Because it just won't let some things go. I heard a radio commercial this morning for some sort of motorcycle (I think) and the slogan was "Because life happens between empty and full."

What the hell does that mean? That life only happens when you're standing at the fuel pump? Because that's the time between empty and full. Um, sure, I guess the Grim Reaper does not stalk the land while I'm filling my tank, but isn't that an incredibly trite observation? If they're touting the joys of the bike, shouldn't it be "Life happens between full and empty" i.e. the only time you're living a life worth having is when you're burning fossil fuel?

And I'm not making this up, I didn't mishear it, and others apparently feel the same way, I see. Oh well. It was too much to hope for that I'd had an original thought. Back to the grind.

(and come to Calgary on the May long weekend! You will obey!)

Hm. Wonder where my Yahoo Avatar went. Oh well.

The Ukrainian Easter Buffet went well, I thought, even though it struck me that since Easter is a lunar holiday, we couldn't use the old Gregorian vs. Julian* excuse for not being organized enough to actually have it on Easter. But happily, perogies knoweth no season. We have a heap of leftover ham, too; whoever described eternity as "a ham and two people" was right on the money.

And it's official now, we'll be in Cowtown from the 19th to the 24th (though we're planning on spending the 23rd in Edmonchuck to see some of my family). So forget your stupid lakes and cabins and camping; come have fun with us! I hear the weather's going to really suck anyway. Really. Rain and hail and sleet and possibly plagues of toads. Really.




* Huh. Upon actually reading the Wiki, I see that "almost all Orthodox churches continue to celebrate Easter according to the Julian calendar" but since Easter is the first Sunday after the full moon after the equinox, wouldn't that be the same day as the Gregorian? Aren't the equinox and the moon phase based on astronomical geometry, not the calendar?**

** OK, after thinking about this even more (it's Monday, I'm slow) I guess it would only be the same day sometimes since the calendars are 13 days apart, not 14 (an even 2 weeks) like I thought.

OK, my irrational guilt over the TV purchase has passed as quickly and mysteriously as it arrived, I think. I still will donate to my favourite charity as an attempt to throw something onto the positive side of the karmic scales, especially since my volunteer involvement ended with my move down here.

Now my free-floating anxiety is fixated on earthquakes. I'd think I was a patsy of the media, it being the anniversary of The Big One, but this has been a low-grade source of stress for me since we moved here. A life in Saskatchewan just doesn't prepare you for living through huge disasters (the Devine government aside *rimshot*).

And the more I read, the more worried I get. There is a simple solution to that, of course,* but I do want to be prepared.

Oh, I'm just a festering swamp of neuroses these days. Don't mind me. Honestly, everything's fine and we're lucky and happy to be here.

This weekend we're having a Ukrainian Easter buffet to introduce our friends here to the wonders of perogies, holuptsi, beetniks, cheese buns, babka, and horseradish eggs. This is turning out to be a fair amount of fiddly cooking. When I commented to R:tAG about how much of The Cuisine Of His People was little bits of things wrapped around other little bits of things, he screamed "Stop oppressing my culture, you ethnocentric bitch!" which had me rolling about laughing for a good long time. Ah, OOTS, you make everything better.




* "When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading." -Henny Youngman

For someone who's not Catholic or Jewish,* I sure easily absorb any free-floating guilt. "Buyer's remorse" can last a couple of years with me. So our latest purchase is sending me into fits. How can I justify spending money on such a egregious example of rampant consumerism? There are starving people who need help both in far-off places and close to home. Sure, we've been frugal this past year, treading lightly on the planet, etc. etc., but that was imposed by me not working. Now that we have money, we're spending it in a very shallow way.

No punch line here, I really am feeling guilty.

Damn nice TV, though.




* Or Protestant, or Hindu, or Muslim, or theist, if it comes to that.

Whoof. Terrible, terrible night's sleep. One of those where no position or temperature is comfortable, bedclothes get all strangly, and normal house noises sound like the Thunderclaps of Doom. I am puffy and sandy-eyed, and just hoping that if anyone catches me napping in my cube, I have the presence of mind to quietly say "Amen" when they wake me up.

But we had a great weekend; the Two J's from Minnesota came for a visit. These are the folks we got along so well with (with whom we got along so well. Well got with we whom along so.) at GenCon, and they are just as nice in the real world.* The only downside of the weekend was that I might be completely addicted to Guitar Hero.** No, we haven't bought it, but it's available at several friends' places now, and at R:tAG's workplace. And I can stop any time I want to.




* And I say this despite them totally Kisleving us in a cameo appearance in our weekly Deadlands game. We started the session stranded on a bleak pillar of rock in The Maze, surrounded by mined, shark-and-pirate-infested waters. And that, as the man said, was the good bit.

** I even got the "Tetris-eyes" type thing happening where I could see the coloured notes coming at me all the time.

So this is all very up in the air and hand-wavy right now, but there has been Talk of R:tAG and me coming up to Calgary on the May long weekendish (20ish-22ish) for a birthday celebration. Ish. Would we get any interest from anyone about joining us?

While you talk about that amongst yourselves, I'm going to tell you the funniest joke I've heard since the antenna joke:

Q: Why don't French people ever eat two eggs?
A: Because one egg is un oeuf.

(you have to say this out loud, I think. This, with many other gems, can be found here. A warning; the criteria of the jokes were that they shouldn't make fun of anyone. That does not mean that they are not rude. (e.g. the joke about twenty-six year olds is in there))

And here're some links:

Dictionary of Symbols
(I spent way too much time here)
A Great Invention (I need one!)
Bad Album Covers (just funny)
The thing that made me laugh the most all week (apart from the egg joke)
My next vacation spot
Thoughts on composing music (I thought this was interesting despite having never composed anything and being pretty inexperienced with modern music)
Guide to Grammar and Writing (should be required reading)

And with regards to the whole interviewing thing, here's a great idea from one of my new favourite bloggers:

"Here's something I’d like to do the next time I have to interview someone. I'd give them a normal interview and at the end of it say, "I'd also like to have you interview with the department god. Would that be okay? Good, I'll go summon him." Then I'd leave and come back wearing a giant paper-mache tiki monster head, and give another interview in a scary deep demon voice. If I could somehow make fire shoot out of the giant paper-mache tiki monster head, that would be good as well. I'd hire anyone who I couldn't make cry."

Have a good weekend!

 

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