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Friday, August 30, 2002
Okay, I'm starting to get just a wee bit nervous. I'm going to be jumping out of a frickin' airplane on Saturday! Am I nuts?
Well, maybe just a little, but I'm also very excited about it. This is something I've wanted to do for years and here it's finally happening. The only downer is that I have some people at work who are interested in going as well, but except for one who it's too soon for medically, the rest just can't afford it right now. Maybe next year for them, but I didn't want to put it off. Not only am I ready to go now, but this may be the only time in a while that I can afford it, so this is it. I'm going to risk my life for what may be just a once in a lifetime thrill. I'll see what the pictures look like when I get them. Maybe I'll scan one in and show it here.
And speaking of here, I'm going to start redesigning this site very soon to get it ready to move. The FTP problems with iVillage have just proven to be too much of a headache, so I'll get it done and to its new home before the rest of the new website is even started.
Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some practicing to do.
GEEEEEEEEERRRRRRROOOONNNNIIIIIMMMMMMMM
OOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooo...!
posted
by Tabby at 8/30/2002 04:46:00 a.m.
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Thursday, August 29, 2002
Yeah yeah, I know. I'm not writing much again. Would it help to know I've been really tired lately? Luckily tomorrow I work evening, so I'll get a chance to sleep in. Unlike Saturday, when I have to get up early to go SKYDIVING!
posted
by Tabby at 8/29/2002 02:38:00 a.m.
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Sunday, August 25, 2002
My roommates got married last night in a small chapel at West Edmonton Mall. It was a sweet little ceremony, and fortunately very short (cut just half the nonsense from the preach, preacher, whatever and you save a LOT of time).
I'd go into it more, but I'm very, very tired and my tooth is still aching.
posted
by Tabby at 8/25/2002 10:46:00 p.m.
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Saturday, August 24, 2002
Okay now! Today's Fringe experience was more like it! I took one of my roommate's daughters with me, and we watched a couple of outdoor shows as well as saw a short (30, maybe 35 minute) but very funny and well performed play, Rumplestiltskin. It was put on by the Alberta Opera Touring Association, had just three performers, and each of them held their own with great vocal performances and wonderful comic timing. I was familiar with the one woman in the play because she had performed for the theater company I worked for lo those many years ago, but I didn't hang around to say hello.
We were lucky to get in. There was only one ticket left for sale, and 5 others on hold which would be sold if not picked up (comps for friends and family, I believe). I bought the one, which left me needing one more. I was smart in this, and maybe just a wee bit evil, because most of the tickets were picked up except two, which weren't enough for most of the other people waiting, which meant that I got one of them. And when I bought that one, I bought it for my little companion, so it was half price and if we didn't get to use it, wouldn't have been much of a financial loss. I don't know, maybe it was wrong of me to buy that one ticket, but I was the only one who thought of it and did take the chance.
Normally I'm a lot nicer than that, but I did tell an 8-year-old I was taking her to a play, and the only other one that may have interested her we had already missed. Plus I had my own disappointment for missing that last one to make up, and damn it, I wanted to see something this year. Next year should be different, as I plan on taking my holidays around this time and will have more money to spend on seeing shows I hope, considering that I'm getting the skydiving out of the way this year.
Speaking of skydiving, that will be September 7th. Stay tuned.
posted
by Tabby at 8/24/2002 03:54:00 a.m.
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Friday, August 23, 2002
The tooth is still acting up, off and on. It hasn't made life all that pleasant, and as such I haven't really been in the mood for writing, which sucks now that the FTP is working again. Oh well. As the French say, that's life. But in French. My dentist is on holiday, and he's booked pretty much solid when he gets back. I have an appointment for October 15. October! 15! That's damned near two months away! What did I do to deserve this?
Being the bright side sorta gal that I am, at least by then I'll have jumped out of an airplane.
posted
by Tabby at 8/23/2002 05:37:00 a.m.
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Wednesday, August 21, 2002
Pretentious poetry time...
working nights again
gotta work, gotta eat
but working nights means taking The Bus
there’s nothing like riding the bus at night
to make you appreciate cars
there are cars on the road passing us
more lights on the road than beside us
all those houses, windows dark
shadows, hiding sins and follies
The Bus smells of stale booze and body odour
not surprising then, the loud drunken voices in back
they’re always either drunk or young, those voices
the other Bus ahead of us, so new and shiny
its brilliant turn signal flashing red and orange
so bright it burns my retinas, but I have to look
it’s beautiful. I close my eyes and watch
through my eyelids, so bright
the colours go well with the city at night
orangeness everywhere lights the streets
orange is the colour of a city at night
but it’s not a warm orange
that doesn’t make me like it any less
raging at my temples is the smallest of pains
a nascent headache that needs fresh air
I need to get off The Bus
maybe the walk from the stop to home will help
if not, at least there’s the moon
not quite full yet, but a respite from the orange
posted
by Tabby at 8/21/2002 01:43:00 a.m.
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Monday, August 19, 2002
Ow ow ow. Major tooth pain the other day! And it affected my sleep, which means I woke up with half an hour to get down to the Fringe to meet a friend so we'd have half an hour to make sure we saw another friend's play...
The $20 cab ride got me there a minute late, so the doors were closed and they wouldn't let us in. My friend bought our tickets already, which meant another $10 each wasted. Not that it made too much difference, because we were going to surprise our friend in the play... who it turns out got another commitment so dropped out anyway!
Urgh.
posted
by Tabby at 8/19/2002 02:43:00 a.m.
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Wednesday, August 14, 2002
So the really cool thing right now is that this is my very first entry ever using my own computer! I picked it up a couple of days ago, but just got it connected to the Net today. Yay! The only thing is I'm using the free AOL trial until we can get it hooked up to our DSL connection here.
This is good.
posted
by Tabby at 8/14/2002 11:06:00 p.m.
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Monday, August 12, 2002
I'm ready to tear my hair out. Blogger finally starts working again, and now once more I'm having FTP problems with my host. I just wanna cry.
posted
by Tabby at 8/12/2002 09:14:00 a.m.
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Saturday, August 10, 2002
Wow! The rude little shits running amuck on the Internet never cease to amaze me! I was just in a chat on the Undernet (don't ask me to explain if you don't understand what that means, I really don't know either) and of course I was locked in as Tabby. So out of the blue this punk-ass brat says I've "been warned before" (Huh?!?! News to me!) about using that name, and then threatens me if I don't change it. Ha!
So this guy sends me a message nicely asking me to change my name because his wife always uses "Tabby", and then she too asks me nicely. I tell them sure, as soon as the punk-ass brat (not in those words) apologizes, because I can't have her thinking hollow threats and poorly spelled insults work. Well, some time later she finally utters the words "im sorry [sic]". That's all I was asking for! Right away I change my name! That's all I was asking for. But of course as soon as it's too late to change back, she messages me with more profanity and insults.
Anyway, it turns out that the guy is her brother. Once I change my name, he starts sticking up for her and insulting me himself (though not in such an illiterate manner, to give him some credit). Then his wife askes me why I'm still messaging him and to please stop. Wow, this is a sad, sad family. And to make things worse, they're trying to tell me the punk-ass brat is 21-years-old! I'm still in shock. I could have sworn she was no more than 14. I can understand them sticking up for the sister, but hey, "that's how it is in IRC" is a piss-poor excuse.
Now I remember why I hate chats that are open to just about anyone. Damn it, next time I'm going to be an immature bitch too and damned well keep my alias.
posted
by Tabby at 8/10/2002 06:03:00 p.m.
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Friday, August 09, 2002
The evaluation? Oh, that little thing... only got me a nice little raise! Whoo hoo! I'm in the money! I'm in the money! I've got a lot of what it takes to... Well, okay, it wasn't that huge a raise, but it does mean that the computer payments won't be making a dent into my current monthly budget!.
Not only did I get a raise, but I now have a couple of days off, and my roommates went camping and took the dogs with them. Oh my, this is going to be a relaxing break for me.
posted
by Tabby at 8/09/2002 02:11:00 a.m.
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Thursday, August 08, 2002
What's wrong with me? It's about 5am now and I'm doing my laundry. I have to be at work in 11 hours, for crying out loud!
Oh, my computer was ordered yesterday and should be here next week, and I wrote my evaluation test on the busiest day so far this week and will find out how I did when I go in to work. Crap. I have to be there early, so make that 10 hours. Anyway, you're updated.
posted
by Tabby at 8/08/2002 05:21:00 a.m.
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Wednesday, August 07, 2002
Urgh. I was supposed to be evalutated at work today, but the manager wasn't it. So instead I go in early so someone else who wasn't feeling well could go home. I'm tired. But I'm not going to go to bed yet because I'm so close to finishing my book, plus I taped Days of Our Lives and need to watch that still. And I'm a little hungry, so maybe I should eat.
posted
by Tabby at 8/07/2002 01:34:00 a.m.
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Tuesday, August 06, 2002
It's almost time! Yay! Time for what? For the 21st annual Edmonton Fringe Festival, silly! It starts on August 15th, and this year I'm planning to have as full an experience as I can. At the very least I'll be seeing a show or two, but my application to volunteer is in now so I may even be doing some of that. Keep your fingers crossed! I may just get that free t-shirt...
The best job I ever had, not money-wise, was working for a theater company. I loved it. I loved the creative energy as we got prepared for the shows, getting everything going smoothly, then the after-effects when it was over and everything went well. And I just worked in the office. Oh, I love it all. I really need to get more involved with creative stuff that includes other people. It's fine and fun doing it myself, like my Photoshop art, but there's something about feeding off of each other in a group effort that's just so invigorating!
posted
by Tabby at 8/06/2002 12:57:00 a.m.
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Monday, August 05, 2002
The question isn't am I going to get a new computer, it's when will I be getting it and which one will I pick? I'm approved for financing through Dell, so I can call them back and say, "Send it over!" Or for the same monthly payments I can get one through work. The thing is, it's looking like I'll be paying more for the one though work for better hard drive space and more RAM, but a slower processor. It may be easier to upgrade though. I did get one quote already on that, and if that was the final price I'd probably go with the Dell for what I'd be getting. It's not decided yet, and I did e-mail back with what changes I want to get a system I'll be happy with at a cost I won't regret.
posted
by Tabby at 8/05/2002 01:11:00 a.m.
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Saturday, August 03, 2002
I'm a regular at Wil Wheaton Dot Net. There is a message board there that rocks, and one of the threads recently was "How did you find yourself here?". Well, what follows is the answer I just wrote, work I'm too proud of not to save here...
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It was a long time ago. This was back before Star Trek was even a glimmer in a young Gene Roddenberry's eye. Back when families would gather around their radios and listen to The Shadow and Our Miss Brooks, then would go to their computers with the tiny 3 inch black and white monitors, and surf a porn-free Internet using nothing but punch cards to communicate.
That summer dad lost his job at the shoelace factory. Frankly, it was a shock he managed to keep it so long, considering the depressing state of the economy back then. We could have gotten by, yes, if it wasn't for the expensive treatments needed to rid me of my second head, so my parents sent me off to live with the McGillicuddys while they both went out looking for work.
There's nothing bad I can say about Old Man McGillicuddy or his wife, the Widow McGillicuddy, but they were old and weren't used to having an energetic young lass with two heads running around their farm. They did try their best to save me from the taunts of the other children, but this was rural Canada, where additional limbs and heads were considered "bad lifestyle choices". It wasn't safe for me to go outside really, and there wasn't much companionship inside either.
So one day I was getting my cards ready for the computer, when Rover, the McGillicuddy's cat, jumped on me, bumping my arm causing me to punch in the wrong spot. This vexed me, but what the hell, let's see where this mispunched punch card would take me.
***
We got back from the doctor with some discouraging news. Apparently I was developing an immunity to the treatments and my second head was starting to grow back to full size. I was despondant, but the Widow McGillicuddy promised she would research every treatment option she could online, though first she had to go help deliver some calves down at the Doohan's.
That was fine by me. I'd just listen to Amos and Andy, and maybe surf the Net a little. A couple hours went by, I played some pinochle and whist, then I remembered that punch card. Now seemed to be as good a time as ever to try it. First throw some more coal on the fire, keep the steam-powered modem going, then let's see where this card would take...
As it turned out, it didn't take me anywhere, so I decided to just go and check out young President Wheaton's site.
What a shocker! I expected yet another boring political website, but instead I found the Soapbox, a place where regular folk would hang out and chat to monkey-like freaks with tails! I lurked for a while, sure, but eventually I found myself entering into the conversations, and when I took that big plunge and admitted I had two heads, well, they accepted me.
***
As you can tell, I've been here since. Many years have passed since that summer at the McGillcuddy's. After his two terms in office, President Wheaton went on to become a movie star, but he kept his website up. As for my second head, it's still there. Thanks to my acceptance at WWDN, I was able to come to terms with it and hold both heads up high until society was ready to do the same thing.
Thank you, Mr. President.
posted
by Tabby at 8/03/2002 03:09:00 p.m.
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Friday, August 02, 2002
Oh, what a nice day to have off work. It's dreary, it's cold, it's raining. I love it. There's nowhere I have to be, and I can sit under a blanket and enjoy a good book (The Chelsea Girl Murders by Sparkle Hayter. I'd recommend it as a stand-alone book, but it's even better if you read the whole series).
Earlier I mentioned I'm going to jump out of a perfectly good airplane in September. Well, it might be in August now. But it is going to happen this summer. This is something I've wanted to do ever since my last ski trip.
You see, way back when my brother won a stay at a hotel where he was going skiing on a school trip. The thing is, he needed an adult to go along, and I was the only one available. It was something I've always wanted to try, and hey, free trip. Sure, I'll go! Of course never having skiied before, I had to take lessons, which weren't so bad.
The instructor taught everything we needed to know for beginners, then took us up the hill for our first time. It was slow going coming down, but fun. I made it to the bottom and couldn't wait to go back up and try it solo. Uh oh. The problem was that my poles were strapped around my wrists, so when I fell it pulled my thumbs right back.
Ouch.
I tried to go a few more times, but it took me forever to come down and pissed off anyone I was with.
So some time later, I had another opportunity to go skiing with my two best friends at the time. Hey, I'm willing to give something another try, even if it left my hands sore for a month the first time. Eh. Six trips up the lift and I made it down each time, but I took longer than a Gore/Bush presidential election (though at least with a better result). I enjoyed myself for the most part, but still wasn't getting the full satisfaction.
For most people, that would be enough. Not me. Another opportunity came around with those same friends, and I took it because I liked getting away for the day. Sure enough it started the same as the last one, I'd go up to the green hills and come back down at a glacial pace. But this time was different. Someone, and I don't know how, managed to talk me into going onto a blue hill. Being used less, she said, there was more powder and less ice. In fact, she said, I'd probably have an easier time on that than the one I was on.
I did. It was better snow, and that did it for me. By getting over that fear of going onto a more advanced hill, I opened myself up for the full experience.
I can't remember how many times I went up and down that day, but I do remember skiing through trees and over the moguls on the black diamonds. Damn, I was pumped! I was having a great time, and was on a serious adreneline high! What the hell could I do to top this feeling?
Sky diving.
It's taken me several years, but I'm finally going to go. Wish me luck.
posted
by Tabby at 8/02/2002 05:21:00 p.m.
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Thursday, August 01, 2002
Yes, I'm still up. I did have a short, short nap (not even 20 minutes, I think), but I will go to bed soon, and by soon I mean in an hour or two. I need to watch Conan O'Brien still. Haven't watched yet this week thanks to working day shifts. So I will go watch it. Then I might read for a while, and I'm almost finished the book I'm currently reading.
I like bookstores. I also tend to prefer the smaller, locally-owned ones of which we're lucky to have a few really great ones in Edmonton. In fact, up until today I've never been to a mega-book store. Until today. It was quite the drive, but I went to Chapters and I have to say I loved the selection. I hope I didn't ruin too many by drooling. I finally picked four I wanted to read, including one by an author I love, Sparkle Hayter, and Anna Karenina by Tolstoy. That second one is really going to keep me busy for a while.
Anyway, it's almost time for Conan, so that's enough for now. Maybe I'll even fall asleep on the couch.
posted
by Tabby at 8/01/2002 01:37:00 a.m.
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The
critics are calling
I
Was an Atomic Robot Jungle Vixen...
"Very
cool!" "Awesome!" "Good times!"
"Inspires
me..." A Critic - I
respect
"Cool.
And miles more exciting..." Someone Else -
You
might not know
"I
totally love it!" Whoo hoo! -
Posted
somewhere
"All
I have to say is... Cool!" Another Critic
"I
like the look..." An Opinion - YACCS
Comments
"You
think I have time to give you a quote? You're out of your
mind!" Wil Wheaton -WWfreakin'DN!
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