Lazy Day

I know I haven't posted much over the last couple of days. That's mostly because we've been running around doing stuff and having a good time and partly because I don't really know what to say. It's been a really super awesome trip. I don't think I've laughed so much in forever and we've seen some really cool shit.

When I booked the trip and right up to the day before I left I wasn't worried at all. I honestly didn't even really think about it much. The day I left tho, I did have a brief moment of panic. I couldn't help but worry that things would go horribly, horribly wrong or that it would be terribly awkward.

I shouldn't have worried. More than anything I've been shocked at how not awkward it is. I'm constantly amazed by how much it's like hanging out with any of my friends at home that I've known for years. I love that I have friends I can meet in person for the first time and it's like they've always been there. Robin was even kind enough to point out that I'm already blending in nicely... like a part of the furniture. She's sweet like that.

Yesterday we went out to Cape Ann and I've decided I really need to buy one of the very tiny old houses up there and set up shop selling weird shit, Robin's photos and Erik's stuff. We'll all live happily ever after and I will be remembered forever for my delightfully excentric behaviour.

That or they would get really incredibly sick of me after about a week and spend the rest of their lives cursing ever inviting me out here.

Worth The Price Of A Ticket

So, for anyone who hasn't been paying attention at all this last month - I'm in Boston visiting Robin. I've only been here a day but it's already been totally worth the price of getting here. Robin herself made the whole trip.

"How?" I hear you ask.

She was having trouble with her Facebook today. For some unknown reason it keeps changing to spanish. Her response to the whole thing was priceless...

"See? It keeps switching to spanish! Why does it keep doing that? I wonder if I type if it will be spanish?"

...

We may or may not have laughed very hard at her.

But she's cute, so it's okay.

Odds

And in other news, I bought new shoes! Yay! (no, I am not one of those "shoe freak" girls. The only three pairs of shoes I own are falling apart. It's just time, that's all.)

The Very Special Kind

Romantic? Really?

It really doesn't ever cease to amaze me what people label "romantic" when it comes to movies, TV and music. Somehow things that we would all find really creepy in real life become the most romantic thing ever when portrayed by some big name celebrity.

Need examples? Okay...

Phantom of the Opera - I was asked my opinion on this the other day and I responded that aside from my limited tolerance for people singing about EVERYTHING, I'm not a big fan. See, murdering stalkers who are given to rape and kidnapping aren't really my type. I'm weird like that.

Enrique Iglesias "Escape" - "You can run, you can hide but you can't escape my love" Really? Huh. I could have sworn that was called stalking and I'm pretty sure it's illegal.

Twilight - Oh, don't look at me like that. You knew it would come up. The guy watches her while she sleeps and gets angry when she sees people he doesn't like, just for starters. He's a stalker and a douche of a boyfriend. In real life this shit is NOT ROMANTIC. It's abusive. And the chick is such a classic victim it makes me want to vomit blood. Young women should NOT think that this shit is a good thing! This is shit they teach you in recovering from abuse that you should see as a red flag. It actually concerns the shit out of me that Stephanie Meyer is sending this message to girls and apparently believes it's okay.

James Bond (every movie) - Long live the god of "No means yes and more no means 'kiss me'." I actually like James Bond but the way he treats women has always annoyed the shit out of me. Kirk has this same problem in Star Trek, the idea that women really just want to be bossed around and treated like sex toys. That when we say no, a good smack and forcing a kiss will make us understand that the man was right all along. Again, not romantic. Abusive, yes. Sexual harassment, yes. Total dickwadish, absolutely. Romantic, not even a little.

Aerosmith "I don't wanna miss a thing" - This would be really sweet and romantic if it weren't so incredibly creepy. These are about the clingiest, neediest, obsessive lyrics ever written. If you had a boyfriend this insane you'd be trying to get a restraining order.

Say Anything - Calling someone 8 times in a row and showing up at their house with a boombox to serenade them? Intensely creepy. John Cusack is the only person who should ever, ever, ever attempt this maneuver.

The Police "I'll be watching you" - I almost didn't include this because it's actually a song about a stalker. Then someone reminded me that there are still people who use this song for wedding first dances and other applications that would seem to imply they have no idea that this shit is wrong. Once more people, say it with me - STALKING IS NOT ROMANTIC. Which is why there are so many celebrities who get restraining orders and there are anti-stalking laws.

I know there are lots more examples. These are only a few. Feel free to leave more in the comments. For now, I'm sick and tired and hungry so that's all I've got.

See What Being Sick Does To Me?

I don't know what it is but being sick and geeking out seem to go hand in hand with me. The last time I was really sick I watched the entire animated Star Trek, this time I'm watching the movies (the original series movies anyway). I'm blaming this partly on the fact that I leave for Boston in a week and I will likely have to go a whole five days without any Trek at all.

What does all this mean? It means you get another nerd post*. Feel free to ignore it, read the archives or something, listen to the old episodes of Off Topic. Whatever you like.

- I always love that Khan tells Chekov that he never forgets a face since Chekov didn't even show up until the second season. Part of me can't help but taking some sick pleasure in noting the error and part of me likes to think that Chekov was always there, just not on the bridge (the rest of me is just incredibly sad for those two parts).

- Can someone please tell me why in the hell Scotty would carry his dying nephew to the goddamned bridge rather than sick bay, please? That bugs the shit out of me every time. McCoy isn't even hanging out on the bridge at that point and since they were under attack it's safe to assume that he was trying to help the fucking wounded.

- I love Khan, a lot. Really I do. Ricardo Montalban is wicked hot and Khan is an awesome character. But... I'm still not exactly clear on how Khan figures that all this was Kirk's fault (and believe me, I'm the first one to call Kirk on his fuck-ups of which there are many). He talks about being exiled to Ceti Alpha V, but really he was given an opportunity to colonize the planet. Kirk didn't blow up Ceti Alpha VI, dude and it's more of a Star Fleet fuck-up that no one came to check up on you guys (or notice that Ceti Alpha VI had BLOWN THE FUCK UP).

- Kirstie Alley is the WORST VULCAN EVER. Honestly, if it weren't for Khan's incredible awesomeness she would have ruined the whole fucking movie.

- Tho I'm never surprised to make note of it, it should be mentioned that Kirk pops his collar like the douche we all figured he was.

- What is up with the engineering uniforms? Those are THE ugliest, most ridiculous uniform ever.

*Yeah, I know, it's all been said before and I'm only talking about Wrath of Khan. You don't like it? Get your own blog.

Yet Another Warning

It's 10 days until Boston today, so you get another post about... dun dun DAAAAAAAAAAA.... my trip to Boston. I'll wait a moment while you recover from the shock.

This post is a warning, because I feel one should be given.

I am really not good at being emotional. Aside from anger which had been deemed an acceptable "feeling" by the Germans at some point. Most other things are kept pretty much under wraps. Feelings are something to be feared and ashamed of, something to shove way down deep inside away from the light of day where they can fester and rot until one day they explode and you invade another country and start a major war.

What can I say? I didn't inherit a lot from the German side, but what I did get is generally frustrating.

Why am I warning you about this? Because I've had people tell me in the past that they weren't sure how to read me or that they were disappointed when I under-reacted to something. So I'm telling you now, for the most part my reaction is only a fraction of what's going on in my head. I'm just rubbish at being excited. My family, I am sure, can attest to that from every christmas/birthday/whatever that I've ever had.

This Public Service Announcement has been brought to you by the letters Q, X and N and by the number 8.

Two. Weeks. Bitches.

Holy shit, I cannot believe it's only two weeks until I leave for Boston. I'm actually having trouble wrapping my head around the fact that I'm going at all. It all seems so... unreal. I have a feeling it's probably going to continue to feel that way until I'm on the plane and on my way.

This week I'm going to get my passport so they'll actually let me out of the country. I need to start thinking about what all I need to take and what isn't necessary (for example, toiletries tend to be such a fucking hassle, I might just pick some up when I get there). I also need to contact the airline and check what restrictions there are and if there's anything I need to know before I get there. I'm really hoping to get through all this with a minimum trouble.

Finally, I need to have a plan for keeping myself entertained during my stops. I have two stops there (a total of about 5 hours) and one on the way back (for about three hours) which gives me plenty of time to be bored to death and not enough time to actually do anything interesting. I'll have my laptop, so how about we all cross our fingers and hope for merciful WiFi Gods.

One other thing, I will be in Boston over a Sunday which means we'll actually be doing Off Topic while in the same place. It's should be a ridiculous show, so be sure to tune in for that show if nothing else.

Remember, Remember...

Remember, remember the Fifth of November, The Gunpowder Treason and Plot, I know of no reason Why the Gunpowder Treason Should ever be forgot. Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent To blow up the King and Parli'ment. Three-score barrels of powder below To prove old England's overthrow; By God's providence he was catch'd (or by God's mercy*) With a dark lantern and burning match. Holloa boys, holloa boys, let the bells ring. (Holla*) Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King! And what should we do with him? Burn him!

Rice Cooker Pro Tip

This light means "You haven't actually turned the rice cooker on"

This light means "It's on and the rice is cooking".

Learn the difference. It will save you an hour and a lot of cursing.

Why Do I Love Tim Curry?

What's not to love? Now stop asking such stupid questions.

Apparently I Suck At Posting...

It's been almost a week. I know. I'm a terrible, terrible person. I'm sorry. But I'll try to make it up to you by recapping this last week.
Sunday, as I'm sure you're all aware was Flogging Molly Day, which will go down in history as a day made of awesome. Even with all the crap that wasn't so awesome, it still makes the awesome list which almost makes me happy for the crap because at full awesomeness capacity, I probably would have just dropped dead.
The drive up was, well, a drive through the prairie. I was sorry that I forgot my camera tho and I didn't manage to get lost or anything. I also managed to avoid any wildlife around the highway, for which I am endlessly grateful.
Then there was Blue. She started off on the right foot with her perfect call timing. Google maps, as per usual, had given me some seriously stupid directions and I had just dug out my cell phone to call her to ask where in the bloody hell I was meant to go when it rang. Between her and her unfortunately mute husband we managed to get my car and myself there in one piece.
From there I met her kids (one of whom informed me that he can "jump as far as a ninja" and owns an axe specifically for killing zombies - guess who was my favourite), her dogs (both of whom are lovely but unfortunately either too big or too squirmy to steal without being noticed) and her cat (who is not nearly as scary as advertised). Blue, for the record, is not a serial killer which I was a little disappointed to discover.
After a little bit of a directional mishap, some incredibly dusty gas station candy and picking up food we made it to the show on time. The crowd outside was about what I expected, a good mix of people with a generous helping of the "too cool"/"asshole" crowd. When the doors opened and booze was added to the mix they became a pretty standard concert audience (especially for any band connected in any way with Ireland... gotta love the wanna-be Irish).
Neither Blue nor I drink so we spent a fair amount of time shoving drunks away from us and threatening physical violence on the next guy to put his arm around us. We also made friends with a couple of guys who assured us that not all guys are drunken losers and then started keeping score, guys vs. girls, for who was the worst behaved (I'm ashamed to admit it was called a tie by the end).
Flogging Molly was, as you may have guessed, ten shades of awesome. They put on a really good show and I was absolutely, pants-wettingly, excited to find that they sound almost better live than they do recorded (I fucking hate any band that sounds shit live). Super high energy with just the right amount of between song chatting and guinness drinking. I also bought myself some swag including a new jacket (which I've been wearing pretty much constantly since I got my hands on it).
And finally the crap, because you knew I wouldn't skip it.
Like I've said, the drunks were out in full force and while some of them were amusing to be worth it others were decidedly not. If I live to be a thousand I will never understand people who get slobbering drunk before the band even hits the stage nor will I understand people who feel the need to act like fucking assholes at a crowded venue. (For the record, I've been to lots of metal shows and I still think that moshing is fucking stupid. Moshing at FM is even worse. Stop acting like such a motherfucking douche bag.)
I ended up having to leave really, painfully early which blew goats. I had gotten a call from a friend of mine informing me that after a trip down to the states her boyfriend (another good friend of mine) had been denied entry back in to the country and might be deported without so much as a chance to come and pick up his things. I drove home early in case she needed me to come with her down to the border to talk to immigration as she was more than a little wound up and hadn't slept. It wasn't until I'd left the city that my mother called to remind me that I was meant to be teaching a class that afternoon... so no trip, but still a shit ton to do.
And on top of it all, the tooth that had been giving me trouble for a while had gotten worse. A two week migraine, more painkillers than any one person should ever take and a desperate to the dentist later and I'm now short one tooth. I'd complain, but at least my head doesn't hurt anymore.
Oh and in there somewhere was a trip to get a replacement birth certificate (for which they charge me a bloody fortune), a stop at the passport office (directly after the dentist - FUN!) where they informed me that I would need a different guarantor, a trip across town and back, another hour waiting to file my application and catching a cold.
So here we are. A week later. Fun stuff. I'll tell you all about the opening bands another day. They deserve their own post.

Flogging Molly Day!

In a little while I'm leaving to drive to Saskatoon. Why Saskatoon? Because that, my friends, is where I will get to see two very awesome things.
Bluepaintred AND Flogging Molly.
My head might explode from the sheer awesome. I'll report more on that later.

What Robin Is In Store For (And Also Manly Man)

Why yes, I do intend to just keep stealing posts from Robin.

- Realizing I really do curse that much and it gets more creative the more annoyed I am.

- Listening to me try to convince you to move to Canada as much and as often as humanly possible.

- Learning that I am the most indecisive person on the planet. Just make the decision for me, woman!

- Hearing me say "that's dirty" on a fairly regular basis.

- Having me ask a lot of stupid questions.

- My burping

and much, much more!
Excited yet?

Perfect...

I don't know how it works in other countries (I'm sure 5 minutes on Wikipedia would clear up that problem) but in Canada at least, you're not actually required to have a birth certificate. I mean, they have you on record somewhere, but to have a physical copy for yourself is in no way required. So my parents, being my parents, decided "why bother?" and I went about 20 years blissfully unaware that I didn't actually have one. Until it came up that I needed it for some application or something.
I got one, no problem. Put it in my wallet and kind of forgot about it unless it was needed to prove to someone that I don't actually have a middle name (why would I lie about that?). Gradually I stopped carrying my wallet but left a few things in there that I figured I didn't need to carry around all the time, you know, like my birth certificate.
Fast forward to two days ago. I printed off the passport application forms so the US will know I'm not a terrorist plotting to bring them down from within (suckers) and behold! I need my birth certificate so Canada, who is apparently forgetful and not very observant, will know that I am me and that I was born and raised in this wonderful land of hockey and beer.
My birth certificate, you'll remember, is in my wallet. My wallet is always on the table next to the TV by the coat rack. So imagine my surprise to find that now that I actually need the fucking thing, it's gone.
Gone where?
I have no idea. I have torn my house apart, twice. It's no where to be found.
What. The. Fuck.
Luckily, after talking to a surprisingly helpful and chipper woman from Stats Can. or where ever the fuck she was from, it turns out for a few bucks more I can get a replacement same day.
I'm blaming this all on you, America, for making me get a passport to begin with. Don't think we won't be having a chat about this when I get there.

In Person?

Some in-person things you should know about me in case you ever meet me.

- As much as I'm not really a "touchy" person, I hug my friends all the time. It's just how we say hello and good-bye and whatever else needs to be said with hugs.

- I talk a lot. I know I do. I talk more and faster when I'm nervous or excited. Be afraid, be very afraid.

- I am prone to giggle fits, it's some kind of genetic flaw. This gets worse when I'm nervous or excited. (Seriously, all the women in my family have this problem.) This means that something stupid will set me off laughing and I can't stop. It's weird. I know.

- Yes, I am this sarcastic all the time.

- I often make an ass of myself and I stick my foot in my mouth so often it would be easier to say that occasionally I take my foot out of my mouth.

If you're wondering why I'm telling you all this, you obviously need to pay more attention to Robin's blog because I really did just rip off her post. Also, I'm going to Boston to visit Robin and Manly Man! Yay! And we're going to see the new Kevin movie! More YAY!
This, my friends, is going to be epic.

Fact.

Indulge Me For A Minute

I've been sick the last few days and I'm doing what I usually do when I'm sick. I'm watching Star Trek. Season three was still sitting on the coffee table so, rather than walking to the other room, I started with it.
Now for those of you not aware of it, season three is well known as the most over-the-top season made (which is really saying something). I guess that's what happens when you know your days are numbered. Why not just say "fuck it!"? And so, episodes like "Spectre of the Gun" and "The way to Eden" were born.
In a season full of WTF moments picking out just one episode and naming it the best (or worst, depending on how you're judging them) is a difficult task. More often than not the prize is awarded to "Spock's Brain". Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to disagree completely but I just think that "Spock's Brain" is a knee jerk reaction and one I understand. It's bad.
But honestly, in a season complete with space hippies, Chekov and several other men screaming like little girls, a gun fight at the OK Corral (shitty scenery explained by aliens rudimentary knowledge of the time period... riiiiiiight), Kirk being mistaken for a native american (alien civilization) god, Kirk swapping bodies with his ex and acting like a bitchy old queen, is it really so much worse?
As I said, I've been watching the whole season yet again and I defy anyone to watch "Spock's Brain" and "Plato's Stepchildren" back to back and tell me that "Plato" isn't worse.
This scene alone puts it miles ahead of the competition.

Sick Today

I felt like posting something but not enough to be creative. Sorry. I'll post again when I feel less like shit.

One Of Those Weeks

You ever have one of those weeks where you can't seem to decide wether you're up or down? Where one minute everything is wine and roses and the next you just want the whole world to go away? Yeah, kinda like that. The last week has been something of a gong show.

In and amongst the peaks and valleys I got sick, did the zombie walk, got pulled over by the cops, went to my friends birthday, hung out with a friend I haven't seen in way too long, had a stranger let himself in to my house, had my make-up win a contest, got in to a fight and realized that I may have been overestimating some people in my life while underestimating others which has left me feeling incredibly disappointed and amazed all at once.

Maybe I'm just lame, but personally I like things to be a little more even. If the peaks and valleys are separated a little more they're easier to take. When they start jumping up and down that quickly it kind of makes me feel sick.