There's an article in this month's Oprah magazine (I have conflicting feelings about Oprah but quite enjoy her mag) about feeling disconnected - from family, friends, and the community. And I've actually been feeling quite disconnected from the community lately. I feel much more connected to the area where I work than where I live. I've been having daydreams about moving to a small town, just to get a better sense of community (even though I think I'd probably come to hate small-town living and know my husband would). The article recommended this web site. Better Together.org, which has some ideas for getting involved in the community. Apparently it's even really good for your health to have community connections. I'll have to see if I can incorporate any of them into my life. How do you feel connected to your community?

http://www.bettertogether.org/150ways.htm" title="http://www.bettertogether.org/150ways.htm" target="_blank"http://www.bettertogether.org...

My husband came across this article about the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce mistakenly faxing confidential records to a scrapyard in West Virginia since 2001. The owner has tried everything to get them to stop and has been told, among other things, that it's not CIBC's problem and that he's failed to cooperate with their attempts to rectify the situation - when he's been the one begging them to stop for years! I stopped banking with CIBC years ago, largely because of their very poor customer service, and now I never will again.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/T PStory/LAC/20041126/CIBC2 6/TPFront/TopStories" title="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/T PStory/LAC/20041126/CIBC2 6/TPFront/TopStories" target="_blank"http://www.theglobeandmail.co...

Since I'm married to an American (and it was his birthday yesterday), I took half of this week off to celebrate his b-day and Thanksgiving with him (and, okay, I really needed a break from work). I just finished watching the Macy's parade, which is such fun.

So, have a great big Happy Thanksgiving, American pals!

It seemed so easy...my Internet provider was having a special on ADSL service and I finally decided to get it. (One of the last straws was that my entire book club was horrified that I still had dial-up when we went online at my place to read an article.) Well, it took them a while to get back to me. Then they kept sending me the contract as an attachment, and I couldn't open it. When I finally solved that, I faxed it to them and never heard anything for weeks. Turns out at one point they did phone but I didn't get the message. They never really tell me what to do, but I get the impression we need to go and pick up the modem from them, so my husband does. Doesn't work. Turns out we need a network card. Husband goes and shells out still more money to them for the card. Still doesn't work. Husband spends hours calling them up, doing what they tell him, still doesn't work.

Turns out that because we have an entryphone in our apartment, we need a splitter. Now, on the contract it asked you to check a box if you had an entryphone and then in tiny print said that in some older buildings, a special $100 splitter might be required, do you need one? Well, I have no idea and my building is only 8 years old, which I don't think counts as "older," folks. So the Internet company refers us to the phone company who appear to subcontract the ADSL part out, or something. Anyway, we get a message on the machine from a guy from *garbled* ADSL saying that he'll be by on Monday to check the phone between 8:00 and 5:30. Great, that old standby. Husband tries to call the guy at the number he left on the machine, and they've never heard of the guy and have no idea what my husband's talking about.

So, come Monday we have no idea if the guy will actually show up. If he does, he doesn't know our buzzer code to get into the building, so who knows what will happen. In the end, it was a woman and it appears to have only cost $40 for the splitter (Lord knows what'll show up on my Internet bill). BUT, IT STILL DOESN'T WORK! The woman told husband that sometimes they get modems that right out of the box just don't work. So, my husband has to go and pick up another modem today.

ARG! Dial-up may be slow, but it's a hell of a lot easier.

I saw a blurb about this on Much Music this morning and went looking for an article to see if it was true. A group called HOPE is offering people a "high-quality" CD (like Ray Charles or The Ramones) in exchange for their Ashlee Simpson ones, based on her lip-synching debacle and the fact that she's crap. I have to say, I think it's kind of cool. Snotty, but cool. Just because her sister's famous doesn't mean she automatically deserves her own CD. Every teenie starlet under 17 and her dog is recording an album these days, it's ridiculous.

Here's the article: http://entertainment.tv.yahoo.com/entnews/eo/20041116/1 10066250000.html" title="http://entertainment.tv.yahoo.com/entnews/eo/20041116/1 10066250000.html" target="_blank"http://entertainment.tv.yahoo...

Diabetes or no, I get really excited about Christmas candy at this time of year. And my very favourite are Cadbury's Roses. You can usually only get them here at Christmas. I bought a huge-o box the other day and am trying not to eat the whole thing in 48 hours flat. I don't even really recall where I first came upon them, but they make me happy. Mostly it appeals to my Anglophile-ness and also it's a Christmas thing and Christmas things always make me gleeful.

Sorry about the bleakness below, folks. I still feel a bit bleak, but am getting better.

To lighten things up, here's a fun online superhero test on The Incredibles site (which we keep trying to see and haven't managed yet). My superhero name is Turbo Thunder Girl - woo hoo! :)

http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/incred ibles/superhero/index.html" title="http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/incred ibles/superhero/index.html" target="_blank"http://disney.go.com/disneypi...

I don't normally watch the news, as I know it's 99% bad. But the breakfast shows are usually a bit more lighthearted, so I was watching this morning while I had breakfast. But a news update came on and it included graphic footage of some Oregon teens who thought it would be fun to take turns beating the crap out of another kid, film it, set it to music, and pass out DVD copies of it. What the hell is wrong with the world? It made me cry and still is. Add to that the crawl at the bottom about a pregnant mother of 7 being dead (don't know how, but probably in some horrible, preventable way) and last night I heard the desperate pleadings of a mother whose teen daughter had either run away or been abducted.

Why on earth do I want kids so badly? It seems like they'll either be tormented, tormentors, or end up with a physical or mental disability or die in some horrifying way. There seems to be so little hope left in the world these days. Sometimes I wonder why we bother going on.

My husband and I are going to my church's shoebox party tonight. Every November the congregation gets together to fill shoeboxes with gifts for kids overseas. You've probably heard of it, Operation Christmas Child http://www.samaritanspurse.org/home.asp" title="http://www.samaritanspurse.org/home.asp" target="_blank"http://www.samaritanspurse.or....

I haven't set foot in the church of my childhood for...golly...I'd say at least 10 years. I'm just not a churchy person. But everyone's really nice and I feel a bit guilty that they've never met my husband. Even though I hadn't been to church in ages, they were adamant about having a bridal shower for me because I'd done so much work with the Sunday school in my university days.

So, we're off there tonight, armed with a big bag of dollar store toys and school supplies. It's a fun way to get the festive season started, even if I'm not quite ready for it yet (since we've already had our Thanksgiving, the Christmas hoopla started November 1, we don't even get a bit of a cushion). And I love to buy toys and hate the thought of kids going without at Christmas. So hopefully this will bring some cheer to at least a couple of little folks.

(I must say, though, I've had the song Shoebox by Barenaked Ladies in my head all week.) 

My sweet husband had to go to the dentist early on Tuesday for a crown and when he got out, there was nothing open except Starbucks. So rather than buying himself something to cheer himself up, he brought me the latest Starbucks bear for our collection!

Hope everyone has a fun and happy Hallowe'en!

My husband came across this on one of the blogs he reads (apparently the always-a-hoot James Lileks posted it first).  Husband thinks it's insane, I think it's rather adorable. So, because he's making me eggs for lunch right now, I thought I'd pass it on...

http://www.iloveegg.com/winopen_ani/eggsong.htm" title="http://www.iloveegg.com/winopen_ani/eggsong.htm" target="_blank"http://www.iloveegg.com/winop...

(If it wants you to download the Korean text reader, just click cancel and it'll go to the page.)

Ever since my last horrifying haircut, I decided I was going to try the new stylist at the salon I frequent. I checked ahead, found out she was working yesterday, and went in. My usual one, Diana, said she couldn't take me today and I said "But is Cailtin available?" And she said she was in half an hour, so I said fine. Ended up being closer to an hour and a half, but it was worth it. When I was in the chair, I explained how I didn't really know what I wanted but could tell her what I didn't want and that I didn't really understand how I kept ending up with haircuts I didn't like. Well, it turns out that Caitlin's been horrified by what Diana does to my hair, too! She said that every time she saw her do my hair, she cringed! But D's the manager, so it's not like she could say anything. She went on and on, how 90's it was, how it was a mullet, how it wasn't feminine, how bad the layering was and that it was overcoloured! So I'm obviously done with Diana! I'm glad to discover that it wasn't just me, that I was actually getting awful haircuts. And apparently C noticed my look of desperation when I asked if she was available. :) So now it's much cuter and on its way to looking good. Right now the layers are too short and it has to grow out, but at least I'm on the right track, at loooooong last. Thank god for Caitlin.

I came across another article about this: http://http" title="http://http" target="_blank"http://http://entertainment.sympatico.msn.ca/Celebs/Gossip/Articles /Moon+Unit+Zappa+voted+mo st+bizarre+name.htm

I don't agree about Princess Eugenie's name being weird, though. I mean, it's not a common name, but it's actually a proper name, the French variation of Eugenia (although why the British couple didn't choose the British version I don't know). It's not like it's Dweezil.

And Romeo for the Beckhams' son isn't an odd name, it's just odd for a couple who's British instead of Italian. And Rocco for Madonna's boy isn't a name I'd pick, but at least it suits her Italian background, if not Guy Ritchie's British one. (Although I think it makes the toddler sound like a Mafia thug.)

Zowie Bowie is just evil, though.

We've sure been enjoying our Zip.ca online DVD rental membership. We're finally getting something in the mail besides bills. :) So far we've gotten:

• Lupin the 3rd: Love Heist (anime)


• The Prisoner (we're on volume 3 - it's it's such a good but creepy show!)


• Eddie Izzard: Dress to Kill (British stand-up comedian)


• I am Sam (my mom wanted to see it)


• all of Mystery Science Theatre 3000 volume 3


• And The Thin Blue Line with the always-funny Rowan Atkinson is on its way.

Any recommendations? :)

My husband and I helped out my mom at the Terry Fox Run on Sunday (she was on the organizing committee). We were really thankful it didn't rain and, barring a few glitches, it went well. They raised over $10,000, so that's certainly nothing to sneeze at.

But one of the weirdest things happened. The run was scheduled for 10:00 and for some reason the registration started at 8:00. But, of course, not many people came that early, why would you? So at 8:30 there were plenty of volunteers, myself included, milling around to witness this weird thing:

A man came through the gate in complete football garb, pads, helmet, everything. He was wearing a BC Lions jersey and carrying a big gym bag. The first words out of his mouth were "I'm an American." Not, "I'm here for the run." or "I'm here because I think there's a football game at this soccer field." or anything like that. That statement was followed quickly by "I play for the CFL. I train with the Lions. They let me do the run every year." Well, whoopee, anyone in the province, nay, the world, can do the run. But then he adds that they let him do it on the track every year, which isn't true, as the route is around the park surrounding the stadium. But, barring that, to get into the stadium to start the run, everyone has fill out a free, simple registration form so the committee can get a count of how many participated. He refused and in fact seemed greatly offended. He tried to tell my mom he was a sponsor, to which she replied that the Terry Fox Run has no sponsors. He then said he had a sponsor, by which I suppose he could've meant that he'd collected pledges, but that still didn't mean he didn't need to register. He repeated the CFL/every year speech at least once more and when my mom wouldn't budge, he said "Well, I tried!! Thank you, ma'am." and stomped off. 

Everyone I've told this story to thinks he's some sad, crazy man who got hold of some football gear and just wanted attention.

We saw Vanity Fair last night. My husband said it should've been called Vanity Project, as in Reese Witherspoon's. It did kind of seem like it was largely an excuse for her to look lovely in period dresses (which I enjoyed, but it's not a good basis for a movie). It fell victim to the usual problem with turning literature into movies - trying to cram a 600-or-so page novel into a movie. It was really, really disjointed, leaving a lot of things unresolved or confusing. Often it looked like she barely had time to get to know a man before he was confessing his love for her or, in one case, marrying her in a scene we didn't even see. The main silly thing was that it was supposed to take place over about 20 years and Reese didn't age a day. Her son was supposed to be 20 at the end and she looked about 25. Also, from what I've heard, the book doesn't have her having a child (or doesn't make a big deal of it) but because Reese got pregnant during filming, they had to write it in, which took even more time away from the book's actual plot.

I'm still scarred by the film they made of Jane Eyre in the 90's. I can't even remember all the stuff they cut out, but it was barely recognizable. And Gwyneth Paltrow's Emma ticked me off because Emma wasn't supposed to be all blonde and beautiful, she's described as "handsome." Harriet, the beautiful friend she tries to marry off, is unmarriageable because she's poor and from an unknown family, but apparently that doesn't sell to today's crowd where beauty is all that matters, so they had to make her into a frump instead. Maybe I need to stop seeing movies based on books, they're almost always disappointing.

In addition to those days of walking all over fairgrounds, we also spent a day at the Mall of America. Woo hoo! I finally was able to find some pants at Lane Bryant so that I'll have something to wear this winter. (Between the only 2 big-girl stores I can shop at here, I can usually only find one style of pants and they're not the greatest.) And I got some Christmas ornaments for my collection, a Green Eggs and Ham t-shirt, some Bath and Body Works stuff (mmm...) and my husband shopped at the Lego store.

We also went to the Science Museum in St. Paul, which was cool. (Except an exhibit sneezed on me!) This was the third time I've been to Minnesota and I still haven't crossed everything off my to-do/to-see list. I'd say that's the mark of a fun place.

We had a fab time! I don't want to be back at work. :)

The Renaissance Festival was really cool. We saw a joust and then wandered through all of the artisans' shops. My husband's brother ate one of the festival's specialties - an enormous turkey drumstick. It was just fun to absorb the atmosphere of all the costumed folks.

The State Fair was amazing - about 100 times the size of BC's PNE. We ate a ton of awful food. The insane food we ate included: deep-fried candy bars, a corndog (or Pronto Pup, the official State Fair name), a big cone full of little, warm chocolate chip cookies, accompanied by milk from the Dairy Association's all-you-can-drink milk booth, deep-fried gator (my husband), gator sausage (his brother), deep-fried cheese curds, and an enormous funnel cake with bavarian cream and chocolate. We got utterly, totally soaked on the river ride, saw frisbee-catching dogs, and collected a bag full of useless but fun freebies from the booths. I'd feel guilty about the food, but we walked around the fairgrounds for about 10 hours, so I'd say I burned it off.

More trip highlights to come...