I had typed up a large entry when my computer decided that it desperately needed to screw me and lock up. This means that the entry is gone. I have neither the patience, nor the physical wherewithal to do it all over again now. Suffice it to say that I went up and down many flights of stairs, I’m glad of the cooking instructions given to me by the cook so that I got supper done on time and everyone who wanted to be fed was fed. I have a 16 gig Sansa now and Bran has put the graduation photos onto my shared files so I’ll be editing them and putting them up.
Normally I’m not affected by the deaths of celebrities. Yes, they’re people and some of them are quite talented, but they’re distant from me, much like anyone I’d heard of but didn’t know. Harvey was somewhat different. Sure, I didn’t know him, but it’s hard to not like someone who, for the sake of a skit, will dress as an old yenta and use huge balloons for breasts.
While Milton Berle wore drag first for comedy effect, he did it more for shock value. Harvey wore it for character. He’d play this role in Carole Burnette Show skits that spoofed soap operas. It was marvellous to see Carole or one of her other troupe try not to laugh as they also tried to speak their lines when Harvey would give them the make-up laden smirk.
In Blazing Saddles, Harvey played Hedy Hedley Lamarr, the evil bureaucrat who sent in evil henchmen to drive out the residents of a small town so he could make profits from selling land because the town was going to get the railway. Seeing him hump the statue at the thought of the meyhem that was being planned was totally classic.
I’ll miss his talent. I’ll miss his humour. I’m sorry that he won’t be around to share more.
Everyone should have a comic actor in their lives like I had Harvey. He set a standard that not many actors have been able to get to.
I graduated today. I walked on stage, my satin trimmed hood was placed over my head, I shook hands with the Chancellor, waved to the Elder and then shook hands with the President of the university while he handed me my diploma. He kept hanging onto my hand and I was trying to pull it away. Gadz! Now all I have to do is get it framed and onto the wall.
Bran got some pictures and when he goes through them I’ll put them up here. In the nonce, here’s my play-by-play of today’s events.
We left the house at about 8:05 and walked to TCU Place where the ceremonies were to take place. I kissed Bran and Boy (we allowed him to play hooky for the day) and then headed back to where the signs pointed me to go.
From there I was directed to lining up with the other BA Honours students in alphabetical order. I was able to chat with a couple of people around me. We were all somewhat nervous. Then we were marched out (well, not marched, but Pomp and Circumstance was being played) to our seats in the main auditorium. There were a couple of speeches, a prayer and then degrees were handed out, one by one. Many of the people had their own little cheering section as they went up and were hooded. When I went, Bran and Boy cheered for me. The two of them sounded like a crowd. I was much bolstered by their support. Then I did the hand shake stuff, walked off stage and was handed a small kit from the Alumni Association and sat down again.
There was a whole lot of time standing. We stood in line back stage. We stood while all the graduands filed in from back stage. We stood through the playing of “Oh, Canada!” and the prayer. Then we got to sit down. Then it was standing in line again as we waited our turn in line for our diplomas. Then we got to sit down, but by that time my back was killing me. My back doesn’t like standing for long periods. My back protests a lot.
Afterwards, it took a while, but I was able to get a drink of water and then I went to hunt down Bran and Boy, hand in my gown and hood and then go home. Of course, I couldn’t find the prearranged meeting place for the BA graduates. Luckily for me, they had better eyes than me and they found me. We took a couple more photos out in the exit area where the light was better (it was cloudy and rainy and therefore nicely dull) and then we spent about a billion minutes (ok, maybe it was 10) looking for the place to hand in my gown. That found, we left and walked home.
Dad had arrived shortly before that. When we walked up to the house he was parking the car. Dad was sorry that he missed the ceremony, but he’ll get photos as well as my formal portrait. I also want to get a photo mounted on a piece of wood and have “Don’t Give Up On Your Dreams” engraved somehow to take to Tamara’s House. It’s something that I can return, some sort of motivation/hope that change can and does happen if you really want to.
We went out to lunch at Joey’s Only Fish. I had a really nice sandwich with vegetables. Bran had fish and chips without the chips and with the vegetables. Boy had fish and chips and Dad had the same as me except with fries. Then it was off to the stores to shop. First we went to Readers Nook for Dad’s photography magazines. Then we got gas and it was off to Preston Crossing. Bran gave me some money and I picked up some super glue and more beads. I do so wish that I had more money for containers and way more beads. I want beads.
He, Dad and Boy went to Future Shop to check out things there. Bran and I each got a Sansa 8 gig mp3 player. I hope they’re large enough for my music. I’m loading it on right now. Later, I’ll empty my old 20 gig player and get it all set up to load on Boy’s computer. The nice thing about the Sansa is that it doesn’t require special software to get it loaded with music. My Sony Walkman does and that sucks. Boy also got a new phone, one of the Razors. He’s quite happy with that. He’s taken several photographs and has settled on one for his wallpaper. Now he’s just waiting for it to charge up and for Rogers to send him confirmation that they’ve received his information make his phone work.
The player isn’t going to have enough room for all my music so I’m choosing my absolute favourite music to go onto it. I don’t mind having less space…I guess. The thing is, I like the looks of the Sansa more than the Sony. It also fits in my hand nicer and works the way I want it to.
Right now murder and mayhem is on. Bran and Boy will be going shopping so that Bran can get away from murder and mayhem that I’m recording and watching right now. I’m working on relaxing and hoping that my player will get all the music I’m choosing onto it.
Today when I got up Bran wasn’t home. He was out with a friend. So doing my duty, I phoned Dad to tell him that I was working days (12 hour shifts on weekends) and that if he came up on Saturday, he’d miss me. So he’s coming up tomorrow afternoon. The house is a mess. I guess that Bran and I will do a blitz tidy (which means putting all the stuff in the bedrooms and sweeping the floor as well as organizing all the dishes so that they’re sort of ready to wash on Friday.
Today was a pretty good day at work. There are a couple of new guys getting used to the place. I spent a lot of the time doing crosswords in between building and room checks. My coworker wanted to watch the hockey game since Pittsburgh was playing and that’s her team. A couple of the guys are hoping Detroit wins and they’re all doing the chain yanking and teasing thing. Today, despite how warm it is in the building she was wearing her hockey jersey. She was most pleased the the Penguins won tonight’s game.
I played cribbage with the buy who wanted revenge and he got it in spades. In fact, he skunked me in the second game thus winning the best of 3 that we were playing. Nertz!
I mixed up juice and iced tea for tomorrow and did more crosswords. That’s because I’d already done the building and room check I was slated to do and I wasn’t the least bit interested in who won the hockey game.
While I was bending over to get garbage bags out of one of the lower cupboards my pants started to split. The split isn’t in an embarrassing place. It’s split across the thigh from the inside seam to about 1/2 way to the back of the left leg. While I can understand a split in the crotch like that because my thighs rub together. After all, I’m fat. However, the continued tearing of the fabric to the back of the leg where it shouldn’t have been worn out at all means that there must have been some kind of fabric flaw. Happily I’ll be getting more pants tomorrow. I want jeans and work pants as well as shorts. I’m thinking that maybe we should go to the discount place near where I work as well as Giant Tiger (since they have fat woman clothes). When we’re with Dad, though, we’ll be going to Value Village because it’s much further away. The other stores we can walk to and can go to on Friday.
That’s about it. I have to figure out what t-shirt I’ll be wearing with my capri pants. I should also rip out my leg hair again, though it’s not looking too bad yet. Maybe I’ll wait for Friday. Oh! It was payday so I have a cheque to deposit. However, we’re not doing it until Friday since we need to be home when Dad arrives after the ceremony. Pictures will be taken and posted here tomorrow or Friday evening, depending on when I get around to getting Bran to toss them over to my computer.
I found out today that one of my coworkers is only there for 4 more months. I didn’t know it when I was hired (not that it was any of my business) but she was hired as a maternity leave replacement. Here in Canada, we get a year for maternity leave. Actually, that’s about 9 months leave and 3 months parental leave, which either the mother or the father (or other mother) can take. In the case of adoptions, I’m not sure how it goes, but I know that either parent can take time off to settle in the new family. It’s paid leave accommodated by Employment Insurance where the parents get 70% of their wages. It’s way better than the usual 6 weeks I hear about the parents in the USA getting. This means that one of my favourite coworkers will be leaving soon. Bummer!
Tomorrow night I have an appointment to play cribbage with one of the residents. Last week I played him and won. He wants revenge. Unfortunately he asked so late in the shift I couldn’t play a proper best of three set. I’ll be doing the earlier building and room checks so that I can play.
Otherwise it was a pretty uneventful day, both at home and at work. Supper at work was “finger food”. There was a tomato/cream cheese dip to eat with crackers, four different kinds of chicken wings, nachos, kabobs, and mini-burgers that used really good biscuits as buns. I’m getting the recipe for both the dip stuff and the biscuits. The biscuits were tender and tasty and didn’t have that weird bitter baking powder/soda taste can sometimes get. The tomato/cream cheese dip stuff I’d had as more a Greek type dip with black olives and feta as part of it. Hers was sweeter.
Now, I have the munchies so Bran ordered in a couple of chicken Caesar salads and hot wings from a local 24 hr restaurant. We’re just waiting on them now.
I watched the last two Harry Potter films last night. It’s kind of distressing to have to wait for the next movie. I probably should have done as I did with the Lord of the Rings movies. I watched the first one and was incredibly frustrated that it didn’t actually have an ending. In fact, I whined for a few days (weeks) about that. I swore the night I saw FOTR that I wasn’t going to watch any more of them until they were all out on video and I could sit down and watch them all in one sitting. That’s exactly what I did. I was much happier for it. Anyway, as I watched the movies I couldn’t help but see how the kids were growing up. It was rather astonishing to see the differences from movie to movie and finally with Order of the Phoenix with Harry and his friends getting that adult look. I do wish they’d shown more of the Weasley twins’ hijinx during that movie.
That’s about it from here. Hmmm…I wonder when the food will get here. I’m moving beyond feeling snacky and becoming downright peckish.
Today Bran and I went to the university to get the essential items for my graduation. We went to the administration building and picked up our tickets, one graduand and two guests. Then it was off to the bookstore entry to rent a gown.
After that we went to Extreme Pita to pick up some lunch and we headed to the Pride Centre to eat. It was quite a relaxing journey, all-in-all.
It’s interesting, when I started this whole thing four years ago, I didn’t dream that I would finish, let alone go for a graduate degree. I started out with aspirations of being a psychologist. Then mid-way through my second year I discovered the the third year of psych was all research. That wouldn’t have been so bad, but the areas of research that were offered, frankly, sucked. So I began to look elsewhere for something to get into.
That was when I discovered sociology and the many and varied classes related to law, justice, and criminality. So in the second semester of my second year I finished off the psych classes I was going to take and registered for whatever I could get in sociology the next year.
Now it’s a few years later and I’m looking at the black gown and hood (yes, it’s a hood – I didn’t expect that) hanging at the entrance to the dining room and wonder what it was that I did right. I have finished a degree. It’s kind of scary.
Then Bran reminded me that within that success was a failure. I failed to fail and drop out. Whew! That’s a relief! I’d hate to ruin a perfectly good losing streak.
I’ve finished the Harry Potter series. I finished it last night while we were watching Chamber of Secrets. It made me very sad that all of Harry’s personal mentors (except Hagrid) were killed in the final battle. It was very sneaky how Rowling managed to get around the whole Harry-has-to-die thing. I finally went to bed about 2 or 2:30 after the Prisoner of Azkaban. Bran stayed up and watched the remaining movies. Tonight I’ll be watching more, after I record any First 48 or Crime 360 reruns I might not have.
Oh, right, I’m working tonight. Never mind.
I’ve just showered (well, not just but within the last 1/2 hour) and am waiting for Bran to shower. We’ll be heading to the university to pick up my gown and band (bachelor degrees don’t get hoods here) and the tickets for him and Boy to the ceremony. I’m actually getting rather excited about the whole deal. Just think, in three days I will have my diploma in my hand and I’ll be officially “Dykewife B.A.”
Boy turned 16 years old yesterday. I’m very proud of the person he’s become though I still really miss the tiny (in comparison) squalling bundle he was long ago. It was only yesterday. Really. It was.
I’m thinking of taking my embroidery to work tonight. I have to practise more before I actually work on a pattern. It’s been a very long time since high school when I learnt how to embroider. I should probably find a tutorial on the net to relearn some of the things. I’ve got the daisy chain, line and need to practise the velvet stitch, but the little knot thing has me at a loss.
That’s about all of the exciting news from the Great White North (which is getting nicely green). It’s going to be somewhat cool today. It’s been that way for a few days. Not that it breaks my heart any, mind you. I like that it’s a bit chilly. It keeps me from becoming a frizzy puddle.
I slept a lot today. Bran woke me up sometime around or just after noon so that I could be up with him. Boy already had one of his guests here and was just waiting on the other to arrive. Sometime after that I had to lay down again. I was so very tired.
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And why was I tired? I knew you were asking yourself that very question. I was tired because I was up really late (or really early, depending upon your p.o.v.) reading Half-Blood Prince. I don’t like that Dumbledore died. I knew he was going to, but I didn’t like it. In fact, I didn’t like it so much that I cried through the last 20 or so pages of the book, right from when he died to the very, very end. Now I’m into the last book. So far it’s a little bit boring, but that’s the way of any book. I’ve gotten to Bill and Fleur’s wedding, the very beginning part.
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Bran is into 1960s stuff. So far he’s watched Hair, watched the Woodstock movie and is now watching Alice’s Restaurant. Arlo Guthrie was kind of cute in a nerdy sort of way. Funny that I would say that considering he was considered “cool” in his time. “And it’s one, two, three, what are we fightin’ for? Don’t ask me, I don’t give a damn. Next stop is Viet Nam. And it’s five, six, seven, open up the Pearly Gates! Well, I ain’t got time to wonder why, WHOOPEE! We’re all gonna die!” (Country Joe).
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I did something today that I swore I wouldn’t do 17 years ago and haven’t until today. Today, I went to Safeway. I haven’t shopped there since they laid Bran off in their quite successful attempt to get the union out of their warehouses. It wouldn’t have been so bad, but a couple of months before they closed down the warehouses here they offered the staff shares in Safeway that were only cashable if they still worked for the company. Then a few months later they closed the warehouses. Very, very dirty pool in my book. I swore, because of that, I wouldn’t shop at Safeway ever again and I haven’t. It’s only been very recently that I’ve relaxed that boycott a bit and allowed Bran and Boy to pick up a few necessities and only because they were closer than a 20 minute bus ride (which Bran and I couldn’t afford).
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The fact that Bran even asked me demonstrated his need to have support with him. So we went for the 5 block walk there (and 5 blocks back) to get buns, a few tomatoes and a cake for Boy’s birthday celebration tonight. That’s why there are boys here. This is the unofficial official celebration. We’ll have a larger one when we have some money. Then he can have friends, pizza, another cake and such like. Tonight it’s chicken pucks in buns and carrot cake for dessert. It appeared to be the only one that didn’t have enough chocolate to put Bran into the hospital with a migraine in 10 minutes.
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Right now I’m watching Woody Woodpecker (it’s on just before Scooby Doo) and the news reel is on. During the segment of Woody’s Newsreels, one of the parts was about Mount Rushmore, which at the time of the filming, wasn’t complete. Then there was about a ship that got caught in a huge hurricane off the eastern seaboard of the USA and how he spent 13 days trying to keep the ship afloat. Because of that, he was considered to be a hero in England and was given a ticker tape parade in New York City. The same was done for McArthur (a third article).
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That got me wondering. Since we’re now in the “computer age” I don’t think that many offices still use ticker tape to monitor the stock markets. I believe that it’s all done electronically through computer. Now, if that’s the case, how do they give ticker tape parades? If there’s no more ticker tape, what do they throw out of the windows, computer monitors? Speaking of throwing out of windows, since many of the office buildings are high rises and don’t have windows that open, do they throw through the window? Is the ticker tape parade considered to be passe now? That must suck for heroes du jour.
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I got an email from my oldest niece (and Goddaughter) asking about my job and such. It was really nice to hear from her. It’s been a very long time since I last talked to her.
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That’s about it. I’m just waiting on the fry pan to finish soaking and then wash it so that we can cook supper for the boys.
It’s just that right now, in Half-Blood Prince that’s what Ron Weasley is always doing with the girlfriend that isn’t Hermoine.
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I’m just awake from a nap. I was so exhausted when I got home from work today. It was a day of successes and of mistakes. The successes are with some of the men who live there, and with some of the bureaucratic stuff I have to do. The mistakes are with the bureaucratic and a couple of the practical things I have to do. I’m still learning, so that’s ok. I know my job well enough, it’s when I’m doing the support worker job that I have issues. There are a whole lot of things I have to keep track of and remember.
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When I got up from my nap, Boy was watching Cheaper By the Dozen, the remake with Steve Martin. I was rather surprised to find that. It isn’t usually the kind of movie I figure him wanting to watch. This is the same Boy who spent last weekend watching action/horror films, loves his Matrix movies and Return of the King is one of his favourite watches. It was interesting. Anyway, I remember the original movie when it was made way back in the 70s (or 60s?) and I don’t remember a little boy running away to Chicago. I do remember a little boy who insists that his name is that of his “new” dad and a teacher says it’s not. Then each of the parents adopt the kids of the other parent and the little boy joyfully announces that he’s “legal”. I guess, if that’s the same family, they took some artistic liberties.
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I’m awake now. such excitement. I’m going to be watching Teletoon Retro, a cartoon network that plays older cartoons (right now The Racoons are on)…where’s my book? Oh, yeah. Found it.
