Good Morning Vietnam!

Ha, ha, ha. I make that my title because it is what the character Michael Scott says on The Office when he starts a speech, and we have been watching a lot of The Office lately since I am now *trumpet sounds* at Chloe's!

Been taking pictures and hanging with clients. It's a good time and I would prefer for this to be a photo post rather than words because I think that is more effective for this scenario, but I forgot my necessary technology at home and thus I cannot upload any photos today. It will have to be when I get home, probably on Sunday, which is the day after I get home.

So far this week we have achieved incredible feats: I've had very substantial breakfasts every day, I've woken up early to go work out, I worked out after working all day (which is saying something, because nobody likes to do that) and, the biggest of all, I crossed a huge bridge and lived to tell the tale.

I'm very proud of myself. I am afraid of crossing bridges, most of them, and this was no ordinary, light-traffic, five-second Collingwood bridge crossing a river or ravine: it was a very, very long bridge with lots of fast-moving traffic (including BUSES and TRUCKS which are freaky to have speed past you even when you aren't walking across a death trap) that took a long to cross and it was passing over even more traffic while simultaneously being on a mountain. The first time we went up the mountain I was panicking. I was already hot and breathless from biking uphill toward the mountain as it was, and it only got worse as we got off of our bikes and hauled them up the bridge on the WRONG effing side of the road because there is no sidewalk on the SAFE side with all this freaky traffic surrounding me and we were all close to the edge and there's cracks in the sidewalk so it must mean the bridge is falling apart and my helmet will come off and go over the edge and I will be upset and the whole world will end and the guy who is standing on the bridge looking suicidal is going to grab me and hurl the both of us over the edge and I'll die knowing my fear was entirely rational.

I actually cried a little bit crossing that bridge.

Part of me, after reaching the sweet mercy of solid earth, wanted to stop moving and sit down and cry and be scared and dwell on my frantic emotions but I'm glad we kept moving, because we had a client to see and it gave me a chance to calm down and pep talk myself and have internal solution meetings.

Fuck.

So, a feat indeed. I am still horrified at the prospect of crossing bridges, particularly that one, but somehow I know I should be glad I made it. Going back down wasn't as bad because we were biking and it was downhill so it went quickly, but the traffic was more frightening since I was closer to it and the tire is sort of warped so it looked like it was going to wiggle right off at the high speed and was scaring the crap out of me. However, I did it, and...that is a big deal.

I met three clients I didn't meet last time. One of them commissioned me to beat some songs on Rock Band because I am an all-star, one had flavoured coffee which isn't really my thing but I drank a lot of it and the other is a Chloe-described "horndog" who "likes anyone that is good-looking". I was presented this description by Chloe when I asked her if he liked me. I don't mean to make him sound bad because he is very good, but I thought I would share that tidbit with you. This is Chloe's refreshingly bright and pleasant perspective.

In other news, we are using the computers at McMaster University because Chloe has no internet, as mentioned in my "Right About Now" thing over there, and Facebook isn't working! AUUUUUUGH. This is a disaster. I was in the middle of several conversations with people I haven't seen all week and I wanted to write on the walls of those who weren't on! I would call them but I don't know when anybody is home, which is usually never, and I don't want to make them call me back long-distance just to talk when we could do it for free on Facebook. Sigh. Truly unfortunate.

Oh, and if I didn't already mention, I did audition for that musical and, what I know I haven't mentioned, is that I did get a part! Woo! So did my friends CJ and Carly! This is awesome. CJ got a really awesome part. We are doing "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and CJ is Charlie's Grandpa! Isn't that sweet? He's like the main male other than Willy Wonka, but he I think probably does even more than Willy in some aspects. I'm so happy for him. I'm Mrs Teavee, Mike Teavee's mother. She has a singing part apparently in the musical version that I don't know about at all, but that's good! Mike Teavee is the last kid to get kicked out anyway so that means more stage time. I am also super-excited! Carly plays one of the Grandmothers. I'll bet she's the grouchy one. So, success. Eventful days ahead.

And guess what else this means?

Musical mania is back, baby!

Let's start living again.

My Favourite Things

I was tagged, like every follower of Unexpected Surprises (yet aren't all surprises unexpected?), in the post in which the blogger takes photos of their favourite things in their house and shares it with everyone. It's a cheesy thing, but I thought it was also a nice thing, and I hereby tag Chloé at Science, Tea and Cats and Elizapaa at Off the Page to do the same. I'm interested to see if the favourite things at Chloé's are also my favourite things at Chloé's. It may take a while since Chloé has camera issues these days and Elizapaa hasn't post in over a month, but we shall see. Here you see my sort of not clean bedroom, the best room I know.

Paintbrushes, paint water cup, palette, and my lovely scarf.

Then, fabulous powder that softens your skin and smells nice and is very girl.

Moisturizer. This stuff saves my life post-shower.

All things lacy, with bows, ruffles and flowery patterns. Doesn't sound like me, right? Well, this is only true for my underwear, which has a drawer all to itself (not enough room for bras and underwear to share).

A

fabulous magnet that I think Chloé got me, actually.

My white board, cork board and random pouches. Very messy looking and very filled with great stuff, including two Dominican postcards from Katelyn, an old postcard from Iqualuit (then Frobisher Bay), a Body Works postcard-thing from Chloé and pictures of the greatest people in my life (like my siblings, my mom, and Katelyn...and the Joker).

The fridge.

And awesome things inside the fridge, like this life force of mine.

An incredibly warm and unique blanket Chloé made.

My cat Cheerio.

The Piano.

Jonas, as in Jonas Giesel Thompson, who is my gorgeous bass.

A JGT photo shoot (he needs a haircut).

His Hands

As Chloé once did with our ingenious phrases, I shall do with mine and Joe's, that is, I shall publish once impertinent conversation as beautiful and strange poetry.

And claw his weird hands

His hands totally are weird

Justin-Price Matthews: getting my drink on

-By Callie McIntosh and Joe Crozier

I think we should write a book on it. We meaning everyone who makes thoughtless speech into profound verse. You heard. Profound.

Aghast

Alright ghosts. It has been days and days and days and days since I've posted. I am genuinely sorry about this. There are so many things I want to blog about, I simply have to write them down and organise my thoughts elsewhere. At this point I am simply going to post a very select few of my many pictures taken over the last little while. While they may seem like a lot, believe me, these are just previews. It was my birthday on the fifth! Yay! Birthday girl hat! It was a lot of fun. Mugs had his birthday on the third, so it was birthday cake and Easter feast mania. I really have to work out to burn that stuff off. Here I am making popcorn.

Birthday picture . From left: Dave (Chloé's boyfriend), Chloé (sister), Katelyn (best friend/soul mate) and Court (brother). Of course my bra is sticking out.

Chloé, for some reason, took pictures of me washing Clara at the Pet Wash.

Colour co-ordination not planned. Chloé and Dave, Mugs and I on the Bruce Trail on my birthday. The shirts Chloé and I are wearing kind of define us (mine has Mario character names, hers is the batman symbol and it says Arkham Asylum underneath).

Trees.

More tree.

Three out of four siblings. Lots of fun, but still, we miss Clint.

Sultry. Doesn't she have rad glasses?

Childhood art. This is the "C" of my name; it's my signature.

This was randomly on one of the woodworking shops' windows at OCAD.

The building beside OCAD. So cool.

Our group for visiting OCAD and the AGO. It was awesome. We saw original Group of Seven paintings! I was SO STOKED. I was just blown away! I could have stared at them all day. I once had to paint imitating a member of the Group of Seven's style, and I chose Lauren Harris. His art is my most favourite, and there were two of his works there, including this one, which I had to be torn away from. Amazing, amazing, amazing. I also took an illegal picture of a sculpture I really enjoyed, but I got Katelyn's arm in there because stealth photos are difficult. Also, it didn't capture the use of negative space particularly well, so that was a bummer. As a plus side, we were with our Australian exchange teacher, and he is really, really awesome.

Katelyn and I went out for lunch at this nice place but we didn't find out until after our meal that they didn't take debit so I had to venture three blocks down the road to the Scotiabank (which isn't even my bank!) and take out the money plus 1.50$ charge. Annoying.

I'd Like to Thank the Academy

Well, I have received the One Lovely Blog Award from David. Thanks! I guess this means I have one lovely blog on my hands. I am supposed to "do with it what I will", which I guess means he has chosen to disregard any rules that may have come with it and then proceeded to plant this same disregard in the hearts of this award's recipients.

Well, what I will do with it is kind of what he did with it except not.

The next three people to follow my blog will get this award because if you are showing my blog love, you must have a lovely blog!

Also, the first three people to comment on this post who already follow/don't want to follow (aww) my blog will get this award, because my blog is a lizard and it likes to be fed by comments. This is a way for you to get the award with no strings attached. Woo. Oh, and if you are one of the three who starts to follow my blog and you are one of the first three to comment you, unfortunately, will not get the award twice. Shucks!

That makes a total of six people getting the award from me, but I don't like the number six too much, so I'll go for lucky number seven and give the award to my sister Chloé who I love and recently wrote a really awesome blog that I commented on. Don't worry Chloé, I was going to give you the award anyway, but I had to point out that seven is better than six.

So get crack-a-lackin'!

Why Yes, You Are a Dick

I could just punch people.
I'm not surprised, seeing as it is Collingwood, that homosexuality is largely misunderstood and prejudiced against, but I am ever-astounded at the atrocious attitude our town's members openly exude toward people of this orientation. How can a person say, in all seriousness, that "faggots should die", intentionally within hearing range of a gay man, no less, without regret? Or feeling? What kind of home must one be raised in to have such ignorance and hate toward a person with no reason other than what turns him on? What kind of environment moulds a being into such a beast?
I hate walking down the hall with my gay friend and seeing people stare at us like we're freaks of nature--him for his sexuality, me for befriending him. What difference does it make whether he likes Daniels or Danielles? It's nobody's business but his, just as it isn't his business if they want to bang drunk chicks every Saturday night. I hate that everyone makes it theirs. It's absolutely sickening. Thankfully, my friend is intelligent and capable enough to blow their stupidity off and ignore them completely, but it just irks me. I don't know why people feel entitled to such behaviour. It's disgusting and frustrating and it just bothers me so much that anyone could ever have the cruelty of spirit to intend to hurt someone over something so very irrelevant. I could just explode. I get stared at enough as it is for my weird clothing/tree-hugging/nerd girl-ness.
I feel like the next Chloé of CCI.

YES!!!

I got my new issue of ELLE today, and I'm making brownies for rehearsal tomorrow. Rehearsal for the musical, that is, in which I play the slutty chick! Woo! It's a blast. I wish we rehearsed more. I love it. It makes me want to be a Broadway all-star and just get paid to do rehearsals for awesome musicals. And performances, of course. Anyway, I am in a super mood, and I have brownies baking their happy little selves in the oven as I write.
I have big plans for my brownies this season. They are my primary gift. I'm making two batches for rehearsals tomorrow, two batches for my homeroom on the last day before Christmas, on or two batches for my friends (I haven't added it up yet) and two batches for Christmas Eve. I must buy ingredients, obviously.
I have all my Christmas gifts planned out. I even made a list, and my whole paycheque is going toward gifts when I get it. I'll probably get most of my shopping done on Tuesday next week, and it will be out of the way! It's thrilling. Last year I was good at Christmas shopping too, but this year, I am just on the ball. On top of the ball, you might even say. I'm very pleased with myself.
Lately it has felt so blog-like outside, it's amazing. Late Fall is the ultimate time for blogging to me. It just feels so right. When I have an idea, anyway. I don't really know why, I guess it just reminds me of my glorious blogs I wrote last Fall. It feels like the blog I follow that starts with an L that I can't pronounce. Beuatiful and pure and natural.

Facebook-Esque Note

Rules: 1. Respond. 2. Tag 4 other people.

1. What is your current obsession? dressing up to go to the movies, i guess. We all dressed up again just for the sake of it. Good days! Nights, I guess, actually.


2. What is your weirdest obsession? I once obsessed about Cillian Murphy. He played The Scarecrow in Batman Begins. I'm glad that obsession is over with.

3. Recall a fond childhood memory? Jumping on the bed with my brother Courtland while my dad sang us the song he wrote, "Banana Cream Pie", and laughing and yelling and having a good time when we lived in Duntroon.

4. What’s for dinner? Pasta

5. What would you eat for your last meal? The cashew dish from the Thai place.


6. What’s the last thing you bought? my dress!

7. What are you listening to right now? Silverware clanging in the kitchen

8. What do you think of the person who tagged you? Well, I don't really know her, but she seems pretty cool. Plus, she tagged me, so that was ultimately fabulous of her. I plan on knowing her better via blogginess.

9. If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished, anywhere in the world, where would it be? Scotland.

10. If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go? In a sunny meadow with yellow flowers

11. Which language do you want to learn? Russian or German, one of the angry languages

12. What’s your favourite quote (for now)? Proverbs 16:3

13.What is your favourite colour? yellow

14. What is your favourite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe? Either my grey sweater dress or my off-white/reddish/brown geometric shape-ish sweater dress. I love sweater dresses. Too bad it's summer.

15. What is your dream job? Dancing

16.What’s your favourite magazine? maclean's, elle, fitness.

17. If you had $100 now, what would you spend it on? Clothes and skin care stuff.

18. Describe your personal style? Some things are trendy, but unique. I like to wear layers and focus on one colour group. In winter, I wear all monotonous greys/blacks/whites/browns and some dark reds, and in summer I focus on one colour (this year it's blue!). I like to accentuate my waist, but I also like the droopy look. I'm way into sweaters and warm things, like scarves and mittens and hats. Which is why in summer my style sort of drifts away a little bit.

19. What are you going to do after this? Bed.

20. What are your favourite films? Check my profile.

21. What’s your favorite fruit? Peaches, mangoes, grapes.

22.What inspires you? Nature, usually.

23. Your favourite books? Profile

24. Do you collect anything? Not in particular.

25. Any advice from bitter experience? Not really. If you're ever getting your blood taken, don't think about the pain of the needle. It really doesn't hurt that much. I mean, those experiences aren't really bitter, but they still sucked. I'm used to it now.


26. What makes you follow a blog? Interesting content, arty content, good photography, knowing the person writing it.

------------

We went to the movies dressed up tonight. It was gooooooood stuff. We saw Public Enemies, and it was pretty good. Nothing spectacular. Plus, having Christian Bale and Johnny Depp in the same movie, rivaling each other no less, was sort of distracting.
I'm sleepy, but tomorrow I shall do kickboxing and feel awesome. Good night world, hope you sleep well on this hemisphere. Good morning I guess, to the other side.