WITH SPECIAL GUEST STAR

Would you expect anything less for Heather Locklear? Tonight's episode of Melrose Place featured the return of Amanda Woodward, played by Locklear. I feel pretty bad that she isn't doing other projects and that she is back on this show, but on the other hand she totally rocks this part and makes the show much more enjoyable - A LOT more enjoyable.

The show now had some interesting drama and not just some little risqué storylines. She's only been on the show for one episode and she's already getting people fired... In and out of the story. Apparently they are letting a few of the original cast members go to help pay for Locklear. Good choice since the people leaving the show are terrible actors and they will not be missed.

So welcome back Ms. Locklear - you've always been so much more than just a star to me and to so many others - you're a Special Guest Star. And that's saying a lot. :P


Later all... ;)

THEY TOOK IT DOWN?!

In 2006 I decided to upload a fan-made video that I had made years before to YouTube. I've been pretty proud of this video since it attracted quite the following on YouTube.

The video is for Britney Spears and is set to the song 'Cinderella' from her third album 'Britney'. Today, suddenly after almost 4 years on YouTube, and almost 5 million views later, some company is going around requesting that all Britney fan videos be taken down - I've already found a few other people whose fan-made videos were taken down.

I just can't believe it. I don't make money off of the video --- when you view the video it had an ad directing people to where they could legally purchase the song. I just don't get what has suddenly changed after 4 years to have it taken down. If anything it just means less free publicity for Britney.

*sigh* I know it's just a video - it was really popular video - but I'm pretty upset it got taken down.

Later all... ;)

IN CASE YOU FORGOT

Remembrance Day. I've always had some pretty strong mixed feelings about this day. In some provinces it's an official holiday and in many ways I think that it should be given that level of importance in Ontario, but at times I think maybe not. Yes, I'm conflicted.

November 11th is a day when we can remember those who gave their lives so that we could live freely and enjoy the lives we live today. Based on that alone I should be supporting the day. There is something in me that will not allow it. Does this make me a bad person? Probably. I'm a little dead inside and slightly emotionally stunted, so this really shouldn't come as much of a surprise.

I hate war. I mean, nobody likes war, so it seems a little silly/redundant to even say such a thing. People make the argument that people like me are selfish and ungrateful for not being active supporters of Remembrance Day. I get where they are coming from, I really do.

I'm healthy. I'm educated. I have many rights that people elsewhere do not have. A good part of that has to do with people who fought in wars. A lot of it has to do with people who fought smaller 'wars' here at home. Fighting for social and political matters. It's all related though.

I'm working my way towards being more patriotic on this day - it's definitely a work in progress. But I wonder how many other people also struggle with these thoughts, or even how many people don't think of the day at all.

While growing up Remembrance Day comes at you from all angles - there is no way to be in school and not participate and learn about the day and the history involved. But I am now 27 and I give almost no thought to the day - not enough anyways. Fewer and fewer people wear poppies.

So what does it mean? I'm not sure. I'm sure I'll be writing a similar post to this one next year, and every year afterwards. So while I didn't forget, I often wonder why I don't care just a little bit more.

Listening to: "You Belong With Me" by Taylor Swift.


Later all... ;)

WE HAVE GUESTS

It has been a busy few days for me - Friday night I went out to see 'Auguest: Osage County' at the Canon Theatre in Toronto. We got some inexpensive tickets, so it was pretty hard to turn down the invite. The show was a lot of fun - the audience really responded well to it. I think that the first act was a little slow - I was pretty tired from work and I *may* have dozed off for a few minutes. But don't judge! Cosette did the very same thing. :P Acts 2 and 3 were amazing. Extreme highs and lows - but it all balanced out so that you never felt overwhelmed, and it never brought you down, despite all of the sad parts.

Also, this past weekend Cosette had one of her friends staying here - to write a paper/report... Why not write it at the library or at home? I dunno, but I didn't mind having a guest in the house, after all, I was expecting a guest of my very own!

~~~~~~~~~~

My friend Jill, from my days at Queen's, was in town for a conference. We tried to remember the last time we hung out, and decided that it was probably a year ago - much too long. I went through a lot with Jill when I lived in Kingston. I'm probably more honest with her than anybody else that I can think of.

My last post was talking about being a downer and really not being happy lately. After spending some time with Jill I realized that this is not the case. I am not really unhappy - I am discouraged and tired - but not unhappy. I have no reason to be unhappy. We talked about work, we talked about relationships, and we talked about a mutual love for a certain Canadian television show involving time travel. All this over an amazing sushi dinner [Sushi Xtra, Queen & Spadina], followed by a sweet and tasty sesame ball from China town, and then a nice cup of coffee. Oh yes, and lots and lots of walking.

Our visit may or may not have resulted in some singing and dancing in several areas in the downtown core. The singing was both of us - the dancing, mostly Jill. :P

It was refreshing seeing Jill. The last few times I saw her I don;t think that I was happy - I was still running from some inner demons, and still wasn't able to open up about some things. During this visit I was able to talk more openly about things. I was able to joke around and have more fun than I am used to having. It was a nice two days for sure. :)

~~~~~~~~~~

And finally, well, not finally, I am going to save some news for a bit later. But today I went up to Markham - that's right, right out of Toronto, dealing with an entirely different transit system that almost caused my head to explode. I made it to work after asking a very friendly man lots and lots of questions - and then asking them again just to be sure. lol. I was a little worried about making it back to the subway given that it was dark out, and I had no idea, really, how to get back. Someone I was working with offered to drive me back to the subway. So I made it safely - I cheated a little bit, but I made it!

Gold star for me, and the nurse that gave me a drive. :)

Listening to: "Many Moons" by Janelle Monáe.


Later all... ;)

A BIT OF A DOWNER

I have been pretty unhappy lately. I think that is a big reason why I haven't been updating this blog as regularly as I once did. I often don't have anything to talk about, or at least when I do it's not something positive. And nobody likes a Debby-Downer.

Drama at work. Job searches galore. I'm feeling a little isolated from the people around me --- I haven't been the greatest person to be around lately.

BUT - This weekend my friend Jill gets into town and I couldn't be more excited about it!

Also, I'm going to a show at the Canon Theatre after work tomorrow - my roomie invited me and I have no idea what we're seeing - I'm going in blind!


Later all... ;)

ALL IN A DAY'S WORK

All of this talk about the flu just makes me sick........... *cough*

I don't believe I ever wrote about my trip to Sudbury, even though I had every intention of writing about it the day after I got back.

I went to Sudbury to do some admin work for another anti-viral medication assessment clinic. Basically employees from different companies show up to get assessed by a nurse to see whether or not they are able to take a certain medication being offered through their company.

I flew out of Toronto mid-day, and it was a pretty quick flight. The first thing I noticed was that the airport isn't as hard to get around as I remembered. Sure, I had to stop and ask people for directions and some clarification [everyone was really nice and helpful!], but it was smooth sailing... err, flying, all the way.

The second thing that I noticed is that I am like a child when I'm on a plane. I was luck enough to have a window seat with no one sitting next to me. I was right by the wing. I loved watching the wheel lift up off the ground and watch as we soared up into the sky.

Leaving the GTA was interesting because you saw the trees, the grid systems, the roads - busy people leading busy lives. I probably watched the ground for 20 minutes until the plane rose too high up into, and then over, the clouds. Flying over the clouds looked like we were above miles and miles of snow. It was pretty neat.

As we came down through the clouds to land in Sudbury I noticed a few differences from the time we took off to that moment when we were preparing to land. The trees were everywhere - but everything looked dead - as though a forest fire had swept through the area. In Toronto the trees had barely begun changing colours, but in Sudbury they had long lost the leaves. Trees, trees everywhere. There was no grid system, no cars - barely even proper roads [literally - there were mud paths]. Everything seemed lifeless and gray. Not as lively as Toronto that's for sure.

I headed off to work - the clinic was at the Canadian Blood Services head contact centre - so if you're calling into them, or you receive a call from them, no matter where you are in Canada, it's probably someone from Sudbury you're talking to.

The day went by quickly, and then I was off to the airport once again, this time I was back to Toronto. Again, the flight was quick, the coffee was terrible, but it was a nice trip. there was a man who was on both flights with me - he was there doing an inspection of a building. We chatted for a bit - he likes to travel and boat around France with his wife. His trips sounded like lots of fun.

And now here I am, back in Toronto.

I like this city. Sure, it's expensive, but it's home now. It felt good to crawl back into my tiny bed in my quiet little apartment.

Listening to: "Lights & Music" by Cut Copy.

Later all... ;)

GEOCITIES.COM TOKYO TOWER

I meant to write about this last week when I received an email from Yahoo!Geocities. As it turns out Geocities has officially been taken down. If you haven't heard of Geocities, it was one of the original popular free options for putting up a website of your very own. More often than not the websites created were tacky, full of animated gifs, and awful midi music. And let's not forget the guest books [which have long been replaced by blog style pages with comment sections at the bottom of pages].

But we loved it - at least I loved it. I began testing out HTML coding and practiced my web design skills - that's where it all started. The first website? A fan site for Sailor Moon. It had an episode synopsis, character bio, music, links, etc. Ahh, the memories.

If you would like to take a nice trip down memory lane check out this article about why it's a good thing that Geocities is gone. :P

So long Geocities, we had some good times.

Later all... ;)

WORST BLOGGER EVER

The prize goes to me for being the worst blogger ever. I haven't been making any time for writing, or reading other blogs.

Here's the update on my life.

I am still working at the cheese store - they are also giving me a couple of design projects to work on which is very nice of them.

I have a second part-time job now doing admin work for hte company my friend Heather works for. I am being flown out to Sudbury on Tuesday for the day - way to shake things up! ha. I haven't been on a plane since high school, so it should be interesting/fun! [Fingers crossed I don't get lost in the airport.]

I am still going to the gym. I've been cooking a lot lately. I recently watched and enjoyed '500 Days of Summer' and found far too many parallels with my own life for my own liking. I have begun dating again which in my mind is both good and bad.

~~~~~~~~~

I recently took a trip back home since it had been a very long time since I had been. The first night was spent hanging out with my sister, her fiance, and the cats. Ever notice how animals can tell when you don't want them to come near you, and in response they climb all over you while you watch Glee? :P

I went home the following day to visit my mother and to see my brother's place. The whole trip was good, and somewhat uneventful. I was going to try talking to my mother about the letter I had sent her a few months ago --- but after hearing some stories from my sister about my mother's true feelings about it I decided that it was best to leave it alone for this visit. lol.

"3" - Britney Spears cover by The Shures.
[I don't much like the actual version of this song, but I love this cover of it]


Later all... ;)