Pink

I thought about writing this post in pink (does this look close enough?) and then I remembered how much I hate unreadable posts on other blogs.

I wanted to wear pink today, but one look at my wardrobe showed just how much I'm not a Barbie Girl. I am, however, wearing a faded-red (not old; bought in that colour) shirt that might pass for pink in the right light. Yep, instead of my uniform. It was important.

For those who haven't caught on or maybe just didn't know, it's Pink Shirt Day to raise awareness of, and hopefully in some cases stop, bullying. Briefly, it started as a student movement in Nova Scotia at a school where a boy was being bullied for having worn a pink shirt. Other students bought and handed out pink shirts in support, and the thing took off.

Was I bullied in school?

I was a short, round, misfit science nerd in a small-town school that favoured athletics over academics. What do you think?

'Nuff said about me, anyway. I wouldn't be a teen today for love or money, given all the new bullying avenues that social media has opened up. It's got to be so damned hard.

Anyway, and as I so often say after anyway, I need to get back to work. I'm not even going to end with any admonishment, homily, or words of wisdom about bullying. All I'm going to say is: think.



Too bad that's so difficult for some people.

So then...

The problem with blogging so infrequently these days (laziness, mostly) is that I completely lose my train of thought. I have no idea where I was going with anything here.

So then, what's been going on? Oh, snow, hating winter, hating government bureaucracy, feeling low for a bit, feeling better, reading that a cougar was found in a hay loft in North Kanata (*waves to Kanata*), finding out that sometimes people really really DON'T suck, reading art books, doodling a little, posting almost none of the doodles, working, dealing with a sore shoulder... does that cover it?

Oh, and the Turkey Brothers are a fair bit less manly today. Dad's supposed to pick them up shortly, so I'm sure I'll hear how things went.

Sorry for this mostly non-post, but I really do need to get back to work. Hey, at least I'm still around.

Occasionally.



I'd say I'd try to do better, but realistically I'll probably do about what I'm doing now. Sometimes the blather just ain't the priority.

Catch you whenever.

Short post of randomness

As usual, I've wasted most of the morning catching up on mindless internet stuff I didn't get to during the week. And then, when I went upstairs briefly for something, Squeak McCuddleme had woken up and had some demands. Have I mentioned that if you don't pick up Tom right away when he wants to be held that he'll just climb up on his own? So yeah, I had to include a bit of quality cat time there.

That's a big sacrifice, you know. They're cute when they're not destroying things. I just wish that he could figure out that Allergy Annie here doesn't appreciate a cat nose all over her face.

Some of my two fans might be wondering by now how someone with cat allergies has managed to be with cats most of her life.

Simple.

Drugs.

I should explain that a bit more. When I was a kid I was on an inhaled steroid for various allergies, including the cat one. Later on as an adult when I decided to drop the steroid, I just started using otc antihistamines when it was necessary. Not exactly the best move since many antihistamines and I don't get along very well, but I eventually found one that works without a lot of side effects, and there you have it.

Me, the cat cuddler.

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I wanted to make sure I said a huge thank-you on behalf of those of us who have sense to the people of Cold Lake who helped clean up a mosque that some pseudobrained idiot thought it would be fun to spray paint. Well, done, and way to show (without just talking about it) that one sub-moronic jackass doesn't reflect the values of your community. Or this country, for that matter. I wish that there were more people out there like you who would actively do something about a problem.

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That's it, actually. I did say short post. Tomorrow, probably more cat things, especially since Dad just gave them their first catnip and I apparently need to go up and see the results.


Sorry, no apparently about that. I neeeeed to go up and see the results. Later, everyone.

Pointless cat photo of the day:

Dressers are fun.

These shots have been from two weeks ago. I'll be seeing them tonight. I imagine that at the rate that kittens grow, they'll have a little trouble fitting in that narrow space under my dresser now.

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Another short workday post, but I do have a couple of things to say. First, to the follower tools who waited in line for a day for an iphone whatever (yes, I know what it is, but if you only knew the depths of my uncaring...), jeeeeesus. Really? We haven't got over this crap yet? And I'm certainly not going to apologise for calling you follower tools. You're followers, and you're tools. Well, I suppose I am sorry -- that you're follower tools. The world certainly doesn't need more follower tools. Especially ones who will line up for a phone.

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Now to something more serious. I was pleasantly surprised by the results of the Scottish referendum. That makes it sound like I was against Scottish independence, but I really don't have a horse in the race. I can't even claim Scottish heritage, unless you go way back into antiquity when the tiny fraction of my ancestry that's Irish was probably going back and forth trading, invading, and most likely procreating. What I don't really get is the idea of nationalism coming before economic stability.

I mean, yeah, sure, be proud -- within reason -- of where you were born. I'm happy to have been born in Canada. I'm happy to be Canadian. But the reality is, if I'd been born in Scotland I'd be happy to be Scottish. If I'd been born in Croatia I'd be happy to be Croatian. None of us have any control of where we were born, and putting pride of accidental place over the fact that the (Western, at least) world is moving towards less trade barriers and trying its damnedest to avoid another financial collapse just makes me think that you're not really considering things.

Quebec has thought about separating (and by the way, big hearty boos to those PQ members who thought it would be a great idea to take advantage of the Scottish referendum and show up there, say a bunch of stupid things, and start planning their next attempt). Texas talks about separating. Heck, even here in Alberta we have separatists. None of it would be of ANY advantage to any of us. Nous vivons ensemble, if you want to put it a bit more romantically. Which I honestly don't, actually. Romance shouldn't have anything to do with it at this point in our history.

Sigh. So much for a short post. Back to work, then. And if you want to hear rather than read Gordon Lightfoot, try this link.

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Edited to add: arrrr. Sorry I fergot, me scurvy mates. Hope ya be havin' a fine Talk Like a Pirate Day.

Free

This'll probably be a fairly mixed bag of short thoughts that don't all deserve individual blog posts. Bear with me.

First off, what do you do with your unwanted stuff? Toss it? Take it for recycling when possible? Swap meets? Here in this city there's a twice yearly event where people can take unwanted but usable stuff (all kinds of stuff), put it out on the curb, and put a free sign on it. At the end of the weekend you have to bring anything left back in, though. It's been working well enough that it's gone on for a few years now. I think it's pretty cool.

We have a similar, accidental thing in the student-filled apartment building where I live. People who are moving tend to leave things in the lobby with a note on them. I'm sure the management hates it, but it keeps a lot of things from hitting the dumpster. A problem arises, though, when people are too lazy to make it even to the lobby. For days now there's been an old CRT television sitting in the stairwell, free sign and all. No one will want it, and eventually (eventually... that's kind of how everything works with this management company) someone will get around to moving out to the trash. Not recycle -- that takes effort. I've seen the same thing happen with old printers, desks... move it to the end of the hall seems to be about as far as s fair number of people are willing to go. Sad, when there are options out there.

Kind of depressing about what it says about the average renter, too.

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And now, customer service. I had a couple of things that needed buying the other week, and had two very different experiences. I needed (yes, needed), a new remote and went to one of the electronics stores in fear of the usual up-sale. I was pleasantly surprised. As I was looking at the selection I was approached by an... associate, I suppose they're called... who was very friendly and quick to just accept that I'd found what I wanted. Well, she did make a joke about the $300 model that can control everything in your house, but it was so obviously a joke that there was no pressure in it at all. Sale? About $20. Oh, and batteries because I was out, but that's ok. Good job, big box electronics store.

Next, big box department store because I needed (yes, needed wanted) a silver chain that would better suit a couple of the new pendants I'd bought. I wanted actual silver because you know my feelings about plated fake jewellery. Well, I found what I thought I wanted in the locked case, hung around for a while... and no sign of anyone in the department. I looked around for someone for a fair while, but nothing. And no call button. The only salespeople that I noticed were probably in a different department, and were standing around in a group gossipping with each other and ignoring the customers in general. I finally gave up, found a costume piece that will do for now, and left. Sale? $6, and a package of nuts that I found in the grocery section. And yes, I went looking for the nuts. It wasn't an impulse.

So, big box department store? Lower prices + no service = when I do buy that silver chain it certainly won't be from you. Too bad, so sad. Well, not for me.

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And finally, tea. I haven't been keeping you up-to-date, so here goes. I've tried the Jungle Ju Ju, which is the guayusa-based one. It was pleasant and didn't give me the jitters, so that's good. I'd still go spicy over fruity overall, but I'll have no trouble finishing it. Next was the Mango Fruit Punch sample, which I made as an iced tea. I liked it. Apparently fruity is good when it's iced tea as opposed to hot tea.

Yeah, I'm weird.

Anyway, next up was the Cotton Candy sample, which I'd been dreading. It just sounded so gross. It turned out to be basically pre-sweetened rooibos, and was nothing like cotton candy. Probably a good thing, but I don't know what they were thinking with the name. And finally, today's offering was Saigon Chai. This is a good chai. Great balance of spices, and the hint of vanilla was nice. I'll be finishing this one up pretty quickly, I imagine.

So, my success rate (or, I suppose, the company's success rate) was pretty decent. Good thing, because that's way too much money on tea otherwise.

After all, I could have bought a silver chain.

Quick thanks

No picture today; I don't have my nerdstick with me.

Not much of a post either because I'm really tired and have had a mostly crappy day so far, but I did want to mention that ONE GOOD THING did happen.

That 's for those of you who think I'm incapable of noticing good things.

Anyway. I don't really want to go into detail, but let's just say I ended up having a more expensive day than I was planning to, and out of the blue somebody decided not to charge me for something that he had every right to charge me for. It was unexpected, it was nice, and it really gave me a whoa moment even though it probably wasn't that big a deal to him.

Sometimes -- occasionally -- people are cool.



Thanks, eh.