Attic Attack

This is Lisa and her husband Brad (Lisa is the one on the right). Lisa currently lives in Montreal. Before that, she lived in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

This weekend, Lisa was in Hamilton and I got to spend time with her and her three adorable children (two of whom I had never met before). Lisa and I were best friends growing up. She was my Maid of Honour when I married The Blob, but I promised not to hold that against her.

When we were young, we used to tell people we were twins (yes, we looked that much alike). As we got older and started not to look like each other, we told people we were sisters. In fact, once when we were in Florida together, we were the daughters of a rich Texan oil tycoon, complete with cheesy Texan accents.

When I was about 12 and Lisa was about 10, my family moved into a new house and the entrance to the attic was in my room. It was a piece of plywood over the hole in the ceiling and it was just inside the doorway to my room. When it was windy, the plywood would rattle and jump. Lisa used to sleep over quite a bit. One morning, when I woke up it was very windy outside. I woke Lisa up and told her that I had been practicing moving things with my mind, but that I was not very good at it and I needed her help. I told her I was trying to lift the cover on the attic and I asked her to concentrate on doing it. It didn't take long.

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Her scream woke my parents. It was worth it though to watch Lisa try to work out the dilemma. "How the hell do I get out of this room without running under the attic?"

Street Meat

I work beside the Budget Motel. This particular motel is used for drug deals and rooms can be rented by the day, week, hour or minute and is mostly used by those in the "oldest" profession.

Last summer, someone parked a sausage cart in a corner of the parking lot and some of my co-workers would sometimes go over and get lunch.

Today, one of the my co-workers said to me, "I got one of those sausages last year and guess what I found?

I smiled slightly, looked as innocent as I could manage and said, "A man attached to it?'

Wheel of Fortunate

Yesterday was the day that a car dealership mechanic attempted to murder my son. Thankfully, the attempt failed.

Let's call the dealership "Chalor Trysler" to avoid possible lawsuits.

My son drives a Dodge Sprinter as part of his job. His boss told him to take his vehicle in for service. It needed $2,400.00 worth of ball joint and axel work. Bob picked up the truck when it was ready and he headed home. He was almost there and the wheel flew off.

FLEW .... RIGHT .... OFF .... THE .... TRUCK!

Bob managed to keep control of the vehicle and got it stopped without hurting himself or anyone else. He called a tow truck and had it taken back to the dealership. The tow truck operator told him that the mechanic had neglected to tighten the nuts on the wheel and that's why it flew off.

I know I'm being irrational. I know I'm just reacting like a mother bear protecting her cub. I know that. Yet, I would still like nothing more than to go and tighten the nuts of that mechanic.

Boo Yah!

Blush with Fame

The Perfect Man and I went to the premier of the Shooter with Mark Wahlberg last night. Well, we weren't with Mark Wahlberg, but he was in the movie. The premier was sponsored by Y108 and CH Television. Bob Cowan (from CH Morning Live) sat behind us. The Perfect Man introduced himself to Bob Cowan because he was an engineer at CH TV for 20 years and he had a question for Bob about Connie Smith. After his question was answered, we had a very enjoyable chat with Bob. He is a very funny man and very quick on his feet (er...in his seat).

This morning, the Perfect Man and I were watching CH Morning Live and Bob sent a hello to the two of us.

Yeah, I'm taking it. I'm such a spotlight hound.......

May Pieces of Chocolate Be With You

At my job, we only provide services for people who are catholic or who plan to raise their children catholic. Does that mean that god only loves catholic children? Well, that's another post.

We have an advent window at my work. Easter is THE BIGGEST religious holiday.

Is our window decorated with Christ on a crucifix or Christ sitting at the right hand of god? Nope. We have a window full of cute bunnies, easter eggs and daffodils. Yeah, because they truly send the message that Christ died to open the door to heaven. I know, maybe he plans to drop chocolate easter eggs to leave a trail for all the good catholics to follow......

I thought maybe our advent window could be reflective of both themes. We could put a chocolate Christ on a crucifix.

There is one problem with this plan. On the third day, the chocolate would disappear and all that would be left is the wrapping......

Yes, Dammit I am Disappointed

I was disappointed. I was let down. My feelings were hurt. I felt like I didn't matter. I felt like my feelings didn't matter.

It feels good to say that. I have this annoying trait that does not allow me to say that to the person or persons who make me feel this way.

"It's okay. It's not really important anyway."

"I don't mind. It's fine."

"That? It meant nothing. No worries."

Or even worse, I make jokes about my feelings.

I'm even thinking of not publishing this post in case someone reads it and thinks they were the cause of my disappointment.

So, just let me say "This is just a post. It's not really important anyway. It meant nothing. No worries."

'Scuse Me

I have discovered this thing called "Facebook". I will be back here soon.

Gas Boycott

There is a family that owns a local used car lot. They have a website where they are proposing to boycott the five major gas companies. Their plan is to boycott one for 30 days and then go on to the next until they've boycotted each one.

Here's why I think that won't work: The company that is initially boycotted is going to feel the brunt of it. They may even go out of business. Or they may work out a deal with the other four companies to supply gas to them during the "tough times" and do buy from them when their turn is over. During this period, the other four companies will have significantly increased business.

Secondly, the boycott is not asking everyone to boycott ALL gas. That would be ridiculous, but it's the only thing that would work. The four companies that are not being targeted will likely decide to raise their prices so they can get a huge profit so they can ride out their time of boycott.

I appreciate what this family has done to try to get prices back in line; I just don't think this is the right way to do it.

The Devlin Show

This weekend, a very good friend of mine realized his dream. He launched what I hope will be the first of many shows. It was very, very funny and the time just flew by and I was sad to see it end. Of course, he didn't do it alone. Mike, Lesley, Mart and Ron were Devlin's supporting cast and I was very proud of them as well.

The best part of the night for me was when Devlin thanked his audience for supporting him. He could hardly hold back the tears, he was so overwhelmed. The love in the room was palpable.

Devlin, I am so very proud of you for having the courage to follow your dreams. You are one of the strongest, funniest, loving, caring people that I know. You have enriched my life as you enrich the lives of everyone around you.

God of Convenience

Wow. Yesterday was the first funeral I have gone to since I stopped believing in god. It made me realize that there is no comfort in death when you don't believe in god. I am a humanist. That means, I believe that everything that happens comes from within people. That doesn't mean I'm not spiritual or a good person. It just means that I don't believe in an "outside" or "higher" power. It also means that I have no idea what happens when we die. I have my theories but they tend to change with the alignment of the planets or the colour of my underwear. I don't believe that life necessarily ends with death, just the life that we presently know.

Not believing in god does not mean that I don't see the benefit of believing in god. My mother is dying of cancer. She believes in god. In fact, she makes pilgrimages to Midland to pray and to receive prayer cards. She takes a lot of comfort from those trips. She even gains strength from them when she's not feeling very well.

It would be nice if I could be secure in the knowledge that my mom would be going to a wonderful place filled with angels; where she would meet up with her family that had passed before her.

That made me think of all the gods that have been created in the past. Various gods were used to explain things such as why the crops failed or why someone did or did not become pregnant, etc. A god was a convenient explanation. Then someone decided that it was too hard to keep track of all the various gods, so one omnipotent being was created to explain things and to keep society in line. Oversimplified, but it makes my point.

Oh yes, god is the ultimate "Boogey Man".

"Children, don't do bad things or god won't let you go to heaven."

"Parents, make sure your children are baptized in our church or they won't go to heaven."

"Society, follow the rules or you won't go to heaven."

In fact, not only won't you get to heavan....you will go to {{{{gulp}}}} HELL.

Unfortunately, some of the "rules" of god were used to keep money coming into the church rather than to keep people in line -- but that's another rant.

Bradley James

My nephew passed away on Friday due to complications from a heart transplant he received the previous Wednesday. Tomorrow is his funeral and I have the impossible task of offering comfort to his mother.

BJ was 28 years old.

How do you tell a mother that there is any justification in losing her son at that age, at any age?

BJ had heart problems from the time he was a baby. His doctors kept telling, first his mother and then him, "Don't do this because you could die" and "Don't do that because you could die". When BJ got older, he told his mother that he would be happy to die a young man who had done the things he wanted to do and who had experienced life rather than die an old man who had spent his life sitting in a chair by a window.

I know that's the right attitude and I know I should be happy that he had some time to experience life and that he lived (and died) the way he wanted.

I know I should be happy. But I'm a mother too and I know Sonia is wishing for the man sitting in the chair right now.

BJ, you were loved and you will be missed!

H2H is Alive and Well and Living on the Web

My web site is up and running and I couldn't have done it without the help of The Perfect Man.

Please check it out and let me know what you think. Make sure you check out the photo gallery. You may be there.....

www.h2h-entertainment.com