Toilet paper meme

I don't go in for memes much. Don't do them nor read them. I don't know why. Maybe because they are masturbatory at best and narcissistic at worst, but either way, they're really solitary activities. All that said, I'm still going to do one because I couldn't resist the topic. It's all about the buttwipes. So here goes:

1. Toilet Paper: Over or Under. It doesn't really apply at our house because we use the 20 year supply of toilet paper that we inherited when we bought this place. Since it's a huge industrial type roll, we've mickey moused a system. I guess according to the picture, technically it would be under.

2. Who replaces the empty roll in your house? We both do. It only happens every three months though due to the size of the roll.

3. What do you use if you run out of toilet paper at home? That's never happened in my life. Do people really let this happen? I can't imagine.

4. Seat up or down? It's always down at our house. And we don't have a lid.

5. Do you leave the door open? I never close the door unless we have guests.

6. Does your love leave it open? He usually closes the door unless he's going pee pee. One funny thing he does is disrobe completely for number 2. On the odd occasion I've barged in on him (which he strongly dislikes) I've been highly amused at the pile of clothes on the floor and his nakedness on the throne. (And he's gonna kill me for telling you. So shhhh.)

7. Do you always check for toilet paper first in a public stall? If I'm there to poop I do. Of course job number one is to avoid pooping anywhere but home. Still, there are times.....

8. What do you use if you run out of toilet paper in a public restroom? Can't say this has happened either. Surely I would have told you all about it if it had. Hypothetically though, I'd probably rummage around in my backpack for napkins and in the absence of my backpack, I'd waddle out to grab some paper towels. If there were others in the bathroom, I'd humbly ask (or shout) for assistance.

9. Do you wait until you are alone in a public restroom? No. People are so fussy, as evidenced by the question itself. For the record, 99.99% of my visits to public restrooms are for urinating. I have no hangups about urinating around others.

I got this one from Jeep Guy. Feel free to participate.

This n that

Lots of rain and snow up in these here parts. Not too cold though, right around the freezing mark. Practically balmy for February. I'm off for a few days and then have a couple of big work weeks followed by two weeks in España. This trip we're taking is a gift from the parents, something we all did together (except for Serge) 27 years ago. I think that trip lit up my desire for traveling for life. It will be interesting to see how the place differs from my memories of it back in 83. We will be staying in Valencia for the most amazing festival. Falles en Valencia. That was the thing that impressed me most the first time we went to Europe. (The original trip was a 7 week Germany, Spain, France and Italy trip. A bit long.) The last night when they burn all the paper mache effigies and the whole city looks like it's on fire is something I'll never forget. Awesome.


I loved this picture I got at the doggie park yesterday. There weren't too many people there due to the weather, but Georgie played plenty with those two (I think they are) boston terriers for a long time.

That health care summit. Wow. I don't see how the sides can reconcile. It seems the Republicans are steadfast in their belief that health care is not a fundamental right, whereas Democrats think it should be. I fail to understand the heart of a person who believes people should only be cared for medically if they can afford it. And what logic is there in letting insurance companies decide treatments. I suppose the doctors are just advisers, and it's the insurance company administrators who know best, right? The system is broken and it's just gonna stay that way it looks like. That picture from the Olympics was funny. I pay through the nose in taxes up here, but I'm certain if I moved back to the states it would cost me more overall if I took an individual health insurance policy. Yep, I just went and checked. If I got similar coverage as here (actually impossible because there is no co-pay here) it would cost me $644 a month. If I would even be accepted, as I am an ex-smoker. I hear ex smokers are having more and more trouble getting insured. $644 a month and I've been to the doctor once in ten years. And the insurance industry whines that 12 billion in profit isn't enough. Broken broken broken. Happy to be in Canada.

Snippets

* We have two garages but we only use one to park our single vehicle. There is a no parking sign in front of the garage that we use, but not the other one. Serge gets really bent out of shape when someone parks in front of that garage, while I really don't care. Serge even threw an egg on the one girl's car who is a frequent "offender". That was funny because she obviously never washed her car as the residue lasted for months. Anyway, he gets really clipped about it as though that's our "reserve" spot. I told him just to buy another no parking sign if he feels so strongly.

* We're supposed to get anywhere from a slushy rainy mix to two feet of snow this week. I'm really hoping for the former.

* We got Cirque du Soleil tickets for the new show (still unnamed at this point). All the new shows start here and then travel around the world. We got a couple seats for a 4pm show in early June. I love the idea of a 4pm show. We can be home by dark.

* Showerhead in French is shower apple.

* Were you as traumatized as I was when they showed that luge guy having his fatal accident? I just can't understand why they did that. It reminds me of Dirk's blog title. Too disgusting to contemplate, too compelling to ignore. (And I'm sad that he changed his header. For the longest time it was a closeup of a cameltoe. Now it's rotting teeth which is definitely worse.)

* The light is definitely getting more springlike. Actually, it's the same light as we had back toward the end of October. But back then it was waning, so it was depressing. Now that it's gaining in strength and heralding spring, it is uplifting. Perception indeed is reality.

* Georgie isn't the brightest of the bunch, but I swear he reads my mind. Here he is as I was getting ready to head out the door yesterday. Somehow he knew I wasn't taking him. (In which case, he'd have been crying and jumping.)

* I start teaching a couple of new evening classes next week. I hate teaching in the evening since it encroaches on martini time. I take them though and tell myself, "It'll be good for you." And it probably is, but I still don't like doing them.

* Montreal is infecting my speech. I've caught myself saying "take a decision" and "open the computer" and "take a coffee" just this week alone.

* We watched Paranormal Activity the other night. I LOVED it! It was creepy as all get out and the constant shivers ricocheting down my body were so cool. I used to hate that feeling, but now it's kinda nice, similar to that which I get when someone caresses my scalp. I wouldn't like it if it were due to something scary in real life, but knowing it's just a movie made it okay. And at the end? Even though we had predicted it, Serge and I both screamed loudly, and then cracked up. Gotcha!

Rambling nothingness

My intensives are over so you would think I'd be an eager blogger. Instead, all I want to do is blob around. Four whole days without a post. That's some kind of record around here, vacations notwithstanding. Truth is, there's really nothing of note going on. Here's what I wrote yesterday to suggest what to write about this morning.

Butt kicked
intensives over
pay fuckers
nasal drip forever
Snow finally
income tax
Georgieness
Elton
tenant bathroom

And yet, when I look at that list this morning, I think, "Meh, so boring." Oh well, I guiss there's nothing to do here but let the boringness begin. So yeah, my butt is pretty kicked, but in a good way, all three of my intensive groups went quite well and though we have a few follow up half-day courses to do, I can go back to a more regular routine. One lovely thing that happened was that the college "forgot" to pay me for some of my work and when I asked about it, I was paid for it, plus the current work, plus the future work. About 6 weeks went on one paycheck. I should be happy right? Well, guess what happens when they put 6 weeks pay on a two-week pay period. You get taxed as though you made all that money in two weeks. (The program assumes you make that every two weeks.) So they took out 42 percent of my pay. About ten percent of my annual salary, in fact. Oh sure, it's possible I'll get some back......in April 2011. Then again, I may not. I've worked up the preliminary calcs for filing this year, and I can't believe we owe many thousands again. I figured that since much of my income was made with withholding done, I'd be good this year. Nope. At this point, for every dollar more I make, I get to keep 60 cents. I told Serge yesterday that my goal is to make less this year. It really is demotivating.

What else is on that list up there? Oh the nose thing. Yeah, I got over my cold weeks ago but I've had a little drip going on since then. It's like a leaky faucet that never closes completely. Is this normal? I hope not, because it's getting pretty old making sure I have kleenex on my person at all times.

We got a few inches of snow this week. Just enough to make it pretty again. The snow had gotten awfully dirty lately and this new layer makes everything seem so pristine and clean. Georgie really digs the snow and now the ice. There have been some freeze/thaw cycles lately which makes chunks of ice in the snowpack. He loves to dislodge chunks, carry them around, throw them in the air and finally gnaw on them.

On the way home Friday, I was listening to talk radio and they brought up Elton John's musing that he thought Jesus was an intelligent, compassionate gay man and he asked the audience if that was offensive. I suppose there's nowhere one can hide from sanctimony. So many people claim to know the will of God. Man alive, there's nothing meek about a fired up Christian. One of the callers basically said that homosexuals spread disease, so we should eradicate them. Here! In Quebec! Sure he was a cranky old guy, but still.

Okay the tenant bathroom is falling apart at the other place. Seems when the shower was put in, they didn't use the proper hardibacker and grout so water infiltration happened for years. We have to strip the enclosure of tiles and redo it. Luckily, Serge found someone to do it and it's going to be finished today. The money, she is a flowing.

T-minus 19 days until Spain. Peace.

A quick pop-in

When I got to work Monday, I looked up and saw what looked like a rainbow. Except it wasn't raining, it was snowing. So I guess it would have to be called a snowbow. It was a first for me. Apparently it's pretty rare, so maybe it's the only one I'll ever see. Pretty neato, eh?

Yesterday I had to review all the verb tenses in class. Then I had to show how they shifted when reporting what someone else said. For example, "I'm hungry." What did Torn just say, I didn't hear him. Oh, Torn said that he was hungry. I think I may have confused them more than I cleared things up.

My cuties. Always fun to come home after a long day at work. Today is especially brutal. Out the door at 8 and back at 9:30. At noon we'll be halfway to the weekend. Woohoo!

Weekend update

It was a pretty lackluster weekend. Serge and I don't observe Valentine's day, not that either of us dislikes flowers, candy or lovin', it's just that it's such a made-up day for the purpose of selling those items. So we don't buy them. Still being rebels in our forties I guess. I wonder when we're gonna really grow up. We did get some work done though and I started on the taxes. I have the privelege of doing the tax return for two countries. One country, we are married, and the other country I have to file single, since my marriage doesn't count there. So charming to be reminded of that each year. Up here, there is no distinction between hetero or homo, married or common law spouse. If you make a home together, you file together.

Georgie got a couple good afternoons at the doggie park. It's so amazing how much energy he has there when all he seems to do around the house is blob around. That's not true actually, he does spend a fair amount of time out on the patio, but I think it's more for observing the neighborhood happenings. At home sometimes he reminds me of a teddy bear sitting stoic on the couch or bed. He does this new thing lately where he comes in the shower to look at you while you're showering and then he licks the water off the side of the tub, the tile, and the shower curtain too. At first I thought he was going to come all the way in, but he never does.

Sunday was hard because I ate too much Saturday night and had indigestion dreams all night. I got up around 4 to start the cavalcade of bowel movements that ensued. Here's a pic.

I think it's the tartiflette that did it. (Fried potatoes, 0nions, bacon and ton of cheese) I know it can't be right but I weighed 4 pounds heavier than Saturday when I weighed myself Sunday morning. But maybe it is right, I'm fairly sure I expelled a similar quantity of matter yesterday.

I'm off on a new group intensive this week. I thought it would slow down after that, but things are shaping up to be pretty full until the end of March. AND, I've had a few inquiries for lessons from my business, including one from a long ago contract. And of course we must not forget, Spain in less than a month! I have to practice my Spanish. Have a swell Monday.

12 of 12

It's been a few months since I've done the 12 of 12 thing. That would be because we were in Cuba on December 12 and Hawaii on January 12. You saw all those pics, just not in this format. I remembered about it being the 12th just as I was getting ready to leave for work. I snapped this on my way out the door. You can see Serge's explanation on why he's sleeping on the couch on last Sunday's post in the comments.

I'm doing intensives this week and next which means a half hour commute out to the suburbs. It's trafficky but nothing like those going in the opposite direction, toward the city. The day started out bright and sunny like it had been all week.

This week's workplace.

Since it was Friday, the last day of the intensive for this group, we went out to lunch together. They all had to speak only English and I had to only speak French. They always get a kick out of that.

After lunch, it was time for our final activity - watching a movie in English. Who can guess what we are watching? I'll give you a hint. It was from 1973.

By the time we finished the movie, it had clouded up. This is on the drive home. Montreal is off in the distance behind the little mountain (looks like a hill from here) on the left.

Serge at work. At home. Which is really the same thing for him.

Where's Georgie? Oh there he is, amusing himself outside. He can spend hours out there by himself running around.

I had to run over to the market for a couple things which means I walk over the railroad track bridge. I know Java likes this shot. Still pretty wintery around here.

Came home, made some dinner and drinks, fed Georgie, and here he is waiting to go outside to do his business. He's still trying to eat his turds now and then. How can something so cute be so disgusting at the same time?

TV time together in the living room.

We watched a movie, J'ai tué ma mère, which was excellent. Even Serge liked it and he is a hard sell.

If you'd like to see other 12 of 12s from around the world, head over to Chad's blog and check the comment section for this project.

Purchases

I can't really express how tickled I am that finally this year we are not getting clobbered by snowstorm after snowstorm. Even the good side of getting a snowstorm, having a free "snowday", doesn't happen up here. Everybody works no matter what. I think in the ten years I've been here, they've only suggested working from home once. That was the day I saw people cross country skiing in the streets because the buses stopped coming. They didn't cancel service but all the buses got stuck until they could be dug out. Of course getting dug out here is pretty easy since they've had thousands of rehearsals. Since we came home from Hawaii three weeks ago, we've had maybe two inches of snow. I think this will end up being the sunniest February ever too. Love it. I also love the squealing by those getting clobbered down south. I know gloating isn't nice, but gloating and chortling I am. It's an act of gratitude, really.

Serge and I went out shopping on Sunday for phones for the house. Our old ones are acting up and he wanted a new set. So he bought a set at Costco but when he set them up, the answering machine portion of the ensemble didn't work. He called the help line and they troubleshot (shooted?) but couldn't solve the problem. So he went back and exchanged it for another set and of course, the exact same problem happened. It seemed most likely a programming problem. It would play the outgoing message partially and then stop and hang up. Weird. Anyway, after two tries and trips over to Costco, he decided to buy elsewhere. So I took him out. We checked Walmart first because they are a good gauge of good prices. We don't want to BUY there though. We checked the Source (Radio Shack), La Baie, Zellers, and Bureau en Gros (Staples) which is where he finally found the item he wanted at a good price. I felt like I was tutoring, but don't tell him that.

During the shopping excursion, my pants split open in the back. They've been getting tighter and tighter but you can only blame shrinkage for so long. No, it's time to own up to the new blubber butt. So of course we had to shop for some pants. Well, we didn't HAVE to, I mean, I was wearing opaque long underwear, so there was no skin, nor nasty hair business showing. But what better excuse for buying pants than when you split them open? So I bought pretty much the same make and model and the same size. I should have bought a size up probably, but my fragile ego is not ready for that yet.

When we got home we both cut each other's hair. See Serge has been bugging for a long while now about needing hair clippers. I know that hair clippers are a sucker buy, I mean really, how often are you going to use them. Well, when he bought the telephones at Costco, he also came home with the deluxe hair clipping set. Oh you should have seen how I rolled my eyes when he showed me that. Still, I figure we deserved to get some return on this wasteful expenditure. The kit even came with a (can't think of word) giant bib item to protect you from falling hairs. So we played barber and cleaned each other up. I figure we made half of the price back already. Happy hump day peeps.

Georgie in the park on Sunday

When I got up this morning, I didn't see Georgie. But then I noticed Serge on the couch using the cushion as a blanket. I can't believe they are both sleeping like this. It's awful cute though don't you think?

Georgie cracked me up yesterday. We were at the doggie park and he was running around like usual until he started seriously sniffing the ground near me where another dog had peed. This is easily evident in the winter as the snow-covered ground looks like a bunch of kids did some string painting with the color yellow. So he was sniffing a stripe near the fence and then lifted his leg to pee on the fence. For several seconds he stood there but no pee was coming out. Suddenly a large brown orb appeared from his anus and tumbled down his leg. He cocked his head in that what's-going-on way and then realized he was shitting and assumed the squatting position to finish the movement. So cute, so dumb. But I love him still.

Well this is it for a while. The next two weeks I'm working all out every day. Kinda like normal people. I don't understand how y'all work 40 hours a week year after year. It kicks my butt to do it for one week! But it's fun too, by the end of the intensive sessions, we've all bonded like family. I'll try to pop in during the week, if only for a quick photo or some such thing. Have a lovely Sunday.

Happy Friday

This gave me a chuckle. Classic advertising fail. But I suppose if you really needed their services, you wouldn't notice the error.

The comments on the shopping ethics post were funny. It was the same when I talked about it in class along with an article I have about a guy finding a hundred bucks on the ground in a parking lot and being conflicted about keeping it. (I would have had no confliction at all.) My students were like you, ranging from the prudish to the jaded. The lawyer was interesting, she said it's not stealing in the eyes of the law unless intent can be proven. Having worked as an undercover security agent prowling for shoplifters, she said the big problem is not the occasional cashier mistake, it's the incredible number of shoplifters that cause much more loss. As for "honesty", I'm as honest as can be if I know you. But I couldn't care less about the shareholders of a giant retail chain. A mom and pop store would have been totally different. A corporation has no obligation to be moral or ethical, their only objective is to generate a profit, regardless of the bullshit mission statement. Consequently, I have no moral obligation to them either.

More happiness about the Magicjack. When someone leaves you a message (yes, a voicemail box is included with your $50 annual fee) you are sent an email with a .wav file of the message. I love the convenience of being able to know if anyone's called just by checking my email inbox.

The weather has been pretty nice here. All the precipitation has remained south and although it's chilly, the sun has come out every day and it's slowly changing arc higher in the sky is heralding the spring. It makes me feel grateful.

Shopping ethics, or the lack thereof

Hey look who was passing through town yesterday. It's Franck who was on his way to Prince Edward Island. He had just been ice fishing in the far North. Come to think of it, I never asked if they had caught any fish. We had a quick meeting at the village Starbucks before he was off to the airport. The nice sunny day belies the frigid temps, though it wasn't too too terrible.

Later, Serge and I were at the shopping center and we had to go into the drugstore for a couple of toiletry items. When we met back up near the checkout, Serge had a new dvd player in his hands. Before I could protest, he said it was only 40 dollars, but then I protested anyway reminding him that we have a perfectly functioning dvd player, it's just the remote control that doesn't work (since Georgie ate it.) His retort to any purchasing protest is always the same, "I'm buying it." Knock yourself out, I then think. So it's our turn at the cashier and she scans all of our stuff and I notice that she doesn't scan the dvd player. The total is still over fifty bucks (we bought shampoo, vitamins and cold medication etc.) and as Serge is getting his money out, I'm thinking, "Don't say anything, don't say anything." And then he says it, "Did you scan the dvd player?" The cashier then said, "Oh, you got that here? I didn't know we carried that." And then she scanned it for us. Outside I said, "I can't believe you." Serge, not knowing to what I was referring, started to defend his purchase of the dvd player again. "I don't like having to get up and use the buttons on the machine instead of the remote. We needed it." I said, "No, no, no. Not that. Why did you ask her if she had scanned the dvd player?" He said he rued it after he said it, but that he is an honest person and proud of it. Sheesh. He never pays attention at the cashier, if they give him correct change or not, if the price scans correctly or not, but the one time he could actually score something, he blows it. Ah well, it's his money. I'm sure some of you will think less of me, but a cashier forgetting to scan something is not my issue, and I would never bring it up. Cost of doing business. You do know the ridiculous markup on everything you buy, don't you? I'm glad the honey is so scrupulous though, even though it's expensive that way.

This and that

Serge made this great thing the other night. It was a mountain of crepes layered with ham, cheese, and brocolli. He made some kind of herb citrus sauce too and it was just delicious. Then when he was cleaning up, he broke the crepe maker the crepe maker broke for no ostensible reason. It was a pretty old hand-me-down and we were worried that maybe they didn't make such a thing anymore, but lo and behold, Amazon of all places carries one. Our friend Dan has made crepes at our house a couple of times, always off the cuff, but last time I watched what he concocted and wrote it down. Since he wasn't measuring I eyeballed and came up with approximately this: 3 eggs, 1/4 cup of sugar, 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup milk, a bit of orange zest and a smidge of salt. That's for dessert style, so you'll want to lower sugar and up salt for meal style crepes.

The weekend was pretty dull. I was puny and sickly the whole time, but it's just a cold I tell myself and then push through to do all the things I'm supposed to do. Chores, lesson plans, walking Georgie. We got out of the house a bit on Sunday, when we had a late breakfast and trip to Home Depot. Of course half way though I had to torque but I held it successfully until we got back home. Kinda like cigarette cravings, the urge eventually passes. Unless of course we're talking the squirts and then the only recourse is release, hopefully in a nearby public facility.

I've been really resisting acknowledging the eye failure going on with me. I do not want to succumb to having to wear glasses when I read, because the more you do that, the more you need them. Stave off the inevitable for as long as possible. The key is light. Usually I can avoid getting out the reading glasses if I find a bright source of light. We picked up a couple at the home depot, little spots at our desks that are perfect for reading things like instructions or directions which always seem to be in the smallest typeset possible.

Happy Monday peeps, only 4 more days to the weekend.

Well crap

I can't believe how long it's been since my last post. The whole week has been a blur. Part of it is that I came down with another lousy cold, or perhaps it is an extension/relapse of the one I had in Hawaii. Whatever it is, it sucks big donkey dicks in the sky. And makes me cranky too. This morning found me with voluminous quantities of crusted snot ringing my nostrils. Lovely. I've also been working long days all week and even though it has been a great success, I'm papooped. Whining is my current coping strategy, obviously. Hey, when the British and Australian bloggers say "whinging" to mean whining, are they pronouncing the first g? I've never heard it uttered, only seen it written, and then of course it seems totally wrong. It must not be though because I've seen it many times.

Serge figured out what was causing his hives. Champix. He's been on the "stop smoking" medication for a while and as soon as he stopped taking it to see if that might be the cause, no more hives. I wish he would develop an allergy to the cigarettes instead of the smoking cessation medication, but what are you gonna do?

We are in the deep freeze here too. Below zero (F) all day yesterday and today with wind chills in the minus twenties. Even Georgie is reticent to spend any time outside. Yesterday on the radio, the announcer talked about the wind chill warning and how it's dangerous to venture outside and then the next commercial was for the Snow Festival at the park, bring the kids and have some fun. Excuse me but nothing is fun at minus 20. Nothing outside anyway.

Thanks for stopping by y'all and pardon my curmudgeonliness. Hope your weekend is a nice one.

Coupla pics

Serge has been getting hives frequently over the past few weeks. Sometimes he gets a rash but often times his lip swells up like this. The other day it stayed swelled up like that the whole day but usually it subsides after a couple of hours. There's not much you can do about it, though the nurses told me yesterday that his system is too acidic and he should avoid sugar and juices.

Georgie sure loves to play in the doggie park. I am getting a bit worried that he will understand that he can jump over the fence now that there is a decent snowpack on the ground. I know he could jump it because it's lower than our sofa which he jumps up on from the rear. Hopefully he'll never find out.

Here's what I craved and ate the other day after having been gone on vacation. Nothing says Quebec like this greasy plate of poutine. I read the other day about a new Mexican fast food place up here (another idea of mine stolen) that is making a Mexican poutine with salsa instead of gravy. I'm gonna have to give that a go sometime.

It's so hard to get a crisp clear picture of him since he never stops moving. Oh we've got loads of boring sleeping pictures of him, but awake ones are always a bit blurry. This one made me laugh because it looks like his head is too big for his body. Plus the sad eyes. So cute.

I'm into the second day of my week long intensive so I won't be around the internetz much. And I still haven't even gotten through the blog list after coming back from vacation and it's been nearly a week. So if I haven't been around to visit, don't take it personally, I'm just majorly behind on everything. Have a lovely week peeps.

Trip Tidbits

* Well that slideshow thing seemed to work real well but it used up a quarter of my allotment so I don't think I will avail myself of it in the future. I'm not going to post any more pictures since they are all there now.

* As for security while traveling, everything was the same for domestic flights within the US but when we went through US customs and immigration here in the airport in Montreal, we were forbidden to bring any carry-ons and forced to check them. Then after going through the security checkpoint, everyone had to be patted down in a second checkpoint. Here's the thing though. They pat you down everywhere except the crotch. Lame! That's where the guy hid the explosives. Wasn't that the whole point of the patdown? To prevent crotch hidden items from getting on the plane?

* A couple days before we left LA, I bid on a room near the airport since we had an 8am flight out to Hawaii. I scored the Crown Plaza for $43. Then when we checked in, the girl had a dyslexic moment and gave us room 1121 which was an occupied room. She should have given us 1112, an unoccupied room. The occupant was pretty surly when we barged in on him. When I went back to the front desk, the girl was so sorry she comped our parking and breakfast.

* We had a pretty long journey going to Hawaii as well. There was a 4 hour layover in Honolulu after a six and a half hour flight from LA. We took an island hopping flight to the Big Island. Then we took a cab to our hotel. A thirty minute ride was $95. The most expensive cab ride we've ever taken. At the end of our stay on the Big Island, we took a shuttle back to the airport which ended up being a private car anyway for 2/3 the price of a taxi.

* Did I mention we were both sick going to Hawaii? We were on a steady diet of throat lozenges all day and I could barely speak. It wasn't until we went swimming in the ocean and we gargled with the seawater that it started getting better. Still, if you have to be sick somewhere, paradise isn't such a bad place.



* I felt fatty the whole time since I'm still not used to this new(ish) non-smoker body I have. I was convinced I had put on 10 pounds during the trip but when I got home, the scale said I lost 2 pounds.

* When we toured the Big Island, we visited the Mauna Loa macadamia nut processing plant. We tried some chocolate dipped squid which is very popular with the Japanese tourists. Remember this. If you're ever having sweets or desserts among the Japanese, beware, because there's often fishiness involved. We bought a couple cans of nuts and ate them during the trip. Then yesterday when I looked for them at the market, I saw that they stopped carrying them here.

* When we got home, my Magicjack was waiting for me. I ordered it before we left and after setting it up yesterday, it works pretty darn good. I picked a Socal phone number but it looks like I can call anywhere in Canada and the US for free. (Okay, not free since the device is $50 a year, but still.)

* As I mentioned before, we really tied one on the last night in Honolulu. (At the end of the slideshow from the last post, there is a video of us getting ready to go out that last night.) At the karaoke bar I sang Urgent (badly) and Serge sang a Karen Carpenter song. You know the one that starts out "Long ago....." I have a video of that one, but I've been admonished not to post it.

* It was a great trip all around. There were good meals with family and friends, a couple of hikes, plenty of relaxation on the Big Island and the Disneyfied excitement of Waikiki. I was ready to come home though and yesterday I had a poutine as a homecoming treat. Now I've got a month straight of intense working and then in March we're off again. More on that to come.

Long journey home

We made it back home after a very long journey involving three planes and 5 time zones. I toughed it out yesterday and stayed up until 7 and then popped a couple melatonin to reset my internal clock and slept 11 hours. I had been up for 30 hours straight, and this after having drunk like a fiend and sleeping only 4 hours on our last night. Oh my oh my that last night, so much booze and sex. We started out by going to the top of the hotel with the revolving rooftop restaurant for a sunset cocktail (or was it two?) before going to Nobu Waikiki for the chef's tasting menu. ($110 each but if you ever get a chance, it's exquisite. Get this mom, the "amuse bouche" was toro tartare.) The waitress suggested the house label wine "Nobu Chardonnay" and that was the first (and last) time I've ever ordered a wine without knowing the price. Later, when Serge ordered a second bottle, there was momentary discord since we've never had two bottles with dinner before (and we were already severely in our cups). Still we finished it and when the bill came there was another momentary discordancy, but what the hell it was our last night in paradise. The wine was seventy bucks apiece. Then we made our way to a little hole in the wall gay karaoke bar where they had a guy giving chair massages (you sat in a special chair while he massaged). We each had one, sang songs (shudder) and really did up that last night. There was a guy's email in my wallet the next day (he wanted a copy of the pics we took) but it wasn't until I reviewed the camera that I could remember who that was. Yes, we were seriously polluted. So then we had to deal with the aftermath of that while traveling home. I don't recommend this formula of traveling, especially when red eye flights are involved.

The best part of the whole day yesterday was picking up Georgie and how he howled (cried?) when he recognized us. He was so happy to come home although the kennel guy said he loved it there and stole everyone's heart. We already knew this about him, that he loves everyone and everything and this makes him compatible with most living things. Anyway, he fell right back into his routine back home. He's still sleeping as I type which is how he hangs. He loves to sleep in.

Serge has been posting pics on facebook along the way, but if you're not his friend you can't see them. I'm not in control of who he friends and doesn't so I'm going to have to put up a few pics later for you (Probably Saturday). For now, here we are on the last night before heading out.

Update: Slideshow here.

Update from the tropics

I hear that it's quite cold where we live. This is the constant gratitude inducer while we while away the week in Hawaii. We are on the Big Island, technically the island of Hawaii staying at the nicest resort either of us has ever stayed at. Seriously. You know how they post the rack rates on the inside of the door of the hotel room. I know only fools pay those rates, but on ours it says $600-$900 per night. Of course we paid a fraction of that, less than a C-note per night. (I love you Priceline!) And they even gave us an ocean view room. Okay it is partial ocean view, but still. We leave the door open at night and the sound of the waves crashing lulls us to sleep. Oh and the room is bigger than the studio apartments we rent out back home. (On a side note, it seems like whenever we fall into a fantastic vacation situation, tragedy strikes elsewhere in the world. Our hearts go out to those suffering in Haiti. ) Our resort is on the largest sandy beach on the island and I've been body surfing every day except yesterday.
That's because we took a tour of the whole island. 280 miles on a tour bus with a dozen stops. The highlight was the volcanoes national park of course. Behind me there you see the toxic gases spewing out of Kilauea. There is no lava flowing at the moment, the rangers explaining that the volcano is in a state of pause. The guide was really good and talked the whole time about the flora, the history, and the legends that abound here.

The fancy resort thing is nice, but the prices sometimes make me burst out laughing. You're kidding right, I keep finding myself saying in my head. I was hip to the scam though and brought along plenty of snacks and booze to keep costs down. Here's something. Who thought it was a good idea to make rosemary mint shampoo (I can't make a question mark cuz Serge is asleep and I'm on his french keyboard) I mean I feel like I'm tea steeping every time I use it. Weird.

I thought this was a fabulous shot of the honey. Last night we went down to the beach there and swam by starlight. I suppose we will while away today down there as well. I should probably finish up the Lovely Bones today which has been a great read. Friday we are looking forward to the Crab feast buffet. Saturday we will head over to Honolulu for a more urban experience. We're having fun and I hope that you are too, wherever you are.

Ta ta California

Well, we're just about finished in California. We had final Christmas (feast of three kings to be precise) celebrations last night. Mom has a giant marlin that she caught years ago hanging in the living room and I thought the santa hat was kinda cute and unique. I'd wager there aren't any other santa marlins in town. Well, maybe in a seafood restaurant. It was a great night with wonderful food and family fun.

We also had the annual gingerbread men decorating extravaganza. Always fun for getting the creative juices flowing. In addition, they are quite yummy. I love how they make for colorful pictures as well. Can you believe we also saw Avatar a third time? We did, only in IMAX 3d this time. It was awesome though you can't really see the whole screen at the same time. Too big!

We are headed to Hawaii tomorrow but I tell ya, the weather and sunsets have been spectacular since we've arrived. This was from last night, a real knock-out. I love seeing everyone for the holidays but I always feel a bit guilty, like I haven't spent enough time with the loved ones. I suppose the only fix for that would be to move back here. Unless US immigration laws change drastically, I don't see that happening in the forseeable future. Maybe one day we can be snowbirds though and spend winters down here. That would be nice. One day. Next stop Hawaii people. Don't hate. Mwah!

Toodles

It's the last day I have to wear my hat for a while. Yay! We're getting out of this frozen wasteland winter wonderland for the next two weeks. Going back home to visit the family in Socal and then an additional week in Hawaii, land of volcanos and mai tais. Of course we will have to deal with all the new security rigamarole and I'm sure border agents are gonna be just that much more surly. Ah well, I wouldn't mind a bit of blog fodder anyway.

It's that facebook thing that's going to kill blogs. I'm off right now so I can keep up, but when I go back to work, how am I going to keep up on the 200 blog posts in my feeder and the 400 status updates on facebook, every day!? No way. Oh plus I have to write a blog. Something will have to give. If there's a secret-admirer-anonymous-sugardaddy-moneybags who wants to donate to solve this dilemma by allowing me to skip the working part, just email me, kay?

Today we have to take Georgie to doggie jail. He was bad at the last place so it's kennel time for him. And we've got to pack, go to the bank, and close up the house tight. Speaking of Georgie, he was so funny the other night when Serge was clearing the patio of snow. He started barking like the dickens at Serge. I posted a video on facebook that I think you can watch by clicking here.

I know there were more things I wanted to mention, but since I didn't write them down, they've disappeared into the ether. I probably wanted to complain bitterly about the three non-stop days of snow. Or maybe I wanted to share an interesting internet tidbit. Perhaps I had a scatty anecdote. Who knows really? What I do know is that this is the last post for a while. I'll check in once or twice most likely, since Serge is bringing his laptop. No promises though. To conclude today, I give you a gratuitous Georgie shot with spouse. All together now, "Awwwwww!"

Oh and happy new year too

We've had company the past few days, hence my absence around here. Our house isn't all that conducive to having overnight guests (one bathroom, one bed) but we've made do fine. Serge sleeps on the couch like he does half the time anyway, and I'm camped out on the patio lounge cushion on the floor of the office. Georgie has chosen to sleep with the guests the little traitor.

The picture is from our New Year's Eve pub crawl, and we look all fresh because it was the first pub. Later on vomiting occurred though not by yours truly, come on, if there's one thing we're not, it's amateurs. Well at least not in the drinking department. I think it was the common mistake of not taking into account that the beer here is about 50% stronger (ie more alcohol) than in the US. I think it was the first time I made it to midnight awake in a decade.

Yesterday we all went to see Avatar again and even the second time around it was really fun to watch. Then I made a turkey dinner from that Butterball cook from frozen, pre stuffed bird they are peddling. Awesome, I will be a customer for life with that method.

Well the guests are waking up, so I've got to go entertain. They may or may not be leaving today due to the impending snowstorm. Hope you all have a lovely weekend.