Wrap-up of 2007...

Broken bones: 1
Number of tree limbs on my car: 1 (with 2 close calls)
Countries visited: 5
Documentaries made: 0 (doh!)
Final Cafe editions recorded: 4
Number of times my fridge died: 3
Amount my landlord spent fixing 30 year-old fridge: $1000
Amount my landlord finally spent on a new fridge: $600
Pairs of socks purchased: 10
Pairs of shoes purchased: 8
Number of friends who had babies: 4
Times I've said "awesome" since working with Dan Misener: 5 million (approximate)

I'm back, with my favourite ad slogan o' the year (but not really...)

Use your period for good. And, so you don't have to go back and read that again, I'll retype it: use your period for good.

USE YOUR PERIOD FOR GOOD. What the? I'm sorry, have I been using my period for evil all these years?

With all due respect to my Proctor and Gamble-employed friends, this is one of the dumbest slogans I've ever heard. It's in the new Always and Tampax ads. You know, the ones that feature the poor South African girl who can't go to school because she has her period. While I feel for the girls who live through this unfortunate situation, and while I can appreciate the attempt to share the plight of these girls, the effort by P&G is downright offensive. Not to mention lame. Who would ever say "use your period for good?" Good God.

I know they're not always fun (no pun intended) but aren't periods and the subsequent ability to create life good things? Isn't giving birth a good thing? Because if they're not, the I mightn't bother with them anymore.

And, um, folks at P&G, just so you know, these women have had to endure missing school and much worse, and they've had to endure it for generation after generation. I'm glad you're finally interested. Oh, and incidentally, the problem goes well beyond having a period and no product. Perhaps when you have a product affected by female circumcision, you'll take notice of that issue too.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to plan a way to use my period for good. I wonder if it will be better if I wear a cape?

"Look Daddy! Teacher says, "every time P&G thinks, a pad gets its wings!"" - Zuzu

My KTS4 package has arrived!

Despite a few UPS headaches, my Knitters Tea Swap 4 package has arrived from Texas. I can't figure out how to add blogger links on my Mac, so here's the link to the swap site: http://knittersteaswap.blogspot.com/.

I've posted the pics on my new craft nerd blog: http://craftnerds.blogspot.com/.

Thanks to my swap partner BJE and to Suzie, Bridget and all the KTS4 organizers!

One of the worst sounds in the world...

... the sound of the furnace kicking in for the first time since winter. Sigh...

I live in the upstairs apartment of an old house, and on Friday morning I awoke to the alarming "thunk" of the furnace being turned on. This was almost immediately followed by that burning smell that accompanies turning on the furnace for the first time in the fall.

In my parents house, it was always a test to see how long we could go before turning on the furnace. It was a measure of our strength as Canadians - how cold did it have to get before we relied on central heating. We'd wear three layers of clothing before giving in. Alas, my landlords are made of much less, it seems. They gave in on the first cold day. It wasn't even winter coat weather for pete's sake.

But I'm still sticking with my annual tradition - no socks until the snow flies (or until frostbite is a threat.)

The human powered blow dryer...

So, tonight I voted. It's (ho-hum) election day here in Ontario and I did my civic duty and voted. For some reason, my polling station was much further away this time, at Hart House on the U of T campus.

The first thing beyond my comprehension? I received two voter cards in the mail, yeah for me, but when I went to vote I wasn't on any voting list. How is that possible? And can I trust the process after that experience?

The second thing beyond my comprehension? Because I wasn't on the voter list I had to fill out a registration form. Here's the thing - all the information I had to fill in on this form was already on the voter card I handed to them. No additional information whatsoever. And since the Returning Officer sent the voter card in the first place, one would think that card would be considered official. Not so. Somewhere a bureaucrat is smiling and a tree is crying.

As I left Hart House, which is, again, on the campus of the University of Toronto, I passed by a guy trying to dry his bicycle seat. It's a cold, misty fall evening here and his bicycle seat was wet, so I don't blame him for trying to keep his tushy dry. That said, he was trying to dry his seat by blowing on it. Yes, that's right, he was blowing on it. He was standing in the rain, his face about 10 cm from his seat, and he was blowing on it. And not just in one spot. He was moving his head all around the seat, I'm assuming in an attempt to dry the entire surface... while it was still raining... I chose to attend two better institutations (Go Marauders! Go Mustangs!) but I'm assuming U of T must have some eligibility requirements. Perhaps the course on how to dry wet vinyl isn't an option until 2nd year.

It's been awhile, but I'm back...

The summer proved too busy to keep up with my blog, for which I apologize. But I'm back and ready to give it another ol' college try.

#1 on my list of things beyond my comprehension today? My hair. I wasn't feeling well, and though I took a shower, I did absolutely nothing with my hair. I thought I'd look hideous but didn't much care. That said, I did have to go in to work for a few hours and naturally, on the day I put no effort into it, I received several compliments on my hair. Why is that? I mean, I'm happy for people to notice, but why does my cursed hair turn out better when left alone? I mean, what's the bloody point of putting any effort in in the mornings? Ah well, I now realize I have a few extra minutes to spare in my morning routine.

Irony is still not dead...

I have an update on the Blarney Woollen Mills saga. A quick recap: most of my order with this Irish shop weren't received. I paid twice as much in duties and taxes as I should have, and they sent me a four-leaf clover charm by mistake.

I sent an e-mail to the Blarney folk and was very impressed with how quickly they got back to me. They apologized for the duty error, which, it turns out, was their fault. They've paid half of my duty costs, which was nice. Most of my order has now arrived, including my two sweaters that I absolutely love. They even sent me a sterling silver necklace that was either a nice peace offering or a complete mistake, but a nice mistake.

And yesterday, I was excited to receive another small Blarney package containing the proper charm for my mother. I eagerly opened the package only to find, yes, you guessed it, another four-leaf clover charm. I've been sent four-leaf clover charms twice, both by accident. I'm not sure if this is doubly good luck, or doubly bad luck. I'll buy a lottery ticket this weekend just to try them out.