Like an idiot, I completely forgot I had to vote in the advance voting until the last possible second. 20 to 8 last night I was in a mad rush to find the polling station and cast my vote. I was the very last person to vote yesterday in Spruce Grove, which isn't surprising considering I waltzed into the room at 5 minutes to 8.
Advance voting is a production. It's not the simple routine that happens on the actual vote day. They have to cross-reference your name in this big book and it takes quite a bit more time. Of course everything seems to take forever when you're standing in line. I had the added bonus of being directly behind a man that smelt like a Brewery, looked like he hadn't showered in days, and spent the time mocking the staff. At least he exercised his right to vote, although I am surprised you're allowed to vote while you're drunk. You'd think there would be a law!
Then today at lunch I went to renew my vehicle registration (a month late, I don't believe in doing anything ahead of time, that's too easy). I walked into the Registry office and there's three ladies behind the desk and only one customer. Score! At least, that's what I thought. Of course, the two ladies with no customers kept saying "We'll be right with you", 10 minutes later and a lot of glaring and sighing on my part, one of the ladies goes for lunch! 5 minutes later the lady who was actually helping the only other customer finishes with her and finally renews my registration in about 30 seconds.
How do you spend 15 minutes at the Registry Office when there's three employees and two customers?! I swear to God, there's some unspoken rule somewhere that says its mandatory to spend at least 15 minutes in the registry office. This same rule applies at the Post Office.
In both cases, I had to hand over a piece of paper my dog had partly chewed. Somehow, I always look like an idiot.
We spent the entire weekend working on the house. Fun times. We did get a lot done, though, including putting up almost all the baseboards in the finished rooms upstairs. There is only the kitchen left. It feels nice. Baseboards really finish a place off. Hopefully I'll get them painted tomorrow evening and then maybe I'll post pictures for a change :). I also spent an inordinate amount of time sanding drywall. I hate sanding drywall, it has to be the worst task of all.
Unfortunately that meant that our poor puppy was very much neglected all weekend and he's very mopey as a result. I'm going to go and spend some time with the pooch!
This man snatches a little girl, rapes and murders her and then says the following about child pornography
"I don't know how it is for other people, but for myself, I would say that, yes, viewing the material does motivate you to do other things ... the more I saw it, the more I longed for it in my heart."
ok, here's a thought - don't fucking look at it then. You know what I think? I think whether or not the asshole was down-loading child pornography had little to do with his actions. He's a sick man and he wasn't getting help that he had to have known he needed. Honestly, if you're thinking about violently having sex with children, you need help. That is not normal.
And here's how it is for other people - we find it digusting. We don't find it arousing, we don't find it to be something we long for. Very simply, we can not fathom how someone could harm a child, a child, in such a horrific manner. End of story.
Don't get me wrong, of course I want child pornography wiped out. Its sick and digusting and is one of those things that makes me almost change my mind about the death penalty. People who engage in the viewing of child pornography and people like Michael Biere deserve to die.
Yet, I'm so sick of this attitude where no one takes responsibility for anything anymore. Even someone who rapes a child and then kills her can't stand up and say he's sick without tacking on "but this made me do it". Fuck you, Michael Biere.
My Mom was playing around on the internet and came up with this -
Amber is the last of the great eccentrics. The funny thing is, she doesn't know it. She thinks her behaviour is perfectly normal. She sees herself as a pillar of propriety and a paragon of protocol. Amber has strong views about every topic under the sun. There's not a subject she doesn't know about or a moral point she can't pontificate on. Amber is entitled to be a little arrogant. She knows an awful lot about an awful lot of things. She is well versed, well rehearsed, and deeply immersed in the kind of knowledge that we lesser mortals can only dream of attaining. Thankfully, she is there to shed the light and show the way. This, she does generously and patiently, as befits a person of superior intellect. Amber is wise, intelligent and (thankfully) oblivious to irony.
Or, at least, that's how Amber is, at her worst. She can't help it. She's an Aquarian and Aquarians are infamous for their occasional outbursts of pomposity. Happily there is another truly delightful side to her. Amber is as honest as the day is long, as generous as the ocean is deep. This is partly where the eccentricity comes from, for a person with such strong opinions Amber is surprisingly willing to please. she is keen to win friends and influence people. She loves to feel that she belongs. She always wants to be in on the action, part of the scene and one of the gang. Rather like Groucho Marx though, she is never sure that she would want to be part of any club that would accept her as a member. She is always on the lookout for some new cause to support, or enterprise to sign up to. You might think that this would make her fickle but actually Amber is exceedingly loyal. She may be forever expanding her horizons but she never forgets her friends and she never reneges on her commitments. This is why, despite the highly idiosyncratic nature of Amber's personality, so many people think the world of her.
That's right, I'm a person of superiour intellect. heh. The sun is actually shining today so I'm in very good spirits. I think its going to be a really good day! I love sun!
For the first time since I've been legally able to vote, I don't want to. I don't like any of the candidates. I was a Chretian supporter (note to my family - just shush, I'll support who I want to support) and even though I tend to vote Liberal I don't trust Paul Martin, and the sponsorship scandal is a big deal. And the Liberal Ad Campaign is annoying the crap out of me. Of course, that has no political bearing on anything, it just had to be said.
I trust Stephen Harper even less and there's very little in the Conservative platform that I'm excited about. I was toying with the idea of voting for the NDP until I watched the debate last night and came to the conclusion that Jack Layton doesn't deserve my vote.
Of course, there's always the Green Party candidate in my riding - except he looks a little bit like he's on his way to a mental institution, don't you think? I did make an effort to try and read the party's platform, but I couldn't do it. A little too lovey-dovey, even for me.
I have to vote on Friday in the early voting because I won't be in town on election day so its consuming a lot of my thoughts at the moment. It's a little sad that I probably won't be able to watch the election unfold like I usually do. Do you watch elections like you might sports? ;)
If you're Canadian, who are you voting for? Why? I promise I won't bite your head off.
Courtenay Cox named her baby girl Coco?
Why? That's just cruel.
I have spent an absurd amount of money in the last couple of days, and I have nothing fun to show for it. It's all about the house. Things are really starting to take shape, but still. The house doesn't deserve my money, I do. I need pretty things. Pretty sparkly things.
The majority of my weekend saw me alternating between laying down rubber tile on my deck and reading a very badly written novel - The Triumph of Katie Byrne by Barbara Taylor Bradford - think Harlequin Romance calibre of writing with a deep storyline. Ugh. I'm sorry I paid good money for it, even though it was 80% off. It did go into some detail about the Bronte sisters, which intrigued me to learn more about the Bronte sisters. It also made me think I could write a novel and have it published. People will read anything. I'll never again buy a book, or waste time reading a book, by Barbara Taylor Bradford. Sorry Babs.
At least the deck looks nice.
We also had some friends spend the weekend with us. They were playing in an Ultimate tournament, so our days were still spent renovating. Even with guests in town, we renovate. It's a little sad. However, said friend has agreed to sing at my ceremony, which pleases me muchly and means one less thing to worry about! And it was fabulous to spend some time with them.
Things are not all sunshine and lollipops in the Corporate world I find myself in. We're involved in various lawsuits and the like, and so far, it appears as if we're not winning the game. Makes for a depressing work environment. Of course, I'm not actually in the depressing work environment being a comfortable 300 km away, but still, depressing none-the-less.
I don't actually care beyond my own financial happiness (job = money. money = good times). The entire place could go belly-up and I honestly wouldn't shed a tear at this point. I'm well past caring, but it sucks ass considering I still work there. I'm actually pissed off at myself for staying, if I'm being honest.
A friend of mine was featured in a recent engineering publication. He did a 9 month stint as the only engineer working with Doctors Without Borders in Sierra Leone. You read about the work that he's done (and is still doing) and you feel like you're just sitting around waiting for something to happen rather than making it happen. Although in order to make something happen, you have to know what you want to have happen, and trying to figure that out is an awful lot of work. It's a lot easier to collect a paycheque.
When things are a little ho-hum, I do tend to get a lot of reading in. I finished the The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor on Monday (good, but depressing) and am 3/4 of the way through No Great Mischief by Alistair MacLeod which has made me want to go to Cape Breton and Scotland and learn Gaelic and more about my own Scottish history.
Fearthainn and I caught Harry Potter this weekend, as I mentioned, and it was really quite entertaining. A lot better than the first two movies, I thought.
Our weekend was really nice, although not terribly productive on the renovation front because the tile saw we bought sucks ass and we couldn't cut the tile and on Sunday had to return the saw. Returning things never makes me very chipper. Although I did get some more gardening done and the outside of the house is starting to look better and better every week. Plus we bought the dog a pool. He's scared of the pool, but maybe he'll warm up to the pool when things heat up and he realizes that a little jump in the pool would make him feel better. That's what I'm hoping, anyway. And yes, he is a very spoiled dog. And no, I don't care. The pool is just a $15 plastic thing anyway.
I'm really just posting because this space is looking empty. I don't have much to say right now.
In case you haven't heard (and if you live in Alberta, you've heard), Calgary is playing for the Stanley Cup. Things are looking good too.
I doubt Fearthainn slept a wink last night, so when I pick her up at the bus depot this afternoon I imagine she'll be a very sleepy sister. Poor little sister. I'm still excited though, a whole weekend with Fearthainn! hee! We're going to see Harry Potter this weekend. I'm really curious to see the movie because I've read opinions all over the map on it. I trust it'll be entertaining enough, it was really just an excuse to talk my sister into spending the weekend up here anyway.
My dog will walk into the kitchen, take a knife (or whatever) off the counter, and then casually come and lay down on his bed (beside me) like it's only natural that he should have the utensil. Then he looks all annoyed when I take it away from him.
And Happy Birthday Suzy! I hope you have a wonderful day!