recently one of the members of the condo board of directors sent out a survey asking how we felt about the management company, security team and the recent vandalism that has taken place. i responded to the questionaire, and received a response from the girl who sent it out. she then forwarded me about 5 different emails with the members of the board arguing with and berating each other, namely this woman. while this isn't terribly professional, i can't help but feel sorry for her. it's not very comforting to know that the people representing your voice can't even get along with each other.
the latest news validating that i am surrounded by idiots? a guy was goofing around with his friend and managed to kick a hole in the wall. that is covered with ceramic tiles.
then there was video footage of someone dropping beer bottles from their unit and it hitting someone.
the good thing is that they have started a website where we can find out news about the condo AND there are message boards which i have promptly signed up for. now i can rant to my fellow residents too!
24 August 2007
16 August 2007
a rare moment
my cat scout, although very cute, is not extremely friendly. one could call her independent; she dispenses affection on her own terms, and it's usually when i'm sleeping. i've adapted quite well to this by petting her in my sleep and kris tells me that i sometimes drag her down and cuddle her, and she enjoys it immensely. usually this is at around 2 o'clock in the morning, but even if i take a nap during the day, she will come around and ask if i want to snuggle...bottom line, i must be in bed for her to be friendly.
then, the other day, i was home alone. i was sitting on the floor, working on the laptop, which was on one of the ottomans. scout kept meowing and rubbing against me. i started petting her, and she actually sat in my lap! and stayed there! for at least 10 minutes! this was in broad daylight, in the living room! luckily i had the camera on the other ottoman, so i managed to capture this precious moment on film (or should i say memory card):
unfortunately, once i took the picture, she came to her senses and took off. the picture was worth it though, otherwise no one would have believed me. and i've been sitting on the floor more frequently just in case...
then, the other day, i was home alone. i was sitting on the floor, working on the laptop, which was on one of the ottomans. scout kept meowing and rubbing against me. i started petting her, and she actually sat in my lap! and stayed there! for at least 10 minutes! this was in broad daylight, in the living room! luckily i had the camera on the other ottoman, so i managed to capture this precious moment on film (or should i say memory card):
unfortunately, once i took the picture, she came to her senses and took off. the picture was worth it though, otherwise no one would have believed me. and i've been sitting on the floor more frequently just in case...
15 August 2007
a note on camping cuisine
my parents used to host pig roasts back at the farm, which usually concluded with a campfire in the evening...my brother would roast marshmallows for others, and he even took specific orders - if you wanted it nicely browned, or burnt, or just mildly roasted, he could do it all. if you wanted it toasty brown though, it usually took a long time because he used a rotisserie type style of roasting far above the flames to avoid burnage. he made marshmallow roasting into an art and i think i took a piece of that with me into adulthood.
i am a s'mores connaisseur. my s'mores consist, of course, of carefully roasting the marshmallow so it's nicely browned with a hard outer layer and soft gooey goodness on the inside. the graham crackers are also nothing revolutionary, but my secret is to use the cadbury thin chocolate bars. they melt wonderfully and the ratio of marshmallow to chocolate is just perfect. i also put the marshmallow on the cracker on its flat end rather than on its cylindrical side to allow for the marshmallow to pop, releasing the soft fluffy innerds thereby quickening the rate of the melting of the chocolate. yum. i've taken to making s'mores in the toaster oven, which isn't as sastisfying, but surprisingly good.
regarding corn; until i met kris, i took for granted that everyone eats corn on the cob the same way - in neat rows, going from left to right. i only eat up to three rows at a time, but usually just do two rows. kris has a more haphazard approach, where he bites randomly until all the kernels are gone. i think that corn tastes better when you eat it in orderly rows, seasoning as you go, but that could just be my anal nature talking.
i am a s'mores connaisseur. my s'mores consist, of course, of carefully roasting the marshmallow so it's nicely browned with a hard outer layer and soft gooey goodness on the inside. the graham crackers are also nothing revolutionary, but my secret is to use the cadbury thin chocolate bars. they melt wonderfully and the ratio of marshmallow to chocolate is just perfect. i also put the marshmallow on the cracker on its flat end rather than on its cylindrical side to allow for the marshmallow to pop, releasing the soft fluffy innerds thereby quickening the rate of the melting of the chocolate. yum. i've taken to making s'mores in the toaster oven, which isn't as sastisfying, but surprisingly good.
regarding corn; until i met kris, i took for granted that everyone eats corn on the cob the same way - in neat rows, going from left to right. i only eat up to three rows at a time, but usually just do two rows. kris has a more haphazard approach, where he bites randomly until all the kernels are gone. i think that corn tastes better when you eat it in orderly rows, seasoning as you go, but that could just be my anal nature talking.
operation: play with chipmunks and sleep in the forest 2007
we spent the past 4 days camping at awenda provincial park on georgian bay. i use the term "camping" loosely since we slept on an air mattress...there was running water at the ready...flushable toilets and showers mere feet away. never mind that the air mattress woulnd't stay inflated through the night, the water tap was infested with wasps, one of the toilets exploded on tuesday night and as we were leaving today, three out of the four showers were out of order...
we camped here in the summer of 2003, and back then it was abounding with chipmunks. i would have a chipmunk as a a pet if only it would let me and if i could be assured it wouldn't chew on the furniture. this time, although there weren't as many chipmunks, there were definitely enough to keep me entertained. there was one who had a bend in her tail and she would eat peanuts out of my hand and would dance around me. the other ones were too skittish, but cute all the same. i'm pretty sure the neighbours referred to me as the crazy chipmunk lady.
we never bothered with a tarp when we previously went camping, but we decided to buy one "just in case" this time...and we were greeted with a thunderstorm and a downpour of rain upon arrival, which prompted kris to suggest that we see a movie. we saw the simpsons movie, which was like a really long episode - not a good or bad thing, with some laugh out loud moments (i expected more though, maybe my expectations were too high?) otherwise the weather was great, even though our campsite was a little too shady; the one we had in 2003 was much better, something to note for next time. it rained one more time during our stay, last night while we were sleeping. i didn't mind that...there's something so relaxing about the sound of rain on the roof of your tent.
we hiked two "trails" - they weren't challenging at all, so it was more just a scenic walk than anything. one took us to a beach that was sandy as compared to the rocky bottoms of the beaches that you can access easily via the parking lot - the walk was worth it!
some pictures:
we camped here in the summer of 2003, and back then it was abounding with chipmunks. i would have a chipmunk as a a pet if only it would let me and if i could be assured it wouldn't chew on the furniture. this time, although there weren't as many chipmunks, there were definitely enough to keep me entertained. there was one who had a bend in her tail and she would eat peanuts out of my hand and would dance around me. the other ones were too skittish, but cute all the same. i'm pretty sure the neighbours referred to me as the crazy chipmunk lady.
we never bothered with a tarp when we previously went camping, but we decided to buy one "just in case" this time...and we were greeted with a thunderstorm and a downpour of rain upon arrival, which prompted kris to suggest that we see a movie. we saw the simpsons movie, which was like a really long episode - not a good or bad thing, with some laugh out loud moments (i expected more though, maybe my expectations were too high?) otherwise the weather was great, even though our campsite was a little too shady; the one we had in 2003 was much better, something to note for next time. it rained one more time during our stay, last night while we were sleeping. i didn't mind that...there's something so relaxing about the sound of rain on the roof of your tent.
we hiked two "trails" - they weren't challenging at all, so it was more just a scenic walk than anything. one took us to a beach that was sandy as compared to the rocky bottoms of the beaches that you can access easily via the parking lot - the walk was worth it!
some pictures:
see you tomorrow, alligator!
we spent part of our weekend at our friend's cottage close to midland, in the township of tiny. these friends have two kids, a four and a half year old girl and newborn, also a girl. i got along swimmingly with the four year old, angelica. we spent a lot of time playing bubbles, where we would marvel at the amount and size of the bubbles, then wave at them and say "bye bubbles! see you tomorrow, alligator!" i went with the flow on that one. as our visit was wrapping up, angelica asked me if i wanted to go to the movies with her. i told her that i was leaving, but we could go another time, and she responded by saying "that's okay, i'll have my mom call your mom"...awww...
08 August 2007
mypinion.com
kris and i often consult online reviews when making decisions on purchases, whether it be big ticket items, like cameras or tvs, to smaller items, like moisturizers or shampoos.
i thought i would give back to the cyber community and join a common internet review site. i wrote my first review on the best mascara i have found yet: diorshow, by christian dior - it's ridiculously expensive, but definitely worth it. i'm going to try to use it for more than the recommended 3 months to get more bang for my buck.
anyway, i have found while reading reviews from this site, however, that sometimes they are too superfluous and contain information that i don't need to know. like the packaging or how much mascara is actually in the tube. so my review was more concise, discussing only the important parts of the mascara, the wearability, the pros (lengthens, separates, curls, doesn't smudge but is easy to remove) and the cons (price and the somewhat oversized brush that can result to sloppy application if one is not careful). what do i get in return? snide comments about how my review was only "somewhat helpful," because i didn't list the available colours of the mascara or how much comes in one tube. then another reviewer gave me a lower rating because i didn't use capital letters, and that person went on to tell me how she prefers reading reviews that use capitals. like that changed the content of my review. please.
i was tempted to tell that person that i lost my pinky fingers in a freak accident and i don't use capital letters because i can't, and not because i don't want to, but then i felt bad for those who may have really lost their pinky fingers and didn't want to compromise their strife. so what did i do instead? i deleted my account. that's fine, i'll continue to keep my findings a secret and let everyone in the cyberworld fend for themselves!
i suppose i could start a new website called mypinion.com and encourage reviews that contain only helpful information and condone the abolition of capitals. or i could just post them here.
i thought i would give back to the cyber community and join a common internet review site. i wrote my first review on the best mascara i have found yet: diorshow, by christian dior - it's ridiculously expensive, but definitely worth it. i'm going to try to use it for more than the recommended 3 months to get more bang for my buck.
anyway, i have found while reading reviews from this site, however, that sometimes they are too superfluous and contain information that i don't need to know. like the packaging or how much mascara is actually in the tube. so my review was more concise, discussing only the important parts of the mascara, the wearability, the pros (lengthens, separates, curls, doesn't smudge but is easy to remove) and the cons (price and the somewhat oversized brush that can result to sloppy application if one is not careful). what do i get in return? snide comments about how my review was only "somewhat helpful," because i didn't list the available colours of the mascara or how much comes in one tube. then another reviewer gave me a lower rating because i didn't use capital letters, and that person went on to tell me how she prefers reading reviews that use capitals. like that changed the content of my review. please.
i was tempted to tell that person that i lost my pinky fingers in a freak accident and i don't use capital letters because i can't, and not because i don't want to, but then i felt bad for those who may have really lost their pinky fingers and didn't want to compromise their strife. so what did i do instead? i deleted my account. that's fine, i'll continue to keep my findings a secret and let everyone in the cyberworld fend for themselves!
i suppose i could start a new website called mypinion.com and encourage reviews that contain only helpful information and condone the abolition of capitals. or i could just post them here.
05 August 2007
bee gee's revival
after a particularly stressful week at work, with 12 hour days becoming more and more frequent, i was ready for a long weekend.
except that instead of relaxing yesterday, we spent the day at a wedding. caribana weekend resulted in gridlock traffic on every street, so it took us 40 minutes to take a normally 5 minute drive down the street. the ceremony was nice, although the music drove me crazy because the organist was having problems playing in time with his singing. i have to say it's the first time i've seen bridesmaids carrying not only their bouquets down the aisle, but also their purses...but to each her own.
the reception was definitely a fun time...the meal was what you would expect, the bar was fully stocked and the dessert table was exceptionally well done. the MC was a member of the band, which, again was something i haven't seen before. he was really annoying and kept barking orders to guests in polish. things like "GO TO THE ANTIPASTO BUFFET!!!!" and "DRINK MORE, ESPECIALLY IF YOUR WIFE WON'T LET YOU!!!" also. he was a SPITTING IMAGE of one of the bee gee's - he was wearing white flared pants and a shirt that laced up at the front. it would have been my BEST people who look like people yet...but i was too distressed by his yelling to think of taking a picture of him. this didn't stop certain antsy members of the audience calling out interjections like "barry gibb!" and "saturday night fever!" in between mr. MC's shouting. these delinquents were NOT members of my party, and my husband definitely did not take part. nor was he the ringleader.
today i have been sleeping more than i have been awake, and boy, does it feel good!
except that instead of relaxing yesterday, we spent the day at a wedding. caribana weekend resulted in gridlock traffic on every street, so it took us 40 minutes to take a normally 5 minute drive down the street. the ceremony was nice, although the music drove me crazy because the organist was having problems playing in time with his singing. i have to say it's the first time i've seen bridesmaids carrying not only their bouquets down the aisle, but also their purses...but to each her own.
the reception was definitely a fun time...the meal was what you would expect, the bar was fully stocked and the dessert table was exceptionally well done. the MC was a member of the band, which, again was something i haven't seen before. he was really annoying and kept barking orders to guests in polish. things like "GO TO THE ANTIPASTO BUFFET!!!!" and "DRINK MORE, ESPECIALLY IF YOUR WIFE WON'T LET YOU!!!" also. he was a SPITTING IMAGE of one of the bee gee's - he was wearing white flared pants and a shirt that laced up at the front. it would have been my BEST people who look like people yet...but i was too distressed by his yelling to think of taking a picture of him. this didn't stop certain antsy members of the audience calling out interjections like "barry gibb!" and "saturday night fever!" in between mr. MC's shouting. these delinquents were NOT members of my party, and my husband definitely did not take part. nor was he the ringleader.
today i have been sleeping more than i have been awake, and boy, does it feel good!
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