Update.

     Hi blogosphere! I'm feeling more than a little guilty that I haven't been posting regularly enough, so I wanted to touch base.

     I recognize that with only six followers, it's not like I'm letting down legions of fans, but I know I have some loyal readers (Hi Mamacita!). As I forecast in my post on school, my online course is taking up a lot of my time, and asking me to do a lot of writing. The reason I started this blog was to get me writing on a regular basis, and to give me something to do - I am able to meet both of these needs at this time through my course. I do intend to keep blogging (it's a bit addictive!), but can't speculate with what regularity until I complete the course in early April. So please check back every so often, and when I do post I'll announce it on Twitter and/or via text message for those of you who do read regularly. In the meantime, I'm happy to accept anyone's suggestions for content (as my mind is full of exceptional children and special education these days - not of great interest to a general audience).

If anyone is looking for great blog reading in the meantime, check out some of my favourites: Thought Catalog and Go Go Gadget Zen.

See you back here soon!

Grammar.

     Now, I must preface this post with the statement that I do not think my grammar is perfect.  I think it's pretty good, but I fully acknowledge that there may be grammatical errors in any one of my posts, including this one.

     To me, grammar matters. I addressed this topic once before, in a roundabout way, in this post, but today I'd like to deal with it head-on. The primary motivator for this post was a Twitter suggestion from my friend Jessica in Muskoka (from hereafter known as Jeskoka). Sometimes I can't decide what to write about, and I tweet and wait for suggestions, and they usually only come after I've already thought up an idea - such was the case with this one. Actually, travel was Mamacita's idea, to give credit where it is due. So Jeskoka, here's your grammar post.

     Both Jeskoka and I teach English. This might be one of the reasons we are snobs about grammar. Our parents are definitely also contributing factors to our appreciation for flawless grammar. Jeskoka's mom has a lovely little used book shop and loves to read and really appreciates beautiful language. She also does not hesitate to speak her mind, and will freely correct anyone should they fail to use correct grammar in her presence. She instilled all of these qualities in her daughter. I get hit on both sides by the grammar stick. My Mom has editing credentials, and my Dad used to use a red pen to correct errors on notices sent home by my school and then I would have to return them to school with his corrections. A bit horrifying at the time, but terrifically cool to me now.

     It has long been a dream of mine to get a cape and a convertible and spend my summers driving around, helpfully correcting any grammatical and spelling errors I see on signs by drawing said errors to the attention of the establishments' owners. I know it would probably get me a punch in the face, many confused expressions and at least a few mutterings of "self-righteous bitch", but I think it would be really fun. I would focus my search in the SE United States, because I have a feeling it would be a minefield of goodness. And the convertible would have to be red. I don't care so much what colour the cape is.

     As a teacher, I have seen many, many amusing student grammar gaffes. Some of them have come from ESL students, but although sometimes I can't help it, I really try not to make fun of Engrish. Who am I to laugh at another person's speaking of my language, when I am a total toolshed when it comes to speaking anything but English? The ones I think are the funniest are from kids who should know better. (And let's face it, some of them are typos, and I sometimes make those myself, but I like it when those typos create new meaning. The best one I've seen so far was an essay with the title "Lord of the Files". For some reason it had me imagining a 'Riverdance' style lord of the dance skipping through an office, balancing files on his head. That would have been better than the 384th Lord of the Flies essay, which is what it turned out to be.)

     You may recall from this post that Earl and I met online. When I was reading the posts on that site (before I met Earl and fell madly in love), I really judged men for their incorrect use of grammar. People who don't care about grammar are offensive to me. How can you not care? You don't need to be grammatically perfect, you just need to want to be. I've developed crushes on authors I've never met or seen in photos, based on their brilliant use of, and manipulation of, the rules of grammar.

     I take quite a bit of pride in my proper use of grammar. I'm one of those geeks who uses punctuation and full and correct spelling in text messages and tweets. A full keyboard was a necessity on my last cell phone after trying to use one without. It's frustrating to always be looking for the semi-colon, ya know?


     And speaking of semi-colons, they are one of the best tools to helping me identify plagiarism in student writing. About 4% of grade 11s and 16% of grade 12s (statistics have been pulled out of my armpit - please don't cite this in any scientific paper) know how to use a semi-colon properly. When I see one appropriately used in an essay, I immediately become suspicious. Semi-colons are my grammar police sidekicks.


     So Jeskoka, I hope you've enjoyed this. I know grammar can be a contentious issue, but Jeskoka can be pretty contentious herself sometimes. I haven't gone into many specific examples in this post, but if you have a favourite grammar gaffe, please share it in the comments. Maybe I'll learn something new!

Me.

     Remember when the internet was young (or maybe it was just me) and there were all kinds of "chain emails" going around?  One of my favourites (and generally the only one I'd ever forward) was the one that asked a lot of questions about the person - a 'get to know me' type of email.  I also love filling out forms, so maybe this quality appealed to me, but I'm always so curious about people, and assume maybe someone is curious about me (am I flattering myself?).  For the purpose of today's blog, I thought I'd go back in time and fill out one of those old surveys in case any of you are dying to know about my underwear.

1. What is your best friend’s name? My best girlfriend is named Tiffany.  She is a Montessori principal in Vancouver.  My best overall friend is Earl.  He is my cohabitational living partner, and is an artist in the city of Peterborough.

          

2. What color underwear/boxers are you wearing now?  I am wearing purple underpants with turquoise trim with a silver robot on the front.

What I wish I was listening to right now.

3. What are you listening to right now? Nothing, as Earl is sleeping at the moment.  When he wakes up I'll put on Side 2 of the new Leonard Cohen album I was listening to last night.

    

4. What’s your favorite number?  3.  I have no reason for this.  

 

5. What was the last thing you ate?  I'm sitting here hungry, thinking I should have breakfast, but as of this moment the last thing I ate was a handful or two of homemade peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies before bed last night.

            

6. If you were a crayon what color would you be?  This is a stupid question.  I refuse to answer.  

          

7. How is the weather right now? Sunny, cold (but not usual February cold, just cold compared to the last few days), dusting of snow last night but most of the lawn is green.  Crazy winter.

  

I would not date this man.

8. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? Last night I used the phone as an intercom to tell Earl that dinner was ready.  Last actual phone call was night before last with my old friend from high school - 20 years' worth of catch-up in an hour!

          

9. The first thing you notice about the opposite sex?  Clothing.  I'm really shallow and easily put off by bad shoes or anything Nascar-related.

    

10. Do you have a significant other?  Yes.  His name is Earl and we've been together since August '08.  (See Q1)    

     

11. Favorite TV show?  I'm one of those "I don't really watch TV" people, but not because I'm too good for it.  Because I can't afford cable.  We DO get the local Peterborough channel, and enjoy (if that's a euphemism for 'relentlessly make fun of and laugh at in an ironic way') watching Reba while we eat dinner.  I also have a passion for reality TV, especially The Amazing Race, Top Chef, Celebrity Apprentice and Survivor.  Quit judging me.

         

Baby Avacado?

12. Siblings?  Yes - two amazing sisters.  I haven't always liked them, but I will always, always love them.  Sis is 37 and Mamacita is 28.  They both live in the waterfront middle-Ontario town in which I grew up.  Sis is a physiotherapist, is married to Mark, and has two awesome little girls - TT (age 6 1/2) and C (age 4 1/2).  Mamacita works in social work, is married to OPPete, and is preggo with her first little one, who she calls Avacado.

13. Height?  Really freakin' tall.  About 5ft 11, but people prefer to hear me say 6 feet.  And yes, I do wear heels.  Not often, but when they are called for.

    

14. Hair color?  When I was born it was light brown.  Through my teens and twenties it was aften red, reddish-brown, burgundy, black, blonde, purple, pink...  Now it is grey on top because I've recently stopped dying it.

          

15. Eye Color?  Brown.

          

16. Do you wear contacts? Nope.  I'm a proud glasses-wearer and I've never felt the need for contacts.  (People who wear them whine about them so often that I've never wanted them.)

17. Favorite Holiday?  Halloween.  Although it's never as much fun as I think it's going to be.

          

18. Month?  July.  It's warm and there are no expensive gift-giving occasions (until Avacado is born, anyway!)

19. Have you ever cried for no reason? I cry for no reason about once a day.  Especially when I'm tired.

I used to think this movie
was so cool.  I knew all the
words to the soundtrack.

    

20. What was the last movie you watched?  I re-watched most of Singles the other day.  I think the last movie I saw in the theatre was Up.  I don't get out much.

         

21. Favorite day of the year?  My birthday, probably.  Except that really it isn't because the weather always sucks, and people are busy thinking about Christmas.  When I'm employed my favourite day is the day after the final report cards are finished and school is over for another year.

          

22. Are you too shy to ask someone out?  Well, I asked Earl if he wanted to go to the Market with me this morning, does that count?  I am actually pretty shy.  Earl and I met online, and I didn't even message him - I just 'favourited' him in the hopes that he'd message me - and he did!  The rest is history.

23. Can you do a headstand (not using the wall)? Umm, no?  I used to be able to, but probably can't anymore. 

         

24. Hugs or Kisses?  Depends who's giving them.  If it's Monkey or Turkey, kisses.  Almost everyone else - hugs.  If it's Earl - both.

Yummy!

25. Chocolate or Vanilla?  Oh so chocolate.  Except I like vanilla cake better than chocolate cake, as long as it has chocolate icing.

           

26. What books are you reading?  Currently I'm reading Andrew Pyper's The Guardians, and Michael Connelly's The Last Coyote.  I have a huge pile of good books I keep meaning to read, but get sidetracked by $1 detective/mystery novels from Vinnie's.

   

27. Piercings?  I'm down to two in one ear and one in the other.  Used to have four in one ear and one in my nose, with my bottom ear holes in stretchers.  Guess I'm growing up.

          

28. Favorite movies?  Depends on the mood.  I actually prefer TV shows - my attention span is short.  I LURVE documentaries, especially if David Attenborough is narrating.

LOVE the Farmers' Market! Today I
bought cheese curds, potatos, a date
square and some Indian food goodies.           

29. What were you doing before this?  I've been doing this on and off all morning.  Before I started I was sleeping.  I also took a break to visit the Farmers' Market and run some errands (somewhere between Q15 and 16).

       

30. Butter, Plain or Salted popcorn?  Real popcorn with loads of butter and salt.  Microwave popcorn doesn't count because it smells like dirty socks.

         

31. Dogs or cats? CATS!!!!!  There are only a few dogs I like - my nephew-dog Colby (golden retriever) comes first, followed by my cousin-dog Finn (also a golden) and my sister-in-law's dog Pepper (a mini-dashund) and then my neighbour-dog Licky (also a mini-dashund).  I also like the dog at the house where I tutor - her name is Lucy and she's a weimaraner.  Beyond that, I don't really like dogs.

So pretty!  They are the
happiest flowers.

     

32. Favorite flower?  Gerbera daisy.  Or anything Earl picks for me.

 

33. Been caught doing something you weren't supposed to do?  Probably.  Actually, I'm often busted being on Twitter instead of writing my blog, so that counts.

                     

34. Have you ever loved someone?  YES!  I love lots of people.

           

35. Who would you like to see right now?  Tiffany.  Or Mamacita because I haven't seen her in person since she started showing and can't wait to see the baby bump.

           

36. Are you still friends with people from kindergarten?  Sort-of.  I should be in better touch with her, but I still talk to my friend Annie who was my best friend in elementary school.  We met in nursery school.

            

37. Have you ever fired a gun?  No.  I am very afraid of guns.  Earl thinks we should have one.  OPPete and Mamacita both know how to fire guns, and have some at their house.  I don't even like being in the same room in which they are stored.

       

38. Do you like to travel by plane?  I do, but usually my nicotine withdrawal and claustrophobia kick in about half-way through a flight and I get a bit grumpy.  But I really like the food on airplanes.  I like the single-serving aspect of everything.  Do they still serve food on planes?  It's been a while...

39. Right-handed or Left-handed?  Total righty.

My favourite tattoo.
(Not a great photo of my
leg, however...)

40. How many pillows do you sleep with?  There are six on the bed, but two get tossed at bedtime along with the quilt, and then I usually lose another during the night.  Earl sleeps on one and snuggles one.

           

41. Are you missing someone?  Sort-of, but not badly.  I miss my family when I don't see them for a while, nd I miss my friends Jess in Muskoka and Tiffany in Vancouver.   

  

42. Do you have a Tattoo?  Yes, I have four.  One on my back, one on each wrist, and one on my left leg.  It's my favourite.  It's a sketch done by my friend Reba.  I want to get one more to balance the symmetry.  My next tattoo will be a memorial tattoo on my right leg and will say "The rest is silence." with a list of initials and birth/death dates of people I've lost.  Bonus points if you can tell me the source of the quotation!   


     So...  that's me today.  If there are any other questions you are dying to know about me, feel free to ask in the 'Comments' section!  This post has been brought to you by MySpace, the year 2003, and the letter Z.

Travel.

      Earl and I are going to Montreal.  This is quite exciting for us, as:

A)  We have never gone on a trip together in our 3.5 yrs together AND

B)  The trip is a 40th birthday gift from my wonderful Mom and Dad. 

I was told in December that I was receiving this gift, and it has taken us this long to figure out where we wanted to go - I think in part because it's so fun to consider options.  We ran through a number of these, including New Orleans for the Jazz Festival (too expensive); San Francisco (too far); New York (too fancy); and the Ptbo Otonabee Best Western (too sad, really).  I'm really looking forward to Montreal this spring!  I'm sure I'll blog about it when we get back.

The most magical sight to a 6 yr old.

     I've been lucky enough to do some pretty great travelling in my life.  That's not to say that I'm one of those "spent six months in Paris, lived on a beach in Thailand for a winter" kind of people, but my parents love travel, and thought it was an important experience to share with and give to their daughters. My first plane trip was to Florida.  My Nana and Papa had a winter place in Vero Beach, and every two years from the time I was about 6 until I was in my mid-teens we would travel to visit them over March Break.  These trips were almost always in combination with visits to the Orlando area, particularly Disney World.  My Mom tells the story of little me getting off the plane in Florida, being excited we were in the 'nited States so I could say 'zee' instead of 'zed'.  (The lack of perfect rhyme at the conclusion of the 'ABCs' song when sung with the Canadian pronunciation really threw me off, apparently.)  

Heidelberg, Germany
(first trip overseas, age 16)

     When I was in Grade 10, I took German as one of my electives.  I can't remember why - I think it might have been offered in the same block as phys-Ed.  I'm not very good at languages, but I'm really horrible at phys-ed.  Anyway, a year later in French class I noticed one of the girls was writing to a pen-pal (okay - I'm totally dating myself here because she didn't have a pen-pal as an ironic thing, this was in an era where people wrote real letters).  I asked her to ask her pen-pal, who lived in Germany, to hook me up with my own German friend.  She did, and I met Susannah through letters, and when I told her I wished I was better at speaking German, she invited me to come over to stay with her family for a month in exchange for letting her stay with mine for the following month.  That's more or less how I got to go to Germany. 

Sydney, Australia
(Sis and I went together, age 17)

      The year after I got the German pen-pal, my family had an Australian exchange student, Tatia, stay with us through Rotary International.  Some of her family even came over and celebrated Christmas with my family (I say 'some' because she had, like, a million brothers and sisters.  They were kind-of like the Australian Mormon Duggars), and for Christmas that year Sis and I were given the gift of flights and spending money to go and stay with Tatia's family for a month.  Australia was awesome.  The flight wasn't.  Neither was the fact that one of my strongest lingering memories of the trip is of Sis slowly and systematically convincing me that I have a huge nose.  I don't, really, but she played with my head on that trip.  I'd like to go back one day, but there are also so many other places I'd like to go.

The Baths on Virgin Gorda, BVI
(family trip, early 20s)

     I've travelled to the Caribbean twice with my family; the first was a trip to Aruba with my immediate family (Sis, Mamacita, Mom and Dad) when I was about 20.  It was my first experience with an all-inclusive resort.  I remember spending New Year,s sitting at the bar with Sis (who was underage in Canada) eating ice cream (because we could) and drinking some kind of alcohol that the bartender, whose name escapes me but I bet she remembers, kept serving us.  (In case you read yesterday's blog and are intrigued by my ability to remember when I was wearing on a given occasion, the answer is a black tank top and hideous multi-colour flowy overalls.  The print was modernist fruit slices.  God. The early 90s were worse than the 80s.)  The second Caribbean trip was to the BVIs and included the usual family cast, along with Sis' now-husband who I shall call... Mark, my former fiancee (that's another post entirely), and Mamacita's trashy friend who I'll call Amber.  We rented a beautiful 50 ft yacht and cruised the various islands.  It was an amazing trip - one of my favourite ever.  I snorkled with sea turtles and ate in beach shacks and lived on a fancy boat.  So sweet.

Never thoght I'd love the desert, but
Utah is amazing!
(several school trips, early 30s)

      I've also been lucky enough to travel around North and Central America on a variety of trips footed by schools for which I've worked.  I've taken students to BC skiing (I don't really ski myself, but really wanted to see the mountains so proposed the trip and it got approved.  In order to say I had done so however, I did make a day of the bunny hill at both Kicking Horse and Fernie.); Utah mountain biking and rappelling (both of which I actually do enjoy doing); and Costa Rica on a multi-sport adventure. The Utah trips were actually cross-US roadtrips (I count in my list of achievements having piloted a GMC Savannah (15 passenger) full of teenagers 10,000km back and forth across the US 3 times without incident.  Unless you count one flat tire in Iowa.)  On these trips some other highlights included the Grand Canyon, Four Corners, the Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma, the Chicago Aquarium, skiing at Vail, and travelling to Roswell, NM.  So random, and so fun - even with teenagers as your travel companions.  Actually, sometimes that made it more fun.

Costa Rica
(another school trip, early 30s)

     The other school trip I loved was a multi-sport adventure in Costa Rica.  We camped and rafted on a river, stayed in hammocks on a hippie commune so remote one could only get there by sea kayaking or hiking in, visited volcanoes and sloth sanctuaries and nature preserves and incredible beaches.  That's somewhere I MUST return to without students.  Too many chances for them to get in trouble for me to fully enjoy myself the first time!  Combined with the fact that George Bush declared war on Iraq WHILE we were in Costa Rica - with return flights through Atlanta - which I had to learn by reading the lips of the CNN anchors behind the Spanish overdub in one of the hostels in which we stayed - I was a bit of a nervous wreck on that trip but enjoyed it all the same.

     These are all of the major travel destinations I've visited.  I know I'm lucky.  I know some are luckier than me.  I know that currently I use the internet, my parents' experiences (they're off somewhere new all the time.  Next month?  Cambodia and Vietnam.  They're an incredible couple, my folks!), travel literature and The Amazing Race to satiate any desire for global travel, and that one day I might visit the places I dream of - and I might not.  But right now I can't wait to plan a fabulous Montreal trip with Earl, and share the incredible experience of travel with him for the first time.

Time.

     I am the biggest procrastinator.  If left to my own devices, I can find a hundred quick and easy ways to kill an afternoon, generally without leaving the house.  Some of my favourite ways to "kill time" include the following: reading books (for the past few months I have not been able to get enough of the detective/mystery genre); watching back episodes of reality TV shows like Amazing Race and Top Chef; puttering around on the internet (okay, I'll admit it, really just Twitter, with an odd visit to various job sites and the Kijiji free list); baking (I should qualify this too - recently I found a great recipe for peanut butter cookies on the back of a jar of Jif, and now Earl and I have become 'cookie snobs', refusing to buy store-bought, and since we eat about half a batch at once, I could make cookies every day.  And since I bought bananas - which Earl hates - and let half of them go brown, I need to learn how to make muffins too before the bananas completely rot!); talking to my sister, Mamacita, via text while she's at work; talking to my Mom on the phone (while my Nana was sick recently I spoke to my Mom every day, and I feel a bit of withdrawal having not spoken to her in about 48 hours); petting my cat Turkey (which I could literally do for hours, and I think he'd be okay with that too!); listening to music (which, since our only method of playing music is vinyl, is a far more interactive activity than you might think - always switching sides and tidying inserts and finding the right sleeves, etc.); and tidying (not cleaning - I don't like that so much - but I do love to tidy.  On Saturday while Earl was in the city I spent the day catching up on Top Chef and folding every article of clothing in the house.  For fun.).

How could you NOT want to snuggle
with this kitty all day?

At least I don't play Smurf Village on my iPhone anymore.

     And then I realize how much time has passed, and I get freaked out because there are always things I should be doing instead.  Serious job searching like making calls and connections and doing research; doing work for my new course (none of my classmates have posted our first real assignment yet, so I think I'm in good company here, although I believe the rest of them are gainfully employed!); doing more to promote Earl's artwork and find him new audiences and apply to upcoming shows; actually cleaning the house and doing dishes instead of just doing the jobs I like, like laundry - and tidying; and exercising (I know - to some people this is a procrastinatory activity, but since I don't like it, I put it in the 'things I feel guilty about NOT spending my time doing' category).  I'm sure there are more things to go  on that list, but I think I've blocked them in an attempt to preserve my sanity.

Wouldn't YOU rather listen to, and
tidy up, these records rather than
write a cover letter for a job you're
sure you won't get?

     And so, I procrastinate, and then something happens and I get sick or don't sleep well or someone drops by and the "later" time in which I had planned to get something done disappears.  And then I'm screwed.

     Time is a funny thing.  Sometimes we have too much, or it goes too slowly (think waiting rooms, time spent in transit or lines, waiting for a delicious-smelling dinner to be ready, or that horrible 2-3am "I'm the only one awake in the world" time).  Sometimes it totally flies (time spent with friends, or while racing to meet a deadline, or on Twitter).  I realized today that Earl and I have now been living in Peterborough for six months.  I feel like we just got here, but at the same time, I feel like we've been here forever.  It was totally bizarre to me to realize when my old friend got in touch earlier this week that it had literally been 20 years since we last spoke.  We weren't even 20 years old at that time!  It's been a whole lifetime since I spoke to her, but remember time we spent together so clearly.  One memory in particular - Grade 11, skipping class (which I can honestly say we did not do very often, in fact I think we only did it this once and we definitely got caught), we went to the grocery store (I think it was the first time I'd gone to the grocery store without my Mom and I felt QUITE grown up) to buy licorice and green grapes and chocolate Hagen Daaz and we took them to the park and sat on the big old steps and smoked cigarettes, ate, and wondered what one did with oneself when one skipped school.  (Now you know what a loser I was in high school.)  How can I remember this so well?  (I even remember what I was wearing, which would not surprise my family as it's a bit of a weird thing I do - they name the event, I can tell you what I wore.  First day of grade 9? Faded skinny jeans (not cool ones like today, but high-waisted with no back pockets), pink, purple and turquoise plaid shirt with a long shirttail, Bass Weejuns.  Nanny's funeral?  Black v-neck sweater, pinstriped pencil skirt in black and charcoal, high-heeled patent leather Mary-janes.  Day my niece TT was born?  Brown hooded sweater, khakis, brown, blue and orange striped socks with a hole in one toe, slip-on Merrill approach shoes.  The day my friend and I skipped school?  Black tights with rips OVER which I wore white lace tights with rips, a short grey and black circle skirt with crinoline, black t-shirt, black slouchy socks, Doc Martin 8-hole boots with green daisy laces.)          

So many books, so little time.

     They say the older you get, the faster time goes.  This is scary, and true.  Afternoons are lifetimes as children.  Weeks are seconds as adults.  How does this work?  And what must it be like to be 80, if time is moving so fast for me at 40?

     Oh shit - I just realized I have to wake Earl up from his nap and drive him to an appointment, come back, shower, and get to a meeting myself.  Gotta run.  Where DOES the time go?