Yep, we're goin' to a hockey game! "Oh, the good old hockey game, is the best game you can name
And the best game you can name, is the good old hockey game"

There's a group down here in NC called CanSouth, and they've arranged a day out at the Charlotte Checkers game on Sunday March 11th. The Raleigh chapter often goes to Hurricanes' games, but its just too far for us to get to, with a 4 hour drive each way!

Charlotte Checkers is a farm team, and only an hour and a half way. It should be a fun day out. James has never seen a game, pro or amature, except on TV, so it'll be interesting to see how he enjoys it. Plus, there's a tailgater beforehand for the group to all meet up have some munchies and get our tickets all sorted out.

This will be something to look forward to. The last few weeks, and today in particular, at work have been absolute hell. I'm actively looking for another job, and it can't be too soon I tell ya! This one will have me right round the bend in no time, and I'm just too freakin' old to put up with this shit anymore.

Maybe I'll find something with some decent salary and who treat their employees fairly.

*snort*

I'm not holding my breath. :-p  ¶ 8:55 PM 2 Comments

  Huh? What'd you say? Hopefully, there will be no more of that here in my house!

James had his ear fixed today! Yay! *happy dance*

He had surgery this morning and they inserted a prostetic into his ear and now he can HEAR! Not perfect, but much better than before. I think his hearing was down to about 20% in that (left) ear, which is pretty much nuthin' really. Now he should be able to hear quite well the doctor said. And I must mention, the doctor did seem quite proud of himself indeed! ;-)

James still has a huge bandage over his ear at the moment, and he's in bed with both dogs guarding him, but as soon as we get all the cotton wadding out, he should be able to hear.

Woo Hoo!

Now, I'm going to go finish watching The Illusionist. Surgery wasn't quite long enough. ;-)  ¶ 4:39 PM 1 Comments

  Did you $%&**!!! SEE THAT!? I got sidetracked this afternoon and finally remembered the Daytona 500 and joined in with only 41 laps to go. I was suprised to see so many cars still on the track.

But holy shit, the last half lap was tongue chokingly intense! Check this out..

In his 23rd Daytona 500, Mark Martin came within .02 of a second of winning his first Daytona 500. Instead, Kevin Harvick completed the fourth Busch-Cup weekend sweep at Daytona. The win comes six years to the day this team lost its driver and NASCAR lost an icon, Dale Earnhardt. Behind Harvick and Martin, Harvick's Richard Childress Racing teammate Jeff Burton finished third and then all heck broke loose as several cars crashed and another RCR driver, Clint Bowyer, crossed the finish line on his hood in and was able to escape his car as it caught fire.

He slid across the finish line, upside down, and on fire! That's gotta be a new one!

Wooooooooo! George thought I was having a seisure or something, I was flailing and yelling at the TV "get out of the car, get out get out! Holy $$** dijoo see that? He's upside down! He crossed the finish line upside down George!"

James isn't home, he's out playing D&D.

I gotta say I LOOOOOOOOVE my HD TV. The race looked awesome, almost as good as being there.

Woo, what a finish!  ¶ 7:20 PM 2 Comments

  Chocolate Vodka and Home Theatres

What do the two have in common you may ask…or you may be asking “what? There’s CHOCOLATE VODKA?!” So, I’ll tell ya.

Last night James and I went to Charlotte for the Charlotte Browncoats shindig. Co-incidently (probably not ;) ) scheduled for Chinese New Year. We had Chinese food, good company, and we watched the movie Serenity, which is the whole purpose of any good Browncoats shindig. For the uninitiated, the TV show Firefly and resultant movie Serenity, take place in the future, when the world’s 2 superpowers, the US and China have merged, and Everyone speaks both English and Chinese. It’s kind of a futuristic western in space. With Chinese curse words. ;-)

Our hosts Tod and Maricia (sorry I don’t know if that’s spelled correctly!) were most gracious, and they have the most awesome home theatre set up I’ve seen in a long time! One room in their home has been given up to movies, …and Maricia’s toy castles fetish, but that’s a whole n’other story…they’ve got a big movie screen, an HD projector and a great sound system. PLUS, reclining seats with cupholders! There’s two levels of course for proper viewing pleasure. Pics can be seen at the CLT Browncoats Yahoo group photo albums. linked above

Ok, on to the chocolate vodka….Danny, the group’s resident pharmacist, brought the booze. And he brought a bottle of chocolate vodka and I just gotta say that if this had been invented when I was a teenager, I’d be dead now from cirrhosis! Wow, it is very yummy, and goes down very nicely, no mixer needed. Although, Tanya said it would probably be good mixed with some Godiva liqueur for a good chocolate martini. I’ll have to get to the ABC store and see if I can find me some! For my non-North Carolina and Canadian readers, the ABC store is the liquor store, ABC stands for Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission. Beer and wine are sold in grocery stores and convenience stores down here, but spirits are sold at the ABC store. Can you believe I’ve lived here over 2 years and I’ve never stepped foot in one? Horror and nightmares! ;-)

Here’s Danny’s CLT Browncoats myspace

I’m not a myspacer, but I know lots of people are, including some of the Firefly/Serenity cast, so ya never know, you may make some new friends.

Well, it was a good night. And now I’m wondering which walls I can knock out here to make us one of those shiny home theatres like Tod’s.  ¶ 9:37 AM 1 Comments

  Who are you? Your results:
You are Malcolm Reynolds (Captain)

Malcolm Reynolds (Captain) 0% Zoe Washburne (Second-in-command) 0% Wash (Ship Pilot) 0% Inara Serra (Companion) 0% Kaylee Frye (Ship Mechanic) 0% Jayne Cobb (Mercenary) 0% Dr. Simon Tam (Ship Medic) 0% River (Stowaway) 0% Derrial Book (Shepherd) 0% A Reaver (Cannibal) 0% Alliance 0%

Honest and a defender of the innocent. You sometimes make mistakes in judgment but you are generally good and would protect your crew from harm.

Click here to take the Serenity Firefly Personality Test


I picked that up from Nathan Fillion's myspace. Strangely enough, he's Kaylee!  ¶ 9:27 PM 1 Comments

  Shindig Well, once again we’re boosting the signal, and on June 23rd, around the world people will be gathering to watch the movie Serenity.

Why? Because we can. And because we’re probably just a little bit weird.

Yesterday I spent the day with a couple of Charlotte Browncoats http://lifeandstuff.com/cantstoptheserenitycharlotte/ at the Morganton Comi-Con. It was kind of pathetic turn-out sadly, but it was subsidized by the city, and for some strange reason, not at all advertised! I work at the newspaper, and I didn’t even know about it til the Charlotte Browncoats emailed me to say they’d be there! Pathetic! Which is a remark on the city and Con organizers, and not at all directed toward the Browncoats.

It was a fun day regardless. We sat watching episodes of Firefly on a laptop, and talkin’ about Joss Whedon, comics, comics written by Joss Whedon (there are lots!) and Sci-Fi/Fantasy in general. As well as other topics that meander their way into conversation.

We got ourselves some comic books, (Astonishing X-men and Serenity for me and some Deathstroke for James) and a couple of promo cards (Firefly and Stargate – TV show) and Stargate movie collectible cards set.

Anyhoo….remember last year James and I went to Charlotte to see the movie? We’re doing it again this year, and again proceeds will be raised for the charity Equality Now. http://www.equalitynow.org/ It’s happening all over the world… Canada, USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Austria…

If you don’t see a city near you listed, why not get one going yourself? You’d be surprised how great it is to sit in a movie theatre to watch a favourite movie with other people who feel the same way you do. And it’s a good cause.

This could be the next Rocky Horror Picture Show. ;-)

Yeah yeah, someone somewhere is yelling “blasphemer” at me, I know. So sue me :-p

But I am seriously considering getting myself a nice frilly dress for the shindig.



*snarf*

**edit** sorry if you're getting the dreaded scroll bar, but for some reason, I can't get the pic to shrink. I shrunk it! It won't shrink!  ¶ 12:55 PM 2 Comments

  An ode to my boots. This is me, a couple of months ago when I went home for a visit, and an evening out at Savage Garden, an old watering hole o’ mine on Queen Street West, Toronto.



These are my boots. My second favourite pair of boots. Now dead.



I got these boots at the Goodwill store on Coxwell Ave. when I shared a house with Cousin Dee. When we used to go out dancing every Friday and Saturday night. When I was rich and single.

These boots were comfy, and sexy. They went with everything. Fishnet stockings. Jeans. Casual. Goth. They were my “witch” boots. Now they’re dead.



When I first bought them, for all of $2.50, they were old already. I wore them a couple of times, then the sole started to separate from the upper. So I took them to the cobbler and said “fix them” he replied, “why not just buy a new pair, there’s not much sense fixing these lady”. I said “hey, I paid $2.50 for them, you can fix them for $20. A new pair will cost me well over $100. Fix them!” He fixed them.

That was probably 6 years ago. Now they’re not fixable anymore.



I wore them to Imbolc ritual last week, and noticed that the seam at the back was split, I thought “oh well, they’ve been good to me…a few more times…” then I wore them to work the other day, and noticed the leather is cracking up around the toes, and I thought “well, maybe it’s time…” and then after work I went to the recycle centre to toss in some boxes, and well…I stomped on one to flatten it…and both heels completely split away from the upper. They told me “it’s time”

So here’s to my boots. My comfy, sexy witchy boots. I will miss them. It may seem odd to some that I would lament a pair of boots I paid $22.50 for. Plus a set of laces. But it is the fun that I had in those boots, in such a few short years that I lament. A part of my life, for better or worse, that I miss. The few years of my life that I had that were Mine. Not my parents. Not some egomaniacal boyfriend. Not some other coke-head boyfriend. Mine. When I was Me.

Is that bad? Wrong? Am I the only person in the world who has ever missed “the good ol’ days” after getting married and moving to a strange country? A strange country where people who wear comfy sexy witchy boots are frowned upon.

I’ll miss my boots.

If anyone knows where I can find another pair, please let me know. Half – calf, lace ups. No zippers please. Big heel, no stilettos. Preferably under $30. ;)

  ¶ 10:34 PM 4 Comments

  Well, today is Groundhog day. And I don't think any groundhog anywhere in North America saw his shadow. Did the sun come out anywhere? And does that mean 6 more weeks of winter, or what? I've never figured that out.

Groundhog day, is relatively a new thing I think. Though it is derived from older Pagan traditions. Or a Bill Murray movie...one or t'other. ;-)

here is a quote from the Wiki entry on Groundhog day:

Around the fifth century, the European Celts believed that animals had certain supernatural powers on special days that were half-way between the Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. Folklore from Germany and France indicated that when marmots and bears came out of their winter dens too early, they were frightened by their shadow and retreated back inside for four to six weeks. This may have been adopted by the Romans as Hedgehog Day. In Scotland the hedgehog has long been revered for its healing powers (as referenced in Robert Burns' Ode to a Hedgehog).

The earliest known American reference to Groundhog Day can be found at the Historical Society of Berks County in Reading, Pennsylvania. The reference was made Feb. 4, 1841 in Morgantown, Berks County, Pennsylvania storekeeper James Morris' diary: "Last Tuesday, the 2nd, was Candlemas day, the
day on which, according to the Germans, the Groundhog peeps out of his winter quarters and if he sees his shadow he pops back for another six weeks nap, but if the day be cloudy he remains out, as the weather is to be moderate.

So, I guess its an early Spring then? Isn't is strange that this first mention of Groundhog day in America took place in Morgantown, Berks County, PA when I now live in Morganton, Burke County, NC!? Ok, well I thought it was strange! :-p

Tomorrow evening, James and I are going with friend Juli to an Imbolc celebration in Hickory. Imbolc starts off the Celtic Pagan light half of the year. The days are getting longer, and signs of Spring are showing.

Here is the Wiki entry on Imbolc:

Imbolc is one of the four principal festivals of the Irish calendar, celebrated either at the beginning of February or at the first local signs of Spring. Originally dedicated to the goddess Brigid, in the Christian period it was adopted as St Brigid's Day. In Scotland the festival is also known as Latha
Fhèill Brìghde, in Ireland as Lá Fhéile Bríde, and in Wales as Gwyl Ffraed.

Imbolc is traditionally a time of weather prognostication, and the old tradition of watching to see if serpents or badgers came from their winter dens is perhaps a precursor to Groundhog Day.

Traditional foods are breads made with seeds in them, as seeds are of course a symbol of Spring. I'm going to make some poppyseed bread, and maybe make some hummus, just because I like hummus!

I've been feeling rather ambivalent about things lately, so we'll see how I fare tomorrow. Even after 2 and a half (or so) years here, I've made sadly few friends, and even them, I hardly ever see. Not a single one I can call on when I need someone to talk to, lean on, rant with. I was sick when the Yule ritual was, so didn't see anyone, and a few calls and emails have gone unanswered. Work isn't any better, I've even tried to invite myself to lunch with the other ladies in my department, and they left without me with nary a nod or "sorry, no room". I've been there 6 months and not once has any of them invited me to lunch. And they're usually gone before I'm thinking about it. Southern hospitality :-p

What to do, what to do? Not much I can do I s'pose eh?  ¶ 8:27 PM 2 Comments