I thought about doing a traditional "I hate Valentine's Day" post, but I've decided against it. Not saying I actually Valentine's Day, because I really don't. If you're curious, it has to do with the whole "societally mandated day that you must prove your love" angle of the day. And while I still believe that, I think I've mellowed a little in my old age, and my opinions aren't as ABSOLUTE and UNYIELDING as they used to be. So I'm willing to loosen my stranglehold on that opinion a little in order to make things tolerable around my house. The Peach knows I don't like it, but she still likes the whole idea, so I'm willing to swallow my pride - and my tongue - and meet her halfway. This 14th I will be getting her a tiny present with a card, and we will have a romantic meal of champagne and cheeseburgers, followed likely by some movie with Cary Grant in it.
And that's it. That's about all I can handle at this stage in my life, and luckily The Peach isn't super-high-maintenance about it. I'm very glad I'm not with someone who would be like that about Valentine's day, but then again: a relationship like that would have fizzled out long before the first February reared its ugly head. And I'm kind of looking forward to seeing what the kids in my class will be doing for Valentine's day. God, I'm actually looking forward to something V-Day related? I must be losing my bile. The Young Doc would be mortified.
Showing posts with label peach. Show all posts
Showing posts with label peach. Show all posts
Monday, February 09, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Pop Quiz
When one's significant other mentions in a casual moment of conversation that he or she is thinking of becoming a vegetarian, do you:
a) stare shocked into his or her face and say nothing for a long time?
b) nod your head understandingly and begin a sensible dialogue?
c) become bombarded by images of dozens of your favourite meat-based meals flash through your head?
d) become filled with remorse that you realize that you may never have any of those delicious meals again?
e) a, c, and d?
If you answered anything except e), you are a better person than I am.
a) stare shocked into his or her face and say nothing for a long time?
b) nod your head understandingly and begin a sensible dialogue?
c) become bombarded by images of dozens of your favourite meat-based meals flash through your head?
d) become filled with remorse that you realize that you may never have any of those delicious meals again?
e) a, c, and d?
If you answered anything except e), you are a better person than I am.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
What's Up Thursday - May 22, 2008
Whoah Nellie, is tonight ever going to be busy. I'll let you know why tomorrow, but for now, only the briefest of brief reviews.
The Movie: Last night I watched Repulsion by Roman Polanski on DVD. It was a study in mood and psychology I guess, but I found the first hour sleep-inducing and the last thirty minutes riveting. So I guess on a different day I would have liked it before, but as it is, it was just okay. Could see how it would have become a cult classic at the time, though.
The Album: Oh man, this news is about thirty-five years too late, but Talking Book is awesome. I must acquire more Stevie Wonder albums with all speed.
The Book: Trying to get through Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks (it was due on Monday and I want to get it done by tonight so as not to accrue ridiculous fines). It is RIGHT up my street, as it combines a number of subjects that I'm interested in: psychology, neurology, language, and music. I keep telling The Peach about interesting stories and concepts from it, like the musician who had a stroke and then lost the ability to percieve music as music, just noise, or theories of how absolute pitch works in the brain. I think she'll be as glad as I am when I finish the book, but for different reasons.
The Real-Life: I had a lovely relaxing long weekend. It started with The Peach's birthday on Saturday, continued with an awesome shopping excursion on Sunday, and was capped off by a French picnic in the park where The Peach and I relaxed and painted watercolours (that she got for her birthday). I'd never painted before (aside from art in school), and it was kind of relaxing, actually. I'd still prefer oils, but that's just because I love Bob Ross so much.
The Movie: Last night I watched Repulsion by Roman Polanski on DVD. It was a study in mood and psychology I guess, but I found the first hour sleep-inducing and the last thirty minutes riveting. So I guess on a different day I would have liked it before, but as it is, it was just okay. Could see how it would have become a cult classic at the time, though.
The Album: Oh man, this news is about thirty-five years too late, but Talking Book is awesome. I must acquire more Stevie Wonder albums with all speed.
The Book: Trying to get through Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks (it was due on Monday and I want to get it done by tonight so as not to accrue ridiculous fines). It is RIGHT up my street, as it combines a number of subjects that I'm interested in: psychology, neurology, language, and music. I keep telling The Peach about interesting stories and concepts from it, like the musician who had a stroke and then lost the ability to percieve music as music, just noise, or theories of how absolute pitch works in the brain. I think she'll be as glad as I am when I finish the book, but for different reasons.
The Real-Life: I had a lovely relaxing long weekend. It started with The Peach's birthday on Saturday, continued with an awesome shopping excursion on Sunday, and was capped off by a French picnic in the park where The Peach and I relaxed and painted watercolours (that she got for her birthday). I'd never painted before (aside from art in school), and it was kind of relaxing, actually. I'd still prefer oils, but that's just because I love Bob Ross so much.
Friday, May 16, 2008
A Conversation With The Peach 5
(After we'd spent the afternoon of Mother's Day hanging out with my parents.)
Me: What were you smirking at earlier?
Peach: When your parents were bickering earlier.
Me: Right.
Peach: Your mom told your dad to take out the garbage, and he gave him a smart-ass comment, and then she gave him "The Look".
Me: Oh yeah?
Peach: I thought it looked funny.
Me: How do you know what "The Look" even looks like when you're never the one on the recieving end?
And then I got "The Look".
Me: What were you smirking at earlier?
Peach: When your parents were bickering earlier.
Me: Right.
Peach: Your mom told your dad to take out the garbage, and he gave him a smart-ass comment, and then she gave him "The Look".
Me: Oh yeah?
Peach: I thought it looked funny.
Me: How do you know what "The Look" even looks like when you're never the one on the recieving end?
And then I got "The Look".
Thursday, May 01, 2008
A Conversation With The Peach 4
During a phone call earlier this afternoon:
Me: By the way, the guys are trying to organize a big group going to see Iron Man tomorrow night. I know I said we had plans, though.
Peach: So? You should go!
Me: You sure?
Peach: Yes!
Me: Okay, I just thought I should check and see what you thought. Not that I was asking permission, just getting your input.
Peach: Right.
Me: I don't have to ask permission, right?
Peach: Whatever helps you sleep at night.
For what it's worth, I sleep like a baby.
Me: By the way, the guys are trying to organize a big group going to see Iron Man tomorrow night. I know I said we had plans, though.
Peach: So? You should go!
Me: You sure?
Peach: Yes!
Me: Okay, I just thought I should check and see what you thought. Not that I was asking permission, just getting your input.
Peach: Right.
Me: I don't have to ask permission, right?
Peach: Whatever helps you sleep at night.
For what it's worth, I sleep like a baby.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
A nice G 'n' T
I discovered my favourite drink rather late in life, oddly enough on a whim. I ordered a Gin and Tonic at a wedding, the first wedding I'd ever been to where I was eighteen and could actually order drinks. It sounded like something a pretentious adult would order at a bar, and since I was kind of pretentious and pretending to be grown up, I ordered it. It was served in a little plastic cup with a little wedge of lime in it, and I was hooked after my first sip. My Peach doesn't like gin or tonic water, as she finds them too bitter.
This weekend she had mentioned her dislike of tonic water again, after bemoaning our lack of soda water, something she drinks quite a lot mixed with a little juice. So I looked it up on the internet, and I came up with a few interesting things that I wanted to share. First of all, tonic water was initially created by the British East India Company; it was just soda water mixed with quite a bit of quinine, which was very good at preventing malaria. Since malaria isn't usually an issue we don't need nearly that much quinine any more, but there's still a little in there for flavour - and since quinine fluoresces under ultraviolet light, your cocktail will glow if you're at a particularly good party with black lights.
Anyhow. Initially, the British soldiers found tonic water far too bitter, so they added gin to it to make it more palatable, a strategy I think more people should use in their daily life. Are you dealing with something that's particularly hard to swallow? Just add alcohol and you're saved!
And finally, if you find tonic water a little too bitter but that's all you have in the house, you can apparently cut the taste by adding a pinch of salt, which should mask the bitterness. I haven't tried it myself, of course, but I'm thinking it's something I might spring on The Peach when she asks for a cocktail. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? She'd dislike tonic water even MORE?
(Personally, I recommend you make your G'n'T with an ounce of good gin, about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of tonic water, ice, and a wedge of lime. Good any time, but especially good to cut the heat of a summer day, whether you're in India or not.)
This weekend she had mentioned her dislike of tonic water again, after bemoaning our lack of soda water, something she drinks quite a lot mixed with a little juice. So I looked it up on the internet, and I came up with a few interesting things that I wanted to share. First of all, tonic water was initially created by the British East India Company; it was just soda water mixed with quite a bit of quinine, which was very good at preventing malaria. Since malaria isn't usually an issue we don't need nearly that much quinine any more, but there's still a little in there for flavour - and since quinine fluoresces under ultraviolet light, your cocktail will glow if you're at a particularly good party with black lights.
Anyhow. Initially, the British soldiers found tonic water far too bitter, so they added gin to it to make it more palatable, a strategy I think more people should use in their daily life. Are you dealing with something that's particularly hard to swallow? Just add alcohol and you're saved!
And finally, if you find tonic water a little too bitter but that's all you have in the house, you can apparently cut the taste by adding a pinch of salt, which should mask the bitterness. I haven't tried it myself, of course, but I'm thinking it's something I might spring on The Peach when she asks for a cocktail. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? She'd dislike tonic water even MORE?
(Personally, I recommend you make your G'n'T with an ounce of good gin, about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of tonic water, ice, and a wedge of lime. Good any time, but especially good to cut the heat of a summer day, whether you're in India or not.)
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
LolaWatch: Update
Over the holidays, it became very apparent to The Peach and I that our little bird, Lola, was in desperate need of some companionship. We tried to hand-tame her and give her as much affection as we possibly could, but it just wasn't working given how skittish and paranoid she was. So we went out to get another bird to be her friend. After a few days of searching we finally settled on a blue budgie, which I was initially allowed to name but after 98% of my real suggestions were rejected outright, she settled on Zoe. (I still maintain that Zeppo would be a great name for a bird.)
So as not to pass any unknown diseases or infections between them, we kept them apart on opposite ends of the living room for 3.5 weeks. That's a little less than we were technically supposed to, but The Peach just couldn't wait, and really neither could they. Every time we let Zoe out to wander she immediately went to the other side and tried to figure out a way to get up and into Lola's cage. Once they were put together, though, they became great friends, despite their differences: Lola is quiet and terrified, Zoe is loud and excitable. After a few days they became pretty much inseperable: when one left or accidentally fell out of the cage (from a very low height, don't worry), the other would immediately join them.
Last week, when The Peach was giving them some food, she called me over to look at Zoe's beak. Her sear, which is the area just above the nose, was turning bright blue. "Huh," I said. "I think Zoe's a boy," she said. "You sure?" I asked. "I don't know, but I think so." Later that week, we had NinjaStolz and Fi over, and he took one look at our new bird and said, "Oh yeah, that's a guy." So that explains her loud personality and relatively large size. She's actually a he.
I've tried to suggest a few new names that would fit a male bird better (seriously, what's wrong with Miles?), but in the end, we have a boy named Zoe. And we've been assured that as long as we don't give them any nesting materials, we won't have any baby birds in our future. I'm still a little worried about that, but when I see how happy they are together,
I think it's a risk I'm willing to take.
(photo credit The Peach)
I just wish Zoe had been a better influence on Lola's constant terror. Now they're BOTH jumpy.
So as not to pass any unknown diseases or infections between them, we kept them apart on opposite ends of the living room for 3.5 weeks. That's a little less than we were technically supposed to, but The Peach just couldn't wait, and really neither could they. Every time we let Zoe out to wander she immediately went to the other side and tried to figure out a way to get up and into Lola's cage. Once they were put together, though, they became great friends, despite their differences: Lola is quiet and terrified, Zoe is loud and excitable. After a few days they became pretty much inseperable: when one left or accidentally fell out of the cage (from a very low height, don't worry), the other would immediately join them.
Last week, when The Peach was giving them some food, she called me over to look at Zoe's beak. Her sear, which is the area just above the nose, was turning bright blue. "Huh," I said. "I think Zoe's a boy," she said. "You sure?" I asked. "I don't know, but I think so." Later that week, we had NinjaStolz and Fi over, and he took one look at our new bird and said, "Oh yeah, that's a guy." So that explains her loud personality and relatively large size. She's actually a he.
I've tried to suggest a few new names that would fit a male bird better (seriously, what's wrong with Miles?), but in the end, we have a boy named Zoe. And we've been assured that as long as we don't give them any nesting materials, we won't have any baby birds in our future. I'm still a little worried about that, but when I see how happy they are together,
I think it's a risk I'm willing to take.
(photo credit The Peach)
I just wish Zoe had been a better influence on Lola's constant terror. Now they're BOTH jumpy.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
What's Up Wednesday - January 30, 2008
It's later in the day but it's still Wednesday. What's been on my radar this week? Glad you asked.
The Book: I tried but failed to get through The Cold War: A History by Martin Walker before I had to return it to the library today. It's a really dense read, but still somehow readable thanks to the straightforward prose. It's my first foray into the history of the Cold War, a subject I find really fascinating but something I never learned about enough in school. So I'm going to take it out again and try to finish it. After all, I lived through the end without understanding what was going on; I'd like to revisit it knowing a little more about life.
The DVD: I caught Dog Day Afternoon for the first time this weekend. Oh wow, it's so good. High-tension drama with a real emotional core, as Al Pacino tries to deal with a bank hold-up gone wrong. Yeah, Pacino screams a lot, but in this movie it's absolutely necessary at times. And the supporting cast is amazing, John Cazale and Christ Sarandon in particular. Director Sidney Lumet really grounds you in the scenes while allowing the actors to do amazing work. Much better than I was expecting, and I was expecting pretty good things.
The TV Show: I caught the first episode of The Border, which is a show about The Canadian Immigration and Customs Security Squad. The trailers make it look really slick and it's certainly a novel idea. I was really intrigued by the storytelling possibilities, but I found the first episode fell really flat: the dialogue was clunky and stilted at many times throughout the show, and there was WAY too much hand-held camera work. I know that "shaky-cam" has become shorthand for "cop show", but it's often not necessary, and in The Border, it was really distracting. I'm willing to give it another shot, as the next few episodes have a lot more potential (dealing with Canadian-American relations), but I have much lower expectations.
The Video Game: After the fiasco that was Harvey Birdman, I decided to go old-school and download Super Mario Bros. 3 for the Wii Virtual Console. I played through the first level last night with The Peach watching, hoping that she'd get interested in it. As it was, she just got more depressed about not being able to play her Game Boy games, and went online to look for an A.C. adaptor. So, mission half-accomplished. The game's still great, but the display's a little wonky: there's a line of pixels on either side of the screen that don't match the rest of the background. It's a picky complaint, I know, but it's also really annoying. Still: Super Mario Equals Super Fun!
The Food: Avocados. Seriously, if you told eight-year old me that I would eventually love avocadoes, I would have thought you were an idiot. But this weekend I've made guacamole and a delicious avocado-shrimp salad, and had sliced avocados on a BLT. Avocados: I've come around on them. Add them to the list of "foods you hate when you're a kid but like when you're an adult", along with brussels sprouts and dark chocolate.
The Real-Life: It's been UNBEARABLY cold here! Minus 43 degrees overnight at times, which for you Americans, is almost exactly the same in Farenheit as Celcius. It was so cold that my car refused to start after Kow practice on Monday night, which blocked Jago's car and thus necessetated his taking a bus to work the next day. I finally got it out thanks to the help of a few of my friends, which is a lucky thing because the A.M.A. was so backed up in the city that they had a more than 24-hour wait time for non-emergencies, and a 12-hour wait time for actual emergencies. It was a little warmer today, but still really cold, and it's a good time to stick around inside and keep warm. Which you kind of have to do when you're waiting a day for a tow truck.
That's my week in three or four nutshells. How's everyone else doing?
The Book: I tried but failed to get through The Cold War: A History by Martin Walker before I had to return it to the library today. It's a really dense read, but still somehow readable thanks to the straightforward prose. It's my first foray into the history of the Cold War, a subject I find really fascinating but something I never learned about enough in school. So I'm going to take it out again and try to finish it. After all, I lived through the end without understanding what was going on; I'd like to revisit it knowing a little more about life.
The DVD: I caught Dog Day Afternoon for the first time this weekend. Oh wow, it's so good. High-tension drama with a real emotional core, as Al Pacino tries to deal with a bank hold-up gone wrong. Yeah, Pacino screams a lot, but in this movie it's absolutely necessary at times. And the supporting cast is amazing, John Cazale and Christ Sarandon in particular. Director Sidney Lumet really grounds you in the scenes while allowing the actors to do amazing work. Much better than I was expecting, and I was expecting pretty good things.
The TV Show: I caught the first episode of The Border, which is a show about The Canadian Immigration and Customs Security Squad. The trailers make it look really slick and it's certainly a novel idea. I was really intrigued by the storytelling possibilities, but I found the first episode fell really flat: the dialogue was clunky and stilted at many times throughout the show, and there was WAY too much hand-held camera work. I know that "shaky-cam" has become shorthand for "cop show", but it's often not necessary, and in The Border, it was really distracting. I'm willing to give it another shot, as the next few episodes have a lot more potential (dealing with Canadian-American relations), but I have much lower expectations.
The Video Game: After the fiasco that was Harvey Birdman, I decided to go old-school and download Super Mario Bros. 3 for the Wii Virtual Console. I played through the first level last night with The Peach watching, hoping that she'd get interested in it. As it was, she just got more depressed about not being able to play her Game Boy games, and went online to look for an A.C. adaptor. So, mission half-accomplished. The game's still great, but the display's a little wonky: there's a line of pixels on either side of the screen that don't match the rest of the background. It's a picky complaint, I know, but it's also really annoying. Still: Super Mario Equals Super Fun!
The Food: Avocados. Seriously, if you told eight-year old me that I would eventually love avocadoes, I would have thought you were an idiot. But this weekend I've made guacamole and a delicious avocado-shrimp salad, and had sliced avocados on a BLT. Avocados: I've come around on them. Add them to the list of "foods you hate when you're a kid but like when you're an adult", along with brussels sprouts and dark chocolate.
The Real-Life: It's been UNBEARABLY cold here! Minus 43 degrees overnight at times, which for you Americans, is almost exactly the same in Farenheit as Celcius. It was so cold that my car refused to start after Kow practice on Monday night, which blocked Jago's car and thus necessetated his taking a bus to work the next day. I finally got it out thanks to the help of a few of my friends, which is a lucky thing because the A.M.A. was so backed up in the city that they had a more than 24-hour wait time for non-emergencies, and a 12-hour wait time for actual emergencies. It was a little warmer today, but still really cold, and it's a good time to stick around inside and keep warm. Which you kind of have to do when you're waiting a day for a tow truck.
That's my week in three or four nutshells. How's everyone else doing?
Saturday, January 26, 2008
The Doc On Ice
When I was a kid, the only two “sports activities” I really liked were soccer and skating. (Hey Natalie, I'm a skating kid too!) In fact, I was in skating lessons for YEARS, and the only reason I quit is because I would have needed to get boys’ figure skates with picks, and my parents couldn’t buy them. As I got older, I still liked to go skating, but it became harder and harder to get second-hand skates in my size. Now, at a size 13, I think it’d nearly be impossible. But after this evening, I might just try looking for some.
The Peach and I went skating today, outdoors on the lake. It was pretty dark out when we got on the ice (about 6:00), but it was nice and quiet, not too many people out, and great weather. It took both of us a little while to get our bearings again, but within five minutes I was doing just fine, turning and stopping and having a great time. For a guy my size and fitness level (i.e., big and poor), it was really exhilarating whipping around at speeds that fast. Sure, I almost lost my balance a few times, and I'm still a little shaky on left-over-right turns, but otherwise, it felt great. I never imagined it'd be so amazing to be out there, but it was.
Seriously, for $5 an hour to rent skates, I don’t know whay I didn’t do this before now. I had a great time, and she did too (until her legs started to hurt). It’s going to get really cold in town in the next few days, but I think once it gets back up above -10 we’ll go again. That was the most exercise I’ve had in a long time, and I actually liked it. Maybe we can get a few more people out next time.
The Peach and I went skating today, outdoors on the lake. It was pretty dark out when we got on the ice (about 6:00), but it was nice and quiet, not too many people out, and great weather. It took both of us a little while to get our bearings again, but within five minutes I was doing just fine, turning and stopping and having a great time. For a guy my size and fitness level (i.e., big and poor), it was really exhilarating whipping around at speeds that fast. Sure, I almost lost my balance a few times, and I'm still a little shaky on left-over-right turns, but otherwise, it felt great. I never imagined it'd be so amazing to be out there, but it was.
Seriously, for $5 an hour to rent skates, I don’t know whay I didn’t do this before now. I had a great time, and she did too (until her legs started to hurt). It’s going to get really cold in town in the next few days, but I think once it gets back up above -10 we’ll go again. That was the most exercise I’ve had in a long time, and I actually liked it. Maybe we can get a few more people out next time.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
What's Up Wednesday - January 23, 2008
In a completely spur-of-the-moment decision, I’ve decided to add at least one weekly feature to increase my blogging frequency. It’s not really the end of the world if I don’t put up something life-altering every day, but getting at least one thing out a week would be good. So every Wednesday I’ll check in here and talk about some of the things that have happened to me in the previous week, in a number of categories. Categories may change, disappear and reappear without notice. And I’m going to limit myself to one thing per category, to make things simple.
“Why Wednesday?” you might ask. Well, for one thing, I like the phrase “What’s Up Wednesday”. Also, today’s Wednesday, and today’s the day I came up with this idea. I’m not very complicated.
So, what’s been up with The Doc this past week?
The Book: I've started The Fortress of Solitude audiobook. This is basically Jonathan Lethem's fictionalized autobiography, the story of a white kid growing up in a black neighborhood in New York City in the 70s, and his experiences with the children on the block and his dysfunctional parents. Jonathan Lethem's a good writer with a lot of pop culture references that you need to know a little about in order to enjoy and understand the book; luckily, he and I like the same Marvel comics and jazz albums, so I get it. And David Aaron Baker reads the story rather well, giving each character a distinct voice. I approve, although it's not for everyone.
The Movies: Starting to get obsessed with the Oscars list. I've seen two of the five Best Picture nominees, and I definitely want to get out to the cinema and see as many of the rest of the nominees as I can. Time to break out my spreadsheet!
The Comic: I started reading Heartbreak Soup, the first collection of Gilbert Hernandez' Love and Rockets stories. It's really good. The cartoony style reminds me a little of The Yellow Kid, and the sparse style works even though there are lots of characters. Just finished the first chapter; it's dense but worth the read.
The DVD/TV Show: Finished up Dead Like Me, Season 1. I started watching this almost a year ago, but then got out of the habit; not that it was bad, but I stopped watching it with Ninja & Jago and so it fell by the wayside. But both seasons were available fore $15 each this Boxing Day, so I picked them up and started watching again. I really like Dead Like Me: the stories aren't always even (hard to strike a balance between the family and the reapers), but the stories are quirky and clever, which hooks me every time. Plus, the actors are great, Mandy Patinkin and Jasmine Guy in particular. Great stuff, looking forward to Season 2.
The Album: Another Boxing Day purchase, So Jealous by Tegan and Sara. I didn't really care for their first albums, but So Jealous has them dipping into pop and a little heavier rock. There are a lot of catchy hooks, and I really dig their close harmonies. Probably listened to the whole album 4 times last week alone.
The Video Game: Jago lent me Harvey Birdman for the Wii. he told me it was kind of fun, but too short. I've made it through 2 of the 5 levels in just under an hour and fifteen minutes, and so far it's just like I'm helping make a few sub-par episodes of Harvey Birdman. It's mildly entertaining, but...yeah. Not as funny as it should be, really. Also: no Stephen Colbert, which is another strike against it. I just hope that when they make a Space Ghost: Coast To Coast video game - and if they don't should - it's better than this.
The Job: Now that I've technically graduated, I was looking for another part-time job to fill up my schedule and my bank account. I just signed a contract to be a research assistant for a Ph.D. student, doing some assessments here and there, which not only pays rather well but solidifies one of my special talents (I'm one of a very few people in the city who know how to do one particular assessment). Plus, she mentioned that there might be another casual position she could try and secure for me doing, yes, that same assessment. So even though I haven't applied for any clinical jobs, it looks like this research/assessment thing's going to work out nicely for me for the next little while.
The Real-Life: The Peach and I realized over breakfast on Sunday that we had been married exactly six months, which was a bit of a shock to us. We sat there in stunned silence and then grinned at each other. Then, we finished up our breakfast and went shopping for pants. Ah, the life of the married guy.
So that's it. Anything new and/or exciting happen to you? Let me know. I'm interested. No really. I care about YOU.
“Why Wednesday?” you might ask. Well, for one thing, I like the phrase “What’s Up Wednesday”. Also, today’s Wednesday, and today’s the day I came up with this idea. I’m not very complicated.
So, what’s been up with The Doc this past week?
The Book: I've started The Fortress of Solitude audiobook. This is basically Jonathan Lethem's fictionalized autobiography, the story of a white kid growing up in a black neighborhood in New York City in the 70s, and his experiences with the children on the block and his dysfunctional parents. Jonathan Lethem's a good writer with a lot of pop culture references that you need to know a little about in order to enjoy and understand the book; luckily, he and I like the same Marvel comics and jazz albums, so I get it. And David Aaron Baker reads the story rather well, giving each character a distinct voice. I approve, although it's not for everyone.
The Movies: Starting to get obsessed with the Oscars list. I've seen two of the five Best Picture nominees, and I definitely want to get out to the cinema and see as many of the rest of the nominees as I can. Time to break out my spreadsheet!
The Comic: I started reading Heartbreak Soup, the first collection of Gilbert Hernandez' Love and Rockets stories. It's really good. The cartoony style reminds me a little of The Yellow Kid, and the sparse style works even though there are lots of characters. Just finished the first chapter; it's dense but worth the read.
The DVD/TV Show: Finished up Dead Like Me, Season 1. I started watching this almost a year ago, but then got out of the habit; not that it was bad, but I stopped watching it with Ninja & Jago and so it fell by the wayside. But both seasons were available fore $15 each this Boxing Day, so I picked them up and started watching again. I really like Dead Like Me: the stories aren't always even (hard to strike a balance between the family and the reapers), but the stories are quirky and clever, which hooks me every time. Plus, the actors are great, Mandy Patinkin and Jasmine Guy in particular. Great stuff, looking forward to Season 2.
The Album: Another Boxing Day purchase, So Jealous by Tegan and Sara. I didn't really care for their first albums, but So Jealous has them dipping into pop and a little heavier rock. There are a lot of catchy hooks, and I really dig their close harmonies. Probably listened to the whole album 4 times last week alone.
The Video Game: Jago lent me Harvey Birdman for the Wii. he told me it was kind of fun, but too short. I've made it through 2 of the 5 levels in just under an hour and fifteen minutes, and so far it's just like I'm helping make a few sub-par episodes of Harvey Birdman. It's mildly entertaining, but...yeah. Not as funny as it should be, really. Also: no Stephen Colbert, which is another strike against it. I just hope that when they make a Space Ghost: Coast To Coast video game - and if they don't should - it's better than this.
The Job: Now that I've technically graduated, I was looking for another part-time job to fill up my schedule and my bank account. I just signed a contract to be a research assistant for a Ph.D. student, doing some assessments here and there, which not only pays rather well but solidifies one of my special talents (I'm one of a very few people in the city who know how to do one particular assessment). Plus, she mentioned that there might be another casual position she could try and secure for me doing, yes, that same assessment. So even though I haven't applied for any clinical jobs, it looks like this research/assessment thing's going to work out nicely for me for the next little while.
The Real-Life: The Peach and I realized over breakfast on Sunday that we had been married exactly six months, which was a bit of a shock to us. We sat there in stunned silence and then grinned at each other. Then, we finished up our breakfast and went shopping for pants. Ah, the life of the married guy.
So that's it. Anything new and/or exciting happen to you? Let me know. I'm interested. No really. I care about YOU.
Monday, January 14, 2008
The Peach and I Go Shopping!
This Sunday The Peach and I went out to the Old Strathcona Antique Mall to blow off a little steam and enjoy the sights. I will admit, I never thought I'd be a fan of "antiquing", but it's fascinating to see what people have in their little corners. There were old Whiz! comics from the 40s, framed original nudes of Marilyn Monroe ("tastefully" censored and untouched), old birdcages, tobacco cans, firearms, and signed sports equipment, to name but a handful. There are also really bizarre and ridiculous things there as well. So when we went this Sunday I brought my camera, and here are some of the real finds.
For when you really need to crack a hard case.
A Fonzie Fun Fact from this book: Henry Winkler once kicked a stray dog on the set of Happy Days. It was played on TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes. *
The only creature powerful enough to contain eight bears? Tony the Tiger, of course!
In the Great Depression, the best option for many labourers was to try and hitch a ride on the Cookie Train.
A great gift for kids! (That you don't like very much.)
Those aren't all the pictures, but they're the ones that turned out the best. Who knows, I might make a semi-habit of this photojournalism. Because ther are some WIERD things afoot at the Antique Mall.
* - This is untrue.
For when you really need to crack a hard case.
A Fonzie Fun Fact from this book: Henry Winkler once kicked a stray dog on the set of Happy Days. It was played on TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes. *
The only creature powerful enough to contain eight bears? Tony the Tiger, of course!
In the Great Depression, the best option for many labourers was to try and hitch a ride on the Cookie Train.
A great gift for kids! (That you don't like very much.)
Those aren't all the pictures, but they're the ones that turned out the best. Who knows, I might make a semi-habit of this photojournalism. Because ther are some WIERD things afoot at the Antique Mall.
* - This is untrue.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
My Goals To This Point
A little while ago I mentioned that I had pretty much abandoned my 101 in 1001 list but would try to rip through as many goals as I was able to before the expiry date. Well, November 19 is only 47 days away, and I've accomplished a small handful of my goals. Here's a brief review.
12. Get a picture with The Peach. Well I had originally envisioned just a random "Hey let's go get our portrait done and put it in Christmas cards!" or something like that. But, considering that there were engagement photos and wedding photos, I'm considering this one accomplished.
22. Take Peach camping again to show that I can, indeed, be a happy camper. Incredibly lame pun aside, the last time we went camping it was pretty bad. I drove 8 hours a day and therefore was tired and a little cranky. This year, though, we went camping on our honeymoon, and it was really good. Shorter driving time, lots of fun, and with the improved planning and a list of things to work on we will hopefully have better luck with our future camping trips. No stress = good times.
33. Get married. Complete, and happily so!
39. Finish Angel Season 5 with Ninja and Jago. Monday night, finished up the last two episodes, and they were actually pretty good. The last episode was simultaneously a thumbs-up to the viewers and a middle-fingers-up to The Network, which was a little harsh to watch but mostly good. I don't want to make this into a huge meta-series review, but I will do each series in six words.
Season 1: Getting its footing; uneven but promising.
Season 2: Fantastic television. The best season overall.
Season 3: Started great, limped across the finish.
Season 4: Sometimes painful to watch. Worst season.
Season 5: Regained its quality, cut too short.
41. Get a digital camera and learn how to use it well enough to make nice pictures. This one's half done; I have the camera, but there are so many bells and whistles that I need a little while longer to learn how to really use it all. Maybe my upcoming trip to Vancouver will help with that.
49. Do another one of the "Stay Up All Night Creativity Binges" before my metabolism completely implodes. I did this a few months ago, when The Peach was out of town so I wouldn't be annoying her with random stumbling around in the middle of the night. I re-read my abandoned NaNo project and added a few pages, I wrote a couple of essays, I read a lot. Not really sure if it really helped my creative output, but I did it and had fun with it. Maybe it's not too late for another.
64. (hedonism / debauchery). Completed. No more detail than that.
So, there we go. Now with 24 things accomplished, the list is nearly 1/4 complete! I'd like to gear up to get it to 1/3 done by the end, mostly because a lot of these are impossible to complete now. Nine more goals in 47 days. That's...doable.
12. Get a picture with The Peach. Well I had originally envisioned just a random "Hey let's go get our portrait done and put it in Christmas cards!" or something like that. But, considering that there were engagement photos and wedding photos, I'm considering this one accomplished.
22. Take Peach camping again to show that I can, indeed, be a happy camper. Incredibly lame pun aside, the last time we went camping it was pretty bad. I drove 8 hours a day and therefore was tired and a little cranky. This year, though, we went camping on our honeymoon, and it was really good. Shorter driving time, lots of fun, and with the improved planning and a list of things to work on we will hopefully have better luck with our future camping trips. No stress = good times.
33. Get married. Complete, and happily so!
39. Finish Angel Season 5 with Ninja and Jago. Monday night, finished up the last two episodes, and they were actually pretty good. The last episode was simultaneously a thumbs-up to the viewers and a middle-fingers-up to The Network, which was a little harsh to watch but mostly good. I don't want to make this into a huge meta-series review, but I will do each series in six words.
Season 1: Getting its footing; uneven but promising.
Season 2: Fantastic television. The best season overall.
Season 3: Started great, limped across the finish.
Season 4: Sometimes painful to watch. Worst season.
Season 5: Regained its quality, cut too short.
41. Get a digital camera and learn how to use it well enough to make nice pictures. This one's half done; I have the camera, but there are so many bells and whistles that I need a little while longer to learn how to really use it all. Maybe my upcoming trip to Vancouver will help with that.
49. Do another one of the "Stay Up All Night Creativity Binges" before my metabolism completely implodes. I did this a few months ago, when The Peach was out of town so I wouldn't be annoying her with random stumbling around in the middle of the night. I re-read my abandoned NaNo project and added a few pages, I wrote a couple of essays, I read a lot. Not really sure if it really helped my creative output, but I did it and had fun with it. Maybe it's not too late for another.
64. (hedonism / debauchery). Completed. No more detail than that.
So, there we go. Now with 24 things accomplished, the list is nearly 1/4 complete! I'd like to gear up to get it to 1/3 done by the end, mostly because a lot of these are impossible to complete now. Nine more goals in 47 days. That's...doable.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
My Life Last Week in Links
Or, "Trying to make up for the un-excusable silence."
Monday – Kow Rehearsal. We do a lot of talking about the upcoming charity show and about the upcoming "Kow Year In Review", not a lot of rehearsing. Then we watch some Angel Season 5 (two more episodes left! It’s coming fast and furious now), and play a game of Gloom with ScottyBomb, which is a game where you have a house full of Edward Gorey-esque characters and you do terrible things to them and then kill them off. For fun!
Tuesday – A quiet dinner at home with The Peach. We have burritos and watch Jeeves & Wooster, Season Two. I deal better with the dissonance that comes from watching early-90s British Hugh Laurie and mid-00s "American" Hugh Laurie concurrently.
Wednesday – First night of Tai Chi class with Morgoid. I am a little nervous about this, seeing as how it's a) something new, which always makes me a little worried, and b) a form of physical activity, which is rarely one of my favourite things to do. However, about ten minutes into the class my fears completely disappear. Doing the Tai Chi moves is relaxing and soothing, and helps me decompress at the end of the day. I leave a little sore but really happy and looking forward to the next class. Then, Morgoid and I talk about comics for half an hour, including how good Dwayne McDuffie is on the Justice League (i.e., very good), how lame Penance is (i.e., so lame, but also so old news), and how awesome the New Warriors were in the 90s (i.e., Night Thrasher).
Thursday – Second choir rehearsal. Still a little leery about joining the choir, as it's run a little more haphazardly than I'd like (not being able to hear the director when he's ten feet away means you need to SHUT IT), but I'm getting along with the other Tenor IIs (all three of them), and am looking forward to performing with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra at the end of the month at the John Williams 75th Birthday Concert. We're singing mostly from his current work (1997 and on), but I hold hold out hope that we will hear the Superman theme from the orchestra.
Friday – NinjaStolz and Fi come over for dinner. The Peach and I make jambalaya (I didn't put in any celery because she doesn't like it, but she admits it was lacking afterwards), cornbread muffins, and blueberry cobbler, which is all heartily eaten. Then, we sit around the living room talking pop culture. Well, he and I do; the ladies sit there and mostly look varying degrees of amused.
Saturday – NoSweat 2007. Astro's brother organized an anti-sweatshop fashion show with the proceeds going to support FUNARTE, a charity that works with children in Nicaragua. Kow is involved in a scene and have to sing a couple of songs, which is changed to three when it is discovered that the crew cannot completely strike and re-set the stage in 30 seconds. The rehearsal is a little scattered and takes much longer than we were originally told, but NinjaStan and I spend the time we're not standing motionless onstage hanging out: we read, play VS, and chat about various things. The show itself goes off splendidly, with beatboxers, fire jugglers, hackey-sacking, handsome people in pretty clothes, Filipino stick dancing, B-Boys, and of course, a Kowpella.
Sunday – NinjaStan and I accompany Jago and one of his co-workers to the k-os show at the Starlite room. The Starlite is HOT and the opening band, Kill the Lights, does not start until nearly 10:00, almost two hours after the doors open. They are pretty good, and although the female vocalist/keyboard dances like a goblin on LSD, I decide they are worth a second listen, because anyone who can rock out on two tambourines unironically gets points in my book. I go outside during the break and talk to Fernando, a gentleman we met inside, about what it was like going to bars and concerts when we were younger men. Then, it was back in to see the k-os rock show, which had a few hiccups but was ultimately a pretty good show. There were a couple of miscommunications between k-os and the rest of the band, and his freestyle rhymes were about 60% on (including three Oilers references and a dyad where he rhymed "salary" with "Calgary"), but it was great to see the way the band re-imagined the songs for a much more Rock & Roll based live show. Also: the guitarist in the band was AMAZING. The anchor of the show for sure.
So, that was my week. Anyone else do anything amazing?
Monday – Kow Rehearsal. We do a lot of talking about the upcoming charity show and about the upcoming "Kow Year In Review", not a lot of rehearsing. Then we watch some Angel Season 5 (two more episodes left! It’s coming fast and furious now), and play a game of Gloom with ScottyBomb, which is a game where you have a house full of Edward Gorey-esque characters and you do terrible things to them and then kill them off. For fun!
Tuesday – A quiet dinner at home with The Peach. We have burritos and watch Jeeves & Wooster, Season Two. I deal better with the dissonance that comes from watching early-90s British Hugh Laurie and mid-00s "American" Hugh Laurie concurrently.
Wednesday – First night of Tai Chi class with Morgoid. I am a little nervous about this, seeing as how it's a) something new, which always makes me a little worried, and b) a form of physical activity, which is rarely one of my favourite things to do. However, about ten minutes into the class my fears completely disappear. Doing the Tai Chi moves is relaxing and soothing, and helps me decompress at the end of the day. I leave a little sore but really happy and looking forward to the next class. Then, Morgoid and I talk about comics for half an hour, including how good Dwayne McDuffie is on the Justice League (i.e., very good), how lame Penance is (i.e., so lame, but also so old news), and how awesome the New Warriors were in the 90s (i.e., Night Thrasher).
Thursday – Second choir rehearsal. Still a little leery about joining the choir, as it's run a little more haphazardly than I'd like (not being able to hear the director when he's ten feet away means you need to SHUT IT), but I'm getting along with the other Tenor IIs (all three of them), and am looking forward to performing with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra at the end of the month at the John Williams 75th Birthday Concert. We're singing mostly from his current work (1997 and on), but I hold hold out hope that we will hear the Superman theme from the orchestra.
Friday – NinjaStolz and Fi come over for dinner. The Peach and I make jambalaya (I didn't put in any celery because she doesn't like it, but she admits it was lacking afterwards), cornbread muffins, and blueberry cobbler, which is all heartily eaten. Then, we sit around the living room talking pop culture. Well, he and I do; the ladies sit there and mostly look varying degrees of amused.
Saturday – NoSweat 2007. Astro's brother organized an anti-sweatshop fashion show with the proceeds going to support FUNARTE, a charity that works with children in Nicaragua. Kow is involved in a scene and have to sing a couple of songs, which is changed to three when it is discovered that the crew cannot completely strike and re-set the stage in 30 seconds. The rehearsal is a little scattered and takes much longer than we were originally told, but NinjaStan and I spend the time we're not standing motionless onstage hanging out: we read, play VS, and chat about various things. The show itself goes off splendidly, with beatboxers, fire jugglers, hackey-sacking, handsome people in pretty clothes, Filipino stick dancing, B-Boys, and of course, a Kowpella.
Sunday – NinjaStan and I accompany Jago and one of his co-workers to the k-os show at the Starlite room. The Starlite is HOT and the opening band, Kill the Lights, does not start until nearly 10:00, almost two hours after the doors open. They are pretty good, and although the female vocalist/keyboard dances like a goblin on LSD, I decide they are worth a second listen, because anyone who can rock out on two tambourines unironically gets points in my book. I go outside during the break and talk to Fernando, a gentleman we met inside, about what it was like going to bars and concerts when we were younger men. Then, it was back in to see the k-os rock show, which had a few hiccups but was ultimately a pretty good show. There were a couple of miscommunications between k-os and the rest of the band, and his freestyle rhymes were about 60% on (including three Oilers references and a dyad where he rhymed "salary" with "Calgary"), but it was great to see the way the band re-imagined the songs for a much more Rock & Roll based live show. Also: the guitarist in the band was AMAZING. The anchor of the show for sure.
So, that was my week. Anyone else do anything amazing?
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Not a Fringe Update: New Addition To The Family!
No, The Peach isn't pregnant. At least, not as far as I know. But we have adopted. A budgie. Her name is Lola, and she's a yellow budgie who is currently trying to adjust to her new surroundings. We got her from my Future Sister-In-Law (the FSIL); she and G are moving to a new apartment, and their new work and school schedules don't work well with keeping a bird happy and healthy. And The Peach loves birds, so they naturally thought of us when it came to finding new owners for her.
Like I said, The Peach loves her; cooing to her as she does the dishes, dutifully changing the water and even giving her fresh fruit to eat, and making sure CBC Radio 2 is playing whenever we're out. The FSIL told us that Lola likes soft music, and also The Beatles. Me? I'm scared of her. Not in an "ornithophobia" sort of way, or in a "Melanie Daniels"* kind of way. In a "oh god, oh god, I'm going to kill it" kind of way. The girls keep reassuring me that there's no way I'm going to be able to hurt it, but I disagree: I'm about thirty-seven times taller than her and have probably five hundred and eighty times her mass. I know I'm going to try and change her water, or give her a head scratch, and somehow accidentally break her tiny hollow bones. Also, I don't know what to do with a bird. I feel stupid talking to it, and you can't take her for a walk or pet her or throw things at her. Well, you can throw things at her, but it'd just lead to bone breakage, which I'm already a little nervous about.
However much I'm afraid of her, she's FAR more afraid of me. Every time I walk in the room or get up from the chair I have to announce it ahead of time; if I don't, her wings start flapping and she shuffles as far away from me as possible. She won't eat in front of us, and I honestly think she breathes faster when we're in the room. I don't want her to get an anxiety problem, or have a premature heart attack, so I'm trying to give her a role model. I think she likes him.
Well, it's progress.**
* - Identify this name for 4 geek points. No Googling or anything: just off your brain.
** - Why this role model? 2 geek points.
Like I said, The Peach loves her; cooing to her as she does the dishes, dutifully changing the water and even giving her fresh fruit to eat, and making sure CBC Radio 2 is playing whenever we're out. The FSIL told us that Lola likes soft music, and also The Beatles. Me? I'm scared of her. Not in an "ornithophobia" sort of way, or in a "Melanie Daniels"* kind of way. In a "oh god, oh god, I'm going to kill it" kind of way. The girls keep reassuring me that there's no way I'm going to be able to hurt it, but I disagree: I'm about thirty-seven times taller than her and have probably five hundred and eighty times her mass. I know I'm going to try and change her water, or give her a head scratch, and somehow accidentally break her tiny hollow bones. Also, I don't know what to do with a bird. I feel stupid talking to it, and you can't take her for a walk or pet her or throw things at her. Well, you can throw things at her, but it'd just lead to bone breakage, which I'm already a little nervous about.
However much I'm afraid of her, she's FAR more afraid of me. Every time I walk in the room or get up from the chair I have to announce it ahead of time; if I don't, her wings start flapping and she shuffles as far away from me as possible. She won't eat in front of us, and I honestly think she breathes faster when we're in the room. I don't want her to get an anxiety problem, or have a premature heart attack, so I'm trying to give her a role model. I think she likes him.
Well, it's progress.**
* - Identify this name for 4 geek points. No Googling or anything: just off your brain.
** - Why this role model? 2 geek points.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
The Wedding, Through My Recollection
I allowed myself a little time to sleep in on Friday morning. My brothers were over the night before having beer & cigars, but they left at 11:00 to make sure I had lots of sleep that night. So getting up at 8:30 was nice; nine and a half hours sleep is something I don't often get these days. I got stuff ready for breakfast, and had coffee and read, waiting for The Terror to set in. The jittery legs, the sweaty palms (and forehead and chest and everywhere else), the cold blood in the veins: the fight-or-flight response. I had been led to expect it. And by the time the guys and N.S. came over at 10:30, it hadn't arrived. We sat around lazily, listening to Nirvana Unplugged and eating bagels, until the photographer came over and it was time to get dressed. There were a few mishaps (B and G putting on each other's tuxedos, for instance), but we got everything taken care of and packed ourselves into the car by 11:45. Plenty of time to get to the Gardens an hour before the ceremony. G drove and we alternately chatted and sang along to 0+2=1, and I again waited for The Terror. And waited.
We got there at 12:20, still plenty early, and accompanied some choir friends to the site. For an hour and a bit I greeted people, ran some interference with Diego (Usher #1), panicked because Axler (Usher #2) hadn't showed up yet, listened to the choir rehearse, and stay in the shade. I also put one of the frozen gel packs I had prepared in my inside breast pocket. For a few months, whenever I'd mentioned that I was planning on putting an ice pack in my jacket pocket for extra cool on a hot summer's day, the response had generally been, "Huh?" or "Really?" or "That's kind of silly." That day, however, people were all admiring my foresight and ingenuity. Going from an idiot to brilliant over the course of a handful of weeks was a nice touch, I must say. Things were getting a little disjointed ten minutes before showtime the service, with me having to dole out flowers to my side of the family and Axler arriving JUST in the nick of time with ice for the water cooler, and then before I knew it, it was 1:30. Time to get into position. I stood at the front, in the blazing sun, beside my friends, and there was nothing to do but wait. This was the chance for The Terror to rear its ugly head and strike me with the rubber knees and the panic. But it never came.
People were settling down, a little chatter and hushed whispers, glances and waves. Then the clarinet started, and the parents made their way down the aisles, first mine, then Peach's. There were a few seconds between the seating of the parents and any sign of movement behind the trees. And then a few more. And then time slowed down. It was likely only seven or eight seconds, but for me, it felt like minutes. "Oh god," I thought. "Did she get hit by The Terror? Is she not coming? Am I going to be made a fool of?"
But no. She came out with her brother, and walked down the aisle, and took my hand, and it was all great. I can't remember the details, but I can remember moments. My mom read an excerpt from The Little Prince I had prepared; Peach's mom read something from The Prophet that she liked. People were allowed to speak or forever hold their peace, and I shot a panicked glance at the crowd, which drew out a few laughs. We repeated a lot of words after the Justice of the Peace. Rings were given and exchanged. I smiled so hard my face hurt. And then, finally, it was time for the kiss. I enjoyed that part very much.
(The ceremony from far away. By Allan.)
We signed the register as the choir sang. I watched my friends sing and felt warm and satisfied. We met in the choir, and I knew I needed to have them there. It just felt right. We went back and did our Rose Ceremony, which we'd tailored to our particular idiosyncracies. And then we walked out through the crowd, out to the rear of the garden, and were whisked away on golf kars to the Japanese Gardens, where we took even more pictures and had sandwiches that Peach's mom had prepared. The difference between our two families were perfectly illustrated in that ten minute lunch break. Peach and her brothers found a little note that their mom had written, and were trying to explain/figure out which sandwiches had cheese, mustard, mayo, and Miracle Whip, and in what combinations. My brothers and I looked at the bag of sandwiches, said "Food!" and grabbed the first available sandwich. So different in so many ways.
We got back to the reception a little later than we wanted, but it was no big deal, as our guests were having a good time entertaining themselves and having a few cocktails. We did our own little "Recieving Diad" and welcomed everyone to the hall, then made our way to the head table to get ready for dinner. Astro had snuck a Batman figurine on my chair, which made me laugh out loud and caused most of the guests to look at me like I had just snapped, but I waved it off and they went back to their conversation.
Dinner was delicious, although I could barely eat because I was so nervous. We did away with the tinkling of glasses (because it's tacky AND because of potential breakage) and had a trivia challenge instead, which only two people took advantage of. I was fine with it, although Peach was disappointed that more people didn't try, as we'd had a lot of fun making up the questions. Then it was time for the speeches. NS read a telegram from Gwyn, who couldn't make it, which was lovely. Then followed another perfect illustration of the differences between our families. My brothers did a toast to me that was jocular and slightly-off-the-cuff, and played to the crowd a lot; Peach's brothers was perfectly scripted, quiet, and eloquent. Each one was perfect. Peach's mom welcomed me to their family (and got the biggest laugh of the night: "We hope one day that The Doc will overcome his shyness."), and my dad welcomed Peach to ours. He also broke down in tears when he tried to read a letter from my Grandma in Montreal, causing all three of us guys at the head table to start crying too. Apparently, we were quite the sight.
Our thank-yous were next, which were (I felt) mercifully short, and then there was a slideshow prepared by G and his lovely lady, which was great. The cake-cutting was well-attended, and it was a GORGEOUS CAKE that tasted even better than it looked. We have so many leftovers that we'll have to have a giant party when we break it out of the freezer for our first anniversary. Then, Kow sang a song that I had hastily arranged and Astro had made lovely, and the DJ insisted we sing another. I was happy to oblige, as I had tons of family out from Montreal who'd never seen me sing before, but it was a little embarassing. I didn't want Kow to take over the reception, and mercifully we didn't.
The dance was good, full of crazy escapades from my family & friends. G was an unstoppable dancing machine, and even my Nana danced to the "YMCA". Every wedding I go to, YMCA is played, which I think is hilarious. Dozens of people on the dance floor, celebrating the union of two newly-married people by dancing to a song about men having sex at the gym. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for same-sex relationships, I just think it's funny how so many people are oblivious to the painfully obvious meaning behind the song. We eschewed the boquet and garter toss in favour of a piñata and The Shoe Game, which I think were a lot more fun. I danced a little, snacked a little, and talked a whole lot, and before I knew it, it was time to shut it down and head off to the hotel for much-needed sleep -- but not before I picked up a double-cheeseburger for The Peach at the drive-through. It was a good way to end the day: cute and quirky, pulling away from the McDonalds in our formal wear. It was a great day. I know these words don't do it justice, but it's the best I can do.
We got there at 12:20, still plenty early, and accompanied some choir friends to the site. For an hour and a bit I greeted people, ran some interference with Diego (Usher #1), panicked because Axler (Usher #2) hadn't showed up yet, listened to the choir rehearse, and stay in the shade. I also put one of the frozen gel packs I had prepared in my inside breast pocket. For a few months, whenever I'd mentioned that I was planning on putting an ice pack in my jacket pocket for extra cool on a hot summer's day, the response had generally been, "Huh?" or "Really?" or "That's kind of silly." That day, however, people were all admiring my foresight and ingenuity. Going from an idiot to brilliant over the course of a handful of weeks was a nice touch, I must say. Things were getting a little disjointed ten minutes before showtime the service, with me having to dole out flowers to my side of the family and Axler arriving JUST in the nick of time with ice for the water cooler, and then before I knew it, it was 1:30. Time to get into position. I stood at the front, in the blazing sun, beside my friends, and there was nothing to do but wait. This was the chance for The Terror to rear its ugly head and strike me with the rubber knees and the panic. But it never came.
People were settling down, a little chatter and hushed whispers, glances and waves. Then the clarinet started, and the parents made their way down the aisles, first mine, then Peach's. There were a few seconds between the seating of the parents and any sign of movement behind the trees. And then a few more. And then time slowed down. It was likely only seven or eight seconds, but for me, it felt like minutes. "Oh god," I thought. "Did she get hit by The Terror? Is she not coming? Am I going to be made a fool of?"
But no. She came out with her brother, and walked down the aisle, and took my hand, and it was all great. I can't remember the details, but I can remember moments. My mom read an excerpt from The Little Prince I had prepared; Peach's mom read something from The Prophet that she liked. People were allowed to speak or forever hold their peace, and I shot a panicked glance at the crowd, which drew out a few laughs. We repeated a lot of words after the Justice of the Peace. Rings were given and exchanged. I smiled so hard my face hurt. And then, finally, it was time for the kiss. I enjoyed that part very much.
(The ceremony from far away. By Allan.)
We signed the register as the choir sang. I watched my friends sing and felt warm and satisfied. We met in the choir, and I knew I needed to have them there. It just felt right. We went back and did our Rose Ceremony, which we'd tailored to our particular idiosyncracies. And then we walked out through the crowd, out to the rear of the garden, and were whisked away on golf kars to the Japanese Gardens, where we took even more pictures and had sandwiches that Peach's mom had prepared. The difference between our two families were perfectly illustrated in that ten minute lunch break. Peach and her brothers found a little note that their mom had written, and were trying to explain/figure out which sandwiches had cheese, mustard, mayo, and Miracle Whip, and in what combinations. My brothers and I looked at the bag of sandwiches, said "Food!" and grabbed the first available sandwich. So different in so many ways.
We got back to the reception a little later than we wanted, but it was no big deal, as our guests were having a good time entertaining themselves and having a few cocktails. We did our own little "Recieving Diad" and welcomed everyone to the hall, then made our way to the head table to get ready for dinner. Astro had snuck a Batman figurine on my chair, which made me laugh out loud and caused most of the guests to look at me like I had just snapped, but I waved it off and they went back to their conversation.
Dinner was delicious, although I could barely eat because I was so nervous. We did away with the tinkling of glasses (because it's tacky AND because of potential breakage) and had a trivia challenge instead, which only two people took advantage of. I was fine with it, although Peach was disappointed that more people didn't try, as we'd had a lot of fun making up the questions. Then it was time for the speeches. NS read a telegram from Gwyn, who couldn't make it, which was lovely. Then followed another perfect illustration of the differences between our families. My brothers did a toast to me that was jocular and slightly-off-the-cuff, and played to the crowd a lot; Peach's brothers was perfectly scripted, quiet, and eloquent. Each one was perfect. Peach's mom welcomed me to their family (and got the biggest laugh of the night: "We hope one day that The Doc will overcome his shyness."), and my dad welcomed Peach to ours. He also broke down in tears when he tried to read a letter from my Grandma in Montreal, causing all three of us guys at the head table to start crying too. Apparently, we were quite the sight.
Our thank-yous were next, which were (I felt) mercifully short, and then there was a slideshow prepared by G and his lovely lady, which was great. The cake-cutting was well-attended, and it was a GORGEOUS CAKE that tasted even better than it looked. We have so many leftovers that we'll have to have a giant party when we break it out of the freezer for our first anniversary. Then, Kow sang a song that I had hastily arranged and Astro had made lovely, and the DJ insisted we sing another. I was happy to oblige, as I had tons of family out from Montreal who'd never seen me sing before, but it was a little embarassing. I didn't want Kow to take over the reception, and mercifully we didn't.
The dance was good, full of crazy escapades from my family & friends. G was an unstoppable dancing machine, and even my Nana danced to the "YMCA". Every wedding I go to, YMCA is played, which I think is hilarious. Dozens of people on the dance floor, celebrating the union of two newly-married people by dancing to a song about men having sex at the gym. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for same-sex relationships, I just think it's funny how so many people are oblivious to the painfully obvious meaning behind the song. We eschewed the boquet and garter toss in favour of a piñata and The Shoe Game, which I think were a lot more fun. I danced a little, snacked a little, and talked a whole lot, and before I knew it, it was time to shut it down and head off to the hotel for much-needed sleep -- but not before I picked up a double-cheeseburger for The Peach at the drive-through. It was a good way to end the day: cute and quirky, pulling away from the McDonalds in our formal wear. It was a great day. I know these words don't do it justice, but it's the best I can do.
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Twelve!
Yes, twelve. That's the number of days until the wedding. The stress is getting to some people, most notably my mother and The Peach. These two ladies are working really hard on everything and I just hope that the whole show goes right for them, so they feel good and know their work was not in vain. Myself, I'm doing okay. It's a little worrisome, thinking about all the stuff that still needs to get done, even though I know we've got most of it under control. I still think that there's something that's going to go wrong, that even with all the planning and all the work something will go awry at the wedding. I was talking to Fee and NinjaStolz about it a few weeks ago, and they said to me, "Don't worry about it! Every wedding we go to we have a great time, and afterwards the people say 'Oh my god, didn't you notice everything that went wrong?' Nobody notices, it's just a few small problems and it all gets worked out in the end."
Me, though, I keep thinking that it's like a long trip that you need to pack for, and you make yourself a list, and you do your best to work through that list and get everything done. And then, when you get to the airport, there's a security problem with your bag. So you open it up, and that's when you realize that all you've packed is pants. Only pants. In the carry-on: more pants. In the shaving kit: one pair of rolled-up pants. In your wallet, instead of money? Tiny little pair of pants. It's not rational, but that's what I worry about. I'm going to get to the ceremony, and there'll be nothing but pants as far as the eye can see.
Me, though, I keep thinking that it's like a long trip that you need to pack for, and you make yourself a list, and you do your best to work through that list and get everything done. And then, when you get to the airport, there's a security problem with your bag. So you open it up, and that's when you realize that all you've packed is pants. Only pants. In the carry-on: more pants. In the shaving kit: one pair of rolled-up pants. In your wallet, instead of money? Tiny little pair of pants. It's not rational, but that's what I worry about. I'm going to get to the ceremony, and there'll be nothing but pants as far as the eye can see.
Friday, June 08, 2007
The Doc's Big Science Trip!
This weekend, I'm taking a trip down to Calgary for the Canadian Language and Literacy Research Network (CLLRNet)'s 6th Annual conference. I'm just going down there to present a poster for the project I'm working on at the University; my job basically boils down to "stand in front of the poster and answer questions as best you can, if indeed anyone asks you any questions". I'm not speaking or anything, and I didn't even do much work on the poster itself, but it's a pretty big deal for me. It's my first big conference, presenting research I helped work on (even if it was just gathering the data), and a reminder of how much I like science! (Science again! I said science again!* )
I originally thought this conference was next weekend, because of my awesome "not checking things out my supervisor says 'I think' two times about" skills, which put me in a bit of a bind, seeing as I'm singing at a wedding tomorrow evening. I have to drive down to Calgary tomorrow morning, set up the poster, check in to my hotel room at 3:00, then immediately drive back to Edmonton and be at the reception for 6:00ish, sing, and then immediately drive back to Calgary because I need to start standing in front of my poster at 7:00 a.m. on Sunday. That's a lot of driving (9 hours in one day!), but I have a few albums I need to listen to, as well as catching up on my early episodes of Comic Geek Speak, so that'll keep me amused. As Peach said to me yesterday, "Just think, you won't have to play music for me at all this weekend!" Yes, it's nothing but punk rock, comics talk, and indie rock for me.
(By the way, in looking for cool links about science, I came across The Science Creative Quarterly and their Order of the Science Scouts of Exemplary Repute and Above Average Physique. Sounds like something I'd like to get in on, and besides, they have badges! After a cursory look, I'm eligible for, like, 7 of them so far! Hopefully they don't hold too strictly to the "Above Average Physique" part of their title. If so, well, I always need more inspiration to get in shape, I guess.)
* - Where does this come from? 2 geek points up for grabs, people.**
** - Yes, I was totally serious about this last week. There may eventually be prizes.
I originally thought this conference was next weekend, because of my awesome "not checking things out my supervisor says 'I think' two times about" skills, which put me in a bit of a bind, seeing as I'm singing at a wedding tomorrow evening. I have to drive down to Calgary tomorrow morning, set up the poster, check in to my hotel room at 3:00, then immediately drive back to Edmonton and be at the reception for 6:00ish, sing, and then immediately drive back to Calgary because I need to start standing in front of my poster at 7:00 a.m. on Sunday. That's a lot of driving (9 hours in one day!), but I have a few albums I need to listen to, as well as catching up on my early episodes of Comic Geek Speak, so that'll keep me amused. As Peach said to me yesterday, "Just think, you won't have to play music for me at all this weekend!" Yes, it's nothing but punk rock, comics talk, and indie rock for me.
(By the way, in looking for cool links about science, I came across The Science Creative Quarterly and their Order of the Science Scouts of Exemplary Repute and Above Average Physique. Sounds like something I'd like to get in on, and besides, they have badges! After a cursory look, I'm eligible for, like, 7 of them so far! Hopefully they don't hold too strictly to the "Above Average Physique" part of their title. If so, well, I always need more inspiration to get in shape, I guess.)
* - Where does this come from? 2 geek points up for grabs, people.**
** - Yes, I was totally serious about this last week. There may eventually be prizes.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Inertia
When I was three years old, I wrote my first story. Well, I told it to my dad and he wrote it down for me. I was always obsessed with stories; I loved my Disney and Star Wars books on record, which read to me before I knew how to read, and I loved sitting on the couch with my mom or dad and having them read a story to me, particularly one from the Golden Books. Even when I couldn't read, I would just open a picture book and pretend to read it to myself, until that day when I was four that I pulled out a book and realized that I wasn't pretending to read any more, I was actually doing it! But that's getting ahead of myself.
When I was three years old, I wrote my first story. Not the first story I ever made up, because I was making up stories for my Matchbox cars and Super-Friends action figures all the time. But the evening of May 11, 1982, I sat down with a pencil and a scrap of blue paper, and dictated the following story:
Mr. Potatohead and CBC*
Once upon a time on the
edge of The Black Forest,
they had packages
for fruit and toys. Then
there came a big frog.
Then there came a
big, big lion. And they
lived happily ever after.
The End
It's lacking a lot of story grammar, and there's no real compelling through line to it - What did they do with the fruit and toys? Where did these giant animals come from? - but it was mine. Writing that story is one of my first memories. Like I said, I'd made up stories before, but I knew that I just really wanted to have it written it down. I wanted to see my name beside those words, and I wanted other people to read it and like it as much as I liked it. I wanted to have it forever. Most stories written by three-year-olds don't last for twenty-five years, but thanks to my mom & dad's careful cataloguing of their first-born's activities, I have it pasted in my Me and Winnie-the-Pooh memory book, there to be laughed at and "aww"ed over for many more years.
From that point on, something stuck in me about writing. In my elementary school, there was a story writing competition; everyone wrote a story and the best story from each classroom made it into a collection printed at the end of the year. I won in Grade One, Grade Three, and Grade Five, in a sort of inversion of the Star Trek movie curse. I always made up stories and wrote stuff down, and naturally read books and watched movies as much as I could. Stories are part of my operating system. As a geek, it comes in awfully handy, as having a shared knowledge of stories with my other geeky friends leads to a lot of shorthand when we get together; all one of us has to do is say something like, "I'm gonna need a hacksaw"** or "This is coming out of your pay!"*** and we're all right there in that moment.
Which is why things are frustrating for me right now. My own personal story seems like it's stalling. Yesterday, to appease her parents, my lovely Peach went to live with them until we get married. My thesis is rolling so slowly the only way I know it's moving at all is that I'm not getting ahead of it as quickly as I used to. The wedding planning seems to be moving forward but I don't really feel like a part of it, even when I try helping. And I sit at this computer every night trying to think of something to write and failing miserably.
There's plenty to write about. I could write about my opinions on Spider-Man 3 (short review: not so good) or Pirates Of The Carribbean: At World's End (short review: wow, not bad). I could write about the struggles The Peach and I have as we try to integrate our lives together. (An excerpt from a conversation we had this evening. She: "Wow, I didn't realize how much beer you drank." Me: "It's one beer. I've had three beers in the past five days.") Hell, I could even write about how amazing The Sensational Spider-Man Annual #1 is (it continually breaks and fixes my heart). But every time I sit to write, nothing comes out, because I can't think that anything I write is going to be very interesting.
And that's always been part of why I write, why I put it down on paper or broadcas it to computer screens: to delight an audience, somewhere out there, wherever they are. For nine days I have tried to think of something to write, and have written nothing. I read. I watch. I laze around. And so my inertia takes control of me and I say nothing. But tonight, I face the inertia and just write something. It doesn't have to be good, or thoughtful, or even entertaining, it just has to be something. And I just did. So maybe that can crack the inertia that seems to be pervading the rest of my life now. We'll see.
* - A little background. When I was young I thought that the CBC logo I saw on tv was a character, like all the other drawings with voices I watched (The Smurfs, He-Man, and so on). Not only was I convinced that "The CBC" was a cartoon character, I was also convinced he was an evil cartoon character because he spoke in a loud, deep voice "THIS IS CBC!" about once every two or three hours. I was terrified of him. Why I made him best friends with Mr. Potato head in the story I do not remember.
** - Two cool points to the first person to guess where this quote comes from.
*** - Four cool points to the first person to guess where this quote comes from. If you need a hint, imagine it said with a Jamaican accent, but dock yourself a cool point****. Honour system, folks.
**** - Really, they should be called geek points, shouldn't they?
When I was three years old, I wrote my first story. Not the first story I ever made up, because I was making up stories for my Matchbox cars and Super-Friends action figures all the time. But the evening of May 11, 1982, I sat down with a pencil and a scrap of blue paper, and dictated the following story:
Mr. Potatohead and CBC*
Once upon a time on the
edge of The Black Forest,
they had packages
for fruit and toys. Then
there came a big frog.
Then there came a
big, big lion. And they
lived happily ever after.
The End
It's lacking a lot of story grammar, and there's no real compelling through line to it - What did they do with the fruit and toys? Where did these giant animals come from? - but it was mine. Writing that story is one of my first memories. Like I said, I'd made up stories before, but I knew that I just really wanted to have it written it down. I wanted to see my name beside those words, and I wanted other people to read it and like it as much as I liked it. I wanted to have it forever. Most stories written by three-year-olds don't last for twenty-five years, but thanks to my mom & dad's careful cataloguing of their first-born's activities, I have it pasted in my Me and Winnie-the-Pooh memory book, there to be laughed at and "aww"ed over for many more years.
From that point on, something stuck in me about writing. In my elementary school, there was a story writing competition; everyone wrote a story and the best story from each classroom made it into a collection printed at the end of the year. I won in Grade One, Grade Three, and Grade Five, in a sort of inversion of the Star Trek movie curse. I always made up stories and wrote stuff down, and naturally read books and watched movies as much as I could. Stories are part of my operating system. As a geek, it comes in awfully handy, as having a shared knowledge of stories with my other geeky friends leads to a lot of shorthand when we get together; all one of us has to do is say something like, "I'm gonna need a hacksaw"** or "This is coming out of your pay!"*** and we're all right there in that moment.
Which is why things are frustrating for me right now. My own personal story seems like it's stalling. Yesterday, to appease her parents, my lovely Peach went to live with them until we get married. My thesis is rolling so slowly the only way I know it's moving at all is that I'm not getting ahead of it as quickly as I used to. The wedding planning seems to be moving forward but I don't really feel like a part of it, even when I try helping. And I sit at this computer every night trying to think of something to write and failing miserably.
There's plenty to write about. I could write about my opinions on Spider-Man 3 (short review: not so good) or Pirates Of The Carribbean: At World's End (short review: wow, not bad). I could write about the struggles The Peach and I have as we try to integrate our lives together. (An excerpt from a conversation we had this evening. She: "Wow, I didn't realize how much beer you drank." Me: "It's one beer. I've had three beers in the past five days.") Hell, I could even write about how amazing The Sensational Spider-Man Annual #1 is (it continually breaks and fixes my heart). But every time I sit to write, nothing comes out, because I can't think that anything I write is going to be very interesting.
And that's always been part of why I write, why I put it down on paper or broadcas it to computer screens: to delight an audience, somewhere out there, wherever they are. For nine days I have tried to think of something to write, and have written nothing. I read. I watch. I laze around. And so my inertia takes control of me and I say nothing. But tonight, I face the inertia and just write something. It doesn't have to be good, or thoughtful, or even entertaining, it just has to be something. And I just did. So maybe that can crack the inertia that seems to be pervading the rest of my life now. We'll see.
* - A little background. When I was young I thought that the CBC logo I saw on tv was a character, like all the other drawings with voices I watched (The Smurfs, He-Man, and so on). Not only was I convinced that "The CBC" was a cartoon character, I was also convinced he was an evil cartoon character because he spoke in a loud, deep voice "THIS IS CBC!" about once every two or three hours. I was terrified of him. Why I made him best friends with Mr. Potato head in the story I do not remember.
** - Two cool points to the first person to guess where this quote comes from.
*** - Four cool points to the first person to guess where this quote comes from. If you need a hint, imagine it said with a Jamaican accent, but dock yourself a cool point****. Honour system, folks.
**** - Really, they should be called geek points, shouldn't they?
Friday, April 20, 2007
It can't REALLY be that time already, can it?
Today is April 20th, 2007. And although this day means many different things depending on who you talk to, it means one thing in particular to me. Today means that it's three months. Thirteen weeks. Ninety days. That's how many days it is until we get married. And really, as bad as it sounds, it's STILL not hitting me. I know that on July 20th I get married to the wonderfulest gal I know, and that we're going to walk into the rest of our lives together. But I've been thinking that way for over a year and a half, since we got engaged, so it's not seeming like that big of a change. You might think I'm not taking this seriously enough, and I've been accused of that before; I've referred to the wedding ceremony in show terms plenty of times, from the "costumes" to the "audience" to the "lines". But to me that's not insulting or inappropriate. A really good show, when put on right, can talk about real emotions and themes, and make the people who are watching it think about their own lives, their own relationships, and their own goals. I'm not saying my wedding's going to be the five star popcorn wedding of the summer, full of drama, romance, and laughs. I am saying that even though it's a show, it's not a hollow show. It's important and meaningful, because it's about something true and real. Anyhow, that's what I think. Am I dumb? Maybe. But when you're saturated in music and movies the way I am, and did drama and music concerts for the better part of my life, stories and shows are part of my basic operating system.
So I had a couple of questions for you that read this blog. Peach and I have a wedding website, and although I'd love for many of you to see it, especially my internet friends from far away, I don't really want to put the link on my public blog where anyone can click and enter (although, really, I'm sure it'd come up on Google if you really wanted to waste fifteen minutes). Any of my virtual friends care to see it? Also, I'm kind of stuck for something to put up some there, so if you have suggestions for content, I'd welcome them.
So I had a couple of questions for you that read this blog. Peach and I have a wedding website, and although I'd love for many of you to see it, especially my internet friends from far away, I don't really want to put the link on my public blog where anyone can click and enter (although, really, I'm sure it'd come up on Google if you really wanted to waste fifteen minutes). Any of my virtual friends care to see it? Also, I'm kind of stuck for something to put up some there, so if you have suggestions for content, I'd welcome them.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Workin' too hard can give you a heart attack-ack-ack-ack-ack!
This past week of my life has been one of the most tiring I've ever had. Every day I pack up three or four boxes, whether they’re from my place or from The Peach's, and move them over to the new place; I feel like I have no time to myself. I know, bitch bitch bitch, but I really think this could have been a lot more relaxing if we’d had the time we thought we had. Apparently, 10 days is not enough time to get all our stuff packed up – and I’ve thrown out 4 green garbage bags full of trash and have 2 big boxes full of stuff to give to the used bookstore! At least the move is helping with that. I just wish I had the time to blog, do 43t, and, oh I don’t know, sit down and read every once in a while. Audiobooks are good while I’m moving but they’re poor substitutes.
Yesterday we moved some of The Peach's stuff over to the apartment. We'd spent an hour and a half on Monday packing her books and things into boxes, and it took 20 minutes to get it all out of the car and into the new place. When it was done...
Me: Wow, that didn't take very much time at all!
The Peach: Well, it's only about half my stuff; there's still more.
Me: (Laughing.) That's...that's ridiculous.
The Peach: What? What's so funny?
Me: It took us two hours to move half of your stuff. I spend over two hours A DAY packing and moving my stuff, and I still don't have all my boxes over there.
The Peach: Oh. Well, that's not so bad.
Me: My stuff's filled up the storage locker and the small bedroom! Half of your stuff fit in the smallest closet in the apartment!
The Peach: (Helpfully.) Well, maybe it's more like a third of my stuff?
Just another reminder that I have too much stuff.
I'm disconnecting the computer soon, so I'll be incognito for the next few days. Wish me luck, guys. I'll see you on the other side.
Yesterday we moved some of The Peach's stuff over to the apartment. We'd spent an hour and a half on Monday packing her books and things into boxes, and it took 20 minutes to get it all out of the car and into the new place. When it was done...
Me: Wow, that didn't take very much time at all!
The Peach: Well, it's only about half my stuff; there's still more.
Me: (Laughing.) That's...that's ridiculous.
The Peach: What? What's so funny?
Me: It took us two hours to move half of your stuff. I spend over two hours A DAY packing and moving my stuff, and I still don't have all my boxes over there.
The Peach: Oh. Well, that's not so bad.
Me: My stuff's filled up the storage locker and the small bedroom! Half of your stuff fit in the smallest closet in the apartment!
The Peach: (Helpfully.) Well, maybe it's more like a third of my stuff?
Just another reminder that I have too much stuff.
I'm disconnecting the computer soon, so I'll be incognito for the next few days. Wish me luck, guys. I'll see you on the other side.
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