The decorative lights go up where they go up, the malls begin playing seasonal music, the weather stays mild, people go to work and back home as usual. A glance at the list of upcoming concerts reveals it is rock dinosaur season; or to be kind, it is rock nostalgia season, with a score of acts originating in the 1970s arising from well earned retirement to tour North America, or parts of.
Nothing more festive than that. Another failed romance, more money going out than coming in, work proceeding apace, being coerced - or is it convinced - to attend the company Christmas party in December.
Stay tuned for that.
Sunday, 11 December, 2011
Monday, 7 November, 2011
October
October was the month of birthdays. Five people I know had birthdays that month. It was also the month of Halloween. Toys and costumes and candy and pumpkins everywhere all month long, and of course with the pumpkins a sudden and brief interest in pumpkin pie and pumpkin carving and even one or two mentions of the Great Pumpkin character from the Peanuts comic. Of course there are the private Halloween costume parties, and seasonal public haunted houses, tickets for sale at the door. There were not too many Halloween songs, perhaps fortunately so, but there were a few, some recycled from past years. Halloween movies tend to be horror movies. I can understand the monster connnection, but why solely horror films? Isn't there comedy in Halloween? Since it is a children's holiday I expected more kid's films with Halloween themes. Maybe something like Miracle on 49th Street, but with the Great Pumpkin. Now that I think of it, the only really scary thing about Halloween are the horror films it inspires and the price of all that candy.
Saturday, 1 October, 2011
September
Hightlight of September is the Calgary International Film Festival. More or less 100 films from around the world, showing over a ten day period from Sept 23 to Oct 2. That means it ends tomorrow. The leaves have begun to turn fall colors, the days were warm and more summer than fall, with a few exceptions. I have been looking around for some paintings. Unfortunately the work available is not to my taste. So-so paintings of buildings, comic paintings of vegetables and glassware, abstract stuff using glossy auto body paint. All examples of what I do not want to spend my money on. Not that I can afford to invest in art at this time, but still, if I found something I really liked. I work until well after dark, now that the sun sets early. No time for much more than a quick pint at the pub and looking out the window and watching the concrete in the parking lot cool down.
Friday, 2 September, 2011
August 2011
The last major outdoor summer festival wrapped up. September is the unofficial beginning of Fall, as the temperature plumments from 29C to 15C. Most days I am at work. Time off I write, which I consider my real job.
I had one eventful week mid August. On a Monday I was almost run over. Crossing the street to the bus stop, I looked left to make sure the truck coming from that direction was stopping. Then half way across I looked right, and a car missed me by two feet as it sped past doing about 50K.
We work under an escalator, so our store is open from above to anyone standing beside the escalator. On Thursday someone dropped a box of linens - those packages you can buy that contain an entire set - from the floor above down onto us. It missed my co-worker by inches and smashed into our counter. I ran upstairs but they had run away. Another coworker nearby had seen some people giggiling as they fled the area. She said she would give the description to security. A half hour later another package was dropped and this one hit me on the head. I yelled 'son-of-a-bitch!' and ran upstairs. Again they were gone. I had notified a nearby security man as I ran for the esacalator. He came upstairs with me but did seemed bored and disinterested. If he or his fellow security caught the people responsible, or if they even tried, I have no idea. I was however, told to watch my language by Mr. Security guard.
I had one eventful week mid August. On a Monday I was almost run over. Crossing the street to the bus stop, I looked left to make sure the truck coming from that direction was stopping. Then half way across I looked right, and a car missed me by two feet as it sped past doing about 50K.
We work under an escalator, so our store is open from above to anyone standing beside the escalator. On Thursday someone dropped a box of linens - those packages you can buy that contain an entire set - from the floor above down onto us. It missed my co-worker by inches and smashed into our counter. I ran upstairs but they had run away. Another coworker nearby had seen some people giggiling as they fled the area. She said she would give the description to security. A half hour later another package was dropped and this one hit me on the head. I yelled 'son-of-a-bitch!' and ran upstairs. Again they were gone. I had notified a nearby security man as I ran for the esacalator. He came upstairs with me but did seemed bored and disinterested. If he or his fellow security caught the people responsible, or if they even tried, I have no idea. I was however, told to watch my language by Mr. Security guard.
Saturday, 30 July, 2011
Summer in the City
A busy summer as the festivals make their rounds.
The awkwardly named Comic and Entertainment Expo was moved up a month to avoid last year's cold. A good time, but too much emphasis on tv and movies. The focal point should be comics and manga and the people who work on them.
The Lilac Festival, again this year with the lilacs mysteriously absent, was so crowded that people were wedged together for hours and had to be separated by emergency crews using vaseline and wooden wedges.
Prince William Duke of Cambridge, and his Bride, Catherine Middleton, had their honeymoon in Canada. A week or so world-wind, or is that Canada-wind, tour of the country. Barely staying a day or two in any one place, their final stop was Calgary, where they had a public reception and opened the Stampede. Then off they went again this time into the U.S. They must have the same travel agent as myself.
I did not attend the Stampede this year. It was three days on when I first realized it was indeed, on. This year warm, no floods and no rides falling apart like last year.
And that was July.
The awkwardly named Comic and Entertainment Expo was moved up a month to avoid last year's cold. A good time, but too much emphasis on tv and movies. The focal point should be comics and manga and the people who work on them.
The Lilac Festival, again this year with the lilacs mysteriously absent, was so crowded that people were wedged together for hours and had to be separated by emergency crews using vaseline and wooden wedges.
Prince William Duke of Cambridge, and his Bride, Catherine Middleton, had their honeymoon in Canada. A week or so world-wind, or is that Canada-wind, tour of the country. Barely staying a day or two in any one place, their final stop was Calgary, where they had a public reception and opened the Stampede. Then off they went again this time into the U.S. They must have the same travel agent as myself.
I did not attend the Stampede this year. It was three days on when I first realized it was indeed, on. This year warm, no floods and no rides falling apart like last year.
And that was July.
Sunday, 26 June, 2011
Its Finally Here...
Its Finally Here....
School is out for the summer. It was a crazy year. I was getting a little impatient for my papers for the upcoming year. Nothing like waiting til the last day to hand them out. The good news is that I will be back for next year. I really hate these year by year contracts. You would think that being in the union would make it so there is a definite deal. Its really nerve racking.
Cami survived another year as well. Shes now moving up to the middle school level. Although the school she attends is a PreK to 8th grade. Sixth grade is technically middle school but in her school its still elementary. Now she will be in 7th grade. The 7th and 8th grades have their own section of the building. They change classes and have lockers. I do have the chance to send her to a different school district. Im not sure Im ready for that yet. Well more like shes not ready. The school district that we live in doesnt like kids with ADHD. They feel that they belong in a special ed setting. There is no way I am going to subject my kid to that when she clearly doesnt need it. She aces all her test scores and is one of the smartest kids in the school. Why would I put her in special ed?
I finished off the last week of school with a nasty head cold. Why is it that I always get a cold at this time of the year? How stupid is this? Im guessing that I must have picked it up when I was doing my recertification. Nothing like being in a hot, sweaty, wrestling gym while doing testing for restraints. It was so hot in there and just crazy. We were all complaining. I think next year, I will do the recert in January.
The fourth of July parade is coming up at camp. We went shopping today for all the stuff to decorate. I think we did fairly well. Im not sure how it will all tie into the theme but we will do our best. The theme is Happy Birthday America. The float will be a giant cake. Im hoping my mom doesnt decide to jump out of the cake in a bikini but you never know. Just kidding. She wouldnt be that crazy. But she has done some crazy stuff in the past for these floats. We shall see on Sunday.
My father has completed his radiation treatments. Im not sure when he has to go in for a scan to see if the cancer tumor shrunk. We are hoping that it did. He refuses chemo. They may have him do another round of radiation though. What ever works. Hoping for the best. I think he is a little scared though. He has been going through his coin collection to get it ready to sell. Then Im buying a house. He yelled at me that his granddaughter needs a house. Ok. Im not going to argue with him. And he wants to make sure its a good one for her.
So heres to the beginning of summer vacation. Im hoping its going to be a good one.
School is out for the summer. It was a crazy year. I was getting a little impatient for my papers for the upcoming year. Nothing like waiting til the last day to hand them out. The good news is that I will be back for next year. I really hate these year by year contracts. You would think that being in the union would make it so there is a definite deal. Its really nerve racking.
Cami survived another year as well. Shes now moving up to the middle school level. Although the school she attends is a PreK to 8th grade. Sixth grade is technically middle school but in her school its still elementary. Now she will be in 7th grade. The 7th and 8th grades have their own section of the building. They change classes and have lockers. I do have the chance to send her to a different school district. Im not sure Im ready for that yet. Well more like shes not ready. The school district that we live in doesnt like kids with ADHD. They feel that they belong in a special ed setting. There is no way I am going to subject my kid to that when she clearly doesnt need it. She aces all her test scores and is one of the smartest kids in the school. Why would I put her in special ed?
I finished off the last week of school with a nasty head cold. Why is it that I always get a cold at this time of the year? How stupid is this? Im guessing that I must have picked it up when I was doing my recertification. Nothing like being in a hot, sweaty, wrestling gym while doing testing for restraints. It was so hot in there and just crazy. We were all complaining. I think next year, I will do the recert in January.
The fourth of July parade is coming up at camp. We went shopping today for all the stuff to decorate. I think we did fairly well. Im not sure how it will all tie into the theme but we will do our best. The theme is Happy Birthday America. The float will be a giant cake. Im hoping my mom doesnt decide to jump out of the cake in a bikini but you never know. Just kidding. She wouldnt be that crazy. But she has done some crazy stuff in the past for these floats. We shall see on Sunday.
My father has completed his radiation treatments. Im not sure when he has to go in for a scan to see if the cancer tumor shrunk. We are hoping that it did. He refuses chemo. They may have him do another round of radiation though. What ever works. Hoping for the best. I think he is a little scared though. He has been going through his coin collection to get it ready to sell. Then Im buying a house. He yelled at me that his granddaughter needs a house. Ok. Im not going to argue with him. And he wants to make sure its a good one for her.
So heres to the beginning of summer vacation. Im hoping its going to be a good one.
Thursday, 19 May, 2011
Guest post by Samuel Pepys
By water with great pleasure as far as Chelsy, and so back to Spring Garden, at Fox-hall, and there walked, and eat, and drank.
I did kiss the pretty woman newly come, called Pegg, that was Sir Charles Sidly's mistress, a pretty woman, and seems, but is not, modest.
I saw a mummy in a merchant's warehouse there, the middle of the man or woman's body, black and hard. It pleased me, though an ill sight.
Mercer, to my great content, brings Mrs. Gayet, and I carried them to the King's house.
Coming too soon, we out again to the Rose taverne, and there I did give them a tankard of cool drink, the weather being very hot.
Up by water and to Fox-hall, where we walked a great while, and pleased mightily with the pleasure thereof, and the company there.
Eat and drank, and then out again and walked, and it beginning to be dark, we to a corner and sang, that everybody got about us to hear us.
To my bookseller's, and there carried home some books-among others, "Dr. Wilkins's Reall Character."
Late walking in the garden; and so home to supper, and to bed, after Nell's cutting of my hair close, the weather being very hot.
I did kiss the pretty woman newly come, called Pegg, that was Sir Charles Sidly's mistress, a pretty woman, and seems, but is not, modest.
I saw a mummy in a merchant's warehouse there, the middle of the man or woman's body, black and hard. It pleased me, though an ill sight.
Mercer, to my great content, brings Mrs. Gayet, and I carried them to the King's house.
Coming too soon, we out again to the Rose taverne, and there I did give them a tankard of cool drink, the weather being very hot.
Up by water and to Fox-hall, where we walked a great while, and pleased mightily with the pleasure thereof, and the company there.
Eat and drank, and then out again and walked, and it beginning to be dark, we to a corner and sang, that everybody got about us to hear us.
To my bookseller's, and there carried home some books-among others, "Dr. Wilkins's Reall Character."
Late walking in the garden; and so home to supper, and to bed, after Nell's cutting of my hair close, the weather being very hot.