Dead battery

Stupid Dell laptop... the battery suddenly died on Sunday night. I've had the computer for just over two years now. I looked online and read that Dell batteries go dead all the time, sometimes after less than a year from purchase. A brand new battery from Dell is at least $140 before tax and shipping and the reviews on them are terrible. I decided to buy one from another company for $90 total... that includes tax and insured next day shipping. I figure, what the hell, if it's going to die every two years, I might as well go with a cheaper one!

Drained

Soooooooooo nice to be home again. I'm not sure why the hell I'm still so tired though. I had to leave work at 1 pm today because I felt so tired and dizzy. I've had plenty of sleep in the past week so I'm not sure why I would feel that way. I hope it's just a bit of time/altitude/jet lag or something. I've also been experiencing episodes of depression this week - it's awful. The stupidest thing makes me sad or makes me cry. WTF?

Today Julie and I went looking at a condo that is for rent come August. It was very nice looking but was in the basement. What a waste of time that was... the fact that it's in the basement should have been mentioned in the ad.

When we returned home, we decided that we're fine in our apartment here.

Tonight we're going to watch Zodiac and drink some fantastic wine I picked up at a winery in Ontario.

Niagara Falls - July 5, 2008

"Celebrate good times...come on"

HAPPY CANADA DAY

from a proud, 2008 graduate of Canadian School!



For, I am a baby-Canadian.



Eh-eh-eh.



No more 'pip pip pip' for this ex-Brit, thank you very much.



Enjoy your day of festivity and marvel, my auspicious people of the New World.

Monday Monday

Today I've been in a whirling dervish putting together an air conditioner. It began after rising at 1 pm, as the heat had kept me awake and turning all through the night. It was, somewhat of an impulse buy. I must say, so far, I feel nothing of great note from this expensive monster in my window. Unless I stand in front of it...I realise at this moment, I could open the fridge door and it would have the same effect.

The other purchase today was an air pump as it took Heather two hours to pump up the air mattress the other night with "the built in foot pump". Pah to that. Camping starts Friday night and will speed away the weekend until my beloved returns. I can not wait! I have her on a frenzy about us moving to a better part of town for her commute, so watch this space.

The day is 30 degrees and this body is fit to drop. Off now, to sleep in the fridge. A chest freezer would come in really handy right now . . .

Internet Dependant

This will probably be either my last or second last post until I get back home. I'm 99% sure that my aunt does not have internet access or a computer for that matter. How strange that I'll be going that long without it... it's kind of embarrassing to think about how dependant I and a lot of people in the world are of the internet. There's the blogging I do, the posting boards I visit, the games (Pogo addict, I have to admit), banking (LOVE online banking), e-mail of course, shopping and best of all, INFORMATION. Looking up a restaurant for the menu, looking up a company for what they sell, looking up directions to some one's house... imdb.com for just who that blond was in that movie with the guy, etc. What the heck did we do before to get all this information? Lots of books... books that ended up outdated within a year. I remember getting that Leonard Matlin (at least I think that's his name... I'd have to go look it up online to see if I have the spelling right... see?) Movie book he'd put out every year that had the brief description of what all the movies were and who the top two or three people starring in 'em were. Wow. And encyclopedias... people would sell them door to door and kids would receive them as gifts from their parents. It was a huge investment! Now a days? I don't know anyone who owns a set of encyclopedias... even the school libraries have outdated sets. Do they even make them anymore? Or does the information change so fast that they can't keep up? Anyway... my point is that without the internet, I wouldn't know anything anymore. Hell, I don't even own a dictionary... that's what spellcheck and dictionary.com is for!

So yeah, now I remember what I was saying... not having a computer or the internet for the next week will be a little hard, even if I'm supposed to be on vacation and relaxing. Ah well... I did it before I owned one (15 years ago), I'm sure I can do it again.

You Don't Have To Be Mad To Work Here But...

In the Salvation Army, one of the workers who looked like Lily Tomlin, maybe about 45 or so was getting a kick out of H' and I. I was making H' sit in this chair she eventually bought, and I went around the store finding wee tables, a TV, a lamp, gaudy ornaments etc, a bad Danielle Steele novel...and made a make-shift living room all around her and the chair, so she could, 'get a feel for the chair'.

WORKER: Ah look at you! Are you from Glasgow? That's the neatest Scottish accent you have!

I did the usual, "No it's a hybrid of accents" thing. But Glasgow I was from and she would not budge. In the end I was saying, "Glasgow IS amazing, yup" (I have never been and know nothing of it).

Then she gets real excited as I look at a CD tower, I ask, "How much?". However, she hones in on the old school HiFi beside them..."Yes, let me see, how much..oooh, no price, mmm, you are lovely dear....this would be perfect for you, ...oooh, that accent...yes let me see, where-where...oh look here, it has VHS here for your music..(she demonstrates the music cassette buttons as if it's advanced technology)..look now at this round bit...you get things from around the world...what is that dial...oh of course, the citizen band..." No HINT of humour, she was genuine as the day is long. So I look at the 'citizen band dial' and then I look at her....and I just smile from ear to ear, "Yup, that citizen band is pretty cool, huh". This woman, she is seven shades of oddness, but wow, she is great.

When we went back later, she gushed all over me again. It was this beautiful, quirky interaction both times...and I just thought, how much joy do people miss by dismissing people like this as "nuts" or "whacked"?? Why not meet people where they are at when you sense something in that so called realm?

Funny though, as I left, I just knew in ten years or so, that would likely be me. Ah, shucks, now there's something to look forward to Jenny-kins (What do you mean you are extending your stay???????? Smile)