Evil friends and sewing machines

My friend Chris, in an evil plot to make me waste all of my time, has leant me some of his older playstation games. Chris likes some of the same games I do – the weird Japanese ones that don’t quite make sense and might be for kids, but are a whole lot of fun.
One of them is a game where you drum to the beat…there is even a drun with drumsticks. I suck at it but it is a howl. Another one is a fave of mine – Dance Dance Revolution…complete with footpads. Man – screw the aerobics tapes for the next few weeks! I think it’s fun but I’m too uncoordinated to do it in public…perfect for home (the game even logs how many calories you’ve burned!) The best game we got to borrow is one where you get to roll around collecting things, because your father the king of all things blew up the sky and all the stars. You basically go from world to world rolling a big sticky ball that gets bigger and bigger picking up whatever you roll over, people, trees…you name it. The ball gets bigger and bigger and eventually it can be used to rebuild the universe again. Sooooo very addictive.
J’s been hooked and playing it while I’ve been sewing the past few nights. I’ve actually resorted to the iPod so I can’t hear the games…cuz I want to play them, but I can’t until after the weekend.

You’re evil Chris. You know that don’t you?

I’m sort of on a crazy making overly elaborate costumes schedule. Most of the sewing for my costume is done – it’s mostly decoration now. J’s sash is done and he’ll get webbed hands with cuffs to go with a modified long black robe I made him last year that will go well into him being a driudish something of Atlantis (*not* a king, I have been told). Me? I am going to be some kind of watery woman...maybe Neptunes consort (anyone know who she was?). For me I’m ditching the webbed hands part for time as I’d rather finish the forarm armor, collar and decorate them and the skirt/belt and be happy with them than go nuts and try and make other stuff at this point and have nothing really finished. I can add to it later if I want to. What with bottling beer tonight at my brothers I’ll likely only get and hour or so at it tonight and then there’s just tomorrow night before we take off, so I refuse to go crazy. I have to work in there somewhere too, and I’m not about to put myself in danger in the lab from being exhausted from making costumes.
But they'll be so very cool...we’ll have something neatto wear.

I am bloody tired tho. Gotta go.

I'd give it a 9.3

It snowed a lot last night, so after a long snowy trudge to the bus stop this morning I had a 3 foot bank to hop over to get to the shelter to wait.
I was in a good mood so I took a run at it and hopped over it...and promptly slipped and landed spreadeagle on my back with great style in the snow.

It was kinda fun - like snowing in powder. Everyone waiting was concerned that I hurt myself - not a bit. It was fun enough I wanted to go and hop in the snowpiles some more but the bus arrived so I had to get on.

OH well, there's always tomorrow...

Give me some tea you bastard

I had a very surreal weekend. A friend of J's was celebrating his birthday and we went out for supper and then to where the friend wanted to spend the evening, a local bar called The Hose and Hydrant. Now I'm not much of a drinker, but I like to people watch and it was good company so I figured I'd put off the costume making and head out for the night. It's not a bad place really.

What I encountered was a very surreal thing...like culture shock and a bad vampire move rolled into one. I now empathise with those poor american tourists lured into the vampire bar to dance dance dance, and all of a sudden have the music change, the mood change and have the crowd try to attack you and suck your blood...
Well, OK not so bad as that, but it was, at times, uncomfortable. Not for the usual grabbing my ass kind of reasons. I honestly felt somewhat alien at times.

I have to begin by saying that I like electronic music - not exclusively, but to me psytrance, breaks, reggae and funk are what I like to dance to. I'm open to some house music (which is what all bars here play) as long as it isn't some bastardized version of an already crappy song. I learned that you *can* make any song into a house track (even Highway to Hell by ACDC...*shudder*) and people will dance to it. I've also learned that Saskatoon is stuck in a time warp. Last night songs were played that I recall from back when I was in grade/high school, and people younger than me were freaking out about them...songs like Pour Some Sugar On Me, House mixes of a 80s songs, and even (*sigh*) the macarena. The only rational explanation I could come to was my newly solidified theory that all bad dance/house music is written for girls to dance and jiggle to and guys to like simply because they can watch the girls dance to it...

The thing is...I tried.
I really tried on the odd song of Fatboy Slim or otherwise dancable stuff I could settle on (like Saskatchewan Pirate, Hollaback Girl and Rasputin) to strut my stuff, and I did have some fun, but there were moments where the mood shifted, the song jarred to a stop and into a totally strange one and I honestly did not know the songs being played...and everyone else (except J & I) did. I don't live in a hole, but I don't listen to much mainstream radio...so that alone was odd enough. I'd have been happy with some Goldfrapp or even a remix of Madonna. After such joyful times as Shambhala and Motion Notion I've come to enjoy world class DJs and mixes with flowing and beatmatching, feeding the crowd with energy...not just playing off a bunch of small town "classics" like Fishing in the Dark and Money Money cranked loud for drunk people to hop around to. I'd complain the music was bad, but the floor was packed to a cruching point with happy drunken dancers. People were loving it. And hip grinding to it...don't even get me started on the hip grinding thing.

I know I'm coming off as an asshat elitist...I'm not. Really. I'm open to a good time and love to dance when the mood strikes, and part of the night I really did have fun, mostly from the crowd I was with.
But the vibe and intent of the place was just too alien at times. The strange sexual overtness and need to have fun or else dammit was more than a little disturbing. Having total strangers grind their ass into my crotch and legs "in good fun" is odd and strange and maybe I'm just out of it, but grind your ass on your friend or lover. OK with me...but on me? When I politely turn away it means I'm not into it, thanks. I thought it was just me until a coworker of J's came up and said "did you know it's apparently normal to grind your ass into my leg? I'm confused..."
We both were.
After a while I stuck to off the dance floor and enjoyed the rest of the evening.

*sigh*
Help me out here- Am I expecting too much?
Or am I officially eccentric?

Poppin popadums

Yummers.

Just finished a yummy meal of chicken vindaloo, basmati and poppadums.

And I have a bunch of blue and purple shimmery fabric for costumes. I'm going for a king/queen of the sea, making some colalrs and sashes and forarm armor, with webbed hands.

I'll just have to see how far I can go.

Now I must go and relax. Bye.

In search of Atlantis

I don't work tomorrow!

Lalalalalaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

I can't wait. Naps & reading and making elaborate food until J is off work (he gets monday off. Boo.)

THEN I must get busy as we decided at the last minute (no planning ahead for us - that'd be silly!)to go to a costume dance in Edmonton (by the same people who put on the Star wars one last year) and it is in one week. Heh...so I have a week to make a costume. Hopefully I can come up with something. I am so picky, I may burn out doing it, but it will be cool, even if I don't have a costume
Well, if I can figure out what it will be!

The theme is Atlantis.
Any ideas??

Gravy Mcguffins

Supergreen.
Not only has it snowed 6 inches of fluffiness overnight, I have just discovered, thanks to Pacian, that Sam & Max , the freelance dog and bunny detectives are back!

Me hee...I've got almost a whole year's worth of cartoon strips to catch up on.
I used to really like the cartoon on late night Teletoon (along with The Maxx) way back when...

(Oh, just a hint (in case you're really dense like me and get confused) the captions appear when you put the mouse over the cartoons)

The evils of spinach

I would like to start out by saying that I didn’t always like vegetables much unless they were potatoey and/or deep fried in batter (or both). Over the past few years, I have evolved from a salty snacky, grease loving girl into a slightly healthier (ok, still salty snacky loving) veggie freak. It is odd to think that I am now a somewhat healthy veggie lover but I am – and lately, especially spinach.

And so this brings me to my ranting of the day:
When do I ever get to eat spinach again?

A while ago some farm in the US that grows veggies (for apparently the entire world) was using less than standard growing practices and ended up with a crop of E.coli infected spinach…and unfortunately a few people actually got very sick and died from eating it. Not only does this make me want to go off on multiple rants about the evils of factory farms and their degenerating effect on food quality, farming in general and sustainable resources, I want simply to ask people why they don’t just wash their vegetables. I mean they’re from the GROUND! And they’ve probably traveled a gazillion miles, handled by who knows how many people and trucks and you can’t just eat them without at least a little rinse. Blech - it’s like rubbing your hands around in the muck, dusting them off and thinking “oh boy! I’m gonna go and eat some poy now”. Again - blech. Why not buy from local farms, who take pride in their quality and product instead of fishing out the sea and buying veggies from across the world when you don’t have to? How is lettuce from Mexico cheaper than stuff from the yard nearby? This is why the latest issue of Science published an article stating that research shows that we WILL fish out all the fish from the oceans and lakes in the next 40 years. And oddly enough noone cares (freaks the hell out of me…). Apparently, the world is more concerned about keeping the evil “poison” spinach from the masses.but I digress.

What was my point?
Oh yes – the evils of spinach.

Apparently now spinach is now considered more poisonous than botulism or ebola. It cannot be purchased or even special ordered from any local grocer. Admittedly this time of year it should cost a bit more to have to buy from greenhouses but right now it is GONE. There is no sign it ever existed, and cannot be found fresh anywhere…and (of course) that means that I am craving it: spinach salad, spinach risotto, spinach and feta lasagna, spinach pizza…*sigh*

I needs my spinach.

Oh great corporate juggernaut, I ask thee:
Can I please have some spinach?
I promise I’ll wash it.

I'm so sweet like a nice bon bon

Aside form listening to Hello Nasty for the past weekend non-stop and a nice romantic evening with J and a fine episode of Galactica, life continues as normal. Only 2 days till beer bottling, and all is clear on the horizon.
So....here's a little meme to fill the gap I wandered across a while ago:

3 People That Make You Laugh:
• Bender & Fry
• David Cross
• Jon Stewart

3 Things I Love:
• cheese
• J
• napping in the giant bean bag for 2...with J if possible

3 Things I Hate:
• terrible restaurant food
• cleaning up cat puke
• dishonesty

3 Things I Don't Understand:
• How George Bush can walk and speak at the same time
• how people can waste money on those stupid dancing singing santas I see for sale everywhere
• Why people need things to be happy

3 Things on My Desk:
• cyclops baby in a jar(no I'm not kidding - it's part of the teaching library)
• Picture of J and the cats
• Coffee mugs

3 Things I'm Doing Right Now:
• Cooking something new every 2 weeks (last week it was pumpkin cookies...yum)
• eating an apple
• Planning the reno of my basement work room

3 Things I Want to Do Before I Die:
• run a 10K marathon
• ride a horseback across parts of India
• have a greenhouse in my yard and grow my own veggies in it

3 Things I Can Do:
• Cook and bake most things
• Envision things I plan to do and how they'll turn out before I start
• Make beer! (from a kit...from scratch is next)

3 Things I Can't Do:
• listen to people complain about other people behind their back
• Shop at Walmart
• keep my kitchen floor clean

3 Ways to Describe My Personality:
• shy
• idealistic
• eccentric

3 Things You Should Listen To:
• Your Mom (usually she's right you know)
• music, whenever and wherever possible
• Your inner voice - you always know something is wrong if you're paying attention

3 Favorite Foods:
• cheese of any kind (except swiss)
• rice crackers (with cheese?)
• Fruits of all kinds (especially pomegranates and raspberries)

3 Things I'd Like to Learn:
• How to juggle (I'm hopeless)
• How to be less shy in social situations
• How to fix my crappy toilet

3 Beverages I Drink Regularly:
• Coffee
• milk
• Earl Grey tea


Gotta go.

Cool Beans and other things

Rented District 13 last night.
Aside from the french rap at the end (just wierd) This movie was great.
Lots of action and entertainment. I was pleased. I'm all for the urban hopping all over buildings and creative fighting in films...and cute men showing of their muscley dexterity...often with no shirt...erm, anyways.

On an aside, I'm amused once again that the odd time of year has arrived that separates the stylish and trendy people from the rest of us who just want to be warm.
Seeing people dressed in summer wear run from car to building and shivver and fret as they wait for busses or walk between buildings on campus never fails to amuse me. It's just starting to get frosty cold...soon the freeze your flesh, actually dangerous kind of cold will come in with windchill and stop our cars from starting and force us to wear rediculous amounts of fuzzy clothing...well those of us who like to be warm, anyways.
Me? I take the bus and it's a 15 minute walk to the busstop, where I sit on the edge of an open windy area - a long frigid walk that means I have to be bundled up or I'll freeze. I have a locker to cram all my stuff in once I get to work, so why be cold? There's always some person in skimpy clothes with a tShirt and a scarf and gloves shuddering away trying to NOT be cold. I'm all for the power of the mind over matter, but frostbite is another thing entirely. I pity our grad students from really hot climates...it takes a good cold snap until they realise that no, we're not just hosing them and trying to make fun of them - it does get bloody cold here...and yes they need to get a warm coat.

And it's only just begun. I am not very stylish at the bus stop...but I AM warm.

Brrrrr

I wish it would jsut snow already. A good dump of snow that stayed and made everything all fluufy and white.
Cuz this being obcenely cold, frosty and windchilly with no snow and green grass is wrong on many levels.
Somehow when the world is white it makes a little more sense...

Agrajag to the rescue

I had a grand experience last night. One of those unique things I'll always remember, as they'll probably not come up again. I'd like to say tho - I'm not a fruit or a nutter. I just like new and unique things. And I'm a geek...
While out on a shoot, J was talking to someone who mentioned that there was a music show he might be interested in. It was a man playing music on crystal bowls.
Go on...
And he also had a collection of large cymbals...
OK...
And his girlfriend was painting with acrylics while he played on large acetate sheets in such a way that the resonance from the music would move the paint and create unique patterns as it dried.
Neat.
AND, the only place open to hold it this time of year was at the local Buddhist temple.
Well, that was it...J was too intrigued and picked up 2 tickets on the way home. Neither of us had been in a Buddhist temple before - it was a simple building, but the statuary was amazing. That alone was interesting enough. We all sat on kneeling mats on the floor and it really was mesmeric as the musician played music by striking and rubbing about 30 different sized crystal bowls, along with 6 giant hanging cymbals and other strange drums, cymbals and bells that I've never seen before. He played 2 40 minute sets with a short break in between. It was beautiful and not like anything I've ever heard before. The paintings were large and billowing with colour and had odd patterns in the paint, like galaxies and constellations look like in photographs. Some previous ones were on display, and you could sit and watch her paint if you wanted.
Fantastic.
AND, although it was Halloween and I was worried about leaving the house unattended for while, I put our candy out in a bowl on the step with a sign that said "take 2 each or else Agrajag will haunt you!" ...and wouldn't you know it, they did! There was still some candy left when we got back.

Good day all around really.