study notes

I've been working on study notes, in preparation for my first exam in a Very Long Time.

Study notes bring out a very ... well ... distinctive part of my personality. I hold a belief, very dear to my heart, that all information can be distilled down to an organized, bulleted list, with appropriate titles and subtitles. If any knowledge can't be recorded in this way, it isn't worth knowing.

That's what I believe.

Clearly I'm not an artist.

And there is a tremendous - nay, a WHOLLY SATISFYING - sense of accomplishment in taking a semester's worth of scribbled notes, and transforming them into a 12-font collection of precisely ordered bits of knowledge.

Here's to being a nerd.

what is that smell?

We have a big indoor plant that has, miraculously, survived quite a while in our home.

It's a taller-than-me, palm-like thing. When I've repotted it in the past, I've discovered that it's mostly a stick in the ground. If I don't put enough dirt around it, it just falls over, because it does not have a whole extended root system like other plants.

It's not an exciting plant. It just sits there, looking mildly sophisticated, year after year. We bought it at Home Depot, probably 15 years ago, for $20. The fact that I remember the price gives you real insight into my personality, doesn't it?

It started out with us in a sun-drenched condo in the Big City Down the Road from us. Then we stuffed it sideways into a Civic hatchback, and moved it to a funky third-floor apartment in a big old house with tiny windows.

Three years later, we moved it into storage for a couple of months, because we had nowhere to live in Steeltown, and neither did the plant. Then we pulled it out of storage and moved it into the livingroom of our House with the Great Kitchen. In that house, we put it in the livingroom, because we were trying to disguise the fact that we didn't have livingroom furniture. We pretended to be minimalists when we were in there.

Then... we moved it to another funky third-floor apartment in a big old house, but this apartment was all renovated, with bright windows, and skylights, and decks. We introduced the plant to outdoor living in our summers there. It seemed happy.

A few years ago, we moved this ever-living palm to our current Little Piece of Heaven, from which we are never, ever moving, not ever. We put it outside last summer, but never got around to it this summer. This summer, what with the plumbing and roofing and flooding, it was mostly ignored for months, surrounded by piles of stuff from the basement. It got covered in construction dust. It inhaled disinfectant fumes. It really put up with a lot.

A few weeks ago we noticed a weird growth on the plant. We decided to leave it, and see what it would become.

And last night, Spike & I looked at each other, bewildered - "What is that smell?" A strongly sweet scent, wafting into every corner of our home. We wandered slowly around, noses extended, trying to trace the source until we met at ... you guessed it ... that palm plant.

Darn thing bloomed for the first time ever!

if you're looking to buy a car

We're not looking to buy a car.

We have a ten-year-old Corolla that is beginning to show signs of being a high-needs kind of character, but so far, we've managed to placate it with soothing words and motor oil.

Also, we bought a new basement, new plumbing and a new roof this summer.

So no. Not looking to buy a car.

Still....

A few weeks ago I was getting ready for work, with the radio on in the background. And since this is one of those "give credit where it's due" kind of posts, I'll tell you - it was 680 News.

And a commercial came on. A really good one. I don't even like commercials. Ever. But this one made me stop (in the middle of putting my socks on, mind you), listen and then raise my socks in the air with a mighty cheer.

"Yes!!!!" I sobbed. "THAT is what we need, THAT is the company I would buy a car from, if we were buying a car." (But we aren't.)

OK. I didn't sob. But I did cheer.

This commercial suggested that the company knows that when Spike and I DO buy a vehicle ... well, it may not be just Spike and his manly opinions. There's a darn good chance that since we decide everything else together, we would make this decision together too. And apparently they even realized that I am not the only female involved in buying cars. LOTS of women buy cars!

"Which begs the question," the voice on the radio said. "Why aren't there more women selling cars? We decided to do something about it."

I loved that commercial. I wanted to hear it again. I wanted to use it to spread goodwill and cheer throughout my world.

So I asked if I could use it, expecting either (a) no response at all, or (b) a team of corporate lawyers to present a mountain of copyright infringement restrictions for me to sign in triplicate, so they could sue my socks off some Friday afternoon, just for fun.

I emailed 680 News. Got an immediate reply - "We can't give it to you, but here's the guy who can."

Guy-Who-Can cheerfully "howdied" me, and said, "Oops, I can't either, but I know who can - the President of the Corporate Structure."

Next thing I know, the P of the CS had left a friendly message on my voice mail, thanking me for my feedback, allowing me both a copy of the commercial and permission to use it, and leaving his phone number - in case I ever have any other questions.

I think I'm in love. Don't worry, Spike is right there with me.

If only we were buying a car ... sigh ... but we aren't.

But if YOU are ... might I recommend The Humberview Group. (Click HG Corporate when you get there. It's better than a feel-good movie.) They get it, the tricky art of customer service. They return phone calls and emails. It's possible they even like people.

And I just thought you should know.

for the boys

*sigh*

OK boys, I'm only gonna say this once.

The next time you are helping your friend with some backyard raking, and ... um ... "nature calls" ...

Don't assume that the old window you glanced at has no one behind it.

There might be a running pastor sitting at her desk directly in front of that old window.

And she might be a blogger.

Consider yourself warned.

in other news

I hate it when this happens, don't you?

Just ruins my day.

I almost had it all together

You know how, every now and then, a moment comes along when you say to yourself - "There. For this one little moment, I have it all together."

And you know it isn't going to last. You know it's not a true reflection of how life works. But for that one little moment - it's all under control.

I had the briefest of moments like that about a month ago. The moment hasn't repeated itself, but I gaze back fondly at it. My to-do list at work was somewhat realistic. The dustbunnies at my house had been beaten back to small villages under the couch. And I even had managed to ... wait for it ... prepare some tasty and nutritious food ahead of time. Meals were all wrapped up in the freezer, smug and self-satisfied, one of them even a previously untried recipe.

In fact, it was SUCH a lovely moment, that I thought I'd take one of those delightful little freezer meals and pass it along to someone else. Because when you have it all together, even for the briefest of moments, you feel like that moment should be shared.

*sigh*

So a month later, Spike and I pulled one of those perfect little meals out of the freezer. Because this week, we do NOT have it all together, and there is no sense that it will all COME back together in the next few weeks. So we heated up that little meal, and dished it out. Added some salt. Added some pepper. Added some hot sauce.

And finally looked at each other and said - "Does this taste ... BLAND?"

Yes. Yes it does. And the really lovely part of that is, that the little freezer meal I passed along was the same recipe. Bland and tasteless, although filling.

So much for my all-together moment. Back to crazy.

Halloween 2009

Another Halloween has come and gone.

I wish there were more kids. We had maybe 30 or so.

But still, it's all good.

Two vampires (a pretty little one, and a suspiciously adult-like one) arrived early with a friendly zombie. They shared some pizza with us before heading off for trick-or-treating.

Beetlejuice rode his bike up and down my street, singing and hollering greetings.

A unicorn carrying a chatty little dimpled cherub with a lisp may just win the most-adorable prize.

A pre-teen dressed as an old grandma made us laugh the most, due to certain, shall we say, "assets" which had ... um ... fallen.

There were also two ladybugs, two screams, a tiger, spiderman, batman, a butterfly, a hippie, and a grim reaper who couldn't remember what he was.

Wrapped in a quilt, I went across the street to where the action was, and had a great chat with my favourite neighbours, all shivering while we talked. Got invited to a party next month.

A sad moment, looking next door and seeing the darkened porch where Oma used to live. She passed away two months ago. I miss her.

Halloween.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

one hour

Forgive my skePticism.

As I am sure you know, the clocks change tonight. We all get an extra hour of sleeP.

Unless you live in Saskatchewan, I think. In which case, life goes on, and you're Probably not reading my blog anyway.

I love that extra hour of sleeP. I do. No, seriously, I really do.

I love the delight of the evening before - "It seems like it's 10 PM, but it's only 9! Look how much evening is left!"

I love that this year, that delight is combined with the delight of kostumed kidlets on my brand new Porch for Halloween.

But every year, when the time changes in spring and fall, the newscasts are full of the same cautionary soundbites. APParently, that one hour of extra (or less) sleeP deePly imPacts many of us, in that we forget how to drive, and car accidents Prevail.

But I ask you - don't most of us live in a PerPetual state of constant stress and mild sleeP-dePrivation, not to mention unhealthy eating Patterns? Don't we all regularly find ourselves short on time, with suddenly changing Plans and disruPtions in our schedule? Don't we all, for the most Part, coPe in some way?

And by coPe, I mean smile and function until you have a moment to yourself, at which time you eat sweet or salty comfort food ... or Play video games ... or gaze sadly at your Leafs merch ... or read someone's blog ...

I want to know. Who among you has so Perfected your life's routines and schedules, that one hour - ONE HOUR - turns you into an incaPable, wildly-swerving, accident-causing driver?

If you are this Person, you may confess below. You can use the anonymous oPtion. I just want to hear from you. I won't judge you. I want to understand.

If, on the other hand, you are taking this brief moment to coPe with your crazy life, by reading this Post while eating a giant chocolate bar for breakfast ... you may confess that too. You're in good comPany.