2003-08-21 - 11:54 a.m.

Ok, so I really wanted to blog yesterday, even started an entry, but getting back to work after a vacation/buying trip is a bit more difficult and I never finished my entry.

Florida was nice. Our time in Key West turned out to include a clothing-optional day at the openly-gay pool/resort.... You really haven't lived until you've seen a bunch of overweight middle-aged gay guys apply sunscreen in their neither-regions!!!! We did a bunch of touristy things, like an airboat ride in the everglades, the Sawgrass Mills Outlets and the Monkey Jungle. All in all, traveling with another couple was OK. I did have one blow up with my friends husband, but we patched things up and finished the week with a yummy dinner at Joe Allen's, which hubby and I love.

I have an unhealthy love with the Banana Republic Martin-cut pants.... I don't even wear pants very often, but between Toronto and Miami, I came home with 4 new pairs of various styles of Martin pants. They are they best pants ever. I've been wearing the cropped-cargo version all summer, but now I got a nice wool one for winter, a business cropped pinstriped pair and a basic black, basic brown....

I did way too much shopping. I bought a bunch of cute skirts, a couple of sweaters and a pair of Bonjour Fleurette Flip Flops (As seen in O Magazine...).

On a more serious note, we attended a rally/memorial service yesterday for the victims of the latest terrorist attack in Israel. When the Rabbi read the names of each of the victims and told us a little bit about each of them, it was really hard on me. I was especially disturbed by the story of Lilach Kardy, 22, who had a one-year old and wad 8 months pregnant. She had been living in Jerusalem to help raise her teenage brother who had been orphaned after their parents were themselves killed in a terrorist attack 6 years ago.

I haven't been political at all on this blog, but this latest attack just upset us very much. I won't go on, I just wanted to do my little part to make sure she is remembered.

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2003-08-19 - 11:32 a.m.

I'm back!!!

While a real post will have to wait until tomorrow, here is a glimpse of what happened while I was away:

We shopped til we dropped at the gift show, The store will have the coolest stuff come fall! LEaving for Florida was a total pain following a massive layoff at Air Canada that delayed passengers for hours at the Toronto Airport. We made it onto our flight, but we would have been better off missing it: an hour delay to leave the gate, mis-matched luggage caused us to leave the runway and return back to the gate, where we finally took off almost 3 hours late.

Florida was nice and hot and travelling with friends was for the most part OK, althoug we did have one major blow up (details later).

And the return home was miraculously fine, considering that a day earlier we wouldn't have been able to come back due to the black-out related delays.

Oh, and did I mention both our house and the store got flooded last week after the massive downpours?

I've got a ton of work to do to catch up on the accounting from last week, so more tomorrow....

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2003-08-08 - 11:42 a.m.

I'm running around like a mad woman, I've got no time to blog, there are so many things to do before we leave, but I just had to get something off my chest.....

I watched TAR last night, and while it was a fascinating episode, there is one thing that just drove me totally up the wall... While in Korea, in the middle of the night, in a non-touristy area, Chip and Reichen starting getting upset at their Korean taxi driver for not speaking English. One of them (I don't know which one is which, I think chip) said: "I'm not paying you, you don't speak English". AAARRRGGGHHHH! I know the USA is a great country, land of the free, blah blah blah, but people, you don't rule the world! There are plenty of people on this planet who don't speak english and do just fine, thank you very much.

I understand wanting an english speaking person at an airport or hotel, but a taxi driver? In the middle of the night? Not in a touristy area? GET A GRIP! GET OVER YOURSELF!

This is why it makes it unpleasant for other english-speking people (ie canadians in my case) to travel abroad. I'm not saying that a Canadian wouldn't have said the same thing, I'm sure there are a bunch of ignorants on our side of the border, but as a person who has lived in 4 countries and visited more than 25 (many of which ddidn't have any english at all), I know that in general, it's Americans who tend to stand out in such negative ways.

This is not meant to be a rant on Americans. Just clueless travelers who expect everything to work the same as home. Don't travel abroad if you feel that way. And by the way, have you tried to get a cab in NY city Lately??????

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2003-08-07 - 4:52 p.m.

less than 24 hours before we leave for our business trip quickly followed by our vacation in hot and humid Florida. Honestly, what were we thinking??? I have curly frizzy hair, I'm going to look like Monica in that great Carabean episode of Friends.....

I won't be blogging while I'm away, we're not staying in hotels with free net access and my friends aren't net-savy, so I'm not seing many internet-cafe stops along the way. Since I know my loyal readers will miss me dearly (wishful thinking!) I invite you to read any of my regular blog reads on the left. Those girls will keep you entertained, just promise to come back to me on the 18th when I return....

BTW, I meat my first real live reader today. A fellow montrealer who's been reading me for a little while came to the store today. Very cool to put a face to a name, and to know there are other "real" people behind all those 1's and 0's.

I'm going to be pretty busy tomorrow, but I hope to get in a short post about TAR4.

Enjoy the next week and come back on August 18th.

Anything to add? 1

2003-08-06 - 10:55 a.m.

I just had an absolutely terrifying thought this morning after ready Mimi Smartypant's entry about her 10th year college reunion.... I graduated university 10 years ago.... Holy crap that's scary!

There is absolutely no denying it any longer, I'm an adult now (cue that great 80's tune by The Pursuit of Happiness: I'm an adult now, I've got the problems of an adult, on my head and on my shoulders, I'm an adult now....)

Even though I sit here at work in my little low slung capris, my hot pink baby tee that says "I enjoy being a girl", and pig tails (yes, pig tails), there is absolutely no fooling anyone, I'm a grown up.

I remember graduation, all of 23 years old, with the promise of a great career ahead of me, lots of exciting travel opportunities.... What was I thinking?!? I did the work thing, the travel thing (which is totally overrated BTW, room service sucks, jet lag sucks, and by the time you get your bearings in a city, you leave). Here I am 10 years later, with a husband, a house, a dog, our own business... Holy Crap! Really! It just hit me all of sudden!

You would think it wouldn't be such a shock, after all, we have been actively trying to have a kid, we knowingly bought a big house with spare rooms, but still... Next week, we are going to Florida with my best friend and her husband for a week. We have never done that before. She and I have been on plenty of road trips together over the years, mostely involving beer and cheap shoes, but this time, it's with the husbands...

In preparation for the trip, I've been burning some CDs of tunes I think all 4 of us will enjoy. This is terribly hard to do. First, my husband has very progressive peculiar taste in music, and while I'm used to it, I'm not sure my friends would be too keen. Second, she's been living on the other side of the country for about 5 years now, so I don't really know what she's been listering to. So I decided to play it safe and dig through our old record and CD collection for our college days. And Reminiscing, remembering, and wondering, where the hell has time gone?!?!? The thing is, I really don't feel 33. I know I don't look it. I constantly have to tell people how old I am to get them to take me seriously (something I could probably fix if I got rid of the pigtails....), and since I don't have kids yet, there is really nothing keeping me from living my life like a 23 year old. Partying, drinking, etc. Except of course, I do none of those things. I knit and quilt, I scrapbook, I watch way too much reality tv and show up at work on time everyday. I'm never ever hung over and I don't meet anyone past 10pm. I go to the early movie so I don't fall asleep, I tape Letterman and watch it in the morning....

Better pack up those baby-tees, there is absolutely no going back, I'm an adult now.... I think I need a drink!

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2003-08-05 - 10:39 a.m.

Oh crap! The computer just ate my entry. it's because I'm typing with one hand. Which is because I'm in a lot of pain right now and I can't use my right arm... No, I didn't pull a Gideon and slip in the kitchen. I have a bizzare recurring shoulder pain. It's the 4th day this year that it flairs up. The cause is as of yet undetermined because everytime it happens, I can't get a doctor's appointment until 2 weeks later. Not this time, I'm going on Thursday, hopefully she'll be able to figure it out.

In the meantime, I'm popping little blue pills that aren't doing much good and trying not to move at all, because any movement causes sharp pain to shoot up my neck and down my arm. I can't even look up, my whole neck is jammed. Fun fun!

Luckily for me, hubby is going to come to work soon to releive me and let me go lie down. I have a thousand things to do before we leave for our vacation on Friday, but none of them will get done today. Today, I can't move.

that's it for now folks, sorry about that, but typing with one hand sucks, and I can't think of anything witty to say. I promise to do better tomorrow.

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