What me, update?

I'm slacking already, I know. I've been busy getting that photo slider thingy in the right place. Do y'all hate me now for putting your photos up? If you're really offended, let me know and I'll remove your pretty face! I've also been busy giving myself a heart attack about going to the dentist. I almost fainted on the subway one morning, and I think it was purely the fear of seeing a dentist for the first time in over a decade. What I though was wrong was exactly right - the gums around one of my wisdom teeth (which has always overlapped my tooth a little) were inflamed and possibly infected. Chris was nice enough to come with me while I waited to go in. I was there for two hours! Mr. Nice Dentist removed a small piece of overlap and gave me some drugs. Now I have several more appointments for cleaning and fillings, but other than that my teeth have survived the long period of neglect. To reward myself for actually going, and because they were so cheap (and because Chris put the dvd whammy on me) I bought the first two seasons of Queer As Folk which I found for $50 each. I hadn't actually seen season one since it first aired, and at the time I hated it, probably because the British series was still so fresh in my mind. I watched it on and off and only really got back into the final two seasons. I think I just fell in love with all of the characters - some of the writing is pretty bland, although scripts in the hands of John Greyson or Bruce McDonald were made great, and I do get a kick out of an american tv based in my old neighbourhood (gaybourhood.) I'm at #291 for dvds, so I may have to do a poll for #300.

Yay medal for Buttle!

Winner--->

Maybe now people will quit saying that it was merely a fluke that Buttle won the silver at the Worlds last year. I think he's proven himself, and I think Sandhu has proven that while he is an amazing skater, he's not a good competitor. Someone made a comparison between him and Johnny Weir, but at least Weir didn't fall on his ass. He may have have lost focus and not skated his best, but he's still my favorite.

And to answer some burning questions:
1. Jeff Buttle is 23 (not 12 as speculated)
2. Stephane Lambiel is not gay - he was dating Italian skater Carolina Kostner (won bronze at the World's last year).
3. Brian Joubert is gay because he topped his 007 short program by skating to music from the Lord of the Dance.
<---Gay.

The Hoist

My best-est friend now has a web site and a blog. Be forewarned - he has already gone as low as humanly possible and written about filth beyond any comparison. Read all about his late night session getting down and dirty with, well, read it yourself...The Hoist

Someone always ends up on their ass.

So apparently you can lie to the judge to get out of jury duty, if you're a big lying loser. Hi. I make $45K+++ a year and live at home under the comfort of my parents who also pay my car insurance, but if I tell the judge I live alone and need the money to pay my rent, then I can get out of it. (Because I really need the money to spend on purses, shoes and jewellery, and maybe a vacation or two.) Loser. But this is coming from someone who believes it's ok to switch $60 jewellery with jewellery in a box marked $10 and it's not stealing because it was paid for. And the person whose mother taught her how to get a hotel room when you haven't booked one - yell at the employees about how incompetent they are because they lost your booking until they give you a room, likely at a discount for all of your "troubles." Again - loser. I guess I'm just jealous that I can't get more out of my life by living amorally. Oh to be shallow and self-obsessed.

On to figure skating and the men's short program. The coverage of this was far better than that of the pairs, but I still watched both networks to see as many skaters as possible. The NBC coverage has been awful - when the pairs began the long programs they weren't showing their marks afterwards, but were wasting time with segment after segment on the new scoring system, how to do a lift, this drama and that drama. I realise now that yes, there are people watching who don't normally watch figure skating, but who cares!? If people are actually tuning in to see drama and not the skating then they should watch Skating with Celebrities instead. The most pathetic bit of filler was an actual staged soap opera scene from (I think) Days of Our Lives, mocking the judging scandal from the last Olympics. Ugh. The CBC is doing segments with skaters like Kurt Browning and Elvis Stojko to get their take on the skaters, although sometimes hearing them talk lowers my opinion of them. Like Stojko's rant on the quad not being worth more points and how a judge should be fired for giving abnormally low marks to a skater. He sounded bitter and was not well spoken at all. Browning on the other hand, was quite amiable and while his opinion was purely a personal one, he totally backed it up. Enough filler.

The current Standings:
#1 Yevgeny Plushenko (Russia) 90.66
#2 Johnny Weir (United States) 80.00
#3 Stephane Lambiel (Switzerland) 79.04
#4 Brian Joubert (France) 77.77
#5 Daisuke Takahashi (Japan) 73.77
#6 Jeffrey Buttle (Canada) 73.29
#7 Emanuel Sandhu (Canada) 69.75
...
#12 Shawn Sawyer (Canada) 67.20


Plushenko skated second and although he received a new highest score ever and was technically fabulous, I really didn't like the music coupled with the program he did. Canadian Shawn Sawyer had to skate immediately afterwards, and did a fabulous job considering his experience. His flexibility makes him stand out, and if he can handle it all mentally, then his future is bright. It's too bad Jeff Buttle fell on his ass, because he really is a great performer and I just love his short program, especially his final slide across the ice on his knees. For him to fall was unexpected, but it's exactly what I presumed would happen to Emanuel Sandhu. Like everyone reiterates, he's got it all, the technical skills and artistry, but when it comes down to the day, he is inconsistent and will at some point fall flat on his ass. What's probably really killing him though, is the fact that he's behind Buttle, who stole away from him the title of National Champion, and has kept it. I like Stephane Lambiel a lot, but when it comes down to it, I'd rather see a Canadian and Johnny Weir on the podium beneath Plushenko. And isn't Weir just the best thing ever?

No one skates as fluidly and expressively as he does and his technical skills are very, very good. What he needs is a quad and he will rule the world! It sounds like he's going to try one in the long program, which probably means falling on his ass, as he has never landed (or attempted?) one in competition before. I just hope that if he doesn't land it, the other skaters f*ck up too. I spend as much time willing skaters to fall as I do hoping they'll land jumps. Sad and evil I know. I really hope Brian Joubert falls on his ass, because I don't like him at all (and don't get any ideas, it's not because of his name). I think his artistry is very immature (007 - C'mon, loser!) and the only thing that is spectacular about him is his jumps and specifically that quad which is becoming increasingly important in competition. Loser. I'm just bitter because my favourite skaters don't have one. Yet.

This brain has performed an illegal operation and will now shut down.

Ever have one of those weeks where your brain starts malfunctioning and you start making uncharacteristic mistakes over and over? I remember it happening here a few years ago, and I actually told everyone at work to watch out for me! It was all minor stuff - spelling errors on publications, forgetting to do urgent things, leaving my coffee mug in strange places, but it was damn annoying. It's directly related to stuff that has to get done and the amount of stress it generates. Work is always a game of what will people complain to me the most about if it doesn't get done soon. The other day I returned a movie to the library, but forgot to put the movie back in the case and yesterday I put out the recycling/organics, not because I thought it was Friday, but because I thought it had to go out. I need a vacation!

I just bought tickets to the Stars on Ice show in April. I've never been to a real ice show and the line-up (Kurt Browning, Elvis Stojko, Jeff Buttle and Jamie Sale & David Pelletier) is just too great to miss. The seats aren't the best, but they are however, right beside the entrance/exit area for the skaters. A few years ago I did see some skaters at Nathan Phillips Square (Alexei Urmanov!) totally by accident! Mariana and I were there to go skating (well, me skate and her to be pulled around by me!) and watch Great Big Sea play. Now I can't remember the last time I went skating - anybody want to go? If it's still cold, maybe I'll arrange something around my attempt at a weeklong birthday celebration in March. (Party at 3QF on March 18th - save the date!) I've decided that turning 30 is going to be so bad that I'm going to plan fun stuff to do every day for the week following, so maybe it'll be easier to bear!

And oh yeah, the Olympics start today!

I don't even want to know...

Fire. Break-in. Broken water main. No water. No coffee. No heat because of no water. A dozen kids flushing toilets leading to no more toilets being able to flush. Lots of snow. Welcome to my work place. Our internet connection has been damn slow lately too. Fun. Fun. Fun. I don't think this place is any different from any other workplace though - crazy stuff happens everywhere. The difference is that here, everyone makes a huge deal about every little thing. As well, the cause of many problems is the state of this rapid deteriorating building and the inability to fix anything because of a severe decline in members. Apparently at this rate we will officially be bankrupt in five years. At least my student loan will be paid off by then!

Nerd that I am, I've been borrowing old figure skating videos from the library to fill the gap between broadcasts. Perhaps what is most appalling is the way that the skaters were filmed - one single camera simply following them around on the ice. It's actually difficult to watch given the coverage they get now. Although the US networks are bordering on avant-garde with their quick zooms and (most irritating) bird's eye view shots (shot from directly above looking down.) Maybe it looks cool, but I would like to see the performance the way the skater/choreographer intended it, not a music video thank you very much.

I tried to find an iskin case for my ipod but instead was laughed at by some dork at Best Buy (it somewhere else) and told that it was obsolete. He may be right, but he's still a dork! So much to Chris's dismay, (and mostly because of it) I defiled my ipod this weekend by putting a big sticker on it (only a temporary ipod tattoo) but I think it looks cool. I made it from the cover of an Oasis single (which is well suited considering that half of the hard drive is full of 200+ Oasis bootlegs.) It will do me fine until I buy a pretty pink iskin.

Socks?

Work is socks. People sock. Idiots sock the big one. Sometimes people with no talent and are difficult to deal with maintain their business by just being nice. "Oh, he's so nice and he's a personal friend of mine, therefore we can't take business away from him even if he does do a socky job. I'll blame you instead because you're a lowly peon." That just plain socks. On the brighter side, some people don't sock, and they see that you work your ass off even though your pay socks, so sometimes you get a nice treat.



It may be second-hand, a year old, and a little scratched, but the price was right and now, after years of waiting, it's mine.

iSocks.