Ice Slide Game and Christmas!

I still have to take some photos of my tree and house, maybe I should clean a bit first. :) Maybe tonight.
I can't believe Christmas is ONLY 3 sleeps away!
I am really looking forward to having the whole family together and enjoying the day.

Ok, I have a new game addiction: Ice Slide!

Ice Slide Catapult your favourite polar animal as far as you can.

Play this free game now!!

Have fun!!

Twisted Carol

Oh my.
You will not believe this until you watch it!
WATCH IT!! So Funny!!

Christmas Mayhem

So, um, yes, I am so weirded out that Christmas is just over a week away! What happened to December?? Man oh man!
Anyway, I actually think all my shopping is pretty much complete....oh there are a few small bits and bobs I have to pick up but the main gifts are ready to go.
My brother arrives this Monday for 2 weeks and now my cousin and aunt are also come over for Christmas...along with my sister and her Tom. Yay! The more, the merrier! I love Christmas! I love the family all together (even if we do get a little on one another nerves by the end), I love the cookies, the lights! AND I looooove decorating!!
I have a lot of decorations up already at my house, but it kinds looks like Christmas burst all over my living room. I've got miniature villages set up but remnants of lights and shopping bags all over, boxes and extension cords litter the floor. Soon it will be ready, and this Friday or Saturday Shantala, my dear, dear friend, is taking me in her truck to get a TREE!! I cannot wait! I've purchased some new tree ornaments and balls, ooo and snoflakey shapes and fake icicles since I've never had my very own big, large, real tree before. I just love the smell of real trees, too! So sharp and crisp and wintery. I for sure will take some photos this weekend when it's all up.
As for the other major happenings around my life, I still have to move and I haven't found any place to go yet. I've checked out one suite but they were asking an arm and a leg for a tiny place! I mean, I can afford a decent suite, but I'm not paying that much for a tiny space!
I am selling some stuff on usedvictoria.com, you can go here:
http://www.usedvictoria.com/MyAdsById/2266169
to look at what I am currently selling. I also have a few more pieces of furniture to sell, too.
So long for now! All you friends who blog, keep it up! I love checking to see what's new in your world!

Banquets and Boxes.

Well, the Saturday Night Live banquet was a smashing success! Lots of really funny skits, great food, lots of people, wonderful decorations...all in all a rockin evening. I did enjoy it, though I was a tad busy running around, figuring out video techie stuff....but it all worked out and I think everyone enjoyed the video clips.

Moving - yes, I have to move...AGAIN! I got the call last Sunday that my landlord is selling the house I rent so as of February I need to be living elsewhere. Arg! Ack! Ick!
So...does anyone know where I can live? Can I live with you? Please!?
I've been looking but it so difficult to find a place that allows pets (I have my small dog still...she's 12 and as much as I love her, I don't think she'll ever kick the bucket!). I've found a few prospects...so we'll see what turns up.
I dislike moving! Packing, cleaning, boxes and moving! Bleh!

I will need to sell a bunch of stuff....Hey would you like to purchase:
2 double beds
- a blue recliner (older but comfy and clean)
- a green faux leather rocker and rocking ottoman (modern and great!)
- a loveseat with a single hideabed (older but great!)
- a light brown couch with double hideabed (soft veloury feel)
- 2 dressers (1 tall and 1 long - blue and purple, but just ready for you to paint to taste)

I'll post photos later tonight.

Snow, Snow, Snow!

Snow
I walked in it.
I drove in it.
I had it in my hair.
I shovelled it.
I smiled at it.
Snow, snow, snow everywhere!

Household Battlefield and a Winter Wonderland

Well the battle is over (I hope!) and for now, at least, it seems as though I have won. No, this battle was not fough on foreign soil, nor in te air nor in a courtroom.....mostly in my kitchen and living room!!!

I have know for a while that the odd stray rodent of slightly larger than mousish size would wander into the basement of my old house, perhaps setting up camp for a while. This past spring I caught one in a trap and three weeks ago another sprung the trap and was caught red-handed. No worries, or so I thought. I went to the basement to reset the trap and lo and behold, there was a brazen critter sitting right beside the trap...not in it, not caught, just sitting there, looking at me with its' wee beady eyes! I took up a near broom and tried to whack at it but it scampered away at a speed more than I'd expected. I chased it some more until it ran up the wall, above my head, onto some pipes, gave me an impertinent cheep then disappeared into the ceiling...the floor under my bathroom and bedroom!!!! AHHHHH!!!

Well, this definetly meant WAR!!

The traps were set, with what I hoped was a too-tempting amount of peanut butter, and I waited to hear the chink of the metal snapping the rodent's neck!!

But Ooooh nooo, the furry intruder was not content to snack on the deadly bait....he ventured up stairs to clatter around on my counters, looking for better fare, and proceeded to run amuck all through the UPSTAIRS of my house....while I was still home!! Sitting in my chair!!!! Oh and this rat wasn't the typical sneak around type, hugging the walls, wary of light and me and my dog, no, he was bold, brazen and a BRAT!!!

Well, THAT was IT!!
I armed myself with a hammer in one hand, my old metal music stand in the other (shoes on of course) and sat in wait for the next time he decided to scamper arounf in MY HOUSE!!!

I didn't have to wait long. He soon bolted around the corner of my kitchen, skidding all the way, hindquarters swinging, as I chased him with my tool of death.

I figured out he was using the air ducts to escape from me so I covered all the outakes, closed all the vents and again chased him willy-nilly all over. The quick little beggar kept getting away and after a good long chase to and from furniture, he darted into my bedrom under my cedar chest at the foot of my bed!! Ew! Ick! Get Out!!!

I sent Sophie, my dog in after it. She was finally getting into the hunt and nsed her snout as far under the chest as she could barking and scratching after it. I stayed, poised, in the hallyway, music stand at the ready to club it as it came out (which I swore it would, and I wouldn't go back in there until I saw it leave!!! I mean, gross, my bedroom!!)

Finally Sophie's aggression must have freaked it a little, and it shot out of the room right towards me and directly between my feet!!! I tried to swing at it and get both feet off the floor at once, so of course, I didn't get a good shot. And wouldn't you know, the dirty rotter stopped, turned and looked at me over its' grey shoulder then took off into the living room!! As if to say, "Nya-nya, come get me!"

Needless to go on, I chased, and swung, a yelled and I stomped, but that rat was just too quick for me. It drove Sophie nuts, too, after it holed up under my entertainment unit in too small a space for us to get it out. Two nights of constant chasing to no avail, and it was finally time to bring in the big guns.

My dad took Sophie over their house and set up two more traps and some (hopefully) tempting poison bait all over.

The next day the trap right next to my dog's food dish barely caught the bastard!!! But he was caught and dead...finally!

Sophie and I stayed over a few more nights at my parents house and honestly it was like a mini-vacation! I even have my birthday while there and was treated like a queen! Sophie and I hated to leave but we went home, cleaned up and hoped no more invaders would try to make our house their home.

We did catch once more, "teenaged rat", as my dad called it, in a basement trap a day after we got home. Man! Hopefully word will spread throughout the rodent community that the little white house with the scruffy black dog isn't a winter resort, but an abbatoir for critter-sized creatures. This Christmas...there is NO room at THIS Inn!!!

And WINTER it now IS!!!
Today during sunday morning church we got a dump of snow. It's still falling this evening and I LOVE IT!!

I'll take some photos if it stays tomorrow and post them. It is soooo pretty out! Everything is bright. Everything glows. Everything looks sugar-coated, so soft and delicate covered with the white lace of snowflakes.

Did I mention I love snow!!! Ahhhh! I even drove several times in it today. I'm not afraid to, but I am afraid of Victoria drivers who don't have a clue what to do in winter snowy conditions. Most people are okay and give lots of room, but those losers who own a truck or an SUV think they can barrel through, so close to everyone and freak me out! If one of us hit a slippery patch, boom! We'd collide!! Slow down, be cautious and respect smaller vehicles around. If I am driving carefully I am not trying to slow you down, I'm only trying to avoid an accident on the slippery roads. There, I've said my peace.

Now let's all enjoy that white winter wonderland while we still have it!!!

Ice, Animals and Epiphanies

The minutes and days streak by when I'm busy and can't think of what to write.

I went to Skate Canada a week ago with my lovely mom. All the colours, costumes, sounds, tastes and experiences being part of that crowd were delightful! I couldn't have enjoyed an event more! Watching competitive skating live is so very different from watching it comfortably at home where you have commercials, you can loudly discuss the skaters' tight spandex and where you can put on any type of clothes and be comfy - sweats, pjs etc. Watching it in the area, in a packed crowd where every Ooo and Ahh and Awww is a shared emotion, where the clapping is contagious and the people in your row get to know who has weak bladders, is an extremely positive and wonderful experience! My palms felt raw just after the first of our two-day tickets as the enthusiastic and exuberant lady beside me started up applause for almost every move every skater either accomplished or attempted. She exclaimed an audible Yes! at big jumps and truly disappointed Awwws! at falls or trips. She forced me to up my ante and add just as much (but no more) excitement to my reactions. And, of course, the snacks were yummy! Fries, hot dog and popcorn, oh my! Kudos to the concession staff! The arena seats, though not too uncomfortable, are quite closely packed together but we found our neighbours considerate and non-annoying or smelly. Yay! Skating = fun times!

Other TTK World Events and Happenings include, but are not limited to:
- The Beginnings of (shock) Christmas Shopping!
- Visit from my sister and her husband
- Realization that I just don't fit anywhere at the moment (I mean within any social circles - I meander on the outskirts and scavenge what fun I can from the scraps of the vicious predatory creatures that keep consuming and regurgitating my...basically, I'm a relational hyena!)
- and an Unsuccessful Showdown with a furry critter who should pay rent if he chooses to live in my house!!! Ug!!

Saws and Social Shindigs

Weekends...for me that means a Saturday sleep-in, maybe a walk with my dog, shopping a bit with my mom or going out for lunch, a nice lazy, relaxing day.
However, this past Saturday I was jolted awake by the loud and shocking sounds of chainsaws at about 7:30 am! Yes, the scheduled cutting of a very large dead tree in my yard just happened to be early that morning. Why so early?! Especially on a day where the majority of people don't get up as early, who want to relax a little.
Sufice to say, I was wide awake by 8:00 am and by 8:30 am ran a brush through my unruly hair, donned a warm sweatshirt and took my gleeful dog for a walk down to a park. She was utterly ecstatic and thoroughly enjoyed our jaunt, we even met some neighbourhood dogs in the park and had a bit of off-leash time. The morning was gorgeous, a chill in the air but the warm, bright morning sun broke through the clouds to make our walk warm and sunny.
By the time I got back the tree still was not down, and my neighbours hedges were half-destroyed by the falling branches. I watched the latest episode of ugly Betty (an enjoyable Halloween romp!) then headed out to escape the noisy sawing.
I had a lovely day with my mom, poking around the dwindling Moss Street Market, shopping at Costco and Tilicum Mall. I always have such fun with her!
THEN...the piece de resistance (or however you spell it) that night I had a Costume Party! My wonderful friends Meg and Shan came over to help me decorate and get ready as I furiously cleaned. They also carved my pumpkins, and did an great job! Thanks!!!
My party was great! Lots of excellent, cute, fun and imaginative costumes! And LOTS of food and goodies!! Man!! I'll be full for a week!! Thank you for all the yummy treats and the great time! I had so much fun!
What was my costume, you ask? Well after a lot of research, thought and creative imagining....I dressed up as...
The Fairy Goth Mother!! Yes, that's right! Fairy GOTH Mother! I had fun coming up with the costume: all black, my dark burgundy leather boots (combat-style kinda), black lacey gloves with fingertips cut off, black nail polish, black lipstick (that didn't last very long once we started nibbling on treat!), a cool black mask with little metal studs and my hair up all spikey, sprayed black. Oh, and fairy wings and a star want that were also sprayed with some black. Fun, fun!
Some other guests at the party included: Minnie Mouse, a fancy fairy, a Lady bug, a Hill Billy, Tinkerbell, a Luna the cave woman, Siamese cats (joined at the shoulder!), a cute cat, and a lioness. My dog even appeared out of hiding for a bit dresses as a pilot in her bomber jacket. Some other shady characters showed up later, sans costume but still in the mood for a social get together. Thanks everyone, for a great night!
I'll have to post a photo or two later.

Magicians and Meetings

An eventful weekend is finally over. And no, I haven't made a mistake, my weekends include Mondays since that is one of my days off. After my venture into advertising my roommate situation on Craigslist, I had a whopping 12 e-mails and phone calls within a week. Sheesh! Most of which were male or weird, so I had to e-mail them back saying that unfortunately I don't think it would work out. Out of the female and no-so-weird messages several never got back to me and one sounded promising but she failed to contact me when she came to town on the weekend. I even had one planned for meeting who was a no-show. Maddening! I cleaned, tidied and the eediot could not even call? La-Who-za-Her!!!

Anyway, my glorious friend Meg and I had a wonderful time catching her up on as much Grey's Anatomy as we could. Wow, I never knew I could do a TV marathon like we did!

Then off to the movies on Saturday night. Some gals chose to see Marie Antoinette, which they said wasn't so good. And M and I decided to see "The Prestige".

My comment for that movie...it's just "eh" (picture me shrugging my shoulders and only half smiling). For one thing the theatre was pretty packed and we had to sit right at the back next to some unruly teens who kept punching not only themselves but my arm once in a while by accident.

And for the whole first third of the film I had to strain to hear since it seemed the volume was turned down too low. I guess my ears and listening centre of my brain adjusted and after some confusing beginnings with the plot moving back and forth through time I finally settled into the tricksey and only slightly surprising story of two magicians trying to out-do one another.

The actors were excellent. Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale played the magicians and Michael Caine played the gadget-inventor/mentor. Scarlett Johansson played the role of the pretty assistant who betrays back and forth between the two tricksters. The plot was interesting but the twists were a flop in my book. I spotted some of the fakery a mile off, well really about half-way through, and when the final surprise was revealed I wasn't at all shocked. Ah well, it was good old entertainment through and through.

After our movies, all the girls went out to Fifth Street Grill and I enjoyed THE BEST wings ever! Mmm, maple garlic! I love that place and am confused as to why I don't go there more often.

So today, on my final day off for the week I lazed about, clean a little , did some needed laundry and mostly watched some episodes of Carnivale. Wow! What a messed-up show that is! I am so hooked! Funny thing is, this show, too, surrounds two magicians who will eventually meet and dual. However these characters are supposed to have actual supernatural powers, one for good, one for bad and we don't know quiet yet which is which. One is a failing priest, the other and 18-year old boy who hooks up with and has some connection to a Carnivale/Freak Show. Quite intriguing.

So, a good weekend but no roommate yet. If you have someone in mind let me know. I'd love to be able to get that DivX player SRM keeps bugging me about. Later.

~ TTK

Rejection, RSS and Roommates.

So, I am currently in the market for a new roommate. No, there isn't a store where I can puruse the aisles and pick our the freshest, most juicy personality to share my home and my life with. There is no Roommate Market where they are locally grown and picked daily. However, there is such a thing as web shopping for a roommate. It is called online ads and e-mailing.
I recently placed an ad on craigslist seeking a roommate to share my place. Now don't get me wrong, I absolutely love living on my own, in fact, I prefer it, but the bills and rent of my little home are getting the better of me and I find I have little to no spending money and no chance in heck of any type of savings. I don't mind having a roommate, but from past experiences I think I know what I can handle and what I don't want to even try tackling. I'm meeting with a few people this weekend to chat and see what they are like. I know I'll have to have some house rules to go over right away so nothing is a surprise later on. Right away I received about 10 e-mails and a couple phone calls. Several look promising, but I hadto e-mail backa couple saying I don't think we'd be a good roommate "fit" (some were guys, one a 52 year old man, and one mom looking for a home for her 17 year old! No way Jose!). I hope they don't take it too hard. i know rejection if difficult to take, but in the rental/roommate market, you have to expect to search for a while before finding the right place or person.
A little update on things in Kirsten World, my RSS feed for downloading TV shows seems to be crashing an awful lot lately. And not only crashing but not half working - it says it has downloaded a show in the history but the show has not downloaded. Arg! Being a pirate is such frustrating work sometimes.
Oh one last thing, I send out an evite to a bunch of friends inviting them to a killer costume party. I'm pretty stoked and excited. My party last year went really well and I think everyone had fun. I've been looking up costume ideas for myself and I have a few possibilites but I can't decide! Maybe I'll post a few later and see what you guys think.
Later!

~ K

Rain

I love the rain.
I love the cool, bright glow from rainclouds.
I love how rain sounds as it pat tap tap pats on my shoulder.
I love the wet grass.
I love how rain collects in trees and then falls in bigger, louder drops.
I love how rain makes the once dark and dead streets and into a brilliant, new reflective surface, alive with lights, colour and movement.
I love the smell of the rain on plants, concrete and soil.
I love how the sound of rain can whisper gently or drown out every other noise as it plummets down.
I love umbrellas and how such a simple, little piece of material and metal can shield us from the rain, keeping us dry in a wet world.
But I love rain on my face and hair.
I love the cold drops on my arms.
I even love how the rain makes tiny, sparkling dots like decorations on my glasses and window.
I love the coolness of a rainy season.
I love rain and how it makes me feel like everything is clean, like I can start again.
I love the rain.

My Life on TV

So I was home last night, watching some shows I downloaded (What About Brian, Gilmore Girls) and I was thinking...and maybe it was the painkillers for my toothache talking but I was thinking, what would my life be like if it were a TV show?

Would it be a comedy sitcom, like a family show? Or would it be a drama or documentary style? I know it probably wouldn't be an action/suspense type show! But really, what would it be like?

I know I would probably be one of those quirky, funny character who has a lot more 'character' and 'personality' than good looks. I'd have to be TV ugly, which actually means cute, fun, perky with a dash of just-above-average looks. I think my show would be part "The Office" with some antics from working in a church office, as well as part "Friends" as I get together with my two separate groups - the Marrieds and the Younger Singles. So in a way it's like "What About Brian" since I am one of the single people left in my age group of friends, but it's also like I'm a bossy, loves to be in-charge Monica from Friends, um, minus the obsessive cleaning, though.

I know I'd have some cool music throughout the show - as background music, a funky theme song - not cheesy like from 80's family sitcoms ("Show me that smile again..."), and as serious moments arise...U2 ballads play as I watch the rain fall outside my window...that type of thing. As I've already said I really like songs by Death Cab for Cutie, but I'd have to add Snow Patrol to the list of show songs, as well as songs from Great Big Sea (slow and fast), OH and a montage! Everyoe loves a Montage...time seems to fly during a Montage!!!

Hmmm, so I've covered character type, settings, music....swhat's left...Oh plot! Sheesh, what the heck could the plot/premise be?

It could be a Seinfeld-like show where it is actually about nothing. Day to day living, usual experiences...butlers and Jr. mints, you know....Well maybe not. Maybe there is a bit of a life-quest going on, me trying to figure out what I should do with my life, even though I've got a good job etc....Maybe a dash of my lack of love life tossed in for fun - good old drama section of me flirting but getting nowhere, interested but just friends, liking men I can't have, the usual....Hmmm, yes that can be the drama side of things, well with a bit of comedy, like jokes about how very few dates I've been on...very few....and jokes about how friends seem to come to me for advice and I really don't have the full prespective to give, but they keep coming anyway....doesn't seem that funny now that I write it...Ah well. We can make it funny.

Ooo, and epiphany! An Unscripted Reality TV Show where cameras follow me around like on The Office, but the main reason is to document me trying to find Mr Right. Not at all like The Bachelorette or even those annoying Dating shows, just me and the people in my life and any new men that appear....Maybe even a foray into internet dating and having cameras film that whole realm of experience. Hmm, maybe not.

What else, what else....I'd have to have quirky and odd advertisment placements for products like say used car dealerships (Find yerself a used car that'll last for a while!) or a local pizza place (Not the best but pretty darn decent!) or pet/Aquarium stores since I have a lot of fish tanks etc etc. Not the usual products. Even my Diet Coke cans would have to be blurred or covered with flaming orange construction paper wheile on film. Heh, sure.

Now, I'd need a name for my show: something catchy, but not annoying or too heavy on the puns....and it would all depend on the direction the show would goin...something like..."In the Middle of Somewhere" or "Almost There" or "Kirsten on Camera" or "My Life" or "Moments of Me"...yech! I'm not sure I like any!

Hmmmm, do YOU have any ideas? Let me know what you think.

What would my life as a TV show look like?

~ K

New Favourites

 

New Favourite show: "What About Brian" - the last single guy in a group of married friends...yes an homage to the ill-fated and short-lived comedy sitcom "The Single Guy", yet this show is more drama and seriousness about lost love, unrequited feelings, awkward situations, disappointments, missed chances, holding back, letting go....heck it sounds like a scene from my own personal made-for TV movie.

Anyway, I've only just started catching up on Season One but so far...love it.

New Favourite Song and Band: "I'll Follow You Into the Dark" by Death Cab for Cutie.

I down*cough*loaded DCfC's discography and so far am enthralled with everything I hear. Wonderful lyrics, melodies that wash over my memory all day, musically they are lovely.

If I ever have my own made-for TV movie...they will be on the soundtrack!

~ K

PS - My Rss feed for downloading show kick major a$$!!! Weeds just dl-ed in about 5 minutes!!

 

PS - Photos? HOW!?!?!

YAY! I switched to the new beta blogger and adding images works. DOn't know why, don't care. it works. yay!

Am I doing something wrong or missing some step in trying to add photos to my blogs?
I am using the nice shiny "Add Image" button but after picking the photo from my computer it never appears in my message. Arg! I've looked all through the help files and nothing seems to work.

Can anyone help?

On a mental note...

I love my dentist.

Not in a weird way, I just really love that he is so nice, so chipper, so fun and so understanding.
I had several fillings (and by several I mean 11. Talk about frozen face!) worked on over a month ago now and for the last few weeks one of them has been bothering me. Usually my teeth are a bit sensitive to hot/cold/pressure for a while after being filled, however this little doozey of a tooth has been throbbing enough to bring me to tears this morning. Ouch! So, after my dad made me call the dentist's office, I went in for a quick check. My dentist was so nice to squeeze a quick appointment in and we may be on the way to solve this toothache problem.
So I've established that I like and appreciate my dentist, right? He's great, the office is pleasant, I never feel any pain when I'm there...then why is it that as soon as I slip into that teal, vinyl reclined chair I get super tense and nervous? I end up clutching the chair arms as if I wanted them to become physically melded to my own arms. After an X-ray or an easy freezing and they make me wait a few minutes until they can proceed, I find my hands shaky and my breath coming quick as I turn the pages of my Home & Garden or Flare magazines.
Why? There is nothing that should make me feel this way. I couldn't ask for a nicer dentist, calmer offfice or gentler proceedures. Why do I become like a small child facing an hour or two of torture by scary twisted metal machines that buzz and grind?
I honestly try to overcome this mental deficiency, try to take my mind to a calm place and tell myself everything is ok and I'm in no pain or even discomfort, which is the truth. Yet my body just can't accept that truth and it reacts by a rush of frightened and apprehensive adrenaline.
I even tried to think about a place where I was last totally relaxed and take myself there while I received 6 fillings in one sitting. (The Kingfisher after a wonderful hydrotherapy spa exxperience. SO nice!) That just didnt' work. Only for a fraction of a second did I feel myself slipping into a more relaxed state but the grinding and comments from my lovely dentist brought me back to reality as I lay in the teal torture seat.
Ah well, I may never feel okay at the dentist. I know I'll be back, fairly soon probably, so I should work on it more. I'll try, gosh darn it, I'll try. My porr dentist. I hope he never reads this. It's not his fault. I'll try. I'll try...

TV Shows Not to be Missed

This season of television watching is proving to be an interesting time. not only do we have totally favourites back but there are a number of new shows that seem to be excellent in their attention-grabbing quality.

Some returning favourites of mine are:

The Office - I can't wait to see how Jim and Pam finally, if ever, get together! This show has given me so many actually out loud laughs that I can't stay away, even when Steve Carrell's character annoys me so much.

Gilmore Girls - Yes I know, a girly show like to the max, but with such a cliff-hanger left at the en of last season I had to tune in to see how the fast-talking, mother/daughter duo cope with this season's new troubles.

Lost - Though this show has not started yet, I haven't given up on the mysteries that keep piling up. Who the heck are "The Others"? Where the heck are they all stranded? What's with the "button"? The arctic? Whaaaaat???

Grey's Anatomy - After A summer of catching up on season's 1 and 2 of this new-ish medical dramady I must say, it has caught my attention more than any other doctor show. Yes, I loved ER for years but if this one show can have me crying at almost every episode and in love with several of the main characters, then garsh, it's a hit for me!

Battlestar Galactica - Yes, yes, yes, I do realize that only geeky young boys or men who live with their mothers and have a collection of star trek dolls watch this show. However, I am a sci-fi geek to the core and I must say this show is almost my all-time favourite show of all -time...yeah. October 6th, THIS FRIDAY is when the new season starts, and though I was thoroughly shocked and almost disappointed with how the season ended I really am hooked to see what happens between the captive humans and the human-like toasters.

Some NEW shows that I have already seen and am keeping on my trusty downloading RSS feed for further viewing are:

Heroes - New show on Monday nights about a handful of ordinary people who discover they have unusual abilities. A cheerleader finds out her body quickly heals whether from a broken bone, fire or jumping off a bridge to the ground below. A Japanese man finds he can bend time and space and even teleport himself. So far the story intrigues me and there is already a sinister antagonist who is close to one of these unusual people.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip - An interesting "show-within-a-show" as we see how a Saturday night Live-type TV show is almost ruined by the on-air tirade of it's long time head honcho and swept into new fame by a young female network executive and two new writer/producers. I am so glad to see Matthew Perry in something that so far is excellent. The writing is fast and witty and with skits called "Crazy Christians" the show couldn't BE any more controversial and funny!

Ugly Betty - Only one episode has aired so far, but already I'm interested in this comedy so like the recent movie The Devil Wears Prada with a dash of humour from another of my favourites America's Next Top Model. A sweet, but fashion-challenged young woman manages to get a job as an assistant to a fashion magazines new Editor and Chief. Their relationship begins horribly as he treats her like dirt to get her to quit so he can hire a more...attractive and attentive assistant. He goes a bit too far and succeeds in pushing Betty out but realizes how much he actually needs her and her new ideas. Aw so sweet, mush, mush, but I must amidst, I laughed and felt empathy for poor, poncho-wearing Betty. I'll keep watching for now.

Busy, busy busy!

Well! What a hectic few weeks this has been and what a triumphant culmination we had on Saturday night at IGNITION! My goodness!
First of all I wanted to share some thoughts on being busy then I will talk more about the Ignition concert event.
Why does it seem that when we get busy, and maybe it's just me who feels this way, we tend to rush around, so busy, with so many things to do that we forget to take our own moments later on in the day to relax, settle down and enjoy even five minutes? When I get busy, and by busy I mean every few minutes something else is added to my seemingly never ending list of jobs or tasks to do, my body and mind work in over driven and even when I get home, with nothing planned or a few moments to myself, I am still feeling like I'm missing something from my daily busyness. I feel like there are things I should be doing, things I should have finished or that I should be thinking about. In truth, I don't need to be thinking about anything in those quiet moments but because of my busy day, my mind keeps the pace set to frantic and won't let me rest properly. Even my sleep is affected by me staying up later than usual and not getting enough rest overnight. Which, in turn, creates a nasty, dragging loop as it affects my next day and the busyness and tireness keep pulling me down. Until, that is, the major catalyst for the busyness erupts and in an outpouring of events finishes the majority of its enveloping of my daily life.
In this case, the days leading up to Ignition, along with my everyday duties as well as any new Fall requirements, kept me in this frantic pace. I expected the busy feeling to wear down but so far I seem to be gliding on a "busy high" as new jobs emerge and thrust themselves into my path. As to when will I be able to calm down, to settle, to really rest....well I've been trying to without any real success thus far.
So, more about Ignition: Several weeks ago I told Andy that if the Billy Graham guys needed a bit of help with anything to do with Media/Video that they can always ask me. The result of that (foolish) offer was having me be in charge of putting all the band's lyrics up on the two screens over the live video. Now I know not to volunteer unless I am very specific and know what I am getting into. The task was a little daunting since I did not know any of the bands and I did not want to mess up with 4500 people watching. On the bright side, I was not sitting in a visible place in the arena so if I did mess up, no one would see me. I was instead in a tiny Referee's locker room behind the stage and uder the stairs with two guys who ran both the video cameras and Dvds. Fun.
After weeks of answering phone calls about Ignition, and assisting in selling tickets from the office, I was getting excited to be a part of that big night. During the week before I complied all the lyrics I needed, spell-checked, formatted and got them ready in the band's set list order. On the Saturday, I was asked to met the Video guys at 9 am to set up and test everything. I arrived early at the arena (after not much sleep due to the crazy-busy-bug flying around my mind) where some nice worker let me in. I walked around, asked a few audio/visual workers if they knew so-and-so I was supposed to meet...they did not know....walked around....sat....watched the lighting gurus test the show lights...phoned a few people to find out where they Video guys were...walked around...checked everywhere I could think of...sat some more....I maybe even said a few nasty things under my breath...then FINALLY the guy I who told me to meet at 9 am showed up a bit after 11 am!! Nice. Since he didn't seem concerned that I was waiting for TWO HOURS I didn't say anything (my "wasp" upbringing shining through), and we quickly set up and tested my laptop and the lyrics. We fixed a few tiny problems, got everything working in about an hour....then he said oh ok, I guess you could go now, we won't need you until later at about 5 pm. Great. Nice. Fan-bleeding-tastic.
So after checking out the beginnings of the Free Pre-Event, I grabbed some lunch at my lovely parent's house next door, traveled home, took my dog for a walk, had a shower and a nice nap. Ah. For the moment I felt rested. Angry and still tired, but rested...if that makes any sense.
Before 4:30 pm hit I was back at the arena, my Backstage, All Access pass around my neck and ready to put on a show. I was a little disappointed that we were stuck in a tiny room watching a 5 inch monitor of only the stage. And I was still nervous about mucking up the words if I couldn't properly hear the bands, but when the bands began, I went into "show" mode and everything went smoothly. The guys I was working with were nice and talented at what they did. They made the experience interesting as I got to see how to direct two cameras for a show using broadcast-quality video equipment.
When Will Graham began to speak I took a walk out into the concourse and was a little dismayed at the groups a teens wandering around when the most important part of the night was going on. However, later I thought about it and there was actually only about 30-40 kids out of 4500 that couldn't sit still enough for the speaking part. Apparently about 265 decisions were made and swarms of kids and teens went forward in response to the message. It was so awesome to hear reports of some of out younger teens leading teens to the Lord and even our youth leaders leading co-workers and other adults to Christ. How encouraging and amazing!
After the evening I almost went out but realized how exhausted I was and I had to be up at the church at 8:30 am for al three services of the day. I went home and tried to go right to bed but the "up" feeling of my busy week kept me awake for a while longer.
Sunday was busy as normal, three services, songs, slides, changes et cetera. Then Monday, which is normally my day off, was filled with a morning at the office of teaching someone how to use a program on a laptop and making unexpected slides for them from 9 am until 1:30 pm. Not really impressed at being there on my day off but it meant I could take a few hours off sometime soon. Yay. I thought I would spend the rest of my day doing something, whether it was walk my dog, go work out or something.....but fairly soon after sitting in my dad's big comfortable leather recliner for a few moments of glorious cable Tv...I fell asleep! The busyness and fast pace of my entire weekend finally caught up to me and I had nothing to do but slow down and take a break. Twas a lovely nap and I spent the rest of my Monday catching up on a few missed shows. The new show "Heroes" is excellent and I look forward to seeing how the characters develop.
Anyway, Tuesday has (obviously) been a bit less busy since I am writing this at the end of my work day. I'm hoping some of the frantic pace will dissipate as we settle into the Fall. Maybe now I can get more of the much-needed rest I want and need. Maybe now my mind will stop racing and settle into a slower throb for a few weeks at least.

Sunny Monday

Ahhhh, I love my days off! Monday being the nicest of them all!
The busyness of Sunday is over, I can sleep in and enjoy my day.
However, after my slightly unsuccessful and boring Saturday, I figured it was best to get up and get moving...after I slept in a bit of course.
So I check some e-mail, watched the latest episode of the lonelygirl15 saga on Youtube (highly entertaining), watched last night's Family Guy that I downloaded, downed a quick strawberry and yoghurt smoothy and finally headed off to my 30-minute workout at Curves. Yay me! I got out of the house! I hadn't been to Curves since July so I was a bit rusty but I remembered how to use all the machines and got my weight and measurements taken again. I wasn't drastically different from my last visit in July (Phewph!) and I'd even improved a bit. I then came home and mowed my lawn to get rid of all the yellow weeds that have been sprouting up, that was a workout in itself!
In case I haven't said anything in any previous posts, I've decided to change my life. No, I didn't join some weird cult or decided to pursure an alternate lifestyle, no way....I just decided that I am not happy about the way I look and feel, so I'd better do something about it. I'm not on a "diet", not at all. I'm simply and radically changing the way I eat and enjoy food. It's not like I hate vegetables or fruit or anything healthy, in fact, I really love fresh foods that are healthy for me. It's just that I enjoy everything too much! And once I got into the habit of enjoying delicious foods that were not so good for my already unhealthy body, I didn't choose healthy foods, I made poor choices. I mean, if a person doesn't mind extra weight and doesn't care that they can't go hiking with friends then honestly, good for you, great! Enjoy life and enjoy the no-so-healthy foods! I was just at a point where I wanted to be able to keep up if I ever went hiking and I want to feel better about the way I look. So my choice came easy: change the way your eat and exercise! I still eat well and I'm really loving all the yummy foods I'm picking out, I just have to consciously make the effort to choose foods that will help me have energy, help me trim down and help me become more healthy.
And going back to Curves was an important step today. I joined with my mom sevferal months ago, but after her back got worse she couldn't go any longer, so it was just me on my own, which is a lot harder to do. I just didn't seem to make the time anymore, even though my schedule was the same. So now I'm going back and I'm going to try and go 3 times a week to get my Curve buck so I can work towards buying a shirt I saw in Curves today. (You get 1 Curve buck for every week you go 3 times. And the shirts they have range from $25-30 Curve bucks.)
Anyway, I've had a lovely shower, threw in some laundry and now I'm headed voer to my parents house to have dinner.
Buh-bye for now!

Saturday outdoors exporation

SO today started with the blahs, and if you don't know what that means, just think of your most boring day and compound that with the fact that none of your friends are around, no family, your pets are mellow, your house is tidy...no projects to do nothing interesting on the horizon....that, my friend is "the blahs".
Anyway, my day began with a dismal case of the blahs but finally I decided to pull myself out of the malaise and DO something. So I hopped into my car, grabbed Sophie, my dog, and took off for drive. (Sophie quickly turned from sleepy to utterly ecstatic at the mention of walk and car ride!) Our journey took us to Dallas Road where we had a lovely walk in the sunlit evening. We met other dogs and their people, sniffed noses and butts (Sophie, of course), and generally enjoyed the fresh air. After about an hour we got back in the car and drove. We drove, and drove and drove some more. Along the scenic roads, looked at the expensive neighborhoods, and even started driving through the farming communities on the Peninsula. Our drive ended at a place I hadn't been since September of grade 11 - Island View Beach. Wow! What a lovely place to walk along the shore and enjoy a sunset over Mt. Baker in the distance! Simply gorgeous! Sophie and took a quick walk along the grass then, as darkness was setting in, got back to the car and headed home.
Now I'm off to watch some movies with a friend who called along our drive.
So, the moral of this story is: Lazy, malaisey days can turn out lovely if you just get off your duff and DO something.

Later,
~K

"Little Miss Sunshine" - a Big Emotional Hit

On Tuesday, September 19th I ventured over to a downtown theatre with a friend to watch the film that festivals are raving about called "Little Miss Sunshine". We arrived a little late, disappointingly missing the previews but we sat down just as the film began. The theatre was an odd corner shape, moderately full, mostly of middle-aged and older patrons. We picked decent seats near the front but mid-screen level and sat back to see what the interesting cast and plot would give us.

Since I have been known to enjoy a very eclectic and wide variety of movies and genres, so it may sound uneventful when I proclaim that "Little Miss Sunshine" is one of the best films I have seen in a very long time. I truly enjoyed the mixed ensemble cast, the realistic portrayal of their everyday mediocre lives and the way this family behaved together both in and out of trauma and duress.
Greg Kinear is excellent in his role as a father seeking to sell his 9-step motivational ideas on being a winner, yet falling short when his own children and wife need his support whether they win or lose.
Toni Collette is also exceptional as a busy, flustered mother, exasperated by her husbands failing project yet we see her loving nurturing side when she bring home her scholar brother after a botched suicide attempt. She is the many-handed driving force holding this family together as she, juggles her husband, brother, her Neiche-devoted and silent teenaged son, her innocent six-year old daughter who aspires to be the next Miss USA, as well as her socially blunt and crude father-in-law. Collette's character shines as she helps her daughter pursue her beauty pageant dream without becoming an overbearing and psychotic stage-mother, preening her child into one of the unnervingly fake child beauty contestants. She simply wants her daughter to be herself and follow her dream despite the odds stacked against her.

The youngest cast member of this piece, Abigail Breslin, plays the oddly cute and extremely innocent daughter who, after an inadvertent runner-up win at her cousins beauty pageant, makes it to the regional finals of the Little Miss Sunshine pageant in Los Angeles. He little life is consumed with this new passion and every moment is spent rehearsing with the help of "moves" from her crass but loving grandfather. Breslin is oddly magnetic, attracting the view to her wonderful bright eyes and her young and unbiased perspective on the harsh, critical world around her.

As one of my favourite actors from the television show "The Office" and movies like "Bruce Almighty" and "The 40-Year Old Virgin" Steve Carell creates a new side to his usual annoying, predicable characters. His role as a suicidal scholar who loses his job after a love interest in one of his graduate students goes afoul added a lovely sarcastic echo to the theme of this dysfunctional family. At first Carell's character feels out of place, the country's number one Proust scholar, the head of his field, by all rights a "winner", yet when his personal world collapses around him, taking even his will to live and landing him in his sister's home sleeping on a cot in his nephew's room we truly see that his life meshes so perfectly with the winning and losing motif played out in all the family member's lives.
 
The most striking character and the one that affected me in a deep emotional way was the role Paul Dano plays of the teenage son and his quest for his hellish teen years to be over so he can finally pursue his dream of becoming a jet pilot. Despite the fact that the son has taken a vow of silence until he reaches that dream, Dano manages to portray such a rich, complex and troubled teen without a word spoken. He frequently and vehemently pulls out a notepad and sharpie to convey quick snippets of conversation to which his family quiets and waits to read. Later on in the film as we see a possible inadvertent wrench thrown into his plans his anger, fear and pain wrap the view so totally in emotions that we cannot help but mourn with him. He is also endearing in unexpected moments as his little sister's protector and friend. The two siblings seem to communicate without the need for words even though there is a large age-gap between them. Dano is exquisite in this film, from his dark, lanky teen look to the silent refusals to cooperate and subtle facial expressions. His character embodies the loss of innocence more than the beauty pageant experience does for Breslin as daughter. The self-disciplined, driven teen must come to terms with a huge disappointment, and possibly a loss of his dream after a moment of revelation that almost sends him into a downward spiral similar to his uncle's recent loss. Yet the teen, in a conversation with his uncle played by Carell, must realize that his life's struggles are the times when he learns the most about himself and his world and despite those struggles he can choose to give up or persevere.

The daughter's beauty pageant experience ends up being more of a strengthening and bonding moment for the family rather than a time of lost innocence for little Olive. Though a little unsure of her place in the pageant, she simply does not see the critics and fakery that the world judges us with, instead she is wonderfully confident in her quirky personality and brings her family along side her to help realize they are winners in any situation if they simply choose to be winners.

"Little Miss Sunshine" had me laughing, gasping, howling, chuckling, smiling and even shedding a few tears in one place. The film is a delightful look into an strange yet ordinary family on a road trip to take their little daughter to a pageant. Through their moments of failure and their small personal triumphs, we learn a little more about what it really means to win or lose and how we look at the struggles we go through to get to that finish line.

Growing Up and Sow's Ears

I think some children's author said once that growing up is hard to do.

I concur heartily.
There are certain times in one's life when you stop, blink your eyes a few times and think, "Whoa! I really need to grow up!".

Those moments, those epiphanies are times that I wish I could hang on to whenever I slip back into my childish ways or my foolish ideas of settling for less than I deserve. 

For some strange reason I tend to take the back seat when it comes to hoping for the best and I know that affects my decision, my behaviors and my entire outlook on life. 

And I'm not necessarily talking about spiritual hope, because I know true hope for our lives comes from God and whenever we need it He will give it to us. 

I'm talking now about basic everyday hope. Hoping for the best, hoping for good things to happen, hoping for life to get a little less bumpy soon.

The way my brain has somehow twisted hope is to only hope for the mediocre, the middle of the road, the okay, the so-so. 

On a spiritual level I may trust God to give me hope for a good life, happy times, good health et cetera, yet on a more basic, rudimentary level for some reason I only hope for an okay job or semi-decent lifestyle, just enough to eek by in life, at least an okay marriage and I'll make the best of it.

I know that most people do "make the best of it" whether that is in their job, marriage, home life or otherwise, and I know I will have to "make the best of it" many, many times in my own life, BUT I don't think I should have to look forward to mediocre, making the best of it forever in everything I do. 

I don't think I will have to deal with the short straw all my life, in every area. 

I need to hang onto the hope that sometimes I'll be better than second fiddle, that once in a while I will shine or I will be able to delight in the best of something instead of fooling myself into thinking that my less-than-best is best.

Basically, I need to grow-up and realize that I am meant for more than the proverbial sow's ear! (You know the saying, making a silk purse....) 

I do not have to settle, to sit back and grasp the lameness that I think is all I will get. 

I know there is more, there is better. 

As my pal Stuart Smalley once said, "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and gosh darn it, people like me!" 

Ha!