In other news

1. Halfway through the 'S' section of that meme, I got up to go to the bathroom and damn near busted a blood vessel in my left index finger. It hurt. Like a little bitch.

2. I highly recommend that you watch 'once' and then go buy the soundtrack. It's AMAZING. Turn it on with all the lights off and just let the music wash over you. To quote Natalie Portman, it will change your life.

3. FOO FIGHTERS TOMORROW NIGHT! It will be my second time seeing them, and I am PUMPED. I bought the new album on Monday, and love most of it. My favorite track is #6 ('Stranger Things Have Happened'). My least favorite is #5 ('Come Alive').

4. I have done no work today. At all. I'm going to put labels on envelopes for a couple hours.

Sask Politicos and Something Light

Today I spent a couple of hours visiting every link on http://saskblogs.catprint.ca to see who my company is going to be in this whole endeavor. And man oh MAN, are people in this province ever political. I'm pretty sure that reading so many politically charged blog entries in one day is the primary cause of my current headache (clearly there's no chance that it stems from the sinus infection I can feel myself getting...)

I think I'm going to make it clear right now that this blog is going to be far from political. It's not that I don't *care* about politics - I do, somewhat. It's just that a) I write for fun, not to piss people off, and b) everyone is blogging about the same thing, and sometimes, I think that people just want to read something different. Also, I'm not at all interested in getting involved in the ongoing war between Sask. Liberals and Conservatives that I noticed today. Not for me, thanks. This barista plans to keep things light.

Case in point, an alphabetized meme:

A
- Available: For some things. Not others.
- Age: 22
- Annoyance: Misuse of apostrophes, and people walking too closely behind me.
- Actor: Kevin Kline, for now. First one who came to mind.

B
- Beer: No, thanks.
- Birthday/Birthplace: June 27, Comox, BC
- Body Part on opposite sex: Arms.
- Best feeling in the world: Being completely surrounded by an amazing song.
- Big words: Pejoration.
- Best weather: First snow of the season, or bright and sunny but not too hot.
- Been in Love: Unsure, which apparently means no.
- Been bitched out?: Who hasn't?
- Been on stage?: Yes.
- Believe in life on other planets: I don't know.
- Believe in miracles: Not overly. I think someone, somewhere, has to work for everything that happens.
- Believe in Magic: No.
- Believe in God: On the fence.
- Believe in Satan: I try not to.
- Believe in Santa: Never did.
- Believe in Ghosts/spirits: I don't know.
- Believe in Evolution: Wholeheartedly.

C
- Car: What color?
- Candy: Sour Patch Kids, and Dinosours (this is the answer that was there already, and I can't bring myself to change it - the person is SO right)
- Colour: All of them
- Cried in school: Of course.
- Chocolate/Vanilla: Chocolate
- Chinese/Mexican: Mexican.
- Cake or pie: PIE!
- Country to visit: Greece

D
- Day or Night: Late night/early morning
- Dream vehicle: I don't dream of vehicles
- Danced: And it led to nothing but embarrassment.
- Dance in the rain?: Maybe?
- Do the splits?: Never.

E
- Eggs: Poached.
- Eyes: Blue-grey
- Everyone has a(n): toilet. I hope.
- Ever failed a class? No.

F
- First crush: The earliest I can remember is Blake in kindergarten.
- First kiss: Don't remember.
- Full name: Avery Jenner
- First thoughts waking up: Turn down the sun.
- Food: Is for eating.

G
- Greatest Fear: heights and water. Especially heights leading to water.
- Goals: Make more money than I spend, write a novel, see the rest of Canada.
- Gum: is for chewing.
- Get along with your parents: Very much so.
- Good luck charm: My martini underwear.

H
- Hair Colour: Dirty blonde.
- Height: 5'1"
- Happy: Sometimes.
- Holiday: Christmas.
- How do you want to die: I don't tend to plan my own death.
- Health freak?: Yeah right. I'm sitting in an office with artificial light drinking a Caramel Coretto and eating sour patch kids.
- Hate: most reality TV.
- Hockey Team: OILERS

I
- Ice cream: Cookie dough
- Instrument: Guitar and piano lately. (Listen, not play)

J
- Jewellery: I think I own one necklace.
- Job: Publishing.
K
- Kids: Can't imagine having any.
- Kickboxing or karate: Kickboxing.
- Keep a journal?: 4, I think.

L
- Love: Cats. Lemonade. The internet. Degrassi. Many others.
- Laughed so hard you cried: With some friends on Monday night.
Longest car ride: New Brunswick to Edmonton. Summer 1998. 5 people. One car. 8 days.
- Love at first sight: Never experienced it.
- Long Distance Relationships: Don't work.

M
- Milk flavour: Chocolate.
- Movie: Life as a House
- Mooned anybody: As a child.
- Marriage?: Don't see it happening any time soon.
- Motion sickness? Yes.

N
- Number of Siblings: 2
- Number of Piercings: 1
- Number: 49

O
- Overused Phrases: "I'm not even kidding" "I'm not gonna lie"
- One wish: Have a book published.
- One phobia: Water. Heights. Have we not been through this?

P
- Place you'd like to live: Toronto or Vancouver Island. Or Greece. Or NYC. Or California.
- Perfect Pizza: Pepperoni.
- Pepsi/Coke: Lime Pepsi.

Q
- Quail: will get you 42 points on a triple word score in scrabble.
- Question: How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

R
- Reason to cry: Death. Severe pain. Rejection.
- Reality T.V.: Beauty and the Geek, Canadian Idol.
- Radio Station: Z99.
- Roll your tongue in a circle? Yes.
- Rolling Stones/ Rascal Flatts: Stones.


S
- Song: "Simon" - Lifehouse
- Shoe size: 6.5
- Salad Dressing: Ranch
- Sushi: Yum
- Scent: Peppermint
- Slept outside: In a tent.
- Seen a dead body? Yes. :(
- Smoked?: Never
- Skinny dipped? I think so
- Shower Daily?: Yes. Sometimes more than once.
- Sing well? Depends on your definition of "well"
- In the shower? Yes
- Swear?: Yes
- Stuffed Animals?: I have many
- Single/Group dates: Depends
- Strawberries/Blueberries: Strawberries
- Scientists need to invent: A cure for many diseases. Or a juice that makes you immortal, as well as an amazing writer.


T
- Time for bed: Between 11 and midnight
- Thunderstorms: LOVE
- TV: Lately, Friday Night Lights
- Touch your tongue to your nose?: Can't do it
- Truck: What about them?
- Tattoos: I have none

U
-Unpredictable: Sometimes
-Unpredictability: ??

V
- Vegetable you hate: Canned peas, cooked spinach, mushrooms
- Vegetable you love: Corn, carrots, celery, potatoes
- Vacation spot: Too many

W
- Weakness: Boys in hoodies. Money. Coffee. Candy. Popcorn. CDs
- When you grow up: Everyone will be surprised
- Which one of your friends acts the most like you: My sister?
- Who makes you laugh the most: All of them
- Worst feeling: Boredom. Sadness. Anxiety.
- Wanted to be a model?: I like food too much
- Where do we go when we die: Into a coffin, duh
- Worst weather: WIND

X
-X-Rays: Never needed one

Y
-Year it is now: 2008
-Yellow: My sheets are yellow

Z
-Zoo animal: Tigers. Elephants. All of them.
-Zodiac sign: Cancer is mine

Man charged with Regina's second homicide of 2008
Leader-Post
Published: Wednesday, March 19, 2008

REGINA -- A 21-year-old man is to appear in court Wednesday afternoon in connection with Regina's second homicide of 2008.

The man has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of a 41-year-old man who was discovered at around 2 a.m., in the 1300 block of Kramer Blvd. Emergency personnel responded, but the man died at the scene.

The Regina Police Service is continuing its investigation, but it has called the incident a homicide.

And this is mere DAYS after Regina was declared "the most dangerous city in Canada". This murder happened in one of the safest neighborhoods in the city. I guess we can quit being angry about our new title, huh?

Book Review: The Jane Austen Book Club

I'm going to be straight. I've never read any of Jane Austen's stuff. Or seen any of the film adaptations. I tend to be drawn to more contemporary stuff most of the time. However, after reading Karen Joy Fowler's book The Jane Austen Book Club, I have a feeling that within the next year or 2, I'll end up reading Austen's entire works.

In this book, Fowler has created 6 very real, very emotional characters who start a book club devoted entirely to the work of Jane Austen. Grigg, Jocelyn, Allegra, Bernadette, Prudie, and Sylvia each choose their favorite book, and then host the club to discuss it. The club meets once a month. However, this book does not simply study the characters as they discuss literature. Rather, it makes connections between Austen's books and the lives of these 6 modern people. Each of the six sections delves into the personal life of the host that month.

I especially enjoyed that the sections were not completely distinct from one another. Fowler was able to delve into the relationships by the characters, and by Sylvia's section (the last in the book), the plot has come around so that the section looks at all six characters, and the way they interact with Sylvia, who is in the process of divorcing her husband throughout the book.

My personal favorite character was Grigg, the only man in the book club. While he is not the most complex character in the story (there seems to be a six-way tie for that title by the end of the novel), he is, in my opinion, the most interesting. I loved the flashbacks to his childhood and the story of why he was invited to join the book club in the first place, despite the fact that he had never read Austen. As a science fiction reader, he is initially shunned from the group, and this tension ensures that all of the main characters have to grow as individuals throughout the book, as they gradually learn to accept him - and, in some cases, even give science fiction a second chance.

I enjoyed the book immensely; however, it is one of those reads that is hard to WANT to pick up sometimes, because there is not a lot of suspense. Also, despite the fact that the six sections create a novel, they almost read like a collection of short stories in the beginning, so it becomes easy to walk away from the book for a few days and not feel like you're missing any information. Of course, as the reader gets further into the book, this begins to change - the characters become more interconnected, and the book begins to focus more on present events than independent stories from the characters' pasts. It took me a couple of weeks to get through it, but I'm glad I finally did.


Details:
Publisher: Plume; Reprint edition (May 3 2005)
ISBN-10: 0452286530
ISBN-13: 978-0452286535

Average customer review (from amazon.ca): 3.5/5

You're On My Heart Just Like A Tattoo

Tonight, I got bored and watched the last 30 minutes of American Idol. I DON'T KNOW WHY, OKAY? Paula Abdul is crazy. I plan on getting Sass Jordan on the phone and begging her not to turn into a bucket of crazy this summer.

Anyway, I watched 3 contestants do their thang, and decided to post my thoughts about their performances.

Now, let's all keep in mind that this is the most Idol I have ever watched, ever. Before this, all I ever saw was the Honey Nut Cheerios recap while waiting for something else to come on. So I have no idea who these people are outside of the blog-iverse.

The first guy I saw sing was Michael Johns. It was a Beatles-themed night, so he sang Across the Universe. (Silly moi, I had no idea this was actually the title of a Beatles song until tonight. See? AI CAN enhance your life.

Anyway, all I have to say about Michael is that I LOVED him. I don't know if it's because the song is awesome or because he's awesome or a combination therein, but I got shivers in the spine as soon as he started singing. It was fantabulous.

The next singer was Kristy Lee Cook. As soon as her pre-performance interview started, I started gushing. Out loud. To myself, as there was no one else in the room. She's friggin aDORable. Kristy sang Eight Days A Week, country style. I thought she was doing a good job right up until the horrendous last note, but Simon Cowell thought otherwise, and when he compared her performance to a cheap, small-town county fair show, I couldn't help but agree. It was pretty hokey.

Finally, I saw the famous David Archuleta sing We Can Work It Out. I have no idea whether I liked his performance or not because I could not get past the lip-licking. What the crap, David? Ever heard of Vaseline, man? My only other thought was "Holy High School Musical, Batman!" The guy is a shoe-in for Zac Efron's understudy, for real.

Random Thoughts

You know those days when you feel so utterly useless at work that it's hard to imagine why they hired you in the first place?

That's EVERY day for me at this job.

Also, it smells like yeast in the hallway and poo in the bathroom. Someone has a weird disease, folks...

Upcoming Reviews

Forthcoming book reviews:

The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler
Candy Girl by Diablo Cody
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini