Hermitville

Hey, you know what sucks about getting a NikonD40x for Christmas?

Nothing.

And you know what sucks about pumpkin pie leftover from last Monday?

Nothing.

I have had a pretty fantastic day of doing nothing and going no where, which was greatly needed. SB is in New Brunswick for his brother's wedding, but I have a no-fly policy over the holidays for obvious reasons (ie 400 million cat visits per day). This weekend I have two girls working, so I didn't have to do any visits myself (yes!) but I didn't want to chance being away if some kind of crisis arose. Which it turned out that a minor crisis did arise - snowstorms on the east coast caused many flight delays which caused many last minute additions to our schedule. It was all handled okay, but I could just picture one of the girls being here "in charge" and having a mild panic attack.

So I'm relaxing. Eating pie. Doing a puzzle. In my pyjamas.

100% awesome.

Not feeling creative

Wowie, so....

Instead of a well-written post, here's some list action:

My Christmas week was even more eventful than I ever could have imagined. Here are some of the high and low-lights:

1) After about 30 cat visits on Christmas day, on our very last visit at 9:30 at night we enter a house where one of the cats had two explosive diarrheas on woven natural fiber rugs (read: big fat pain in the ass to clean) and two giant vomits (luckily on linoleum). The place smelled SO bad. Kitty was fine boxing day morning, but I'm sure the scent will linger...

2) after leaving the kitchen tap dripping as per client's request, kitchen sink leaks and creates a mini-flood. Fabulous. No damage, other than a few cardboard boxes that were stored under the sink.

3) My Mummy made a surprise visit, declaring that Christmas is in fact NOT dead and that there WILL be turkey dinner at my house this year regardless of how many stupid cats need insulin. Well, who am I to argue with that?

4) None of my employees lost, broke, or otherwise screwed up anything. Phewf.

5) SB spoiled me rotten and I am now the proud owner of a Nikon D40x. I have only played with a it a little bit so far as I get a bit bored taking photos of our two mongrels, but SB has been snapping away. But, the first three photos I took were awesome, which confirms my suspicion that I suck at taking photos with small cameras like our Canon. They never turn out. But now I don't have to care because I have a super awesome kick-ass camera. So excited!!!!

Still hangin' in there

I've been trying to think about stuff to talk about for the past two days. Something to leave you with because I'm sure I will not have time to blog next week. But my brain, it's empty save for prettily-colored schedules and curse words.

I just remembered that I have a whole bunch of super-action shots from dog walks in the snow that I could have blogged about but I am not sure where the camera is.....maybe after the holidays we'll get to that.

Christmas presents are all taken care of. SB never did provide me with a list of "these will wow me" gifts, so I got him some stuff I'm pretty sure he'll like okay, and if he doesn't, there are gift receipts.

NB presents were sent and arrived there yesterday. That was a relief - I totally thought we would never get those there on time, which is disgusting, because we've had them all bought for weeks.

One thing that did make my day - one of our regular clients left a gift for his regular walker and for me - a sweet gift certificate to my favorite spa! Totally unexpected and really thoughtful, so it makes it even more appreciated.

Tomorrow night we are going to see The Nutcracker, which is pretty exciting. We have several clients who are dancers in Les Grands Ballets Canadiens and they will be in the show, so that will be cool, and I have never even watched the Nutcracker on TV, so the whole show will be new to me. I think this will be the most Christmas-y that we get, and while that is a lot of expectation to put on something, I'm sure they won't disappoint.

Status update

Christmas gifts: NB gifts: still not sent; SB's: still not purchased. This is a problem. Hopefully we can send off the New Brunswick gifts tomorrow. And hopefully they will arrive on time. Hopefully SB will quit telling me he wants a new rug and a new vacuum cleaner for Xmas and pick something fun.

Work: glad I put that "leave us alone, we're booked solid" message on the voicemail. Much less stressful this week in the whole message-taking department. Snow = making my work day hell. Also, am pretending Xmas is still four weeks away so I do not throw myself into cardiac arrest thinking about all the crap I'll be scooping next week (that is literal).

Snowstorm: big fat pain in the ass as usual. Our street hasn't even had the sidewalks cleared yet. Some of the main roads had one side done last night and will have the other done tonight. Oh, and here's a fun story. Today while traveling down a one-way street I got stopped up behind a line of like four cars. I could see that in front of them there was a BMW sedan trying to get out of a parking spot, but it's pretty icy out there, so he just kept spinning his wheels. Big shock, none of the asshole guys in front of me were getting out to help. Cars lined up behind us and started honking. There were probably about 20 cars back there when I got out and helped the guy push his car out. It took about 7.7 seconds. I gave the men in the cars in front of me dirty looks as I passed them on the way back to my truck. Come on people. Just come on.

I have been talking a lot about the snow lately (believe me, I would be very happy if it would just go away so I could stop talking about it) and I realize that people outside of our fair city probably have no idea what kind of hell I'm talking about. Here is a description.

a) snow falls

b) snowplows go around pushing snow off the roadway, but up against all the parked cars. This makes a nice little den for your car. Perfect for hybernation. Not perfect for getting to work.

c) snow fall ends

d) you have to work, so you dig out around you car (about 1 foot on three sides, and under the tires) and ram your way out of the snow bank.

e) the city puts up "no parking" signs on the side of the street where they will be plowing. They either prohibit parking all day or all night.

f) theoretically, if you work at a normal job, you drive home and have to fight with the snowbank to park your car. Usually I like the ram and slide method, wherein I ram either the front or back end into the space, hope to catch the tracks of the person who left, and hopefully slide into the spot. I do not work a normal job, so I generally fight with about 6-10 snowbanks per day with all my picking up and dropping off of doggies. I am a very good shoveller now. Very efficient.

g) the city passes for snow removal. This is actual physical removal of the snow. First a special sidewalk plow passes and pushes all the snow onto the street (where no cars are parked because of the helpful orange signs). Then a big giant snowblower passes, accompanied by a big giant dump truck. The snowblower blows the snow into the dump truck, and then the dump truck takes the snow away (they usually dump it in the St. Lawrence, I think).

f) everyone starts getting into fist-fights for parking spots on the good side of the street.

g) repeat the next day.

So, it takes at least two days to clear a street, and when you live on a small street like we do, you have no idea how long it will take them to actually get to your street. It's all very efficient, as you can see. (sarcasm intended).

And so there it is

Of course we get a major blizzard the day of our holiday party. Everybody still made it, which was awesome, and the food was great, restaurant was quiet, it was pretty great. After the party we drove home one of our employees and decided to help her dig out the work van from the alley where she parked it so that it wouldn't have to be dug out in the morning.

Three hours later, we finally got our truck into the alley (forging the path - probably about 100 yards) unstuck the van from the parking spot (requisite "digging out" that anyone with a car has to do at least once), unstuck our truck while trying to turn it back around (alleys are narrow y'all, and forward motion tends to work better when trying to gain momentum), drove our truck out of the alley, and drove the van out of the alley.

When we got home I begged SB to just ram the truck into any random snowbank and that I would worry about digging it out in the morning. He obeyed for about 7 minutes - I showered, then under pretense of walking the dogs he went back outside. Such a sweetie. Made my morning much easier today, that's for sure, but I sure did feel guilty.

One plus to shoveling snow in the bitter cold for three hours is that you get to see how warm your Uggs really are. Very warm. And my feet didn't get wet inside, either. Amazing. I highly recommend them - cute and practical.

Now we wait for them to remove the snow. Last time it took a week. If it takes a week this time, you may just see me on the news wanted for homicide.

Dear Snow,

I hate you.

Why do you always come on a Sunday, just in time to ruin our entire work week? Why don't you come on a Thursday, or even a Friday? Then the worst of the removal would happen on the weekend. You know, when my employees aren't working that much. Because as much as I love paying them for all the delays you cause like being stuck in traffic, or being stuck behind moron people who stop in the middle of the road because they can't find parking, or just plain being stuck because they are mindful to park off of the road, and in the snow, which sometimes is deeper than it seems, as much as I love paying for all that, it would be nice to just not have to deal with it for once.

Snow, for once I wish you would just cooperate. Or at the very least, facilitate your own clean up, and get it done quickly. Because I'm pretty sure I'm going to develop angina before this winter is over. And carpal tunnel. From shoveling out my truck forty times in one day.

Thanks.

Forever hating you,
Jules

Bah humbug

I don't know how many times I have to say it people, but at our house, Christmas is dead.

It's not like I'm happy about it - I used to love Christmas. I love giving presents. I love eating food. I love drinking. Christmas = awesome.

But when we bought this business, it was clear that Christmas from now til forever would be non-existent. It is our biggest time of year. We cannot travel. We spent 15 hours on Christmas day last year visiting kitties cleaning their poopers and serving them Fancy Feast. We had club sandwiches for lunch. They were good.

This year I am struggling to keep it together - we are about 400x more busy this year, and although we have help this time, scheduling is complicated, and anxiety is high. SB bought a tree on the weekend, but I don't want to decorate it. I know this hurts his feelings, but the tree stresses me out. So we have had an empty tree in our living room for five days. I haven't mailed any of the gifts we bought. I can't think of one thing I want to get SB for Xmas - I think it's the first time I've asked him for a list and actually needed it.

So, here is a message to everyone:

I'm sorry I'm a grinch. But I am. And that's that. If I thought about all the yummy treats and nog and slush I'm missing out on, I think I wouldn't make it through. So bah to nog.

But don't worry - I have your gifts. Hopefully I will get around to mailing them this week. And they might even get wrapped too.

The tough decisions

My hair is in an in-between phase, and I'm not sure how to deal with it.

The last time I had my hair cut was on my birthday when my Mummy treated me to a day at the spa. That was five months ago. So right now I'm starting to look like a cross between the middle Hanson brother and an offspring of Celine Dion.

I totally don't have time for a haircut until after the holidays, so that gives me plenty of time to decide what to do with it. Should I:

a) cut it off again. It looks cute shorter, even when I don't do anything to it besides brushing it (which is pretty much every single day).

b) let it grow until I have a foot of hair to cut and donate it again.

It's really a tough decision, actually. Last time, my hair was already long, and was just dying to be cut off. Pleading for it actually. I was able to decide I was going to do it on a Tuesday and get it done on a Wednesday. But now, now we're talking about a commitment of another 5-6 months at least. Maybe even upwards of a year. Who knows, I'm getting older, maybe my hair's growth rate has been stunted. I have about a month and a half to decide. Meanwhile, I will barely be able to think about what I'm going to eat for breakfast let alone make and appointment to get my hair cut. But by mid-January I will at least need a trim.

Until then, any opinions are welcome.

A very big loss

Last Monday morning when I took the messages, I was sad to discover that one of my favorite dogs had passed away over the weekend.

She had taken her regular group walk on Thursday, and was happy and hoppy and extra into trying to play chase with all the other dogs. Friday when her walker went to pick her up, she didn't meet her at the door. The walker found her in the bedroom, laying down, not interested at all in getting up. She brought her out for a pee break and I called her owner to let him know she was feeling ill and we weren't going to force her to walk on the mountain in that condition. He told me she had been throwing up all night, and that if she wasn't better by the following morning, he was taking her to the vet.

Saturday morning she was so weak, she could barely walk to go pee. He took her to the vet where blood tests showed she was in liver failure. He said there was no treatment, and that the most likely cause was tumors. The vet said the only option at that point was to put her down.

When I heard the news, I broke down crying. SB thought something had happened to someone in my family. In a way, it had. She was one of the first dogs I walked when I started this job. The previous owners of my company said that she was on her last legs, and that she could go at any time. But the more I walked her, the more I saw how this wasn't true.

She was vibrant, and excited to get out and see the world. She liked to walk along beside me and let me lay my hand on her back as we walked. She loved to play stick, and would hop up and down until I threw it - she looked like a newborn fawn with her big, long, awkward legs.

The thing that set her apart though was her sensitivity. When I looked her in the face, it always struck me how wise she seemed. She was always right there with me, engaged, and totally into what we were doing, what we saw, what I said. She was extremely sensitive to people - she knew a weirdo from a nice person and would often run to cower behind me when she wasn't sure about someone.

When I took over the company, I asked her owner what he thought about placing her in group walks. I had seen how much she loved other dogs we met, and thought it would be really good for her. He agreed, although said she hated the car and might give us some difficulty. She did, but we got through it. And for the past year she has been running through the woods playing and goofing around with dogs half her age.

We've lost a couple of dogs this year. But none of them hit me this hard. She was so rare - I don't even see a connection like that when I look in my own dog's eyes. I'm sure there are a lot of big black Danes out there - but none like her.

Here I am!

It has been suggested to me that perhaps it is time to post again. I can't say that the week off hasn't been nice, but I have tons to write about now.

This week has been extremely crazy. Pretty much every day something was happening that was "post-worthy" but I just didn't have the time or energy to write anything. So, here's a quick wrap up:

1. Big Giant Snow Storm ruined my life
2. One of my favorite dogs that we walk had to be put down
3. I met with about 6,798 new clients, which promptly caused me to have panic attacks
4. I received a big giant package of books that I had ordered and that felt gooooood.
5. The pharmacist gave me the wrong medication

Monday we woke up to about 30cm of snow on the ground, which is all very nice and pretty but it makes it a bit difficult to get around. Sunday night they wouldn't stop talking about the impending storm on the news and I almost had to break out a paper bag. We have one employee who travels from Laval and who has a very full schedule so I was positive she was going to get stranded and we would be screwed.

Luckily she made it, and everyone else was able to get around as well. We had a few clients cancel because they didn't want us to be out on the roads just to walk their pooches, but most everything went off as normal.

Probably the biggest challenge about snowstorming in Montreal is the snow removal process, or lack thereof. It's disgusting, really. Today is Friday. There is still 3 feet of snow on pretty much all streets. Yesterday, St. Laurent Blvd (aka the Main, aka one of the major South to North arteries in the city) was still down to one lane. The city says they had over 3,000 snow removal people working every day this week, but unless it takes 300 people to operate every snow plow I've seen, then I don' t know where these workers are. And even worse than the traffic due to lane closure is the parking situation. Every morning I have to dig out my truck to get out of the snowbank I rammed it into the night before to park. But that's not all! Because my job involves driving from client's house to client's house, I am often ramming into several snowbanks every single day. Which gives me the opportunity to break out the little shovel on average four times per day. Wow, thanks Ville de Montreal! Without you I wouldn't be sore in my quads, shoulders, biceps, and the heels of my hands!

More from the list to come....

A happy ending

We have reached the end of the line folks. Here sitteth my final post of NaBloPoMo. I do not have it in me to write anything meaningful, no summation of this month and the exercise of taking time each and every day to devote to a task other than work. I barely have enough vocabulary to ...

Ya I just totally lost my train of thought there. I got nothing.

One of my girls and I were totally heroes today. A guy we see regularly walking in the forest lost his dog. She saw him when she was finishing up her first group and he told her that little Herman was lost. So when I finished my groceries I went to the mountain and made my own trip up, looking for Herman on the way, and when I saw his owner I took all his info just in case one of us found him.

I left the mountain as my girl was on her way there. About an hour later she called me: she found Herman! When I called his owner, he was SO happy - but there was a problem. He had driven around the back of the mountain up to the top in case Herman had slipped through a fence and was running around in the cemetary up there. And when he drove down the driveway, he got his truck stuck in the snow. So I gave him my number, and he said he would call when he got the truck out.

About 20 minutes later, he called to say he couldn't get the truck out, even with the help of a passerby, so he had called CAA and they would be there in 30 minutes.

Then 1 1/2 hours later, he called to say he just got the truck out because when CAA came their truck got stuck.

I totally didn't mind. Because the whole time Herman was here at my place and we were just chillin'.

I felt really happy when Herman's dad arrived to pick him up - it was pretty awesome to see Herman's reaction to being reunited, although I think he was kinda sad that it was time to leave before he got to take a bite out of Simon's ass.

I also felt very happy that Herman's dad's horrible day from hell was over (hopefully). I know how it feels to have such a rotten day, and I'm glad that we were able to help in the end. I hope this goes in the karma bank. It'll help negate all the attitude I give homeless people, hopefully.

Who's the one person more annoying than Spencer?

His sister, apparently. The Hills last night:

1. Who the hell is this girl? Where has she been all this time? When is she going to go back there? Heidi's face was precious while Spencer and his sister were making the whole big thing about her encounter with Lauren and Brody. I get the feeling that she just barely tolerates Spencer's behavior because maybe he's good in bed and also it gets her more press being part of the "most hated couple", but now that his sister is around, Heidi's had enough.

2. How cute was Brody defending Lauren to Spencer's sister? I'm sure he has known that bitch all his life, but he's still like "mind your own beeswax". ~swoon~

3. We have finally witnessed the dismissal of Justin Bobby. I hate that we didn't get to actually witness his transgression, but I did find it amusing that even though Audrina witnessed it, he still tried to deny it happened. And when she was like "I saw you kiss that girl" he was like "well, you must be mistaken, because I didn't" and then Audrina noted that "all my friends saw you too" he says "well of course they're going to say that - they hate me." Hey, dude, it's not like Lauren and Brody were out one night and decided to tell Audrina they saw you out messing with some chick at a bar. She saw you with her own eyes.

I am pretty excited for next week's episode since Spencer and Heidi get into another row, although it's getting a bit tedious because I don't think she will be physically able to spontaneously grow a brain and leave him, but it's still entertaining.

Also have to say that I am officially addicted to Tila Tequila's show, and last night there was an all out psycho girl catfight! It was to-be-continued to see what will become of the two bitches that had it out, but holy eff it was awesome!

Occupational hazard

One of the hardest parts about my job is having to restrain myself from abducting my clients. Some of them are just so fucking cute I can't even believe they exist. I want to carry them around in a snuggly all day long. I mean, how can you go through a whole 40 minute walk in the woods without scooping this one up and squeezing him til he yelps:

And I am currently taking care of this kitten, and periodically catch myself removing his head from my mouth because I'm trying to eat him up.

He has the cutest little muffin face I've ever seen! There are two other cats at his house, both of whom are indifferent to me, and I find it difficult to force myself to spend time with them trying to pet them as they yawn at me, or play toy with them as they bat half-heartedly like "eh, I don't need you lady. Why don't you get out of here so I can do the real fun stuff that we can only get into when you stinky humans aren't around." And this little guy doesn't make it any easier. Because I can either tend to those guys, or sit around cuddling this:

Ugh, my job is so tough.

Eau de Puss

It is not even December and we are already booked as heavy for the holidays as we were last year. And I am workin' it. I'm fielding calls and answering emails and running around from one end of the city to the other meeting people. It all feels very rat-racy, which is the opposite of the reason I started doing this work in the first place. But I'm willing to cram it all in right now as long as we see some results in January. AKA moolah.

I wish that blogger had a "smell" this application. Because it would be absolutely impossible for me to describe to you how wonderful my cat smells. He likes to cuddle up next to me and and pull my hand towards him forcing me to scratch his ears. Then he rolls over and exposes his belly for some rubs because that's also a fun thing for a human, so he guesses he will allow me. And when it is obvious that I am not going to get any work done at all until he gets his due affections, I bury my nose in his neck. He always smells soooooo good. I have even had people smell him. They'll be like "Simon is the cutest cat ever" and I'm like "That's nothing, you should smell him" and then I pick him up and bring him over so they can.

I wish I could share this with you. It is one of the small joys of my day.

Squeegie, step off

My job involves a lot of driving from client to client, and I see my fair share of panhandlers. Here are a few tips, in case you happen to be a panhandler at home tonight surfing the internetz, and would like me to drop you a quarter or something tomorrow.

1. Having a skill is useful. Play an instrument. Sing. Juggle. Standing there shaking a cup in my face does not make me want to give you money. My favorite two panhandlers are the guy who plays the spoons on Ste. Catherine street, and Loud Singing Guy. Loud Singing Guy sings around one of the university downtown - he wears an old suit and tie and tapes his music to the wall. He sings standards. Very loudly. And pourly. But with heart, and I love that.

2. Stay out of the traffic. My least favorite panhandlers are the squeegie kids and others who accost me while I'm in my car. This is my space. Step off. I politely decline with a wave and a smile, and usually these guys move on to the next car since the red light is only so long and why waste time with someone who isn't gonna give you anything? The worst part is that whenever I have allowed a squeegie to squeegie me (back in my more youthful and less cynical days) this stench of cigarettes and BO always got sucked in through the vents.

3. Do not use helpless dogs to try and get my sympathy. I just feel bad for the dogs who are stuck with you as an owner. PS: I am a dog walker and usually have treats in my pocket, so if you try to use a dog to get something out of me, chances are all you're gonna get is a snack for your pup.

4. Do not get a homeless person's advocate group to advertise that you make an average of $10 per hour panhandling to people in cars on Notre Dame Blvd. That is more than minimum wage. That does not make me want to help you out.

Thinking back, I'm pretty sure I have blogged about this subject before at some point. I just feel so bad for the people who are out there because they have to be, or don't know what else to do. Because I'm sure I'm not the only person who has become jaded by the guy down the street begging for a quarter for a sandwich who still reeks of whiskey.

goo brain

With five days left in NaBloPoMo, I feel like I am at the point where I am just a babbling idiot. I don't have anything that interesting to say. I can't form a proper thought. And I'm thinking about work pretty much 24/7, and I know that's boring. So, sorry about that.

Tomorrow I am starting a week of catsits with the cutest little cat family ever. A blue point Himalayan, a tabby exotic, and a baby flame point Himalayan. They are adorable. I will try to resist bringing home the baby in my pocket.

I'm nearly crapping my pants that December is only five days away. That means the holidays are too close. We have bought most of our gifts, so I will have to start wrapping them up so they can be sent off in time. I am trying to keep our holiday bookings as organized as possible so I can have a good idea of exactly how much work I'm going to have on Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Right now we're about halfway to the mark we hit last year, but most of the clients who have booked now are new - our regulars tend to be lazy and book closer to the date. We have grown a lot this year, and I expect to have more bookings, but I'm trying to stay focused and smart. It's important to me that we grow and use this opportunity to make some moolah, but I don't want to feel like shooting myself in the face on Dec 25th at 2pm because there seems to be no end in sight to the litter boxes.

PS - if anyone feels like spending the day at my house cooking us a nice turkey dinner on Xmas day, please feel free to volunteer. Last year we had club sandwiches. They were good. But not Xmas good.

Hot Tubin'

Miracle of miracles we have had a very busy day and are having people over in about an hour, but here I am, still remembering to blog. Thank you NaBloMoFo - I am now an automated robot - blogging has become a part of my circadian rhythm.

But, I am kind of phoning it in slightly. I have nothing that interesting to say, so I thought I would link to a few of my favorite music youtubes.

I recently saw Arcade Fire on PBS and realized that I actually like them a whole lot. I had heard one of their songs on the local pop station wedged between Britney and an overplayed Nelly tune, and liked it, but never really looked into the band to see what the rest of their stuff is like. Then when I saw the PBS show by accident one Saturday night, I was pretty blown away not only by their sound, but the whole concept of a pseudo-orchestral band. So, here is a clip of probably my favorite song I've heard them play.

I first heard about Wolf Parade while reading Dooce, and instantly fell in love with them. I warbled along with them in my car for about a year before I got a chance to see them play and discovered I went to school with one of the guys briefly. Wolf Parade was also founded when Arcade Fire asked the guy if he had a band who could open for them and he said ya - even though he didn't have a band, or any songs, or anything. But they got together and voila. This song. Which makes me cry 87% of the times I hear it. That link is from a show this summer in Montreal, which was in the same round of shows I saw. Watch this one to see the video for the same song. I also really dig this song, and who knew they got to play on network TV?

So that's what I'm youtubin' lately. It totally blows my mind that all of these dudes are my age and from my community. I am such an underachiever.

Break out the eggnog

American Thanksgiving time has put holiday movie season into full swing.

I'm sure everyone has their favorites. Every year I see the listings for Miracle on 34th street, and It's a Wonderful Life. The Grinch. All those. But those are not my favorites. Nor have they ever been. I've never seen either of the former. And I don't think I ever watched the classic version of the latter either. Here are some of my favorites:

• Home Alone - I haven't watched it for the last few years, but for a while there it was a staple. Even Home Alone 2 is really great. I love the hijinks with the dummys rigged to ropes so he can move them around. And Joe Pesci - probably my favorite character he's ever played.
• National Lampoons - The rodent in the Xmas tree. The dried out turkey. The dickey. Enough said.
• Love Actually - I always love movies where all the stories are intertwined, but this one does it with humor and warm fuzzies instead of horror and irony. Plus, it's a relatively new movie, and since I usually only watch it during the holidays, I barely remember what happens in it.
• Stepmom - although mildly depressing, it still leaves you feeling pretty good. But in a realistic kind of way. I think this one takes the cake as SB's favorite holiday movie, but don't tell anybody that.
• The Family Man - No, not the Family Guy, The Family Man. It's kind of like A Christmas Carol, but not. There are cute kids in it. SB and I actually agreed that if maybe you could choose which kids you could have, we would choose the little girl in this movie. But since you can't choose which kids you can have, we will forego all that and get a baby Himalayan kitten. (okay, we didn't agree to get the kitten, but it was another moment for me to sneak in a bit of my cost/benefit analysis of the whole situation).

I was planning on posting this list anyway, but when we sat down to dinner tonight, we discovered that The Family Man was on TV. After celebrating American Thanksgiving yesterday by cooking a whole turkey dinner for just the two of us, I must say, it is putting me in a rather festive mood.

I must also say that my mood would be even more festive if we had a DVR and could have recorded this movie off of network television and watched it tomorrow while fast-forwarding the commercials.....

A tale of two turkeys

I could never really understand American Thanksgiving. We have Thanksgiving here in the Great White North as well, but we have it in October, with all the pretty leaves changing, and it is on a Monday, so it is like a regular long weekend. We have turkey. We have pumpkin pie. What we appear to be missing is some kind of hype that I'm not sure I really understand.

Why is American Thanksgiving (AT) on a Thursday? Is it so you will be able to justify an extra week off? Because if you are travelling, you probably do so Wednesday, and then you are there til Sunday, but to avoid travel rush you probably leave Monday.

Why is AT in November? November is not a pretty month. For example, here it snowed and freezing rained all day, and I'm sure our dear friends in Vermont who are celebrating today shared this lovely weather. Not so good for travelling. October is a much more reliable month.

Also, still on the whole November thread, why would you have AT so close to Christmas? It just seems that if you are going to have one holiday that pretty much lasts a whole week, and then another holiday that usually lasts a week, you would want to spread them out a little bit. Again, October wins.

Why do people feel like they HAVE to be with their families on AT? It is a phenomenon that baffles me. You don't have to be with your family to be thankful for them. And you are going to see them in less than a month anyway. We Canucks feel free to hunker down to our birds wherever we may find them. I have had my share of Thanksgivings with my family, but since moving 1000km away, I like to celebrate with my friends too. In fact, the celebrations with friends sometimes feel more genuine because they are not forced, not expected.

If you are American, please fill me in if you know the precise answer to any of my questions. And "it's tradition" is not an answer.

Of course, cynical me, I have a sneaking suspicion that it has to be on a Thursday so that retailers can have Black Friday (although we Canadians still seem to get all of our holiday shopping done without it), and it needs to be close to Christmas so that people are really in the buying mood.

And the giant cubic zirconia goes back on...

I totally love that mtv.ca has all their shows on-demand. This offers me a window onto how wonderful life would be with a DVR. Missed The Hills on Monday, but got to watch today.

1. I totally loved that Whitney was featured in this episode. It was hilarious when Lauren was explaining how to get out of kissing a guy when you have a "no kiss on the first date policy" - Whitney was like "what do you do then?" Lauren: "just turn your head" W: "couldn't that get awkward?" L: "Not if you do it right" W: "if I did it it would turn out awkward". It's so true - she's so goofy and clumsy, but that's what makes me love her! The Jared guy seemed nice enough, but while on the date he seemed like he was still in "trainer" mode - like he was trying to psych her up to get through the date or something.

2. Preview for next week is not looking good for Audrina and Justin Bobby. I wouldn't be sad if that's the last we see of him. And using the name "Justin Bobby" reminds me that we haven't seen Lo for a while - I wonder if she's busy making out with Frankie Delgato somewhere.

3. It was awesome to see Heidi finally give it to Spencer. It was especially effective that she took that giant lame-assed ring and shoved it back in his face. It's bad enough that he is a complete ass-face to everyone else on the planet, but there is no reason that he should treat her like a possession that he can just make do whatever he pleases. I just wonder how long the new, apologetic Spencer will last.

First Snow

We got our first snowfall overnight last night. Hmmpf. I was so grumpy when I took my dogs out this morning for their walk - boo to wet shoes, boo to drying off their paws, boo to the spot on our stairs that is obviously going to be a trouble spot with an icy patch throughout the winter.

The driving around wasn't so bad, since it was pretty warm today so nothing froze up. I picked up all my group dogs, and we drove to the mountain. Started walk as usual.

Then suddenly the pups came alive. They started hopping through the snow like bunnies, and wrestling playfully with each other instead of independently sniffing all the spots where dogs peed before them. The Irish Terrier ripped a branch right of a tree then ran along merrily, whacking everyone with it as she zoomed past them. The Yellow Lab has to be kept on leash because she has the lovely penchant for eating poo, and the Irish Terrier and the Wheaton Terrier took turns running in between us, hopping over the swag of the leash that hung there. Several times different dogs tried to engage me in wrestling, hopping in front of me and growl/yipping then getting into the "downward dog" play pose, challenging me to get them, get them, get them.

Amidst all the tussling and the fetching and the big kisses when I kneeled down to scratch their ears, I forgot all about how annoying the snow is, how annoying clients are being lately, how busy I am, how much laundry I have to do. I forgot everything. I was just there, hanging out, and having fun.

I am the only person bothered by this?

Is anyone else bothered by this McDonald's commercial? They are introducing a new limited time sandwich called the bacon ranch McChicken or something similar to that. It actually looks very good, and they do their 30 second thing about what is on it, describing all the ingredients using words like "crispy", "tangy", and "fresh".

Then at the end of the commercial, they say something to the effect of "because when you're craving bacon, nothing else will do."

When I'm craving bacon, nothing else will do except a hamburger bun, some ranch dressing, a giant piece of fried chicken, a slice of tomato, maybe a leaf of lettuce (but they will have probably run out, so probably some little ribbons of shredded stuff), and two over-microwaved pieces of bacon.

I don't know, and call me crazy if I'm wrong, but I really think that when I'm craving bacon, nothing else will do except for maybe bacon. And in a pinch maybe turkey bacon.

Fred Thompson and Dick Wolf can kiss my tush.

I love all Law and Order. Regular. SVU. CI. All of them. I have plans to name future furry children after some of the characters. I'm pretty sure I have seen every single episode of each of the series. I am hardcore.

However, I am a bit dismayed over a little development they snuck in to last week's episode of Special Victims Unit.

Because Fred Thompson is running for president in real life, Arthur Branch cannot be on TV in any new episodes. They delayed the return of Law and Order, presumably to see what would happen in the primaries, and maybe Branch would be back. At least this is what I assumed. Then last week, what slips in the conversation between Olivia and Casey? That Casey has a new boss. Jack McCoy.

I am stunned and offended by this development. Jack McCoy is not the boss. He doesn't have to make the hard calls. Jack McCoy is the rebel, the stick-to-his-guns and his unpopular but correct views man. He bucks the norm. He laughs in the face of authority. How can one laugh in one's own face? One can't.

I am interested to see if they will actually stay true to the character and keep him liberal and slick, or if he will turn into a hardass towing the line to keep the voters happy. I truly hope it is the former, because Jack McCoy is anything but The Man. Anything else would be a lie.

Unintentional innuendo

Dinner last night was fabulous and I am so glad that I hauled my ass off the sofa to go. Almost even better was the little shopping extravaganza prior to dinner wherein I spent far too much money on new handbags and sweaters, but that is all under wraps until SB finds the carefully hidden merchandise....

When all the girls get together, there are always stories that make us laugh until things shoot our our noses. One of the stories is a staple, and gets told pretty much every time we get together because there is someone who has missed the last few get togethers and hasn't heard the story.

The staple story is one that N heard from a friend. He was out to dinner with a francophone woman he worked with and some people they would want to impress (I forget if they were bosses or business acquaintances, but you get the picture). At the end of the meal, when the waiter came around to pick up the plates the woman was in the middle of a conversation and flippantly said to the waiter, "oh, yes, I would like to take it doggy style." Now none of us in our circle of friends is able to say "I'd like a doggy bag" - we all say "can I have this to go?" because we are so terrified that it might slip out "I'll take it doggy style."

During the dinner last night, our friend T was the one who had never heard this story. And then it turns out she had a funny story of her own that involved a bit of a language barrier. She went to a dinner party at her fiance's friend's home. The friend's wife is very french, but T and her man are pretty anglo so they spent the evening speaking in english. They had a lovely wine and cheese before dinner, and were all getting along very well - the food was beautiful too. Then as the wife was clearing the cheese plates and things, she said happily, "I hope you saved room - now it's time for the intercourse!" T and her fiance were cracking up laughing and it got explained that it was the "main course" not the "intercourse". It was a good thing that they were right about the mistake and T hadn't ended up at that kind of party.

Stumbling

I have been having a tough time lately. I am in a rut where things seem bleak. I feel like I have nothing to look forward to. Each day is just a day that I am passing for the sake of saying I made it through that day. It's sad, and it's frustrating, and it's probably strange for most people to hear.


I have a great life. I love my job and am so lucky to be passionate about the work I do every day. I love my home and feel fortunate to live in a place I love surrounded by comfort and beautiful things. My family is healthy, my pets are loving and funny, SB is a hardworker and wants to work towards our goals with me.


But I am sad. And down. And lonely. I am lonely, but I feel antisocial. I am going to dinner tonight with friends, but I'm not really looking forward to it. I know I should be, I miss them, but the thought of getting dressed and driving there and being out at night instead of home on the sofa is, frankly, exhausting to me right now. Just the thought of it.

I'm sure everyone gets the blues, and I rationalize that at least I am cognizant of the fact that this is weird, that at least I force myself to socialize and have fun, because I'm sure once I'm there it will be fabulous. But I don't think it's normal that I feel that everything just takes so much effort.

I know all of this probably indicates that maybe I should go back on meds. But I have been telling myself that it will pass, that it's just the change in weather. Then maybe I'm thinking it seems like too much effort to see a doctor. And that would indicate that it is even more important than I thought.

Random because I'm running out of things to talk about

I am so sick of "Music is my Boyfriend" from the iPod Touch commercials. I think I am mostly sick of it because I love it so much and feel the need to dance every time it comes on, and I am also annoyed that I always think it's Avril Lavigne but it is really not. I thought it was Skye Sweetnam because I just googled "Music is my Boyfriend" and apparently she has a song by that name, but then I YouTubed that and it is totally not the same song. The name of the song is really "Music is my Hot, Hot Sex" and is by a Brazilian group called Cansei de Ser Sexy.

I am sad that we have had tacos every Thursday for about a month and tonight we will not have tacos because SB has a work dinner. My body has already accepted that Thursday is Taco Night. Now it's too late to turn back - ever.

Oprah is talking to a hoarder today. I think I have hoarding tendencies, so I am making a conscious decision to check myself before I wreck myself.

I have been running three times per week for almost two month with zero results. I am getting very frustrated, and I wish I could afford to go back to yoga.

I need a haircut, but I'm too lazy to go get one. Plus I can think of about 100 other things I would rather spend money on.

When our dog Charlie is sleeping, he looks like a bean. I would almost want to lay down and cuddle with him if I didn't think this would cause him to bite me in the face.

My cat has started to snore during his afternoon nap beside me on the sofa. It's cute.

Possibly the best profilactic ever

Does anyone else out there watch this John and Kate Plus 8 show? It is one of those shows that manages to fascinate and horrify me in equal doses each and every week.

It is a reality show on TLC about a couple who had trouble getting pregnant so they did IVF, and then they had twins. After the twins, they decided to try for one more baby, and succeded in getting pregnant with SIX babies. SIX HUMAN BABIES. That's a LITTER for crying out loud.

They are really cute kids - even when they are screaming and biting and beating on each other. I love to watch the general chaos that occurs each and every week. The mom is pretty much anal OCD woman, and I think that is the only reason the entire house doesn't get ripped apart by those children. And it blows my mind that the parents don't have perpetual migraines. I can see how it is not the life they would have necessarily planned for themselves, but they really are making the best of it.

Anyone who knows me in real life knows I am not a huge fan of kids - babies in particular freak me the fuck OUT. So I am thinking of making a video of the John and Kate Plus 8 show. And if ever I lose my mind and think, "maybe having just one kid could be fun..." I will put that tape in the machine, and will be able to get back to my regularly scheduled life.

What did she think was going to happen????

Okay, so The Hills last night did not disappoint. Except for one thing.

1. Where the heck was Brody? Waaaaaah. I used to beg for more Whitney, but now I'm getting more Whitney and no Brody. Boo. However, my cousin in Alberta went to a radio promo at a club and Brody and Frankie were there. Not a word of a lie. I saw the photos, (thanks Facebook!) but haven't asked her if she got to make out with him or anything.

2. Even I'm getting tired of hearing myself say how much I hate Justin Bobby. He took Audrina on a date and kept burping in her face! And his motorcycle is absolutely ridiculous. I was so glad that her co-worker convinced her to blow him off. I hope this is a lasting trend.

3. Holy Crackamoly wtf was Heidi thinking? First she hijacks Lauren at an event by just walking up and being like "Hi." Like nothing ever even happened. (By the way, at that moment I totally loved how Whitney stepped up and broke the ice). Then that ends badly because she is in denial about Spencer. Then she cyberstalks Lauren and convinces her that they should meet to put everything behind them. But at the meeting, she totally refuses to take any accountability, continues to deny knowledge of any actions on Spencer's part (although at least now she is not denying that he actually did it), and just keeps saying the same thing over and over. If I were Lauren I wouldn't even have met with her at all considering how Heidi reacted when they saw each other at the event. I was a little disappointed in Lauren's obviously rehearsed line "I want to forgive you....and I want to forget you." (so dramatic, though, right?), but I was glad that she called Heidi out for not doing anything, and for being in denial about what a shady person Spencer is. In the end Heidi stormed out, but I don't see how she could have expected a different outcome without changing her views or accepting any more of the blame.

I'm not sure how many episodes are left, but I will be sad when this season is over :(

Almost halfway there!!!

So far NoBloPoMo has not kicked my ass. I think I have put in a pretty respectable effort so far, and I haven't missed one day. Yay me!

Today I am dying to post about my mother's newfound disdain for a certain video rental chain, but fear that if I did she may not speak to me until I turn 30. Or until I get married. Although at this rate, I think 30 will come first. But trust me, it's hilarious, and I am plotting ways to get a rise out of her for the next few months.

Today the big *new* giant Airbus 380 flew over the city. I saw it by accident as I was driving to the mountain to walk doggies. I thought "wow, that big giant plane sure is flying awfully low to be this far into the city" and then I parked and started climbing the mountain. Apparently it was a big deal (no pun intended) and there were tons of people at the top of the mountain trying to catch a glimpse. How nice for them. Not nice for me because the doggies generally enjoy running into people eating lunch on the mountain because maybe they might get some. They pester them and try to jump on them, and I have to wrangle them and it's aggrevating. And when there are 50 people eating lunch on the mountain, they think maybe they will all get some. And then things just get crazy with the whining and the pawing and the jumping. That's why as soon as I heard about all the people at the top we alternated our route to avoid the bulk of them. Airbus ruined our walk.

Apparently the Airbus is 7 stories high. To this I say meh.

Since Christmas is dead....

I'm definitely not dreaming of a white one.

It snowed in New Brunswick today, apparently. Or maybe last night. I can only say, wow, am I ever glad I don't live there anymore.

I am a big fan of the 2-10 degrees Celsius temperature range. I adore a brisk walk through the leaves with the pups. I dig a nice warm coffee/latte/hot chocolate when my nose is cold and my cheeks are rosy. I love wearing sweaters, scarves, mittens, and my Uggs. But I HATE snow. Snow should be relegated to mountains only (for the skiing and the snowboarding), but I would be elated if they built a big giant bubble over the city so we could avoid the following:

• giant snowbanks that I have to try and plow my car into because they haven't bothered to clean the streets yet (sometimes they check the weather report and rather than getting out there and getting to it, they wait to see if it will melt away).
• ice. Black ice. Giant ice puddles. Ice on stairs. All kinds of it. I can't even count the number of times I've bruised my ass while walking dogs and hitting a patch of ice. And it's the worst here because they don't seem to understand how to use salt on the sidewalks. So whole blocks will have a sheet of ice the whole length. Either you skate your way down the block, or you take it to the streets and risk getting mowed over by a car.
• wet jeans. There is nothing worse than having to walk through a snowbank and getting your jeans wet, and then the wet works its way up to your knees. I have gaiters that I wear when it's too warm for snowpants, but it still happens.

So, I'm thankful it didn't snow here this weekend. But I'm bracing myself because I'm sure it's coming soon.

Also, a small addition to my holiday wish list - I forgot to include a DVR. I think that this would drastically improve my quality of life. As of right now, I am pretty much chained to my television most nights during primetime. This would free up this time for, you know, the drinking and the carousing.

Reason number 377...

...that I should never have nor be around small children: I think they are real-live adult humans, when really they are not.

This summer friends of SB's moved into a house with a pool, so they had a pool party/bbq to cap off the nice weather. They have a little girl who is probably not quite two years old...I don't know, I suck at guessing ages.

Anyway, I was playing with their dog, as I do, and the little kid was standing near us. She had a Dora doll (even I know who Dora is) and the little monkey who is friends with Dora, who was wearing a T-shirt that said "Boots".

Me: What's that girl's name? (pointing at the Dora doll; I said this in french because the kid is french)
Her: That's Dora (holding up the Dora doll. Good start)
Me: And this one?
Her: That's Babouche.
Me: No, no, I think his name is Boots.
Her: No, Babouche.
Me: No, it's Boots (frustrated already) see, it says so on his shirt (point to his name, making no sudden movements because she's starting to look upset).
Her: No, Babouche.
Me: I really think his name is Boots (backing away because her little miniature brow is furrowed and I really don't want her to scream at me.)
Her: NO, BABOUCHE (shaking toy vehemently in one hand and pointing wildly with the other)
Me: Ya, sure, okay, whatever (backing up slowly, then running away)

Before we left I asked her mom why she calls the toy Babouche when his name is Boots (it says so on his shirt).

"Oh, on the French show it's Babouche."

Hmm.

Big Boss Lady

I am so angry that No Country for Old Men is coming out in the theatres and I still haven't had a chance to read the book yet! I was totally oblivious to Cormac McCarthy until I read The Road, which completely totally unequivocally blew me away, and No Country was next on my list but I just haven't had a chance to order books. (Plus I have a stack of unread books almost as tall as me and I think if I brought one more into the house SB may throw me out). I've been avoiding reviews and interviews with the stars all day for fear it will ruin something for me. I think I will go to Chapters tomorrow to purchase it.

I was supposed to clean my house today, but I didn't. I feel slightly guilty, but I was doing other things. So poo to vacuuming.

Tomorrow we are interviewing potential part-timers. We think we may possibly be at the point where it is a good idea to expand. So we are meeting a few people, and I have to say it feels good to be interviewing for a new spot instead of to replace someone - we don't have that pressure of "Okay it's suzie's last day in one week and we need to train someone stat" so it feels really nice to try be able to take our time to find the right person. It's all very exciting. Not as stressful as I thought. I'm really digging one of the applications we got, but I'm trying to keep an open mind so that everyone gets a fair shot. And we're holding interviews at SB's office so I get to have coffee from the fancy-pancy coffee machine. Awesome.

Runningwoman

Have you ever seen that commercial for Advil Cold and Sinus, where the woman is all sick and is talking like "if you think a cold is going to keep me from running a 100 mile marathon and baking a cake at the same time then you don't know me"?

Ya, well, I'm not her. Illness throws me to the ground and stomps on my face, then it sits on me and farts. But for the past three weeks of fighting my allergy/cold (still going, by the way, and all the meds are really dehydrating me, yet also leaving me with a running nose) I have been keeping up my running regime. This regime consists of me hauling my ass into the extra room and running on the treadmill 2-3 times per week. It's been going really well - I run about 2 miles each time, so about 20 minutes, and thanks to my little iPod I not only have great tunes, but also have the Nike+ system that lets me track my runs and my progress.

I think the Nike+ is probably one of the best inventions ever. You get a little pod that you put in your Nike+ shoe (if you don't have these shoes you can buy a little clip to attach it to your shoelaces), and it sends a signal to your iPod nano that tracks your distance, pace, time, and calories burned. Then there is a whole website where you upload your data, set goals, and you can compete in challenges etc. AND there is a 'map it' section where if you run outdoors (I'm not quite there yet, so maybe in the spring I'll do it) you can map your route and how far it is, and other people can run it too.

So, I highly recommend everyone gets one, and if you do, and you are a beginning runner, then let me know and we can challenge each other online.


****totally random side note: SB and I are watching Survivor right now, and every week while it's on Global TV they show a promo for Survivor (I know, stupid right, showing the promo for the show you're watching while you're watching it) where you hear Jeff Probst saying "Just how we like it here on Survivor - nice and wet."

This cracks SB up every single time he hears it. And for the next three days, he will randomly say it while we grocery shop, drive in the car, or walk down the street. And I will laugh.

Someone's gonna come crawlin' back

The Hills is quickly becoming demoted as my favorite MTV show ever by its new competition, A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila. I know, I'm disgusted with myself that I love that show because it's so trashy. But I just can't look away. And that blonde lesbian Amanda cracks me up.

But I digress.

The Hills this week was pretty boring on the surface, but after thinking about it, there was a lot going on.

1. Lauren and Whitney were ultra-boring this week, mostly because they threw their party, and it went off with out a hitch. Boo. Well, good for them, but boo for us. The closest we got to disaster was Whitney taking her walkie-talkie earpiece out of her ear.

2. Justin Bobby is a big fat loser and Audrina is an idiot. Dude, just say "I am dating Audrina. We are dating." Because we are watching you on TV. And whether you want to admit it or not, you are dating. And then Audrina gets hit on by a totally presentable cute nice guy who is in a band, and she is all grossed out by him. Um, your boyfriend thinks he's Eddie Veddar and, sorry, but hello it's not the 90s anymore.

3. I think Heidi is starting to realize that her life sucks. I'm pretty sure she didn't picture spending her 21st birthday alone with Spencer eating dinner on the same side of the table (I HATE when people eat on the same side of the table). There was no party because she no longer has any friends, and the one person she does have in her life spent half of the meal playing with his Blackberry.

In the previews for next week Heidi and Lauren have a sit-down. Now that's TV that rivals 11 dudes and 11 lesbians fumbling around in a foam party.

It was like my birthday or something!

Last night I made ribs for dinner, which I haven't done in a very long time. Because they are messy and icky, I generally like to take the opportunity to be bad and serve french fries alongside, because then you can just eat the whole meal with your hands. So I asked SB to stop at our favorite Belgian French fry place to pick up some fries.

He ordered a large fry and the sauces we like, and the guy was like "I'll give you two small fries because small fries are free today".

Huh? Yay for us!

So, obviously if you want to get me a present, free fries are on the list, but with the holidays coming up, here is my gift wish list:

Items I WANT WANT WANT but am unlikely to receive (the same list I give SB for every single holiday/birthday, etc - notice "new iPod" is gone - he really came through on my birthday!):
- Nikon D40x camera.
- a vacation somewhere.
- a male Himalayan kitten

Items I would love to have that are within reach:
- an FM transmittor for my iPod - I haven't really researched them much so not sure which model I want but the last one I had that was stolen was awesome - it worked as a stand for the iPod too and plugged directly into the power source. I think it was a Belkin.
- gift card to FutureShop/BestBuy - in case there are 100 FM transmittors and choosing one is scary.
- Chapters gift cards, since there are about 187 books that I am dying to read
- Shopping gift cards (for Cadillac Fairview malls) or H&M gift cards. Because I have this syndrom lately where I refuse to buy myself clothes. And now all my clothes are old and gross and I am almost naked.
- hugs.

Extreme randomness

I just got halfway through a big long post about reasonable accomodation, then got disgusted even thinking about it and saved it as a draft. Not to say I won't come back to it (November is a long month!) but I guess I can only take so much at once. Maybe I won't post it at all.

I have been knitting myself a scarf. It's lilac and white, because I had a medium sized ball of each left, so, there you go. One side of it is slightly messed up, but it's for me, so I'm not being too picky about it. I love knitting. It helps me get rid of lots of nervous energy, which I've had a lot of lately. When I'm feeling anxious I pick and chew at the skin around my nails, which I know is gross and ugly, but that's what I do and I've done it since.....probably since I had teeth, and that's that. So knitting is a good way for me to be able to watch TV without gnawing off my pinky finger. Maybe I will knit myself some mittens that I can wear the rest of the time when I'm not knitting.

For some reason I feel very scatterbrained today and am having trouble concentrating on one thought. (Maybe it was the 4 cups of coffee at breakfast....) So here's this and have a great night.

Not those kinds of night sweats

Guess where I was when the time changed????

I was lying on the floor of my bathroom trying to get every inch of my bare skin to touch the cool cool tile while I sweated out....something. If I had been in my right mind I might have removed my sweatpants, but at least I got the legs pulled up. And I was also too busy putting the bathroom trash into a garbage bag and then removing the plastic bucket part of the garbage so that I could go lay down on the sofa next to an open window and still have something to puke in, while trying to remain prostrate on the cool cool tile.

I'm still not sure what the hell was going on. I woke up cramping and puky, and ran to the bathroom wherein the sweating began. After about 30 minutes in there I thought it was safe to retreat to the sofa, where there was NO television worth watching on any of our 400 channels so I finished the book I was reading and drank water. I finally went back to bed around 4/3 o'clock and had nightmares and tossed and turned, but did not throw up.

Then this morning I felt all better.

I am blaming the whole thing on some frozen appetizers we ate yesterday (fully cooked, of course) even though SB didn't get sick at all. Because it's either those or steak, and if it's steak, I might kill myself.

No, I didn't forget

I just had a busy week. I actually did watch The Hills on Tuesday, but was a bit distracted with work and illness and friends needing support, and I didn't really pay much attention to it.

I got to watch the re-run today, so here are my thoughts:

1. I feel bad for poor goofy Whitney. She seems like she should be good at her job, but she always comes off as not really put together. At all. Maybe she was just nervous, but I found her to be kinda unprepared during the meeting with the New York team. But, all worked out well and Lisa Love was happy.

2. Lauren and Brody need to just get back together already. I know that a lot of what happens on the show is staged (sorry to break it to you, if you weren't aware...) and I have a feeling that they are actually together, but just stringing along the reveal until like season finale time or something. This both makes me annoyed and happy - annoyed because I want it to just happen already, but happy because I'm sure things would be a lot less interesting if they were actually together.

3. It seems that Spencer is actually starting to see what an effing dumbass he is, and is trying to make amends with Brody. This probably has less to do with Lauren and The Hills than it has to do with the fact that Spencer probably isn't getting much play at clubs and stuff now that he is not part of Brody's entourage. Because who wants Spencer around just for the sake of having Spencer around?

In Case you didn't notice....

I'm doing it. Kill me now.

This is me on drugs

I finally broke down and took the NyQuil last night. NyQuil and I have a sordid past, which includes a slight dependency on my part. I have been trying to stay away from it, and have been quite successful ever since our move, but this cold/allergy is kicking my bum, so I broke out the tiny plastic graded cup and took my dose like a man.

Now I feel FABULOUS - no boogies, no coughing, although I do feel like I could probably sleep away all of Friday if I had the chance.

But, alas, I do not have the chance. I have to do groceries. Probably my least favorite thing to do on the weekend, besides visiting IKEA, so I will try to get it done today instead. Even though I really hate lugging all the grocery bags up the stairs by myself. I'm thinking of constructing some kind of modern dumbwaiter system. That would also come in handy if ever Gabby's medications stop working.

And how about we just add to the randomness by saying that I am so excited for The Amazing Race to start this weekend. I am so jealous of the citizens of the US for having the opportunity to participate in this show. Here I am stuck in Quebec, land of stupid contest rules, so even if the Amazing Race Canada ever did happen, I probably wouldn't be eligible.

Feeling very Eeyore

My cold/allergy is back. I thought it was a cold because my throat got all sore and yucky, but now because of its persistance I'm starting to think it's allergies. I am stopping for drugs on my way home today. Then maybe I will go to the pharmacy for some Claritin.

So, November is here, which means Christmas is right next door. We all know Christmas is dead, so I have nothing to look forward to until Valentine's Day. Actually, I am quite looking forward to this weekend because of the time change. I think this is now my favorite weekend of the year. How sad is my life when the thing I look forward to the most in 365 days is a chance to sleep for an extra hour. Wow.

The best film that I forget that I love

There is something at work in this universe of ours, that knows what I need and when I need it. Or at the very least knows what movie I need to be watching because I am down.

We have had The Movie Network for several years now, and sometimes I get downright frustrated with the selection provided by these fiends. I pay $20 extra per month - why should I ever need to use my video on demand? For a while we had it just for The Sopranos. Then Big Love. Also Six Feet Under back in the day. Now it's Flight of the Conchords and Entourage.

Anyway, even though it's frustrating 98.7% of the time, it always seems to know when I am feeling low, or sad, or down, and you know what movie it plays then? Elizabethtown.

This is the best movie I know that can let me wallow in whatever melancholy I am feeling, but still leave me with a very good feeling. But I forget how much I love it until I start watching, and each part gets better with each viewing. It's one of the rare films that I actually enjoy seeing Orlando Bloom in. Kirsten Dunst plays much as I imagine her to be in real life. Susan Sarandon cracks me up every time with her tap dance. I love that the dad always said "If it wasn't this, it would be something else." I think I would be friends with him in real life. I desperately want someone to make me a very unique map, and desperately want the time to be able to follow said map.

I always gasp when he sees the photo of his mother (Susan Sarandon) when she was young. I always laugh out loud when she talks about Boner Bob. I always nod my head to the beat (who are we kidding, I full on rock out) while Ruckus plays Freebird. I always giggle when Bloom dances alone in the field. I always cry each time he lets go of another handful of his father's ashes. I always hold my breath when Bloom searches for the girl in the red hat.

I have seen this movie in its entirety at least 10 times. I can't even count the number of times I have watched only part of it for a little pick-me-up.

This weekend, I watched it again. It was the first time SB had watched it. It still makes me feel better.

And over on the East Coast....

It turns out that last night while I was playing the Oskar Schindler of muffins ("this banana, I could have used this banana to bake just one more...."), my sister was having herself a car accident.

Driving home at night on the highway, possible mechanical error, some swerving, and some rolling over of the car a few times.

My sister bought her car on Monday.

When she called to tell me about it, I asked details about the accident, and we chatted for a minute. She sounded so normal that it didn't hit me until hours later how lucky it is that she's okay.

I feel horrible for her, not only because her car is probably totaled, and now she is very nervous to drive again, but also because it appears that she may have inherited my luck. I hope she keeps her chin up, and I hope she keeps driving. But in daylight. And maybe at like 30km/h at first.


***note: sorry about the tasteless Schindler joke, but to my tired, sick, melancholic brain it was too funny to ignore.

Aching

Throughout high school, I earned my extra dough by working at McDonald's. I started on my sixteenth birthday, and was there on and off until my fourth year of university. After...not very long working there, the only job I liked to do was work in the drive thru, and did so even though it involved doing all of the dishes. Probably my least favorite thing to clean were the muffin trays - even though they use the muffin cups, the trays still get really crusty, and the sweet, burned smell can really get to you after your fourth or fifth tray.

I remembered all of this tonight while I was baking.

Something really terrible happened yesterday - not to me, but to one of my closest friends. I'm at a loss, really, and am not sure what to do. How to help. What to say. When to say it. It has been a very long time since I've been in a situation like that, and I'm not sure what I would want from a friend. I know what I want to do - I want to make it better, easier, less stressful. But what will do that? And what will just make it worse?

So, I'm baking. I will deliver everything tomorrow and leave it on the porch - I'll call after so she won't have to see me if she doesn't want to, but the stuff won't get eaten by a stray dog or anything. I've made stuff that can be frozen, so if no one feels like eating, it won't go to waste, which would probably make things worse. Mostly muffins. Lots of them.

Man down! I've been hit!

For about two months now I have been battling my allergies, as I do pretty much 6 months of the year, it seems. I have found a great allergy pill which, although it sometimes makes me dizzy, I only have to take once every day and it keeps my head from filling with boogies.

Last week my throat started to get scratchy, but I kept taking my allergy pill telling myself "it's just the allergies" even though my throat never gets scratchy when I have allergies. Then last night, horror of horrors, I ran out of my medication.

Falling asleep, my eyes felt all burny and I had to take my contacts out. I actually slept okay, but as soon as I woke up and got out of bed my head filled up, I started coughing, and my eyes kept on burning. I'm pretty sure this isn't allergies anymore. I think that maybe this is a cold.

Remarkably, I think this is only the first or second cold I've had since leaving office/retail work. I used to be perpetually sick, picking up a bug every second week and trudging along through life with a runny nose (murder for someone who hates nose-blowing in public) and a fever. I guess it's a testament to the value of life as a virtual hermit whose largest social gathering is a pack of 12 dogs - you don't get sick a lot. But now that I have given in to the sickness, I do not feel like walking my group today. I just want to snuggle into the sofa and watch movies.

I don't think sushi is a good first date

Got to watch The Hills in a timely manner this week - here we go:

1. I'm sick of Heidi and Spencer. Unless they are breaking up, I really don't care to see them on my television anymore. But, at least she finally got a little firm with him - he was all mad she was missing a "surprise" dinner he planned for them because she had to work, and he started guilt tripping her "Fine, just go, you don't even care about us" and she was like "It's called 'work'; you should try it sometime." So funny.

2. Whitney finally went out in public and socialized, which was awesome. She was pretty quiet and boring, though. I guess she can only be goofy and fun in the confines of their little closet/office at Teen Vogue.

3. Lauren's date with Gavin = boring. First of all, they went out for sushi, which, at least at this particular restaurant, seemed like a bad idea for a first date. They agree on one kind of roll to try, then he mentions a baked salmon roll, which is his favorite. Lauren says she isn't a big fan of salmon, but of course he orders it anyway (hey, it's his favorite, whatever, I would do the same thing) and when they bring it out, she pretends that she likes it. Whatever, the purpose is to get to know each other, they don't have to be at the "let's share everything, let me feed you" stage. You can tell a lot about a person by what they order, so on a first date everyone should order their own. Maybe share dessert....

4. Brody is so cute pretending he doesn't care that Lauren is going on a date, then acting all protective of her. I don't care what those two say, they should be together. Especially now that Spencer isn't around effing everything up.

Knitty McKnitter is back in action

Several years ago, I bought six balls of cashmere/merino wool yarn on sale in a greyish blue color. It was so soft and such a pretty color, it took me a very long time to decide what I wanted to make myself with it. Then SB's mom was diagnosed with breast cancer over a year ago, and I said "I will use my fabulous yarn to make her a fabulous cap to keep her head warm, and also that is very cute and soft." Of course once the hat was done I had to make her a scarf to go with. I ended up with some yarn left.

A year later, I decide to make myself a hat. But halfway through the hat, I realized I didn't have enough of the yarn left to finish it. So I ripped it apart. Now I'm trying to figure out what I can make with the itty bitty bit of yarn I have left. (I actually could have sworn that I had a whole nother ball of it leftover, but I have searched high and low to no avail). I hate to waste it, because it is so soft and nice, but really can't think of anything that small to make out of it. If you have suggestions......

Two days late...and I have no excuse

I missed The Hills on Monday, and haven't had a chance to watch it on demand until today. My thoughts:

1. Jenn Bunney is so shady. She loves the gossip too much, and while she doesn't actually get her hands dirty in anything, she is constantly trying to stir everything up. She keeps repeating "I don't want to get involved" but then passes on info to Lauren of what Heidi said, then has lunch with Heidi right away so she can pass along what Lauren said....I think Lauren should just concentrate on the friends who haven't stabbed her in the back at all.

2. Spencer is WITHOUT A DOUBT the one who spread the sex tape rumor. did you see the look he gave Heidi? She didn't even dare come out and ask the question, because he would invariably admit on camera that he did it. Instead she leans on the issue, and he gives her this knowing look back like "you know I did it, so just keep your mouth shut". I hate that guy.

3. I so love that we got to see Heidi get in trouble for the whole Emmy debacle. I hope she gets fired before the end of this season. Actually, I hope she either gets fired, or realizes that Spencer is bringing her down and is a bad influence, dumps him, and then actually succeeds at her job because he isn't there to drag her down.

4. Brody Jenner is hot. I am not happy that the preview for next week shows Lauren dating another guy. I hope it makes her see that she should be with Brody. They are so cute together.

5. I'm glad that Lauren apologized to Audrina for being so critical of Justin Bobby - although I didn't take it as a sign that she has changed her opinion of him, because EW he's gross, but I think it's good that she sees that she needs to keep some of her opinions to herself for the sake of her friendship.

He's wastin' away

Our dogs are both quite whiny, but for very different reasons.

Charlie likes to whine when he is staaaaarrrrrrvvvvving. They usually eat between 6-6:30pm, so that means he starts whining at 6:31. I'm hunnnnnnngry. When is someone gonna feeeeeeeddd meeeeee? I could diiiiiiiiiiie. Tonight I am heading out for drinks, and I'm not sure when SB will be home, so I'm holding off feeding them until right before I leave. It will keep them occupied for about 2.87 seconds while I sneak out the back door. So, for the last 23 minutes, there has been the whining, as Charlie sits in front of the patio door (not even smart enough to whine in the kitchen, where the food is) staring into space and whiiiiiinnnnnning.

Gabby whines all the rest of the time.

Swimming

My head has been very googly. This is a combination of sinus pressure and medicine to relieve sinus pressure. I shouldn't be driving, in my opinion, but there you are.

It's not so bad when I am in my apartment. Something about being indoors with a ceiling and closed space, my head is okay with that. But as soon as I step outside, it's like my head is filled with helium and trying desperately to float away. So weird.

I have been non-productive the last few days, and I'm okay with that. I have been keeping up with work emails and phone calls and all that silly business, but other than that - well, let's just say the house is in a state of slight disarray. SB did a really great tidy-up the other evening, which was spectacular, but the laundry, it is piled up. Dangerously. We may lose one of the dogs in there.

Also, the pot roast experiment was delightful. So tasty. SB has requested I make one a day. Or at least enough so that there are constantly leftovers hanging around. I think it is a sign that it tasted good.

I have fallen in love with Fall

Finally! Fall is finally here! The temperature has chilled, the air is crisp, the leaves are falling, and all is right with the world. Due to global warming fall came a bit late this year, but now we are full speed ahead. One thing that did confuse me a bit was the fact that the leaves began to change color before the temperature drop. This goes against everything I learned in Ecology 101 (literally, we did a 3 week project on leaf-changes, and leafy vs deciduous tree growth based on altitude) wherein the theory would be that the leaves lose all their chlorophyll as the tree sucks it back in so it can survive the winter. And the trigger for the chlorophyll sucking? Cold. So I guess our crazy "theories" were only partially right, and that trees follow some sort of circadian rhythm as well.

Anyway, there are many many things I love about fall, not the least of which is our new fireplace. We moved at the end of April, just in time for air conditioning season, which I was equally delighted by, but it has been pretty freakin' fantastic curling up in front of the fireplace on the weekend and reading the paper and falling asleep with my kitty all cuddled up with me.

I also love the Starbucks pumpkin spice latte, so have been having one or two of those a week to celebrate the season.

The group walks have been fun, because there are no bugs this time of year and you are rarely drenched in sweat because it's nice and cool. The bad parts: it's burr season, so the two terriers I walk are generally full of them by the end of the walk; it's fat squirrel season, so I need to keep my eye on dogs chasing the sloooooooow squirrels to be sure no one grabs one, and that no one gets grabbed by one.

In honor of fall, I am making my first ever pot roast (it just kinda feels like a fall/winter kinda meal, don't you think?). I have made many a roast beef and roast chicken/turkey, and I have braised my fair share of slabs of meat as well, but I have never tried a pot roast, so away we go. It is currently simmering away and smells delish. I am not looking forward to my run with all those smells wafting into the spare room while I'm on the treadmill!

My baby girl is like new again

Those of you who know me at all know that my dog is my child. Just like my cat is my child, but my dog I actually got when I was a child, and we have been through a whole lot together. She is 13 1/2, and I love her dearly.

Before we moved, she became very limpy. Her rear leg was sore, and she often favored it making stairs difficult and jumping on furniture impossible (this was part blessing and part depressing development). When the furniture jumping ceased for her, we passed a new law in these here parts of no more dogs on the sofa or the bed, so that the other wee canine didn't get benefits that Gabby couldn't get. We started supplementing her food with glucosamine tablets, which seemed to help quite a bit for a few months, but recently seemed to not be helping at all.

The move brought a lot of anxiety on my part - we have more stairs here then we used to have, and it was increasingly difficult for her to climb them on her own. Doing so involved getting her focused on the task, and ascending at a very steady pace. Any deviation from the pace or any distractions caused her to lose momentum, and then she would usually fall backwards. If we didn't have a hold on the leash or weren't paying attention, she could have toppled all the way down the stairs doing backward somersaults.

One evening we were watching TV in the bedroom and SB thought it would be nice to give the dogs a little treat and let them on the bed. Since Gabby couldn't jump up anymore, he tried to lift her onto the bed, at which point she snapped at him. This was devastating to me, as she is the sweetest, most gentle dog I think I have ever met, so I knew her lashing out like this meant that she was feeling a lot more pain than we realized.

I made an appointment with the vet with a very clear aim in mind. I just wanted to ease her pain. She is far too old for any surgery, or major procedure, but if we could get a medication or another treatment that would help at all, I was ready to try it. SB was concerned about costs, of course, but our vet is fabulous and usually presents tons of options taking cost into consideration. I was concerned she would say surgery was the only option, and then I would be faced with the decision of letting her go on in so much pain, or putting her down.

She told us that Gabby most likely tore a ligament at some point, and then the extra strain caused her cartilage to wear away in that knee. She said surgery was a possibility, but again age was a a concern. I told her that Gabby has led a fabulous life up until now, and I would just be happy if she was not in pain anymore. She suggested several different treatments, one med by injection, one by pill, and another dietary additive we could try. She said that if we did all of these things at once, we would definitely see improvement, but if cost was a concern, we may want to start with one and then trial and error what works best.

We decided on giving her Meloxicam in pill form. I was extremely pleased to find that since her last vet visit, Gabby has lost 10 pounds! That's huge for a dog, and I attribute it to their new holistic diet, because she definitely hasn't been up for any amount of exercise. But, because of this weight loss, we have to cut her pill in half, and then also shave off about 1/5 of that piece to get her the correct dose. We could have given her the liquid form of the medication, but it is 3 times more expensive, and we weren't even sure it would work.

So, away I went with these pills and a limping dog.

Within two days, it was like she was 5 years old again. The limping stopped, and she started a routine of finishing her dinner, then bringing us a toy to throw down the hall for her to chase. If we didn't throw right away she would bark at us until we did. She has an enthusiasm and vigor she hasn't had for years, even before the limping. Now our other dog looks at us like "when is she going to slow down again - I'm exhausted."

I'm pretty sure her joints are weak because I used to run with her on sidewalks when she was young. I didn't know it was bad for people and dogs at the time, so try not to do it, especially with dog breeds prone to joint problems.

Every night I look at SB and proclaim my amazement at how she has changed over the last few weeks. I am so happy that she is feeling like herself again, and can see how happy she is to be feeling better. I also almost started to cry when two nights ago she jumped up on the bed. I let her hang out there for a while.

Cuddle up

I just spent the past half an hour reading through the blogs on my blogrolling list complaining about how people don't update enough. Um, hello, hasn't posted since last week. Mmm, sorry. Ha. ha........ha

I made it through psycho Thanksgiving weekend, with the help of SB and some yummy Starbucks pumpkin spice lattes. MmmmmmMmmmmm. We had two pretty full days on Saturday and Sunday, and were pretty exhausted by the end, but managed to haul ourselves off the island to our friend CHAG's house for yummy Thanksgiving dinner. I had so much fun and was so stuffed with food I almost forgot that I was about to fall asleep in my soup. Then we had to visit a geriatric cat who needs fresh wet food four times a day. I'm not even joking. But she's sweet, and old, so I kinda like spending time with her. It's just not so fun at 11 at night after a big giant dinner.

Monday I went out alone to finish up all the cats and was able to finish my day by 2:30. When I got home, SB had fired up the fire place, and I enjoyed the best nap ever in front of it, with my cat. I cannot recommend this enough after a long six months. Just grab a blanket, get in your pjs, let your cat crawl into that nook your knees make when you crunch your legs up, turn on the fireplace and snooze. I felt like a four year old who passes out in front of the TV after being out sledding all day. This may become a new routine, along with my two hour baths in our big giant tub which include me, bubbles, a book, and an IKEA Optimal glass of wine**.

Also, the Hills was a recap episode last night, so no Hills Tuesday this week. :(


**for those of you out of the loop, the IKEA Optimal wine glass holds about half a bottle of wine. It's pretty fabulous, and efficient when getting up from the table, or out of the tub is just a big old pain in the rear.

When your whole body is constantly saying ugh

I have been feeling a little low lately. I'm not sure why. Ever since we went home for that wedding, I have felt this giant weight on my shoulders. Or on my head. Yes, definitely on my head.

Maybe part of it is that Labor Day was my benchmark for "get a break from work" because our summer months are insanely busy, and I desperately needed a break. But this year I did not get a break. Not even a little one. Yes, we flew home for five days, but along came the laptop and the Blackberry and work, she was being done daily. When I arrived back, suddenly EVERYONE wanted our services and I had client consultations coming out of my eyeballs. New dogs all around. This is all very very good for the business. But timing-wise, I am pooped. Now it is Thanksgiving, and I have to work the whole weekend. I meant to take days off during the week to balance it out a bit, but that didn't happen. And besides, a day off alone is just boring.

Actually, I think that is also a part of the problem. I'm bored. Yes, I'm busy. But things have become a little ho-hum. I get up and have breakfast and coffee while I watch Regis and take all the messages. Then I call everyone back, and send out reply emails. Then I have a group walk or cat visits or whatever is scheduled for my noon time. Then I come back and take the messages again and do more emails. Then it's administrative stuff til five, when the "office" "closes" and I go take a bath. Yesterday I really switched it up and had a run then took a bath. I know, that's just crazy. Would I rather be doing anything else in the whole big wide world besides this job - hell no. But I think I'm a little lonely. And things annoy me really easily, so any unexpected changes to the routine just make me angry.

Or maybe all of these things are just side effects and I am just going a little crazy again. Maybe I should take a trip to the pharmacy and see if feminine hygiene products make me cry.

Something's brewing there....

Wowie The Hills was good this week!

1. Spencer should be brought out and shot. First and foremost, he continues to grow that fugly beard. Also, he convinced Heidi to screw over all the people at work to get this job with more responsibilities and stress, and then he is ticked at Heidi for having to bail on their anniversary dinner because of an emergency. Hey, Pubic Hair Face, the world does not revolve around you. Grow up and get your own job.

2. I thought what Elodie did to Heidi was really low, and professionally pretty stupid, but aw shit I envied her and wished I had had that opportunity at one or two of my old shitty jobs. For those of you who missed or don't watch (who doesn't watch The Hills, though, really?), Heidi screwed over Elodie for a promotion, so this week E decided she quit. On her last day, Heidi approaches her to fill in for her at the Emmy's so she can have an anniversary dinner with Pubic Hair Face. The Emmy's are the day after Elodie's last day. (Don't even get me started on the fact that Heidi is supposedly E's superior and she doesn't even know she's quitting). Elodie says "Yes, anything for you." and promptly doesn't show up. So then Heidi gets the call to get her ass over there, leading to Pubic Hair Face's demon serial killer look of death. In short, Elodie is my hero slash I don't think I would ever hire her.

3. Audrina went off on Lo and Lauren that she is sick of the tension between them and Justin Bobby and that she can't take it anymore, then had a sarcastic rant about how she will just never see him again then to make them happy. Um, honey, your friends may not like Justin Bobby, but they are making a serious effort to be nice to him, while he is making zero effort at all. I don't think they are the ones you should be mad at.

4. Where was my Whitney? Oh, well, carry over from last week's episode - I thought it was absolutely hilarious when they were at the photo shoot and Whitney was predicting how mad Lisa Love was going to be, and then did her Lisa Love imitation: "Whitney....you do not have a future."

5. If Brody Jenner and Lauren don't hook up, I will be seriously pissed. All of this lead up and anticipation is killing me. Unless he comes to MTL to hook up with me instead. Then I wouldn't be so sad.

Digging in to the routine

My sister left this morning after ten days visiting. We had loads of fun - did tons of shopping, mostly, but she was also jonesing for a ton of relaxing so of course I was game for that. However, after all that relaxing I feel completely behind in my work, even though I'm not really, but you know that sinking feeling that you know are forgetting something......

While visiting, my sister took advantage of us. For our cable. She doesn't have cable. I know, I know, I almost asked for a DNA sample to prove we are related before feeding her when she arrived. She says she is not home enough to pay for it, and that she gets free movies from work anyway, so if she will be home she just brings a few with her. Meanwhile I can barely survive 8 hours of sleeping time without TV. It's on constantly - even if I'm not paying attention to it, I like to hear it as background noise. It was especially fun for her that there was a marathon of LA Ink on yesterday.

I've been able to catch a few of the new shows in amongst my routine of old ones, and I have to say I have been overall pretty pleased with the new, and underwhelmed by the favorites. CSI premiere was a little un-forensic, ER was a little too ER not enough character stuff. Law and Order SVU was a bit too dense - they tried to jam a two-part episode into an hour. However, I am totally in love with Dirty Sexy Money (maybe because I have a major hard-on for Peter Krause), and surprisingly charmed by The Big Bang Theory. It was friggin' hilarious. I highly recommend it if you like sarcasm, nerdy humor, and sarcasm. I wasn't impressed at all by Big Shots - in fact I could only make it through about 10 minutes before switching over to Without a Trace. And that is saying a lot, because I could have easily caught the re-run of Without a Trace on Friday night. I'm very sad, because I have also been known to have a hard-on for Michael Vartan. Maybe if I watch it with the sound off or something.