I'm under a rock

I am currently entering into my winter "hibernation" mode. Days are shorter, and I get hungrier and lazier. And I'm pretty lazy to begin with. I'm hip to the Grizzly vibe. D'em bears know where it's at. Although I probably wouldn't kill and eat some dude who, weird though he was, dedicated his life to studying and protecting me. I'm not judging the bear for having a snack. I'm just saying that's not right for me.

This Friday my sister and I finally leave for our trip to Disneyworld. I get one of two responses when I tell people we're going to Disney for vacation.

1: Awesome! You're going to have so much fun!
2: What? Why?

Then I explain that it's not all Dumbo and Teacups. I describe the restaurants, the accomodations, some great rides at the parks, and by the time I get to talking about the spa and the golf courses, there's a glimmer of "ohhhh. Didn't know that" in some people's eyes. In others? Still, "huh?"

Meh, I don't care. It's a lot of fun, and they treat you great. Some people will always just see the "evil corporation". I think that's pretty cynical, especially after seeing how excited little kids get, and how special "special needs" kids are made to feel. Any place that brings families together is alright by me.

What? I'm allowed to be sentimental.

We're all prepared for the trip. I got my digital camera from ebay already, and I've been practising with it. It's a nice little camera! I done good on the ebay! I done gooder this weekend by winning a printer to go along with it for less than a third of the retail price. Thank you Olympus.

I called Greg in Australia today (5am his time) as a "wake up call". He's flying out to Alice Springs this morning and will be taking a tour out to Ayers Rock for a couple of days. I'm so excited for him. Trips like these you always hope aren't "once in a lifetime" experiences, but you have to treat them like they are and inhale them. Live BIG.
I'm so happy that he's there, as much as I can't wait to see him again... Its a happy conflicted feeling.

The Liberals are going to lose a non-confidence vote in Parliament this evening. Can't help but think this whole thing is going to backfire on the Conservatives. From what I've read, they don't have the poll numbers to win, and the public doesn't seem to be up in arms the way the Conservatives think they should be about the Gomery report. So basically they're forcing an election campaign during the holidays, costing the taxpayers who knows how much, for what? Seriously? What? To teach Paul Martin a lesson?

Douches.

I am assuming the extent of his consultation would be "Don't do what I did"

Ex-FEMA Head Starts Disaster Planning Firm

Fri Nov 25, 9:31 AM ET

Former FEMA Director Michael Brown, heavily criticized for his agency's slow response to Hurricane Katrina, is starting a disaster preparedness consulting firm to help clients avoid the sort of errors that cost him his job.
"If I can help people focus on preparedness, how to be better prepared in their homes and better prepared in their businesses — because that goes straight to the bottom line — then I hope I can help the country in some way," Brown told the Rocky Mountain News for its Thursday editions.
Brown said officials need to "take inventory" of what's going on in a disaster to be able to answer questions to avoid appearing unaware of how serious a situation is.
In the aftermath of the hurricane, critics complained about Brown's lack of formal emergency management experience and e-mails that later surfaced showed him as out of touch with the extent of the devastation.
The lawyer admits that while he was head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency mistakes were made in the response to Katrina. He also said he had been planning to quit before the hurricane hit.
"Hurricane Katrina showed how bad disasters can be, and there's an incredible need for individuals and businesses to understand how important preparedness is," he said.
Brown said companies already have expressed interested in his consulting business, Michael D. Brown LLC. He plans to run it from the Boulder area, where he lived before joining the Bush administration in 2001.
"I'm doing a lot of good work with some great clients," Brown said. "My wife, children and my grandchild still love me. My parents are still proud of me."

Nighty night, Godot

Last night I tucked Godot away for the winter. She's tucked away behind Paul's scooter and Paul and Christy's car in their underground parking spot (thank god they went for the hatchback!) Paul and I still have to the mechanical work - take out the battery, hopefully put them up on blocks and let a little air out of the tires. Little things. But for now, I'm just glad to have my scooter safe from the minus 13 weather we're facing right now. No snow for my scoot!

It was a little melancholy to say goodbye, I've barely had a chance to ride this year (less than a month, riddled with cold and rainy days!).

But, looking at it from the other direction, I've got a whole season's worth of hassle free fun coming my way in the spring. I don't have to ever go back to the shop that caused me so much grief this summer. I can start the season fresh with a new scooter, and new resources.

Spring seems like a perfect time. A rebirth of my scooting life.

There's talk of a Toronto Chapter of the Vespa Club of Canada. I'm just nerdy enough to be interested in that!

I'm officially a debtor!

Well, turns out that RBC has no common sense. They've gone ahead and extended me that line of credit.

I'm already mentally shopping my little heart out.

Of course, the most I'll do is pay off my weensy little credit card.

Ooooh discipline is hard

For the record...

I do see the flaw in my logic, buying a digital camera when I've been writing about my crappy budgeting skills.

I really do.

But.

I got nothin'.

Did I mention that I love ebay?

Up till now, the majority of my ebay life has been limited to fabulous new clothing at low, low prices. The only non-clothing items I've bought have been makeup (shut it, I'm a girl) and a used palm pilot (works great, thanks!)

Well, last night I won an auction for a new (refurbished) digital camera, direct from the manufacturer. They've got a whole ebay store set up, $6.00 shipping, and great feedback, so I didn't mind dropping a little over $100 for this.

I figure I've been looking at digital cameras for over a year now. I don't have a camera, and I keep putting off buying one because there always seems to be more important things to do with the money. But I got a good price, and I'm going on vacation in under two weeks.... and come on - 5.1 megapixels?

I know Olympus probably isn't the best brand in the world, but I'm no Ansel Adams, either. I think we'll fit.

Now. I just hope the darn thing gets here before I leave!

The universe has a sense of humour

'Member how I was bemoaning my lack of financial acumen? Regretting my checkered financial past? Putting in to words my goal to have a "regular credit card"?

Well, apparently I'm pre-approved for a $10,000 line of credit with my bank (and employer). I am dubious, but the fine print says it's being offered to me based on information they already have about me on file... They've been trying to get me to apply for the last year, but I kept saying no, that I wouldn't be accepted anyway... They sure are hot for my interest.

What the hell, I'll sign the acceptance form and send it in, but I still can't help but think that its more of a marketing ploy and less of a real offer.

Yup, I'm suspicious.

Budgets are hard

I'm trying to save money. I've never been good with money, as a matter of fact, in the past I've been embarrasingly BAD with money. My long term goal is to be approved for a regular credit card. Seriously. Bad. With. Money.

One thing I've learned about myself, is that if it's there, I'll spend it.

I have to hide money from myself.

Its not like I go on shopping sprees, free of any thoughts of responsibility. To the contrary, I turned down a 30% off cashmere sweater in favour of two $25 sweaters last week while out shopping for warm clothing. I threw out most of my warm clothing in the spring. Too big now. The clothes, not me. Off topic now.

But, I bleed money. $20 here, $40 there - the visits to the bank machine to get "lunch money". Ouch. Suddenly, $300 is gone. Wha?

I took an aggressive stance last night. I booked an autoshare car, and my sister and I went to the grocery store. No more spending money on outside food. The kicker was spending over $6 yesterday for a small bowl of soup and a tuna sandwich at the cafeteria here at work. Fuck that. Between us, we bought $150 in groceries last night.

We were Mother Hubbard. Our cupboards were bare, baby!

Don't judge me. I'm gonna have breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next two weeks.

All I know is that I've still got some fat trimming to do in my budget. That trip to Disneyworld in 16 days isn't going to pay for itself, and I don't want to use my year end bonus from work to pay for it. I want to save that.

And by save, I mean piss away on lunches, apparently.

My first Poker tournament

This weekend marked the First "Annual" Texas Hole Em Poker Tournament Fundraiser for the Bad Dog Theatre. I put annual in quotation marks, because I have a feeling we'll see another one before 12 months expire.

I called Bates to see if he was still going to play. We decided to ride our scooters up to the game, probably the last good day for riding considering it's supposed to snow on Thursday. Great day for riding.

We got to the Equity Showcast Theatre, and grabbed our chips, a bottle of water I scarfed down a couple of cookies, and we took a seat at our respective tables.

The buy in was $40. If you busted out, you could buy another $40 in chips. At the final break, you could "top up" and buy another $2000 in chips for $20. Brilliant move, most people topped up.

There were a good number of Bad Doggers around, either playing or dealing. And then there were what I like to call the "sharks". I don't know where some of these guys came from, but they sure knew how to play. I was actually glad to have one at our table. I learned a lot by watching him play his hands. Add that to the strategies I'd picked up from watching the odd episode of World Poker Tour, and I knew exactly jack. My only goal when I arrived was to play for at least an hour without busting out. When my hour came and passed, I reset my sights for the first break. Deep down, I wanted to make it to the "final table", but I would be happy for just making it to the break.

I got lucky with a couple of hands, rattled some cages by bellowing "I'm playing at a table full of PUSSIES" after a couple of rounds of most players folding, and learned that I love to go all in.

The break came and went, and I ran to the bank machine to buy my $20 top up. That was it. I wanted that final table. I was the short stack at my table, but I was determined to outlast some people and get to the final nine.

That desire caused me to second guess my play on one crucial hand. I had bet somewhat aggressively as a bluff on my pair of sixes, and on the river card I knew my play should have been a sharp, decisive "all in". Instead, I tossed in $1500 casually. It would only take one more player busting out to bring on the final nine. I wanted that seat, so I didn't want to bust out. Bad move on my part. Bates saw my $1500, and beat my pair. I can't help but think that if I went all in, he might have backed down. Dammit. That's the hand that haunts me.

But, next thing I knew, two players at the other table had busted out, and I'd done it. Somehow I ended up with exactly the amount I needed to cover the big blind (my new position at the final table), and I managed to stay alive for a few hands. I was first to bust out, but I didn't care. I'd made it to my goal.

Bates outlasted me by a few players, and as far as I could see, he would have stayed in for longer if he didn't have to rush to do the show at Second City. At the end, he was trying to lose.

The winner of the tournament was one of "the sharks", a guy I'd never met before, but who was a hoot. I was glad that the experienced players who came to the game were all fun, good natured people, and I was happy to see this guy take the pot. He took home over $400, and the trophy. Yes, there are photos.

The tournament was really well organized, and treated with a lot of professionalism.

In the end, the tournament lasted about 6 hours and raised exactly $1000 for the theatre. Huge.

Next time, you better be there. It was retarded fun.

Why Sears sucks...

Well, I'm sure everyone has a "Sears sucks" story, but my friend Albert Howell's is pretty good.

Here's an email he sent out recently...

I needed to get some kind of vengeance against a huge corporation that has made me feel powerless so I'm sending out this letter. You don't have to read it but if I can prevent just one person from buying a major appliance at Sears, I'll feel better.
Albert
A cautionary tale about Sears.
I bought a Kenmore portable dishwasher from Sears over a month ago. They charged me $50 for 'deluxe' delivery which means they take it out of the box and cart all the crap away. I was told it would take 10 days to deliver it and on the day it would arrive between 7 am and 1 pm, a fairly large time window I thought. So I woke up at 7 am and waited until 2 pm when the guy finally arrived. He dropped off the dishwasher and headed out the door. When I asked him if he was going to take the packaging he replied we don't do that with dishwashers because there's too many loose parts. Besides not making any sense, his argument is especially ridiculous for a portable dishwasher since it is completely self contained. To be fair, when I called to complain the salesman said they would take off the $50 delivery charge.
Satisfied I tried my new dishwasher which immediately didn't work. For some reason it wouldn't drain the water. A call to Sears and another 10 day wait to get it fixed. And another 7 am to 1 pm wait. At least this guy arrived at 12:30. To which he informed me that he had never seen this model before. This is a Kenmore! At the very least would he have not read about it from the catalogue? Aren't these guys supposed to know what kind of equipment they may be called on to fix? I was then told it needed a part and would take another ten days. Another call to the salesman and another $50 off the price. So I gritted my teeth and waited.
Well a different repair guy came today and informed me the first guy didn't know what he was talking about, that the machine had to be taken to the shop because it wasn't draining properly. He then demonstrated that fact by allowing the dishwasher to drain all over my kitchen floor at which point he looked at me vacantly and said 'You got a towel?'.
Well I was back on the phone and the salesman was off today (lucky for him) so the repair guy started to take the dishwasher away when I said I didn't care if he fixed it, I wanted it gone and my money back. With that statement he stopped and said he could only take it away for repair, somebody else had to pick it up if I was returning it. Back to the phone to get Sears to come get the dishwasher and they can't tell me when that will be.
While I'm on the phone the repair guy leaves saying that Sears stands behind their products. Which made me feel so much better as I look at my floor covered in water and a sink full of dishes that I have to wash. The final little insult is that when I went back to the kitchen to mop up the water I see that the repair guy has left the dishwasher on its side on the floor, another shining moment for Sears service.
So after mopping and using two big bathroom towels to dry my floor, I'm staring at a broken washing machine that has been sitting in my apartment for over a month without ever washing a single dish. I'm wondering when Sears will bother to remove this piece of junk. Which gives me more time to sit here and write to you all about how no one in their right mind should by anything major from Sears, EVER!

An addendum to my Sears story, yesterday (1 month after I sent the dishwasher back) Sears called me and asked if I wanted to purchase an extended warranty for the same dishwasher. I began yelling at the poor soul on the phone telling him my story at which point he replied on the verge of tears 'You don't have to lash out at me!' He's right so I'm sending my story out again.
You've been warned, and if you do go to Sears, print this letter and take it with you to show the sales people.
Albert

Seriously? This is news?

Ok, I'm no great fan of Stephen Harper. Frankly, I think he's creepy, and it goes beyond his politics. Look into his eyes (if you dare) and marvel at the soul-less hollowness that greets you. He's got the hair of a Republican.

I don't like him.

His politics suck.

That being said... give the guy a break about this poppy thing. Jesus. How did the story even become news?
For those of you living out of the shadow of what I'd like to dub "Poppy-gate" (because it's just that knee-jerky), the story goes like this.

Harpsie-doodle was frolicking in Toronto this week, and before heading into a news conference about a potential non-confidence vote on the Liberal government (no wonder he was feeling so frisky!), his advisor suggested that he remove the maple leaf pin that was holding his poppy in place because the Legion doesn't like it when people wear them that way. Harper explained that this was the only way he could keep the poppy on, but the advisor didn't want him seen publicly wearing the poppy incorrectly.
Well, Harper decided to be funny (oh god). He asked the advisor to get him a pin that would work, and quipped that the legion "only had 80 years to perfect the technology.”
The advisor, who I assume is familiar with PC humour, laughed and said that no-one disagreed with him.

Now. Who cares, right?
Well, he was wired for the press conference, and all the reporters heard the comment. It's on tape, so apparently it's a big deal.

I saw one veteran on tv say he was shocked and hurt by the comment, and that he'd never heard that complaint before.

I'm assuming its because he's too busy selling poppies to repeat buyers.

Now, I've never TOLD a veteran that I've lost my poppy. After all they've been through, they don't need to hear me bitching about losing a poppy.

I picture the conversation like this:

"Hello sir. I need to buy another poppy. I keep losing mine!"

"You lost your poppy? I LOST MY LEGS!"

And then out of guilt I buy the whole box. So go my guilt ridden imaginings,

Even so, in the harsh light of reality, I lose poppies all the time.
And you can't tell me that they don't know. They wear the poppies themselves. Which proves to me that they DO know. Because poppies ALWAYS fall off. Always. And when they're not falling off, they're pricking your hands.
But you have to have your poppy. If you don't have your poppy, you're a heartless jerk.

And so I buy them, wear them, lose them and replace them. But I've learned that I should not joke about that cycle, because it would be disrespectful.
Apparently the freedom of speech the veterans fought for has caveats.

The world, she's-a very big.

I've been thinking today about how gigantic our little marble can seem sometimes. Especially when the people you love are flung so far, and so randomly across it's surface.

My mom's somewhere in the Southwestern United States poking into the nooks and crannies of the nation on her solo journey. Well, not really solo. She's got at least two dogs with her. At least? Yeah, her female dog is preggers, and has probably dropped a litter since I last talked to mom. Good thing the RV is big! Last we heard, she was in Arizona trekking her way back east to meet my sister and I in DisneyWorld in December.
She's been keeping a blog, sporadically. Who knew that internet access would be hard to come by in the desert? I love it when she has time to update, though. I wouldn't describe myself as "jealous" of her trip, but it's a journey that I'd love to take someday. Looping the US.

Dad's hanging in down in West Palm Beach, Florida with Chris(tine). The most recent hurricane did a number on their roof, lifting it off the house at the corner. Peeled it up like tinfoil. It rained recently, and they discovered that their patch job wasn't going to hold up long term. More renovations!

With the yesand website and message boards being on the blink, I'm out of touch with my friends scattered across America. I miss being able to read Shaun's blog on that board.

And Greg is halfway around the world right now. Or is it all the way around the world? No, all the way would be if he was standing behind me. Only a few feet if I turn around, but alllll the way around the world if I tried to get to him going straight ahead.
So, Australia must be halfway around the world. And that's where he's headed. He called from his airport hotel room in Korea yesterday afternoon sounding weary, but still excited.
His story is not my story to tell, but suffice to say he's doing great.

Five weeks sounds like a long time when you send someone you love away, but my sister and I are eagerly anticipating our own trip in 24 days. That'll take the edge off the wait!

Are you kidding me?

I mean, I know the Sun isn't exactly the "thinking man's paper", but come on.
Jack Layton is the Grinch? For not supporting the Liberals' health care offering? In the shadow of the Gomery enquiry?

The Conservatives and the Bloc are salivating all over themselves, waiting for Jack to force the election, and the Bright Blue Sun's cover is painting him as a villain if he does?

Oh, god forbid the election is forced over Christmas! That's just the wrong thing to do to Canadians.

Frankly, I don't think Canadians give a shit if the election happens over Christmas. I know I don't. The politicians are just running scared that everyone will be too busy with merry-making and too full of holiday cheer to notice their smear campaigns. They're not looking out for us. They're looking out for themselves.

Ho ho ho.

Harper, stop drooling...

Gomery inquiry blames Chretien, clears Martin
By Randall Palmer and David Ljunggren1 hour, 1 minute ago

Former prime minister Jean Chretien shares the blame for a government scandal laced by greed, incompetence, carelessness and venality, but Prime Minister Paul Martin, a fellow Liberal, is off the hook, an official report said on Tuesday.
The report of an inquiry into a deeply flawed government advertising program to promote Canadian unity also said senior Liberal officials in French-speaking Quebec had engaged in an elaborate kickback scheme and in illegal campaign financing.
In all, about C$100 million was funneled from the program to pro-Liberal advertising firms.
Opposition politicians responded to the report with outrage, and Martin, whose government has only a minority in Parliament, immediately asked police to investigate.
Martin could face a confidence vote in Parliament as early as November 14, but opposition parties expressed some reluctance about the idea, saying that if they win the vote it would trigger an election campaign during the December holiday season.
Even if Martin does survive the immediate threat, he still faces an election next year in which he will find it hard to win back enough Liberal seats in Quebec to give him a majority government. The party's fortunes in the province plummeted last year after the scandal broke.
Stephen Harper, leader of the official opposition Conservatives, said Martin -- who was finance minister at the time of the scandal -- had no option but to resign.
"I can't think of any other parliamentary democracy where a scandal of this magnitude and of this nature ... could pass without the fall of the government," he said.

Um, has he looked south?

The inquiry head, Judge John Gomery, found that advertising firms in Quebec had received lucrative federal contracts and then knowingly kicked some of the money back to the Liberal Party's Quebec wing, enabling it to sidestep electoral financing laws.
The scandal has dominated Canadian politics for the past 18 months and public anger cost the Liberals their majority in a June 2004 election.
Martin has promised to call an election within 30 days of Gomery's second and final report, due on February 1 next year.
The wrongdoing centers on a sponsorship program set up in 1996 after an referendum on sovereignty for Quebec failed narrowly. The program paid for Canadian flags and posters at Quebec events and aimed to boost the cause of federalism.
But Gomery, who has spent the last year investigating the affair, said the program had backfired amid "a blatant abuse of public funds" and he lashed out at "carelessness and incompetence ... (and) greed and venality."
He apportioned some blame to Chretien, who ordered the program to be established and ran it from his office. Gomery also fingered former Public Works Minister Alfonso Gagliano, several senior aides and bureaucrats and the heads of the advertising agencies involved.
"Since Mr. Chretien chose to run the program from his own office, and to have his staff take charge of its direction, he is accountable for the defective manner in which the sponsorship program and initiatives were implemented," he said.
Chretien's lawyers said they were considering whether to launch a court case in a bid to restore his reputation.
Gomery spared Martin on the grounds that he had not known what was going on.
"Mr. Martin ... is entitled, like other ministers in the Quebec caucus, to be exonerated from any blame for carelessness or misconduct," Gomery concluded.
Gomery praised Martin's government for scrapping the program once Martin took over from Chretien in December 2003, and said the original goal of keeping Canada together was no excuse for the wrongdoings.
The two largest opposition parties, the Conservatives and the Bloc Quebecois, failed in May to topple the Liberals after Martin reached a deal with the left-leaning New Democratic Party.
Martin is currently being kept in power by the minority New Democrats, whose leader Jack Layton said he would decide soon whether to join with other parties to try to defeat Martin.

Tell you what. Bush would love to have Martin's problems right now. When your biggest scandal is over $100 million and flags? Well, that's amateur hour around the White House.