Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Pathetic Ascetic

Things I live without:
cable, a microwave, disposable income, a stereo, a sandwich press, a vehicle, g-strings, call waiting and voicemail

Things I refuse to live without:
CBC radio, my hair straightner, my husband, my cat, a camera, a computer, the internet, running shoes and my library card

On the verge of employment?

I got a job interview!! I'm not going to say where in case I jinx it (nice skeptic I am...jinxes and such)but I am so happy...I want this job. Even if I don't get it though, getting the interview after sending out my resume 1,000 times is awesome. I will at least get the chance to talk with people and leave the house...whoopeee!

Friday, January 27, 2006

This post is so unpolitical it's groovy...

I've been feeling really great lately and I kind of want to bottle some of it and save it for a day when I'm feeling lousy, because eventually it will come. I feel happy and positive and optimistic and although I wasn't exactly in the depths of despair before Christmas, I wasn't feeling too confident either. I didn't want to throw myself in front of a bus so much as just trip into one so that people noticed I existed. "Did you see that crazy bitch? She just fell into the side of the bus! Look her face is all smooshed up against that hemorrhoid ad!"

I'm training for a sprint triathlon (which involves a 750m swim, 20 km bike and a 5 km run)this summer and so far it's going well. I'm starting off slowly and that's probably a good thing. In the past, whenever I have embarked on some kind of fitness program I have gone a little psycho at the beginning, only to peter out in the middle. This time I am going to swallow my pride and start as slow as they want me to. Anyway, I'm excited about it and curious to see how it all goes. I have my first swimming class this weekend, followed by my first U of C intramural volleyball game on Sunday night.

I'm working on some jobs and I am hoping so badly that I get the one I'm after. I will keep you posted. I feel better now then I did before though. Partly because I am actually going to places in person and talking to people. So even if I don't get the position I've left the house, interacted with another human being and possible left an impression. It's all good.

The house is coming along really well and I promise I will put some pictures up soon. There is a reason, however, why you don't see makeover "during" pictures. During usually doesn't look much better than "before"...it's the "after" we're after.

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

The West is in...quick, someone shut the door!

Sweet relief. I'm not going to complain or get on my soap box about how much I hate the Conservative party. He's on a short leash and I'm satisfied with that. Now the Liberals can get their shit together and prepare for the great battle in the years to come. I want to know where all those riding are that voted NDP...cuz' I'm moving there.

Saturday, January 21, 2006

If I were Prime Minister...

If I were the PM of this wonderful country, this is what I would do:

1. I would revamp the education system and introduce a media and advertising course. I would have children learn about their role in the economy and the tactics used by those who wish to turn them into life-long consumers. I would have them study different advertising and marketing techniques and learn to critically evaluate the information they are bombarded with in the course of the day.

2. I would bring back physical education...and not just for young people. Grown ups could benefit from a daily 20 minute exercise recess too.

3. I would ban handguns. Those who use them for sports can either lock them up at an on location storage facility (if they are target shooters they have to go to the shooting range anyway, so why not store their guns there?) or move to America.

4. I would introduce creative sentencing and introduce tougher drinking and driving charges. First offense: license gone for a year. Second offense: gone for life. Third offense: charge them and send them to jail. I would provide good, effective addictions counseling in prisons. I would allow all prisoners to vote. They made mistakes, they are still citizens of this country.

5. I would provide financial incentives for those who choose public transportation. I would tax gas and I would invest in public transport and fuel alternatives.

6. I would remove the GST from feminine products...that's gander biased. We have to buy cotton rockets whether we like it or not. I would also remove it from books.

7. I would stop buying medical supplies from overseas. I would introduce a standardized medical supply production company and open factories in area of low employment. Said products (gloves, scissors, bedpans etc...) would be distributed across the country. Everyone would have access to the same supplies, the cost of healthcare would decrease dramatically (right now we pay $80 for each pair of American-made suture scissors...sheesh) and it would provide work where people need it most.

8. I would introduce a charge fee at the emergency room. Chronic illness and those suffering real emergencies would not have to pay the charge. Those with a runny nose would.

9. I would introduce a pay-work system in the government, similar to what already exists in the military. The government helps you pay for school provided you work in the civil service industry for a certain number of months/years.

10. I would provide more funding for low income housing and senior home care. Senior citizens would be paired up with low income families on a volunteer basis. Seniors feel like they have someone that cares about them, and single mothers get the help they need. The children end up with more involved adults and someone to come home to after school.

11. I would open more spots in medical school and work to make them less elitist. You shouldn't have to know at 21 what you want to be and have already taken all the pre-requisite courses. I would do away with American based standardized tests (LSAT,MCAT,GMAT,GRE etc.) and introduce similar tests, developed in Canada, and free to anyone who wishes to study and take them.

12. I would say "No, absolutely no, what the hell are you thinking" to the Americans with respect to the Missile defense program.

13. I would fund the CBC to the teeth. I would set up the written equivalent of the CBC and have a national newspaper, publicly funded and as unbiased as possible.

14. I would introduce exact proportional representation. Each vote would count for one vote in parliament. If in a riding the Liberal candidate received 5,000 votes but did not win the election, those 5,000 votes would be distributed to other liberal MP's. Each riding would still elect a representatives but the other votes would never be wasted. This means that parties like the Green Party that may only have one elected representative would still have the power of the 6% of Canadians who voted for them.

15. I would set up a free and voluntary exchange program for students across Canada. Students from all across the country would get the opportunity to live in another province for one semester. This would allow children to develop a national understanding and perspective. This would be especially helpful for the Quebec situation.

That's it for now, but I'm working on some more points. If this platform keeps developing at the rate it has been I'll be running in 2010..."Vote for me...I'm as sick of politics as you are!!"

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Depletion in the Blogosphere...CFC's to blame?

Where have all the bloggers gone? Is blogging getting boring? It seems to me (and I include myself in this) that people have stopped blogging with the same intensity they used to. Maybe it's just the blogs I read and maybe it's because one of my bloggers is on vacation in China, with his Mum, but the craze appears to be dwindling. Don't get me wrong, there will always be blogging, just like there will always be hoola hoops and pogo sticks. I just want to know what everyone is doing with their free time....

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

So far 2006 is a mediocre year...

It's a New Year and I can't sleep. I've been up since about 4:00 for no good reason...maybe it's all those unacknowledged and unvocalized New Year's resolutions swimming around my head. Last year my resolution was to do the splits by 2006. I don't think I worked on it...even once. These are my resolutions for this year:

1. Quit smoking. (I figure that starting with something I already did a long time ago will start me off on the right track...)
2. Blog more and blog better...starting tomorrow.
3. Get a job. Way to aim high.
4. Lose some weight and eat better.
5. Call my friends more often.
6. Go somewhere I have never been before.
7. Learn a new skill. This is where my killer harmonica comes in...
8. Volunteer more.
9. Enjoy the moment.
10. Befriend a troop of mountain gorillas.
11. Remember not to get caught up in the life that is Calgary.
12. Be nicer to others and to myself.

How cool is this? It's my little brother's first academic paper and it's a very important one. I'm so proud of him. This is way better than that time he pretended to be a doctor on some online chat groups and convinced hundreds of people to abandon their medications.