DSC_0024
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.
Or should it be Queen's? How many queens are there anyway? Normally there's only one at a time ... or are we talking about a whole different type of queen??? ;->
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Monday, October 30, 2006
My list
I would never claim that my life is perfect. I know one or two married friends who read my blog and are envious of the life I’m able to live in the city as a single girl, but I think they have wonderful lives in their own right. However, I started this list (preferring to focus on the positive) and it just went on and on …
Some things that make me happy:
- A dream that I was holding my beautiful baby nephew (who is yet to be born) and kissing his sweet rosy cheeks;
- Walking down the street where I live, and a car passes by, music blaring Is it gangsta rap, heavy metal? No! It’s “Fly Me to the Moon” by Frank Sinatra;
- Watching a pair of moustached terriers eagerly trot down the sidewalk while on a nightly walk with their owner;
- Taking a really great photograph, or going through my best photographs;
- Dreaming of kittens;
- Finding a great “new” CD/song/artist, like “Hang On Little Tomato” by Pink Martini, or “Vocalise” by Rachmaninoff;
- "Moderato" from Piano Concerto #2 by Rachmaninoff;
- Book shopping (but this one is mixed because I can never buy all the books that I want to);
- Reading the colourful imagery, dry witty observances, and authoritative voice of Maya Angelou;
- Joe Hutchison's wonderful one-line poem "Artichoke": "O heart weighed down by so many wings";
- Seeing George Clooney on the cover of Vanity Fair;
- Kiwi Lychee Curiosity Fruitopia;
- The banana chocolate chip muffins at the little place in my office building;
- Seeing the guy at my gym who reminds me of Mac, one of my dearest friends from university;
- The way my cat Sabrina sleeps in the crook of my arm with her head on my shoulder;
- Korean food, Spring Rolls’ red curry seafood, and my mom’s potatoes with beef gravy (though not all at once!);
- Thinking of the day my university roommate Faye and I tried to keep a raw egg from spilling onto our stairs (loooong story, but hilarious!);
- Chocolate-covered cranberries, and/or chocolate-dipped strawberries;
- The thought that this November, the Democrats might actually win both the American House and Senate;
- Hiking (easy hikes);
- Adventure;
- Waterfalls;
- The movie “Pride and Prejudice” (the one with Kiera Knightley);
- Watching George Stroumboulopoulos on “The Hour” (when he’s good);
- The movie “The Thomas Crown Affair” (the one with Renee Russo, surprisingly);
- Toronto Symphony Orchestra concerts;
- Nelly Furtado;
- Tango music;
- “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor, because it reminds me of the time that Wendy and I belted out the lyrics to the music (much to the curiosity of the others around our dorm that afternoon);
- Thinking that my friend Abi might actually – finally – be happy;
- Knowing that my brother is happy and married to a wonderful person;
- The way my cats meow when I say “Hungry?” and the way they trot - urgently - toward the food dishes;
- Hearing that my roommate Farzanah likely isn’t moving to B.C. after all;
- Spending time outside work with my colleague and friend Nancy, because she is so in touch with her inner child and can make me laugh;
- Goofing around with Kevin, the best gay friend a girl could ever have;
- Remembering Nishi’s expression of disbelief as she told us about a guy she met who still didn’t realize that Nelson Mandela had been released from prison, years after the fact;
- Spanish or classical guitar music, particularly if it is played by John Williams;
- Realizing that my first boyfriend changed the course of my life forever and dramatically for the better, even though in the end it didn’t work out for our relationship;
- The song "Back on the Chain Gang" by the Pretenders;
- "Jesse's Girl" by Rick Springfield;
- Spending time with my friend Andrea, who is so alive and vibrant, and tells me stories like trying not to laugh at her brother's wedding rehearsal when the priest asks the bride, "Rose, you did order the altar boys for Saturday, didn't you?";
- That every year since becoming an adult, life gets better and better;
- Not just passing my Photoshop course, but getting an A for my final assignment, and that it’s finally over!
Feel free to add your own list in the comments. However, here’s another list to keep in mind:
- My mother reads this blog
- My mother reads this blog
- My mother reads this blog
The end is near
After spending about 22 hours on my final projects this past weekend, I am so ready for my courses to be over! I've learned a great amount, I'm glad I took both classes, but I'm looking forward to having time to do other things!
Fortunately, I was able to complete the larger assignment right before a bunch of us were to meet to go to the McMichael gallery. The art there is gorgeous and the surrounding area appears to be quite beautiful (it was terribly windy, so I decided against exploring among trees that might fall on me ... LOL). Afterward we found a pub in Kleinberg and had a great time conversing over dinner. There are a lot of cool and interesting people out there!!!
I took lots of photos of the paintings, which are now posted on my Flickr site. However, I haven't yet labelled them with the title and name of the artist. Time ...
J-L and Elliott at the McMichael Gallery
J-L and Elliott at the McMichael Gallery
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Antique store in autumn
Antique store in autumn
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.
Trying to get caught up in posting my good pics to this blog and my Flickr site ... The next several pictures were taken October 5th (with dear friend and co-worker Nancy) and on October 7th (with fellow adventuress Melanie). I hope you like them ...
Catching a ride
Catching a ride
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.
I wasn't quite ready for this moment when it happened, but it's still a fairly good pic, IMHO.
Monday, October 23, 2006
For all the girls out there - and Kevin ;->
I'm quite sure these side effects weren't supposed to include laughing one's a$$ off as I just did ... but I'm sure you will enjoy this.
Poor objectified men ...
Credit to online buddy Care for the link!
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Winning Smile
Winning Smile
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.
Introducing Tanish ... one of the lovely people I shared my Thanksgiving with this year. Isn't he gorgeous????
Forest in the fall
Forest in the fall
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.
This was atop "Old Baldie", a portion of the Niagara Escarpment near Kimberly, ON. It was absolutely gorgeous there.
Thistle bloom
Thistle bloom
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.
I like this picture because it's kind of pretty, but its thorns are also very clear.
One of the most adorable babies ever
One of the most adorable babies ever
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.
Candles on a sill
Candles on a sill
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.
I like low-light photography ...
Melanie, Luisa, and Cindy
Melanie, Luisa, and Cindy
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.
Hanging out with Mel on her birthday!
Catching up
So it’s been another long while … after this much time, it’s kind of overwhelming to compose that first post back … so much has happened. Of course I’ve been composing posts in my head all this time … just didn’t get them typed or submitted.
So overview/stream of consciousness:
We had an issue at work. About $50 million dollars in contracts depending on this technology to function properly. An entire group of people to be laid off in B.C. if one of the contracts was not to be renewed. I was involved in managing the issue. 10 – 15 hour days under considerable stress for about 5 days. No biggie. Kept my cool, was still able to smile and joke and laugh (while doing a pretty good job, based on the feedback). My job was being the central point of contact, getting whatever resources we needed (you need a network guy? Let me make a call!), and – most importantly – ordering the food that kept everyone working. The latter responsibility was pretty easy until the weekend. However, once Saturday/Sunday hits, and you’re working through lunch AND dinner, finding places open in downtown
The guys that I worked with are the best. Really great people. I feel like we bonded, like war buddies. I want to give them a hug or buy them Christmas presents. We truly were all in it together.
In the end, the resolution was a kicker. In the groin area. But at least it was fixed. A day and a half later I realized how overtired I was. Normal frustrations left me in tears I couldn’t stop. Sooooo not normal for me (Mom, for clarification: the thirtysomething me). Realized it was fatigue and stress – it wasn’t really unexpected – and so took the next two and a half days off, with full support and understanding from my boss and colleagues. They’re amazing that way.
In a way, it sucks to be a girl and to cry uncontrollably when you're tired or even angry. On the other hand, I'm kind of grateful that my body/psyche held together as long as it needed to in order to get the job done, and then, when it was safe, refused to hold in that stress or soldier on any further. Sometimes I think the people who don't cry actually have it worse - the stress and fatigue continue to build up and then when it eventually manifests itself, it's long and painful and prolonged, and often they don't even know what's causing it.
So the first two days I spent sleeping and reading. Serious sleepage – about 14 hours each day. (again, soooo not normal for me – I’m normally far too excited about all the cool things I could be doing instead to sleep any longer than 8 hours, if that). Feeling good again now, though still a little bit tired. Actually, to be honest I was probably burning the candle at both ends before the work issue, so this has been like a mini-vacation. All I lacked was the beach!
This weekend was also my friend Melanie’s birthday. I suggested I take her out to dinner and/or to a movie. But what did we end up doing instead, at her request? Driving to the nearest Costco! LOL
I don’t normally shop at Costco. I’m a single female living in
Anyway, I somehow managed to spend over $100 at Costco (don’t get excited – no hemorrhoid medication or K-Y Jelly for me, just discounted books, some Cetaphil facial cleanser, and a pretty 2007 calendar). Then we wandered over to the BestBuy next door, where I proceeded to drop another ~$100 on CDs. (It would have been more if Melanie hadn’t staged an intervention, bless her.) I hope to write more about them later as I have time to listen to them.
Okay, time to head out to the gym to try to work off all that takeout food!
Monday, October 09, 2006
Old Baldie in the Fall
Old Baldie in the Fall
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.
If you have been checking out my blog lately and wondering why there have been so few updates, it has been because I took last week off work and travelled around southern Ontario (alone and with friends Nancy and Melanie). The objective? To see some beautiful fall scenery AND capture it with my camera.
For the first few months after I bought my camera, I just used all the automatic settings. Then I started an introductory photography course, and started using the manual settings. The quality of my photos when I made this change nosedived (nosedove?). Crap. But I've been practising with determination, and now my photos are back up to speed, and I would rather have the control that the manual settings provide me rather than what might happen with automatic settings.
There are tons more photos yet to be posted - stay tuned! (Some of them have already been uploaded at www.flickr.com/photos/noisypond). But again, more to come.
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