Friday, May 13, 2005

Do You Know The Muffin Man?

It's a dark and stormy night. Man...am I tired.

But, like every night for the past two months, I've been preoccupied with thoughts of Europe. And now, with one week to go, the anticipation is killing me.

I have resolved not to muck around with my travel plans any further. I've rearranged everything at least once, if not twice, and each time I found something new that I want to squish into the four and a half days that I have to spend in London. I've micro-managed every minute, starting from the moment I step off the plane. I think I'm being really optimistic about my level of energy on the day I arrive, but we'll see how it goes.

Thank goodness Kimmy will be with me in Copenhagen. We've already discussed what we're going to do while I'm there, but the bonus is that she knows where she's going and what we should and shouldn't see. So I've left that part of the trip well enough alone.

One of my recent additions to my whirlwind tour of London is dinner and a show. I found a restaurant in Covent Garden that offers dinner and theatre packages. How could I possibly go to the theatre capital of the world and not go to a big production? So, upon examination of my options, I've got a ticket to see The Producers. I still feel bad that I didn't go see it when it was here, but now's my chance, and it's actually cheaper (wow...I found something in London that's cheaper than it is here?). What made it especially funny is that the theatre where the show is playing is Theatre Royal Drury Lane. That's right, I'm going to Drury Lane.

Can't...hardly...wait...

"Then I saw her face, now I'm a believer"

Thursday, May 12, 2005

Random Ranting

That silly Milk contest is back. The one where you call the hotline and can win all kinds of prizes if you have a milk barcode or something. I think I prefer the mooing milk carton. Plus, the TV commercial just weirds me out. For some reason, I find the concept of jingling teats to be kind of unnerving.

So a beer truck tipped over in the express lanes and spilled its precious cargo. Yes, it's a tragic loss. But what peeved me more were the stupid rubberneckers who cracked up in the collector lanes at around the same place. Thanks for making it impossible for anyone to get to work on time.

Lately, I've noticed that when I'm in a state of semi-unconsciousness, there is one pivotal point where I have a breakthrough. Either it's a solution to something that I'm having difficulty with, or it's a spontaneous good idea, or it's something that I have to remember to do. It's at that moment that I snap back to consciousness, and I know that I had meant to do something, but I completely forget what it is. It's unbelieveably frustrating. Come back, good idea! Come back!

"Ageless beauty, cruelty makes its holes but on the shoreline, time will hold its promise"

Monday, May 02, 2005

Daddy-O

It was my daddy's birthday on Saturday. The big 6-0. I put my foot down and insisted that we throw some semblance of a party for him. We compromised with a mah jong extravaganza that was probably more enjoyed by my mother. But Daddy won $100, so I'm sure he enjoyed it a little too.

The gifts were pretty standard, but amongst the bottles of wine was one little bonzai tree. I suppose Auntie Stella thought that he would have time to take care of it. Or maybe it would just serve as a means to de-stress. Unfortunately, I don't see that happening.

In an unprecedented move, my brother stepped up and bought the gift this time: an HP PDA. (He said he knew a guy who could get a deal. I decided not to let him divulge any further details to me) One of the more pricier gifts that we've ever given, for sure. Steve said he was tired of having Post-Its strewn all over the computer desk. Of course, guess who got to play with it first out of the box...

Saturday was also an exciting time for a friend of mine who had started his own consulting company straight out of university. After two years they had finally outgrown his living room and so they made the bold move to an office building at King and Dufferin. It's a nice building, complete with an exercise facility, a lounge and a covered patio. Very nice digs. The grand opening/ribbon cutting ceremony was a big event. They even had a raffle. I won a laptop bag (if only I had a laptop to put in it...).

"Sometimes you can't make it on your own"