We did. We just came back from watching Sean Penn in Milk.
What a beautiful love letter for this new generation to give them examples of where the freedom they enjoy today comes from.
I must admit that even though we all know how it ends, I was feeling the tears… and then I blobbed when they started mentioning what happened to all the characters, especially the one of Cleve Jones whose legacy holds such a gold place in my heart.
Go see the movie, this man was fearless.
I thought for the longuest time that both my sis and I were named after a famous Quebec singer from the 50′s and 60′s… His name is Michel Louvain and one of his big hit was the song Sylvie… I have just now debunked that as Syl was born 2 yrs before the song came out, but it doesn’t change the fact that I blame him for my lame name.
In French-Quebec, Michel is a very common name for boys, and especially for my generation, it wasn’t uncommon to have 5 or 6 Michel in my classes every year in grade school… so fun… and I’ve learned to HATE The Beatles’ Michelle. Let’s just say I prefer the harsh cystic acne I had in my late teens more than this song. Man I hate that song… just as much as when people ask me about Lavagirl… yeah… that much.
Since I’ve moved to Ontario, my name is not common at all for boys, but somehow is for girl but with a different spelling, two in fact: Michele and Michelle… I often disregard it the first few times someone spells my name incorrectly #17, it’s a cultural thing, but I get annoyed with repeat offenders, especially if I’ve already done the: “who’s Michelle bit”…
It happened twice this week:
#1
I get back to my desk and there’s a sticky note on my computer that reads:
Michelle,
Please come see me when you are back!
Janice
So I take the note and walk to her office and when I come in I say: hi, I wasn’t sure who this was on the note. She replied: Janice, that’s me, I wanted to see you….
OK, this is going to be a fun meeting….
#2
I get an email telling all staff about a series of meeting we all have to go too but cannot all go at the same time, so different meeting dates and times were set to make sure coverage is still in order. I look it up and see that Michelle is going on December 10. So I reply to my supervisor and ask if I should go in the place of Michelle or is my name going to be added to the list.
A day later I get this reply: No, we wanted your evil step-sister there, she’s more fun.
At least I know I have a supervisor with a great sense of humour. I laughed and walked in her office to commend her.
I was warned a package was coming from the Chicago Boys, I had no idea what was in it… but once I opened it and stopped screaming like a little girl, I put it on and have been rocking it since:
Please meet Benchley The Hat:
Me and Benchley
DR and Benchley, the ONLY other time someone will be allowed to wear it!
Sheila and Benchley on their first date
BIGGEST OF THANKS to Bill and Andy… Seriously, I’ve been home 2 hours now and it’s still on…
BEST HAT EVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
I am such a fan of the Shopaholic books. I have read them all and have laughed out loud with each of them. This girl makes me laugh.
I have been worried about the movie version since I first heard about it.. I didn’t like the cast, I didn’t like the facts that it seems to be in a different cities, that it seems to mix the first 2 books together and since the preview came out, I have been shaking my head as they seem to have made her such a goofball and NO she is never amazed in the books because the guy she falls in love with “speaks Prada”… oh well, if the movie is bad, I’ll always have the books to revisit…
I must admit that for everything wrong they seem to be doing with the movie, this prop that popped up in the movie theatre last week totally rocks:
Oh and stop being jealous because we went to see this today:
And I laughed…
Last Wednesday morning was my yearly scheduled physical with my doctor, I had booked early in the morning as to avoid missing work time. As most times before, the Dr was running late and what I thought was a 7:30 appointment started at 8:15…
We chatted about what was new since the last year’s visit, I told him about an interesting talk I had with my uncle this past summer regarding leg pains, seems like all the men on father’s side are suffering from these on and off leg pains, sort of like muscle spasm that last for a couple of days and disappear for awhile when taking aspirin. I had mentioned the pain to my Dr many times before but he never seemed concerned. I asked if there was a detection test that could be done since my dad passed from Muscular Dystrophy and maybe the leg pains are early signs? He didn’t laugh at me but told me that there was no such test and that leg pains wouldn’t be the symptoms of early Muscular Dystrophy… hey, what do I know… I tell him I might want to get the flu shot this year for the first time… He says it’s a good idea and that it’s also time for my tetanus shot as the last one was 13 yrs ago.
I get naked, he starts prodding, doesn’t say much, get my undies back on, get on the scale, I’ve lost one kilo since last visit, he wants me to lose more… mention my tattoos, doesn’t say if he likes or not, but mention that I shouldn’t really consider myself a bear as I’m not girth appropriate… Ok, now he’s starting to get on my nerves a bit… So I tell him that it’s more an “admiring thing” than being one… I then sit again for the flu shot in the right arm and tetanus in the left…
While I get dressed, he asks me the usual other question, do I smoke, do I drink, do I smoke pot, do I take drugs… I guess he has to know, so I tell him the same as all the other visit: No; very little; never; just the ones he prescribes; He starts preparing the paperwork for the blood work, I look at my watch, he asks if I’m late for something, I say that since we “started” late, I will be late for work, so I’ll have to come back to do the lab work on another day… which is annoying because I had to fast for 12 hours prior to this visit. He recommends I come back on Friday as it seems to be the least busy day at the lab, it opens at 8am.
So we part, I’m not necessarily happy, I will be late for work now…
2 days later, I make my way to the lab, I want to be first in line, so I make my way early… I get there at 7:45… doors locked… a little sign says they open at 8am… 15 minutes isn’t so bad, even is sub-zero weather… hey I’m first after all. A few minutes later, another guy arrives, tries the doors, locked, he swears… I point to the little sign… He says they always open the doors before that, asks if I have a cellphone, I say yes, he asks me to call. I look around, no phone number… he says the number to his Dr’s office is, humm, wait, i call it so often, it will come… 964-something something… I wait… it will come he says… I put the phone away. No need to freeze the gentle iPhone because of this idiot. I will call him idiot1.
Shortly after this, idiot2, idiot3, girl, idiot4 and niceguy1 arrive, one after the other. Although I am standing by the door and it is visibly not opened, all 3 new idiots try the door and either sigh or say something negative, one says: fuck this shit! Oh, how clever in this -10 Celsius sunny morning. My watch says it is 7:55 now. Idiot5, coolguy1, niceguy2 and shyguy1 have now arrived. We’re forming this nice little circle on the sidewalk with me on one side of the locked door and idiot1 opposite me and everyone else on the sidewalk facing the door… it’s not looking good. Suddenly fatguy1 arrives and he looks like he has a key to open this door. He unlocks, I take a step forward but idiot1 and idiot2 zoom in front of me and make their way to the elevator, the only way down one floor to the lab. Idiot1 pushes the button. Now I’m no mathematician but I do know from experience that first person in an elevator is usually the last one out if everyone goes to the same floor, so I position myself to be the last one in, a bit to the side… Doors open, idiot1,2,3,me, girl, and niceguy1 go in, in that order… The elevator is very slow. We reached the floor below and before the doors totally open idiot1 and 2 push their way to the front of us, shoving girl and myself to the side… I look at niceguy1 and say: Good lord, someone’s in a hurry to get needles in his arm… He smiles, girl sighs, and then 3 of us go out… We have to go down a dark hallway, oh yeah, the lights aren’t on yet, and find the table to pick a number so we can wait our turn… I had been there before, so I am familiar with the place, but not that familiar that I can find my way in the dark. Score, idiot1 and 2 have their numbers, idiot2 managed to get the first one, must have been a pretty run… Niceguy1 finds the lightswitch, girl picks 3 number, hands me one and says: there, you should’ve had the first one since you were there before us, hands out the other number to niceguy1 and keeps hers. I thank girl and replies, while looking at idiot1 and 2, that I just don’t get this amazing race we just did, it’s not like there’s a prize for the winner, it’s still going to be a needle in the arm, we won’t even get a lollipop.
I sit down, get my iPhone out, text DR. I look up, girl is texting, niceguy is texting too… idiot1 & 2 are sitting, waiting… soon the next elevator arrives and idiot3,4,5, shyguy1 and coolguy1 join us. No one is talking. Finally #1 is called to go in. It’s 8:25 already. I’m going to be late again… And will have a needle in my arm to top it all. The 3rd one this week…
The media had been freaking out enough about it for the last 2 weeks with cities and towns north of Toronto getting snow and nothing by the lake, but they got their wish this morning… I didn’t miss the snow at all, but I have to admit that it did look pretty walking to work
Here’s another reason why I’m glad I grew up in the 80′s:
Technology? I love it… once someone fixes it for me.
iPhone? I has it… because DR had had one for a year prior to me getting it and I fully got to see what it was like
Xbox, Wii, Giant Plasma TV, iMac, iTouch, iPod, digital camera, website, flick’r, etc: I has it all… again because of DR
And so it goes in our home, I probably would only have a landline and stationary on my desk if it wasn’t for DR. I love it, but so not interested in knowing how it works that if someone doesn’t sell me on it and shows me exactly how to use it, I probably won’t want/need.
This morning while watching Coronation Street and the endless commercials that come with it, I was reminded how much I love songs from 2 different commercials: Sears Christmas commercial has a great sad christmas song playing where the guy singer talks about “it’s not your sleighride” in it… love it… then there the Debt Canada commercial with the girls shopping and shopping and getting home to find out she’s been evicted for not paying her debts… the song is fun and flippy and talks about how she wants two scoops, not just one, etc…
I wanted to find the two songs to add to my iTunes collection… I first went on YouTube and did search for Sears Canada Christmas Commercial, nothing, then I did Not Your Sleighride, nothing. I tried with Two Scoops for the other commercial, nothing… frurstration building in, I gave up… They obviously do not exist… plus I found these Sleigh Ride version I didn’t have yet, so I’m listening to all the different recordings, so fun… totally forgetting what I was looking for in the first place until DR got annoyed with all the xmas sleigh ride tunes. He asked what the hell I was doing and I told him I was trying to find these two songs…
I swear before 60 seconds had passed, he had the title and singer for each song for me…. like some magical internet fairy came to his help.
Two Scoops by Michelle Harding, which I couldn’t find on iTunes
Donna and Blitzen by Badly Drawn Out Boy from the About A Boy soundtrack, which I promptly bought.
Oh yeah, it’s been playing on repeat since.
It’s the little joys that reminds me daily how I married well.
Here’s the Two Scoops commercial:
Fun song but not available to buy.. yet.
Agent Strawberry Fields pays homage to Goldfinger’s Jill Masterson.
Even with its mediocre editing of action scenes (please give us a second to see what is happening), this new Bond just totally rocks. I will see this one again. And again. And then on Blu-Ray.
It’s been a long time since I went to the movie and no one person talked during the entire film… My faith my be restored.
When DR and I are at our respective work places, we email each other throughout the day, helps time go by and feels warm inside.
What do we talk about you ask? OK, here’s a sample on a boring day at work for both of us, the Thursday before Halloween:
From: Michel Paquette
Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2008 8:50 AM
To: Ted Healey
Subject: Thursday Oct 30
One more day before all hallows eve takes over.
How’s your morning going?
It was a cold walk for sure, my hands were totally frozen, first time in a long long time.
Another first today, I didn’t leave a tip at Starbucks… I mean I go there everyday, always leave a tip, people know me, they prepare my drink before I come in… they have a new one there this week and on all occasions this week I got her, Monday, Tuesday and Today… I know she doesn’t know me, and I cannot expect her to prepare in advance like the others, but give me a break… On Monday I ordered my usual: Venti Mild normally $2.26 tx in, the cash showed $4.50 something, I said I only wanted one, she said that was the price and then she turned around and order a Grande latte… HUH? So I said, I wanted a Venti Mild… so she erased and ordered the right thing except she gave me Venti Bold… ok I can live with that. On Tuesday, same thing, Venti Mild, she picks up a Grande cup, so before she starts pouring I repeat: Venti please… the other cashier picks up the Venti cup and hands it to her, this time she pours half Mild half Bold, I guess one ran out??? Not sure why she switched… Today I ordered once again my Venti Mild and she picks up another Grande cup… So I ask her if my french accent is too strong, maybe she didn’t hear correctly, but I want a Venti Mild… they’re was a third girl in the back and she came over right away and poured the right drink… this time though, I took all the change and walked away… she never looked back up, not sure if she’s having a bad day, a bad training, not enough coffee in the morning, almost deaf, not sure… but she’s annoying… And there it is my Starbucks rant, which is another first…
>>> “Ted Healey” 30/10/2008 9:00 am >>>
I can’t believe that she got your order wrong three times in a row. I bet she gets transferred to the quietest Starbucks in Canada: The Starbucks beside a Starbucks in Brockville.
Not much here. Nothing on my plate at all. I just had a quick meeting with Scott regarding scheduling (nothing bad, just clearing the air) and about our machines (we don’t have the money to upgrade them (uh oh.)
I may go to the dollar store to get $3 of decorations for our cube. That’s all. I’m a Scrouge of Halloween.
From: Michel Paquette
Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2008 9:10 AM
To: Ted Healey
Subject: RE: Thursday Oct 30
Let’s just say that if she was in a Chorus Line, she’d be Connie and not picked at the end… enough said.
I’m gonna go to Pier 1 to get some little decos there, they were all on sale and sort of nice, not looking tacky, so we can put them around the kitchen on counter/table and put them away for next year’s use…
Should I get this bear lamp for the Adventure Room? I rrrrrrrreallllly love it…. rrrrrealllllllyyyyyyy….
>>> “Ted Healey” 30/10/2008 9:15 am >>>
Before you get the lamp, ask yourself where you are going to put it. Where.? Wheeeerrrreeee? If you can honestly say the place where you’ve chosen is proper and good, then yes. Get the lamp.
Di$ney. That’s all I’m saying.
From: Michel Paquette
Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2008 9:18 AM
To: Ted Healey
Subject: RE: Thursday Oct 30
Oh, I know exactly where it’s going to go… we need 2 more lamps in the Adventure Room, one on each side of the couch (we have the moose lamp on one side already and the bear lamp would go on the other side). Then the small Deer lamp from Canadian Tire would go on the small Billy Shelf by the light switch, then it would be lit complete.
Disney would want me to get the lamps… What’s that Walt? Get it today? Venti Mild?
>>> “Ted Healey” 30/10/2008 9:26 am >>>
I just sent Syl the recepies for the chili and soup. Now she knows my secret for coming up with great food.
What’s that Disney? A PS3 with Little BIG Planet? Oh you little tease!
From: Michel Paquette
Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2008 9:32 AM
To: Ted Healey
Subject: RE: Thursday Oct 30
Mr. Roy Disney! Please stop interfering…
Don’t listen to him, he was never the brain behind the Mouse House, just the survivor… he knows not what he says, he’s probably on percacets or valium right now anyway after living through the Michael Isner years…
Thanks for sending the recipies, thank god for the internets.
>>> “Ted Healey” 30/10/2008 9:39 am >>>
The ghost of Steven Spielberg is coming to me. ooooo he says goooo to craigslisssst and see that you can get new in box for $350 oooooo I don’t care if it fell off the back of a truck oooooo it has blue ray 2.0 oooooo Now he’s doing The Worm on the floor. And roy is joining him, doing The Crab. Ooooo and
Oh.
From: Michel Paquette
Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2008 9:48 AM
To: Ted Healey
Subject: RE: Thursday Oct 30
Is it Spielberg from the 70′s / 80′s? or Spielberg from the Millenium?
Only the 70′s / 80′s is to be taken serious, the other one is a fraud, he’s misleading you… And plus, who does the worm anymore???
Now if he did the robot, I’d say, clear the savings account and run to where that truck stopped, where “cell phones don’t work” and buy buy buy.
I think you’re suffering from hallucinations, just put your iPhone on, turn on your Sarah Brightman and let her musicality soothes you into the real world once again.
Dr. Disney’s order.
>>> “Ted Healey” 30/10/2008 2:58 pm >>>
So we can actually purchase our airline tix this weekend. It’s true! I can draw the money from the Canada Savings Bond which, I thought was going to expire but it doesn’t at all until I say so.
What say you?
How was your lunch?
From: Michel Paquette
Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2008 3:37 PM
To: Ted Healey
Subject: RE: Thursday Oct 30
well, if we can muster it, I say book’em Dano…
Hotel and Airfare would be taken care of…
I’m going to the front for the rest of the day, I’ll have limited access to email depending on how busy it is there, if we don’t chat, we’ll talk tonight.
I bought a xmas surprise for the xmas tree… you’ll love
>>> “Ted Healey” 30/10/2008 3:48 PM >>>
Okay no worries.
I just checked WestJet and leaving on Friday, back on Sunday, $1094
Yeeks!!!
From: Michel Paquette
Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2008 3:58 PM
To: Ted Healey
Subject: RE: Thursday Oct 30
OH MY GOD…
we’re coming back on Monday the 8th…MONDAY THE 8TH……..
NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
>>> “Ted Healey” 30/10/2008 4:08 PM >>>
$962 if we change in Newark. Do we want to save a hundred bucks.?
Don’t answer that I know your response already.
From: Michel Paquette
Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2008 4:16 PM
To: Ted Healey
Subject: RE: Thursday Oct 30
NO FREAKIN’ WAY IN HECK
It’s not worth $100 to spend an afternoon in Newark
>>> “Ted Healey” 30/10/2008 4:24 PM >>>
Yeah westjet is $1094 I did it twice. I tried Thursday for poops and giggles to see if we could go in the evening after work but nothing – only 10am.
Flight Centre is $1200 with AAirlines. No Westjet option online. Looks like we’ll have to visit Jake!
From: Michel Paquette [mailto:mpaquet@toronto.ca]
Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2008 4:43 PM
To: Ted Healey
Subject: RE: Thursday Oct 30
well, it’s much bettorb (the extra b is for bargain) than when I checked on Tuesday night, totally works for me… Let’s definitely do something about it tonight and hope the special holds until you can move the $$$ in your account
>>> “Ted Healey” 30/10/2008 4:44 PM >>>
K.see you at home gay box boy
