally anyways.

But we only get 2 hours of national programming in Nunavut during working hours: the last hour of The Current and the first hour of Q. So whether I want to or not, I listen to both shows on a regular basis, because it is piped through our phones and other various hot spots in the office. Which is good, because it lets us know when there's something bad going down (like the other day when our host was being cut off by African drumming every 4 seconds).

So as I think I pointed out, the whole BBT incident gave me newfound respect for JG. I still think he can be slimy and pretentious... and I really really don't like the "reflections" sections of his show (where the music goes all weird and JG provides us with some kind of golden nugget of knowledge he's gleaned over the years as a seasoned entertainment broadcaster).

But. BUT BUT BUT. You will NEVER GUESS who is going to be a guest on the show next week.

THE ONE.

THE OOOONLY.

BOB BARKER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes. Seriously. Bob Barker is going to be on Q. I think I'm dying. Dying a happy death, but dying all the same.

See, like many, I've always had a very very special place in my heart reserved for The Price is Right. I'm one of those people who would go up on stage and promptly tell B-squared that I have loyally watched his show for 23-odd years. That I was even watching it through the glowing red of my mother's womb (okay. I dont' really remember what it looked like, but on TV wombs are glow-y red. Okay, on House all interior body parts are glow-y red. And House is king. okay?).

I would look forward to days off from school NOT because of the day off factor, but because I could then sit down with a bowl of KD and watch The Price Is Right. Always KD and TPIR. And if I could convince my sister, we'd play along with these Price is Right templates I made, that I'd force her to fill out with our bids, and actual retail price... and then I'd do the math and determine a "winner" when the show was over.

And when B-squared left TPIR ... it just wasn't the same. Drew Carey bugs me. He's all creepy and now he's growing out his hair so he's not such a nerdy square-head... but instead he just looks like a used car salesman.

But now he's BACK! With a book! And on Q! And I couldn't be more excited, haha.

It's like my own dream showcase. And not a crappy one that has bedroom furniture (as I kid I remember thinking how people really got the short straw when they won dining/living/bed room sets). A good one, with a convertible, a party boat, a full-sized RV and Bob Barker driving.

Wooohoo!

Warm heart

I called my old office in Quebec City this morning... looking for a phone number for a throat singer living there.

And that black-cloud that had settled around me was briefly lifted, and the sun just shone through as my former co-workers yelled cheerful hello's across thousands of miles of telephone wire.

One even saying that he wants to fly me in to play softball with them this summer.

I don't know why I'm blinking back tears as I write this, but it was just so nice to feel... I don't know. Missed? Man that's selfish. I know my friends and family miss me, just like I miss them. But feeling so isolated and alone makes you forget that stuff. And it was a wonderful, beautiful reminder of a really good time in my life. Not always an easy one, but a good one... even if it just lasted 5 months.

So thanks to them. Whether they know I'm thanking them or not.

Wanted: Word detective

So I've not been posting much lately. You all know that. You are the ones who have loyally visited, only to find nothing new.

I don't know what to tell you folks. I can't even really scold myself for being a "bad blogger." It's not that I don't want to write. It's that my words have up and vanished.

Sometimes its just like this blog has grown beyond my comfort zone. Which is a strange phenomenon when you think about it. We spend so much time linking to others, and trying to draw readers to our websites...

But at a certain point it's like this once-pet-project took a life of its own. And now I don't know what to do with it anymore.

It's like I've lost my words and lost my voice. And I don't know where to find them.

Maybe I need a break... and it's a good thing one's coming up I guess. I'll be heading to Toronto next Wednesday for a couple days. I'm there for union training... but luckily I'm staying just about 20 minutes from where one of my best friends lives now. So festivities are planned, and it will be nice to finally be around someone who actually "gets" me.

I've been feeling quite lonely lately, it seems. Lonely and stuck and insecure. And it will be hella nice to be un-stuck, un-lonely and with someone who can basically read my mind. I miss feeling like I belong.

It'll be a nice change.

The new template

Wow.

So things look a little different around here eh?

As I think maybe you remember, I was pretty happy with the old theme. I felt it was just sooooo "me" it was disgusting. Not bad disgusting, mind you. Good disgusting.

Like Wendy's fries with mayo. Yum.

But over the weekend something bizarre happened. I think the Photobucket account that hosted the images for the template expired or something. Or I used up all its bandwidth or something like that. I don't know. All I know is the images were all wonky on Monday. And may or may not have given me a seizure.

So I had to change it. Fast. And I temporarily switched to good ole trusty polka-dot template in the meantime. That is, until I could find a suitable replacement. I spent ALL YESTERDAY AND ALL TODAY* coming up with this one... and customizing it "just so".

And of course, as soon as I had done that, I found another non-corrupted version of my old template.

So because I'm incapable of making a decision on my own... LET THE VOTING BEGIN!





*Yah right. I love my blog, but I have a life and a job. Get real.

Pool party time!

So, I've been invited to a pool party!
Yes! Me! Pool! Party!
Don't believe me? Here's the e-vite:

Hi Everyone,

Please save the date and join us for the 2009 Hoffman Summer Pool Party

When: Saturday, June 27th at 12:00 noon
Where: 1512129 Manor Lake Drive
Rockville, MD 21853
(301) 555-0836

We hope see you all!

Love,
Eileen & Warren

So Eileen and Warren have invited me to their pool party, and I can't wait! I bet I'll have even more fun than these people are having:



I'd say the goofy-looking guy is Warren. He looks like a Warren to me. Or maybe a Neville. Definitely a Warren or a Neville.

Oh wait.

"MD". Does that stand for Maryland? Shoot. I won't be able to make it guys. Even though you have given me three months notice, to "save the date" I really don't know if I'll be able to swing it.

Sorry guys.

Maybe next year?

But seriously, "Eileen and Warren." This is at least the fifth time I've replied to your emails with the following message:

Hi there,
I believe you have the wrong "Jackie S. Quire." Please update your address books.
Thank you.
Jackie S. Quire
(email address here)

And you keep ignoring me and copying me on all your stupid events. I don't want to be a part of the Full Moon Family Reunion. I don't want to be copied on your latest resume. Please please please stop sending me emails.

I can't take the heartbreak of another pool party I can't attend.

Puppies need "regularity" too

So, I have a fun story for y'all.

It's a puppy story. And I know how y'all like puppy stories.

Okay, maybe it's just me who loves puppy stories. But whatever. They are fun. And I've not had enough fun posts on the blog as of late :) So here we go:

So I was hanging out with the pup the other nite. When I say "hanging out" I mean the pup was out of "his area" (during the day and at night he's got limited access to the house - he hangs out in the laundry room) and bouncing around all over the place. The little beast has finally figured out how to play "fetch" and now it's all he does. Which is fine. I like to throw things, haha.

So I'm throwing platypus. I'm throwing flamingo. I'm throwing green ball. I'm throwing little white dog. He's throwing platypus up in the air and catching it again in his mouth. I've enrolled him in a travelling circus. We're having a grand old time.

So he comes up on the couch, and drops a toy in my lap and looks at me. I look back. He nudges it closer. "Duh hoomin, throe dah toi!" I notice he's got this funny little reverse-mustache thing going on - aka... he's got this bizarre substance on his bottom lip, like a soul-patch, but it goes all the way across the front of his bottom lip. So a reverse-stache. So I wipe it off.

The substance is like a beige/brown/grey colour. And it's sticky. Not like sugar-sticky... but flour + water sticky.

So pup and I go on a mission to find what the hell he's gotten into. I love the animal, but he's notorious for eating things he shouldn't and chewing random bits of plastic and other not-intended-for-puppy-consumption objects. But we can't find anything. So I figure he's eaten all of whatever it was. 

So that's fine. Life goes on.

*smack, lick smack*

Puppy is smacking his lips. Why? Lord knows. I look inside his mouth... and find that THAT SAME CREEPY STICKY STUFF HAS COATED THE ROOF OF HIS MOUTH AND HIS TEETH.

And not like a thin coat. I'm talking a half a centimeter thick coat of sticky-browny-beige gook.

Now I'm freaked out. Some mysterious substance is *everywhere* inside him. Coating his insides with its stickyness. Ew. Ew. EW! So I do the un-thinkable. I reach my finger inside his mouth and scoop out as much as I can. EW.

I examine the substance. Okay, it's definately sticky, but not runny. It's light brown. And probably STRANGEST OF ALL...

It. Has. No. Scent.

That's right, no smell whatsoever. I'm baffled. I have no clue what in the world this is. I am a little worried too because who knows if it's poisonous for puppies or not... and I can't find the source ANYWHERE. There's nothing mysterious on the floor, nothing.

So I cut my losses, get out the little travel-toothbrush, and scrub his little canines like there's no tomorrow. Problem solved.

The night goes on. And what do you know, about an hour later, he comes back smacking again, and I open his mouth... and the crud IS BACK! So the mystery-crud is still around. And the only thing I could think of was this bone he found outside that I'd been letting him chew on. I figured it was harmless, and he seemed to enjoy it, but I don't like the look of this twisted-marrow gunk. And that's the only thing he'd been chewing on that was different from normal.

So I threw them out. Enough was enough. And I got out the toothbrush and scrubbed the inside of his mouth again. And go to leave him in his area for the night... but because I'm paranoid and exhausted and scared he might die... I took him in my bed for a couple hours. And he didn't seem himself. He seemed more reserved than usual. I was very very worried.

Who knew those bones contained poison-marrow?!?

Now of course, the puppy was fine the next day. And I just kind of shrugged off the whole event.

Until Sunday. Easter Sunday. And I've cooked a "cute turkey" (that's what the checkout girl said about my chicken at the Northern haha) and stuffing and spuds and the like for the boy and I. As we sit down to dinner, the pup is milling about, and starts licking the top of the lobster-pot that's been on my kitchen floor for months now. I wonder to myself what he's licking...

Only to remember how a week ago, a long-forgotten bottle of powder-Metameucil fell from my counter and spilled onto the floor. I had cleaned it up... but didn't notice a bunch had fallen on the lobster-pot.

No smell. Brown-y beige in colour. Sticky when wet.

And my dog, best-in-show specimen that he is... decided it was a tasty snack. Poor thing. He probably consumed a human-sized portion of the powder... no wonder he felt a bit green in the gills.

But he sure didn't have to put much effort into the next day's "deposit!"

More BBT fun!

I have a sneaking suspicion my Billy Bob Thornton obsession will become akin to Megan's Hoff fetish (oh god, I can only imagine the keyword searches I'll attract from THAT sentence).

Except I'm not sure if BBT's dipped into the world of psychedelic music video graphics... but there's still time. I understand he takes his music career very seriously. And every serious musician uses flying scenes in their music videos. Duh.

Stress-fetus

I've not been writing much lately because I'm a big ole bag of stress-fetus right now.

You'd think I would have calmed down over the long weekend, but nope. Not in the least. Instead I spent most of it trying to fight the little thoughts that were creeping into my mind ... forcing them out of my head until Tuesday.

What's the day again? Oh. Right. Tuesday. Damn.

So all the little things I feel overwhelmed by have swamped me today. So for (one of) the first times since UNIVERSITY I feel like just curling up in a ball on my bed and avoiding it all - - deadlines be damned. It's like all my tension and anxiety has welled itself up in a softball-sized lump in the back of my throat. It keeps me from breathing normally and even swallowing. It's not just a nuisance but kind of painful too.

Not to mention it's a tad tricky to swallow. Please please please let this stress-session end soon....

An almost-complete transcript of Billy Bob Thornton (and The Boxmasters) on CBC's Q

Okay. I'm still stuck on this whole Boxmasters thing.

I'm listening back to the uncut interview from the beginning. And apparently transcribing it. Enjoy.

INTRO:
"Mod Billy" is the name of the first record by my next guest, The Boxmasters. If the name "Boxmasters" sounds familiar, there might be a couple reasons why. First, "Mod Billy" is the Los Angelas trio's third album in the last year alone (yes this is a band with ambition). Second, the Boxmaster's principle songwriter, singer and drummer is a man by the name of Billy Bob Thornton, whose day job (some of the time) is oscar-winning screenwriter, actor and director. While Billy Bob Thornton's name is most often linked to his cinematic endevours, The Boxmasters is anything but a diversion from the silver screen. He's always intended to make music, he just got sidetracked. These days, music is a major priority in his life and something he's obviously embracing. The Boxmasters are currently on tour with country legend Willie Nelson, and I'm pleased to have all the members in studio here, Hello boys!

(hellos)

JG: Three albums in the past year, that seems ambitious!
(Someone else) That's the ones that have been released. We've got about five.
JG: There's more? Billy-Bob. I mean you guys just formed in the past couple of years, right?
BBT: I don't know what you are talking about.
JG: *chuckle* How so?
BBT: I don't know what you mean by that.
JG: Well.. well.. when did the band form?
BBT: I'm not sure what that means.
JG: Oh. Well when did you guys first start playing together?
(Someone else) We started playing about two years ago, and we haven't stopped since we got the ball rolling.
JG: And you've made three records in that time?
(Someone else) We've actually made about five records. And the first one...
(... talking about the tour with Willie Nelson... general normal interview talk)
JG: What do you learn from Willie Nelson, Billy-Bob?
BB: *silence* I've never met him.
JG *awkward chuckle* Are you being ironic or are you being serious?
BB: I don't really know him.
JG: You've never really met him?
BB: I sat down with him once. He's a nice guy.
JG: But you don't really hang out on tour.
BB: uh.
JG: You don't know what I mean.
BB: no.
*more awkward chuckles from people*
JG: Why do I get the impression that you are going to answer "I don't know what you mean" if I ask you...Did Willie choose you guys to go on tour with him?
BB: shit, I don't know.
JG: Right. Uh. Alright. Well this new record, double record. Tell me about your decision to include a whole record of covers.
(...Other band members answer... about being inspired by different types of music etc.)
JG: And that was true for you too, Billy Bob? Growing up, it was sort of a combo of Stones and Monkeys and Buck Owens?
BB: I just liked baseball as a kid.
JG: And you almost became a professional baseball player, right?
BB: I don't know. Maybe.
JG: Um. But you didn't love music when you were a kid?
BB: Um. Well I subscribed to a magazine called Famous Monsters of Filmland. The publisher was a guy named Forest J. Acherman who passed away recently.
(long awkward silence)
JG: Hm. Do you remember what you were listening to as a kid?
BB: They had a contest where you could build your own model. And it could be like a King Kong or anything from something you created yourself to one of the monsters that was actually in the magazine (goes on to talk about model monsters and entering this build your own model monster contest)
JG: And where does the music fit into that?
BB: Uh? Music? No. It was a monster magazine.
JG: Right, but being as you seem to be so passionate about music, I was wondering about your ...
BB: (interrupts) Would you say that to Tom Petty?
JG: Would I say that he's passionate about music?
BB: Yah.
JG: Yah
BB: Really? Would you explain why it's not a hobby?
JG: (repeating... kind of confusedly) Would I explain why it's not a hobby? ... Are you reacting to the fact that I said...
BB: Yah I am. Since you are instructed not to talk about shit like that. Yah I am reacting to that. Yah.
JG: Instructed? I'm not really instructed... you guys are here as a band, and you're preforming but I...
BB: Well your producer was instructed. Somewhere along the way.
JG: Because I mentioned you were an actor and a screenwriter?
BB: Well first of all that wasn't supposed to be mentioned either.
JG: But that's just giving context, right? I mean I'm happy to interview you guys as a band, but for the listeners, we're giving context for who you are. That's part of your trajectory, isn't it?
BB: Not really.
JG: It's not.
BB: No.
JG: You would prefer I only do this interview not mentioning at all - just to clarify - at all that you've ever done any acting, screenwriting, directing ..
BB: That's right.
JG: But you know people are listening across the country and across North America and they might think that's odd that I would not mention anything to do with your past.
BB: Well I think it's odd that you have to smoke inside a white strip outside.
JG: That is also odd. But that's a little different. That's a rule and regulation. I'm just trying to do a show and give people context for who you guys are.
BB: Well there's pleanty of context without all that.
JG: Right. Okay. Well it does occur to me that the producers did say that you didn't want to ... focus on questions around your acting career etc. And I'm cool with that. Because I'm happy to talk to you as musicians. But it does also occur to me that you are a pretty new band and one of the reasons you get attention is because of the career you had.
BB: We're not really new.
JG: You're not? It says...
BB: I made eight albums.
JG: I know *you* have made a lot of albums, but how long have The Boxmasters been around for?
BB: I don't know.
JG: (long silence) couple years? Maybe? So even the greatest bands in the world... part of the great success you've had is because of the career you've had in other ways. What I'm explaining is that I'm not trying to be insulting to your musical...
BB: (interrupts) What I'm explaining is we said to not talk about shit like that and we also said we didn't want to hear anything about how this is my "first love." You wouldn't say THAT to Tom Petty, would ya? "I understand music is your first love" Well my first love was a chick named Lisa Cohen. You know what I mean?
JG: Alright. Well I think the only reason we would do that is as a point of entry. So do you want to continue this if we talk about music?
BB: Tha'd be great.
JG: Ok. Well if we can call a truce, then I can ask you questions about music. Because when I was asking, you didn't seem to want to answer. But I'm cool to talk about that. So can you talk about your musical influences? Because there is an interesting fusion on this record.
BB: Yah it's a mixture of the British Invasion with hillbilly music. Something that I know more about than a band that was 20 years old, that you wouldn't say that to. I grew up as pretty much a music historian, so. Yah. Cosmic cowboy music.
JG: Can you think of other bands who have been doing what you guys have been doing here.
BB: Not lately, not in the last 30 years, no.
JG: You're opening for Willie Nelson. I'm assuming that's an older crowd. Do you find different audiences react to you in different ways? Because this is quite the ecclectic double-record. You run the gamet from songs that sound kind of country to songs that sound like rock n roll.
BB: The good news is that Willie's audience is pretty ecclectic.He has everything from bikers to old people to young people. So somewhere in there you find an audience. Or at least we do in Europe and the US. Canadian audiences tend to be kind of reserved.
JG: Yah, we've heard that before.
BB: We tend to play places where people throw things at each other. Here they just sort of sit there. And it doesn't matter what you say to them.
JG: And you're playing theatres, right?
BB: Some are theatres, some are like stadiums or whatever you want to call it. But it's very um, well... mashed potatoes with no gravy, you know what I'm sayin'?
JG: Aw, well we've got gravy up here as well .
BB: Yes you do. You've got it on a lot of things.
JG: You might even consider it a national dish.
BB: Absolutely, I've seen that in a lot of shops.
JG: Alright so you guys are going to play a tune for us. What were you going to play?
BB: Well the boys are going to play an instrumental version of a song called Turn it Over.
JG: And you're not going to play?
BB: Um. I'm the drummer.
JG: And you don't have your drums here.
BB: No. We don't cart those around at 6 in the morning.
JG: Okay. Alright. Well lets hear the instrumental version from the Boxmasters. You guys up for it?

One singly solitary voice: Sure.

*song*

So the only thing Jian and Billy Bob could talk about amicably was gravy. Interesting. And now I have a new Facebook status.

Holy Boxmasters Batman!

Seriously? I can't NOT write about this.

I don't know how many of you were listening to CBC Radio this morning... but Jian Ghomeshi had The Boxmasters in studio. Now I've never heard of The Boxmasters. I'm listening to them play a song in-studio right now... and the band sounds good. It's an instrumental tune. Kind of twangy, but not bad.

So The Boxmasters are a sort of country-pop-hillbilly band. And here's the big part. Billy Bob Thornton is their singer (and I think maybe plays the drums for them too? That's what it seemed Ghomeshi was saying anyways).

We all know who Billy Bob Thornton is. Right? Well most of us do, anyways. We know him as the kinda creepy guy whose blood was slung around Angelina Jolie's neck in a vial for a little while. Oh yah. He's also an actor and screenwriter.

So he's in a band now. And the band was on Q. And he couldn't have sounded more ... bored... by the subject matter if he were talking about bland porrige. And then. THEN the shit hit the fan. What seemed as an innocent contextual question by Ghomeshi about the man's past work... turned into this shit-slinging diatribe by Thornton about how Ghomeshi wouldn't dare ask such questions of other artists, and his past work was completely off-limits to talk about... and the producers knew this and on and on and on.

I swear, I was all anxious just listening to the inteview. But somehow, SOMEHOW Ghomeshi managed to turn it around, go to a live song (Thornton notably absent, by the way) and the next guest.

Thornton was smug. He was arrogant. He was rude. He was ignorant. He was self-righteous. He was obnoxious. HE WAS A DICK. And he was wrong.

And me? Well I have, for the LONGEST TIME had this sour taste in my mouth about Ghomeshi. I find him a bit too ... slick alot of the time. And sometimes a bit pretentious. But I have to give the man mad props. He kept his cool. He had a truely volitile guest on live radio and dealt with the pressure beautifully.

And I hate to say it. But I now have a new "idol" when it comes to handling difficult interviews.

And as for BBT? I hope your bandmembers kick you out. Because they sounded just fine without you.


If you are interested in listening to the whole interview, check it out here. The show's not up *yet* but I'm sure it will be shortly.

Curling schmurling

I think when I signed on to this whole thing I had ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA what a royal pain in the ass it would be.

Actually, I take that back. I KNOW I had no idea. Because when things started, I made it very clear that I would be a contact-point person. That was all. I'd help with things when the other two organizers weren't in town. Because they both travel extensively for their jobs, and I'm always in town.

Of course, I'm talking about curling, here. The bane of my existence. 

I swear to god. I now totally understand why things never change in small towns. Or at least in this small town. And not so much change as "start." You really have to love it to put all the work in.

Since the very beginning (as I'm sure some of you remember) this whole thing has caused me nothing but headaches and heartaches. Headaches because of team drama (not showing up ever for games... is shady and sucky). Heartaches because for the longest time it felt like it was US(curlers) vs. the rest of the sporting world.

But finally, with just three weeks left in the season, our second ice is ready.
And we're planning our first bonspeil.
And both of those are great things.

But now one of the members of our executive wants to quit. And I'm just furious.

The problem with starting things in these small, transient communities is that the people who operate them tend to come and go too fast. The member knows that. I know the member knows that because the member is my friend. And they know the importance of their position. And it was THEIR BRAINCHILD. NOT MINE.

And I really feel like I've been doing all the freaking work lately anyways.

So holy hell. Don't abandon us with just three weeks left. Finish out your term, we'll elect someone new in the fall.

I can understand if you are busy, but I've been doing everything lately anyways, and I just need you to call the rec. coordinator from time to time because we're not exactly on speaking terms. So what's the difference?

We are a TEAM. We are supposed to work TOGETHER. But I guess all for one and one for all doesn't apply in curling.

*bitch whine moan*

Sink your teeth into a good book

Townie wrote a post the other day about some of the insanity surrounding the Twilight series. For those who aren't familiar with the books, it's a super-popular (think Harry Potter) series for young adults. As Wikipedia puts it...

Twilight is a series of four vampire-based fantasy/romance novels by the American author Stephenie Meyer. It follows the life of Isabella "Bella" Swan, a teenager who moves to Forks, Washington, and finds her life turned upside-down when she falls in love with a vampire named Edward Cullen.

The part of Townie's post that caught my attention was the criticism surrounding the series. Stephen King has been quoted as saying that the difference between the Harry Potter series and Twilight (besides the subject matter - we're talking fan obsession here) is that the Harry Potter books are actually well written. And Meyer can't write worth a damn*.

Now... I'm not sure about that. Stephen King himself can be hit or miss. Sure he's got a number of best-sellers... but you don't find any of his books on Time's "Best Books of All Time" list. I like some of his novels (The Green Mile and Hearts of Atlantis to name two) but you'll not catch me reading Cujo any time soon.

But I think critics are missing the point. There will always be waves of "teenage trash" novels. When I was in elementary school it was the R.L. Stine and the Goosebumps** series (yes I am that young, shut up). For my sister, it was Sweet Valley Twins and Gossip Girl (yes it was a book first :P) and countless other books our parents may-or-may-not have "approved" of***.

We were both readers, and I still am. Danielle's in her last year of university these days, so if she's anything like me, I'm sure she hates books right now - - but she'll get back in the groove eventually. The point is that from a very young age both of us (but more noteably, Danielle) would save our money to buy books. Not video games (not that we had a Super Nintendo until I was in the 12th grade), but BOOKS. On trips off-island, there were no two ways about it. We were going to Chapters, and DD was going to spend 2-3 hours there, and she was going to spend all she could. That was just the way it was.

So really... who CARES what they are reading. If kids are devouring books, that's what matters. If they seek books out as a choice, they'll stick with it. Anna Karenina will come, in time (maybe... I still haven't gotten around to that).

And on a totally disjointed note: Go read The Glass Castle. Best modern book I've read to date.


*I should clarify that I have NOT read the books. I don't really intend to read them (no matter how many times amazon.ca recommends them). I'm not really a vampire kinda gal. The only think that appeals to me is the covers. They look pretty neat.

** Which, by the way, I never read. Actually that's a lie. I read the first chapter of one about bees and a roller coaster when I was in grade 3 and thought it was dumb. So I gave it back to my friend and never cracked another. I don't know why I felt the need to defend myself, haha but I did.

*** Their concern, of course, was the two of us were reading below our reading level. Which was true. But they didn't stop us. They let us read/be.

Strange outsourcing

I made the following observation today while reading back on Darcy's blog about the Nunavut 10-year anniversary.

He linked to two news stories on cbc.ca:

One about education
and
One about mining

Both articles are on the longer side. So I'm not asking you to read them all the way through (but they are pretty interesting, and fairly well written). But here's the thing. Check out the byline.

Done?

It strikes me as odd (yes, sure, that's the word) that the Corp would post stories from a rival news source when it has many many reporters in the territory who live and work here. Seems like a strange use of resources to me.

Am I just out to lunch on this one? Or is this as bizarre as it seems?

I bee sewing

So. After my reality-tv post... or maybe as I was writing it... I decided I needed a hobby.

Of course, because its me we're talking about, I went about it in the most ass-backwards way possible. Most people don't look at a list of "--- for Dummies" books on Amazon to help decide what they are going to do as a passtime (seriously, who does that?).

I wanted something that would keep me busy, but didn't require ALL my attention - - like reading. Don't get me wrong I LOVE to read, but I can't multitask when I read. I can't even listen to music and read. I've even tried those classical music CD's with titles like "Reading on a Sunday Morning" or "Classical Solitude" and they still distract me.

Also, it had to be something that had a finished product. I can be very goal-oriented... but I want to know there's an end in sight. Stamp collecting? I don't think so.

Finally, the supplies for said hobby had to be easy to find. Model train sets aren't exactly a dime a dozen here.

So after much internal debate, I settled on.....

Quilting!

Yes, I'm officially a very very old lady. But sew what? (yah, I know. I've only just started and I'm breaking out the hobby-puns). But I'm only old in the nature of my hobby, not the product. Nope. I'm going to have the most rockin'-est quilts around. They'll be super modern with cool fabrics... and all the emo kids will want them.

But lofty goals aside, I know how I am. I know I can be ADD. Hell, I taught myself to knit once upon a time... and was terrible at it. The only thing I ever really produced was a scarf for my sister... and even that was an embarassment. I can't believe she wore it. It wasn't that the scarf was lopsided or anything... but was ONLY MADE OF PEARL STITCHES. Because when I taught myself to knit, I followed an online guide. And it only taught me the pearl stitch. Not the actual knit stitch. Oh, and I did it backwards, as in, for left-handed people.

Anyways. So keeping that in mind, I ordered a little "mini quilt" kit. Sixteen patchwork squares, backing, batting and MOST IMPORTANTLY instructions. It arrived yesterday afternoon... and I spent my lunch hour piecing some of the squares together. And I finished the rest last night. (of course, while watching terrible reality TV - gotta combine the hobbies doncha know?) And I'm really really really impressed with the result. The only thing I didn't really get and I think will be a challenge is the "quilting" part. I'm doing the whole thing by hand (I don't have or need a sewing machine) and getting the three layers to "stick" together is tricky. I didn't like how you could see my somewhat sloppy stitches on the backing. Maybe I just need matching thread. Or better technique.

Because I can't make them ALL into pillows haha.