Moving On

As I write this, my baby brother is winging his way to the other side of the world.

After a rather fruitless search for a job here, he decided he would pick up and move to Hong Kong and try his luck there.  He doesn't have anything lined up.  He doesn't really have a plan. He's just going.

Needless to say, my mother didn't really take it well.  Actually, the story is that when this idea was floated to my father several months ago, in a hypothetical way, my dad made the mistake of mentioning it to my mother.  She started to cry.  That was the end of that.

When my brother decided to go forward with the idea, it was agreed that my mother would not be informed.  At least, not until the day before he was going to leave.  Funnily enough, we were all okay with this plan.  I know most of the people who have already heard this story were kind of appalled at this.  However, my mother solved the problem by backing herself into a corner.  About a month ago, she mentioned to my dad that my brother seemed to be having a really difficult time finding a job, and maybe it would be a good idea to look in other places.  My dad took the cue and told her not to worry, he'd already done that and was going to Hong Kong.  I wasn't there, but I heard it wasn't pretty.  However, there was nothing she could say, after all it was her own idea.

As today drew closer, I think she got herself into an acceptance/denial mode.  She figured out that she couldn't do anything about him leaving.  But somehow she got it into her head that he wouldn't be able to find anything there either and would be home within 3 months or so.  Whatever helps.

So now he's on his way to his new adventure.  But of course there has to be some irony in here somewhere.  In this case, my brother told me yesterday that one of the local prospects that he had given up on a while ago called him up earlier this week and asked if he'd be interested in having an interview.  All he could say was, were they willing to do it by phone?

Don't tell my mother.

"Homes, places we've grown, all of us are done for, but we live in a beautiful world"

Call Me the Fact Checker

Or a stickler for accuracy.  Yeah, that's probably it.

Today's birthday quiz on Entertainment Tonight asked "Which Canadian actress had a role on 'Are You Afraid of the Dark?' Was it Elisha Cuthbert, Neve Campbell, or Rachel Blanchard?" (or words to that effect)

First of all, I can't think of that show without giggling.  A guy from my high school starred in it for a while, and it was kind of hilarious.  Anyway, I said Elisha Cuthbert, but the answer was Rachel Blanchard (she's 36! Holy crap!).

But something didn't sit right with me...

For the record, it was a trick question.  ALL of them had a role on "Are You Afraid of the Dark?"  Yay Can Con!

"In the day, in the night, say it right, say it all"

Cloud City

One of the more interesting worlds in the original Star Wars trilogy for me was Cloud City.  Pretty cool, living in the sky.

On Saturday morning, I woke up and looked out of my window.  I didn't see anything.  Not one thing except for the white cloud that I was suddenly living in.  Okay, I could kind of make out the adjacent buildings, but the fog had never been this thick in the past.  Nor had it ever lasted as long as it did.  At one point in the day, the skies did clear and everything was normal.  But then the fog rolled in again and again I was living in Cloud City.  I stepped out on my balcony and I couldn't see anything below me.  It was so eerie, hearing the traffic and other sounds around me but not seeing it.

Once darkness fell, it was even more creepy.  The spotlights from my neighbouring condo lit the fog in a deep shade of grey.  It was like looking out into a void.  But I wasn't worried.  My little box in the sky is sturdy.  But the weather right now is ridiculous. (Where were you winter??  I miss you...)

"I don't wanna come back down from this cloud, it's taken me all this, all this time"