Below are the most recent 15 friends' journal entries.

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
yumikid	4:44p	Stunned And yet I shouldn't be. Reg's son left the country to go live and work in Manilla for two years. He made no effort to see him - hasn't in months, despite living in the GTA - and told him by phone. Reg will be 90 in March, and his health is poor. Son did, however, leave instructions on how to wire money. Posted via LiveJournal.app. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, November 4th, 2009
iamweasel_2112	6:51p	OK, So.... It looks like I won't know if I have Jury Duty or not for sure until 11 am tomorrow at the earliest.  So I guess the question is -- should I go into work anyway then find out my fate at 11, or should I stay home?  Keep in mind I have a bit of a commute to work so it wouldn't exactly be a quick drive, but on the other hand, I could stand to lose a day's pay. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
proonjoos	5:24p	uhm, yeah OK, so today Treat had no fever. So we sent her to school. She was happy to go and energetic. Mistlegoo and Trick had fevers last night of 38.4 and 38 C, respectively, and I was up there at 39.1 C. We kept them home. I called 311 about the green bin (we received a sticky saying "Wow, here's your new green bin!" and there was no green bin - it had apparently been lifted). In the messages at the start, there was mention of H1N1 diagnosis clinics. Not providing immunization, these clinics are there mainly to assess whether you have H1N1. Mistlegoo started complaining of tummy pain around 10:30, and everyone's fever was about where it was last night, so I called ACH and got him to come from work and meet us at the clinic. I threw the portable dvd player and a movie Trick chose into the backpack, along with snacks... it's a clinic, it's going to be hours. To manage Mistlegoo's pain, I gave her Tylenol, but Trick and I were unmedicated. It was in fact the clinic's first official day. It's at Sandy Hill Community Centre, on Nelson. We were greeted by a phalanx of gowned, gloved, masked people who would not even let us depress the plunger on the isopropanol hand sterilizer we were immediately administered. We were all given masks, and shown into a waiting room. All the seats were full, so we set up on the floor, but after that they showed us into a secondary waiting room, where there were two other children. The kids watched the movie (we invited the other kids to watch as well, but they didn't want to) and we waited for 1 hour 18 minutes (total running time of Barbie in The Nutcracker). They used an ear thermometer, which is known to be inaccurate as a method of temperature determination. Mistlegoo was assessed to be 37 C, Trick was 38 and I was 38.5 C. I had brought the thermometers and I knew for a fact I was 39.2 C. Anyway. The doctor was very nice and thorough and Trick and Mistlegoo were found to have clear lungs, throats and ears. No sign of infection or pneumonia. Then she sat down with me. Apparently I am high risk (not something I had thought of). First the septicemia followed by pneumonia four years ago after Mistlegoo (see userpic created by yumikid after the pneumonia, when they told me to wear a mask in my own house). Then more recently the thyroid tumour and the (slight) possibility of cancer from that, and she said I am likely deficient in my immune system. She noted that I was gasping, my pulse was 105 and my O2 sat was 97%. If I don't get my breath back once my fever is controlled, she said, I need to go to emerg. Given that I have neither tonsils nor appendix now, I guess it's not so surprising that I am an immunological weakling. I asked if they would do a swab, to confirm that it was H1N1. No, I was told, only patients that are admitted to hospital are swabbed. So I have a moderate case of suspected H1N1, and Trick and Mistlegoo have a mild case. ACH, for the moment, is blessedly healthy. And Treat? When she got home she was 38.5 C. She's home tomorrow, along with the other two. Full house! ACH is staying home too, of course. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
ottawa_emptor	11:56a	Windows: The Beginning Of Bitching We've saved up the money to buy the new windows, huzzah! Buying things with credit is like soooo 2006. (Just kidding.) I've been encouraged by people to be prudent in buying the windows, to buy ONE window from the company we've chosen to see if it's installed properly. You know, to just hang back and observe... be prudent, be wise.... I would do that... if I were someone else. But our house is freezing cold. There's no other way to describe it. The windows are haemhorraging hot air and sucking in cold air. Yes, that's right - our windows actually suck in the literal sense. So I've ordered us some glorious vinyl and argon beauties! And not just some windows! I've ordered up all of them. We're replacing almost every single window on the house this fiscal year, bitches. Respect my authoritaaaaaeee! We shopped around (three companies) and the first two were total losers. I worked in a copy shop and we gave better quotes with more information than these assholes did. I mean, what did we get for our estimate? The first company's quote consisted of the dude's name and a number (around $3,000) scrawled on a company bill. THAT guy wouldn't even go up our stairs to see the top floor windows. The second company wouldn't come to our house. They asked us to measure our own windows and describe what we wanted. We played along, and they gave us a quote. (Again, around $3,000.) No one was willing to come to the house and discuss options with us, or if we asked, there was a significant hesitation before they allowed that they would be willing to visit us. Finally, Lambden Windows sent out Wayne to see us. Wayne measured every window himself and then left without leaving a quote. He emailed us a .pdf quote about two days later that came with small illustrations of every window, a full description of what the window came with and what room the window was associated with (bathroom, kitchen, etc). BRILLIANT! And what's more, the price was reasonable for replacing every window in the house. In the end, we chose Lambden because of all the people we contacted (including some companies that I called and left messages with who NEVER GOT BACK TO ME), Lambden's sales and estimate guy acted like a professional. None of the other companies did. I was encouraged by the fact that the price for the three windows we said we wanted replaced was consistent across the board. I feel like we're getting a fair deal here. And what's even better, we'll be able to claim the windows under Harper's "Buy Votes" rebate program for home improvements. *eye roll* Whatever. I'm not offended by the corruption anymore, I'm only offended that I'm not getting a bigger piece of the pie. Next up: bitching about the windows being replaced! Current Mood: happy (Comment on this)
yumikid	11:43a	Random Update Monday I took the day off to sleep. I was fighting something, and kept finding strange come-and-go symptoms over the weekend. My throat was sore, but only in the morning. I had a cough, but just for one evening. A gland in my neck was swollen, but it went away after a day. All this told me it was time to spend a day sleeping. So I did. I slept all day, and then all night. I felt much better yesterday. And good thing, too, because it was the strategic retreat day at work. The morning was thinky strategic stuff, and the afternoon was a team building exercise. Let me tell you this. If you ever have to plan a team building activity, and you have the budget, hire these people. This is the second year we've worked with them, and they are awesome. This year was a GPS sudoku scavenger hunt. I walked all over hell's half acre. Well, about 3.5 km, anyway. Not very far for pre-pregnancy me, but quite a distance for current me. It was still tons of fun, but I came home stupid tired. You know, the kind of tired when you feel like if someone just looks at you funny you might burst into tears? Yeah. Tonight I'm taking photos of two lovely sisters who want to give their mom a birthday present she can't return to the store. Tomorrow night, someone's coming to get my wooden desk out of my house, which makes me happy, because then we can sort out the nursery furniture. I also plan to spend some time both evenings working on the kitchen - it got away from me this week with illness of Monday. Saturday, I'm taking photos of an adorable new baby girl, and then headed to Bells Corners for quality time at a Japanese restaurant with untao and T. Yay! (2 Comments |Comment on this)
proonjoos	8:01a	Get 'em or they go to Boutique VV I am willing to pack these up and send them to people, if you can't pick them up. DVDs: Master and Commander: the far side of the world. The Royal Tenenbaums. The criterion collection. Swordfish Monkeybone The Missing Dead Man Walking About Schmidt Baby Einstein: Baby Beethoven - Symphony of fun Black Beauty (generic cartoon, may not play because the case was soaked at one point) (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
iamweasel_2112	7:52p	Jury Duty Looks like I have Jury Duty on Thursday.  Whoopie.  Maybe the courthouse has free public wifi so I can chat while I sit and wait?  Lets hope so. Current Mood: complacent (2 Comments |Comment on this)
boozysmurf	9:06p	Podcastle.org: Castor on Troubled waters. Seriously, go here, listen to this short story. Pirates and LIES!! Castor on Troubled Waters It's completely, ridiculously, awesome. (Comment on this)
Monday, November 2nd, 2009
n8an	8:55p	Beat that Mic! Eight fifty-five, live: When T-J-Lam slams a demand on the man on the stand - you stop! Sophistry? Mandacity? It's time to show tenacity, what he asked me, I said - honesty: yes Four words, heard, soul spurred by the stir - you stop! "You were really good." You bathe in that wave, save that rave like a monkey depraved. Two-Fifteen, the scene: When it ends, friends; it depends. Those ladies you're craving were completely amazing, and the man with the tongue takes his hon and his bun - and you stop! If you have no idea where this came from, scope it out. I also apologize to real poets. Current Mood: amused (10 Comments |Comment on this)
n8an	7:25p	Marked Man NaNoWriMo is evoking feelings of jealousy in me. There, I said it. I know - and by know, I mean remember - that I do not have NaNoWriMo in me, because NaNoWriMo occurs this month, which is November, which is the month before Christmas, and is basically mrpolyonymous's last chance to talk to me until December 27th. Thus, I shall not participate. I was already getting antsy watching others participate and then markgharris spices it up a notch by announcing that November will be Mark-a-thon, and that was it. Straw camels with scoliosis, and all that. I won't do NaNoWriMo (not the least because mrpolyonymous never asks me for anything, but asked me not to do that), but I think I can manage another set of 100 Words. So that'll be crutch to get through jealousy, since the other option was wine, and that crutch is spoken for by a famous author we all know and love. Current Mood: jealous (17 Comments |Comment on this)
ottawaforsale [ scrumtrelescent ]	6:34p	one tree hill season 6 on dvd received one tree hill season six as a present, and don't really have a need for it. still shrink-wrapped, anyone interested? (3 Comments |Comment on this)
ottawaforsale [ namedaftertowns ]	5:20p	DVDs/CDs for Sale Hey, I'm looking to move to Vancouver in the next few months, so I'll be trying to unload a lot of stuff. Everything is priced or best offer! Can meet downtown or anywhere along the Transitway.  Thanks,  Jude DVDs Dead Like Me Season 1 - 10.00$ Dead Like Me Season 2 - 10.00$ The Tudors Season 1 -  10.00$ Dexter Season 1 - 10.00$ Sex and the City Season 3 - 8.00$ Inside the Actors Studio feat. Robert de Niro, Al Pacino, Sean Penn and Russell Crowe NEVER OPENED - 10.00$ Clerks 10th Anniversary Edition - 10.00$ Weeds Season 1 - 10.00$ Zodiac (Just film no Bonus Material) - 3.00$ Return of the Killer Tomatoes - 4.00$ Blow - 5.00$ The Forgotten - 5.00$ Big Trouble in Little China - 5.00$ Bobby - 5.00$ School of Rock - 5.00$ Runaway Jury - 5.00$ Mozart and the Whale - 5.00$ Broken Flowers - 5.00$ CDs - all 5.00$ o.b.o Student Rick - Soundtrack of a Generation Supergrass - Life on other Planets Fat boy Slim - Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars The Thrills - so Much for the City The Music - Self Titled Outnumbered - Now or Never Blur - The best of (Two Disc) The Strokes - Is This It Missy Elliott - Miss E ...So Addictive DJ Feelgood - djmixed.com album The Sounds - Living in america (Coverart is water damaged, CD is okay!) Current Music: Wintersleep - Lasers | Powered by Last.fm (10 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, November 1st, 2009
n8an	7:01a	Remember, Remember Turning the clocks back meant I woke up around 4:00a, but I got to roll over and just lounge about until about 5:45a. Bliss. It's November, which means I'm going to work today, and setting up the Christmas displays. It hurts me a little inside that we do this before Remembrance Day, but I don't get a vote about it. We're having some stock level issues (which is my euphemism for 'drowning in books') and I'm trying not to let it get everybody down - but we're all hitting the wall. When a warehouse shows up on Monday, I'm not sure what we're going to do about it - by then I'm not sure we'll have managed to make even one empty cart. Ugh. If you're starting NaNoWriMo today, I wish you all the best. My husband forbade me from ever doing that again - probably the best for all concerned, given how stressful it was to try and accomplish at the same time as Christmas ramping up - but I'll wave my pom-poms for you. Saw some cute kiddies last night, though the baby dressed as the ladybird won my heart for the best bemused facial expression. She had no idea what was going on, why she was in a strange costume, nor why she was being rewarded with candy, but had a sly cast to her eyes that I adored. I swear she was thinking, all the adults have lost their minds, but I'm okay with how this is working out... Current Mood: awake (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, October 30th, 2009
ottawa_emptor	11:28p	Post-script It's now been five days since our furnace was cleaned and our ducts were cleaned, and I have good news. Our furnace sounds A-MAZ-ING. You can hear the massive whoosh of air when it comes on, and our house seems cleaner, less dusty. I am well pleased with my outlay of cash and what I got in return for said outlay of cash. Another post script has beeen a gardening one. How was the garden this year? What did y'all learn? I'll tell you what I learned. We're away all summer and I hate it. It's too much. Next summer we're staying home a lot more, and that's final. I wish I had gardening advice, but I don't, so here's Miles Davis with his tips on container gardening. Miles Davis grew azaleas, dontcha know. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
yumikid	8:05a	Good Things I'm tellin' ya, everything's coming up Kiddo. 1. Marsha. 2. I'm giving out candy at Halloween this year. First time in a few years. I'll need to find something to put in the window to indicate that we're "open". 3. We're going to the Mochitsuki this year, on December 6. Yummy, yummy noodle soup. 4. I think I have all my Christmas gifts for Bundy already. 5. I've maxed out my CPP and EI contributions for the year, so my paycheque is a little fatter for the next two months! I always forget that happens - and just in time to save for Christmas. 6. Christmas is going to be quiet this year, but I think it will be really nice. 7. I've rediscovered how much I enjoy medium cheddar cheese and crackers. 8. I'm hanging out at home tonight with friends and watching Slapshot. I love that goalie. 9. I have a husband who makes me laugh multiple times a day. Sometimes without even trying. 10. I'm headed to Toronto on business in November, and I'm extending my stay into a weekend to hang with my sister and her family. I'll get to fly Porter (I LOVE Porter) and I don't even have to pay! I'll also be going to see my friend's play at the Panasonic Theatre: My Mother's Jewish Lesbian Wiccan Wedding. :) 11. Cute men in uniform. 12. Plans for a delicious meal at a Japanese restaurant with my favourite Hovering Trolley. 13. Tickets to see Stuart McLean at the NAC in December. 14. Odds are good that at some point this weekend, I'll get an in-person hug from quotation. (8 Comments |Comment on this)