October 28, 2002
Talk about highs and lows on the same night!
Tanith & Ben held on to third place in Spokane, so they now have their first Grand Prix medal! Very, very exciting. I fully believe they can be world medalists some day!
However, on the same night, Alexei had to withdraw from the men's competition, and may never skate competitively again!! :-( This breaks my heart for so many reasons - for the selfish ones, like that I won't get to see him skate again, for the sport, because he had so much still to contribute, but mostly for him, because he loves it so much - it is his life. I really, really, really hope they are able to help him somehow, and that it's not as bad as it looks right now.
Karen, Gill and I have a skating date for November 17! :-) That's the day that the rink opens at Nathan Philips Square, so we're gonna go then. I also found a rink here in Scarborough that has freeskate and patch sessions open to the public, for a small fee. I'm really tempted, although I'll probably feel silly with all the little figure skaters there. :-)
Um, some theatre news? I got my hands on a demo recording of Frank Wildhorn's Dracula, and am trying to figure out who is singing! It sounds to me like Douglas Sills and Christiane Noll - if anyone can confirm or refute that, please let me know!
Have you seen the new Ikea commercials? Am I the only one who *does* feel sorry for the lamp?! :-)
Here's a fun picture of Tanith & Ben from their new free dance:
October 25, 2002
Ah, the skating season. How I've missed it.
And this year, not only do we get crazy judging, apparently we also get upsets in ice dance too! The shock!! Like the fact that Tanith & Ben are currently in 3rd place at Skate America!!
Anyway. Yesterday was my birthday! Laurie tells me it was an extra special one because I was turning 24 on the 24th. I can tell you that it wasn't very extra special. :-) But, it was nice enough! I got lots of fun e-cards, and nice presents from Mom and Zorana (and Alison, earlier), and we had free lunch at work, so I enjoyed it! I don't feel much different being 24, but I think next year could be a weird one - I certainly don't feel like I'm ready to be 25. :-)
2 months until Christmas!
October 19, 2002
So I am now staring at a wall as I type this. Well, okay, technically I'm looking at my computer screen, but behind that is a wall. Why is that important, you may ask? Well, previously, I had my computer set up on my kitchen table, so that I was facing the window. But after a not-so-brief trip to IKEA today, I am now the proud owner of an actual computer table, which has been set up in another area of my apartment. So I can actually eat at my kitchen table again! Not that I ever actually did that very often, but that's not the point.
In order to accomodate the new computer table, I had to move the bookshelf that was previously in this space to another wall, and I can't believe what a difference it makes in the feel of the room. A good difference. It just feels cozier when you can see that bookshelf. Alright, I know I'm not making much sense, especially if you haven't seen my apartment, but it's exciting for me, so I am going to leave it here anyway. :-)
I went to see Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie on Thursday!! I'd been looking forward to it for quite a while. I was one of 7 people in the theatre. ;-) However, I enjoyed it very much! There was only one song that I really liked (and have been unable to get out of my head ever since), but I thought they did a really good job (as usual) of telling the story. I will definitely be getting it once it comes out on video!
My cat is busy attacking his ladybug at the moment. He is so silly! It is this stuffed ladybug that used to have catnip in it - I'm sure the potency has worn off by now. But he still loves it.
My apartment is also all decorated for Halloween, which is helping to add to the cozy, home-y feel. :-) I am disappointed that trick-or-treating is not allowed in our building. I was looking forward to handing out candy. I had a costume and everything.
October 13, 2002
Happy Thanksgiving everybody!
I am awake today, which is more than I can say for most of yesterday. :-) I went to London Thursday night, and Alison and I stayed up talking until the early morning, and I woke up 4 hours later. After a day of travelling and museum visiting and orchestra performance, we arrived back in London around 2 a.m., and had to get up 5 hours later to drive back to Toronto. I got home, returned the car, and spent pretty much the rest of the day in bed. :-)
However, it was definitely worth it! The Detroit Symphony was doing a Richard Rodgers tribute, with Doug and Rebecca Luker, who were both as fabulous as always. We had great seats, and amused ourselves with things like the fact that the timpani player looked quite a bit like Niles from Frasier (just imagine Niles playing the timpani!), and overall had a very good time. One of the neat things was that Doug sang Edelweiss, and then had everybody join in to sing it again, which created a really neat choral sound in the orchestra hall. It was very pretty.
I made my pumpkin pie last night, but I have a feeling it's not going to completely survive until dinner tonight - I may have to have an early piece. :-) Pumpkin pie is my absolute favourite pie (and, as Laurie will tell you, I'm a big fan of pie), but I only eat it at Thanksgiving. I know that I could bake one anytime of the year, but it just doesn't seem right. I am also cooking a ham, and risotto, and vegetables - not really traditional Thanksgiving, but it's just for me, so I'll cook what I like! :-)
I can't wait to see the Veggie Tales movie!! Sometime next week after work I have to go. I'll be sure to let you know how it is. :-)
October 3, 2002
Yay - less than 12 weeks till Christmas!!
This week has actually gone by pretty fast, considering that nothing very exciting is going on. Next weekend is a completely different story. :-) Alison and I are going to Detroit, which I'm very much looking forward to, as I've never been. And then I might get to have lunch with Laurie too! Plus, road trips are always good fun. AND I get a four-day weekend. What else could you ask for?
I've been watching a little more TV than usual, because of all the season premieres, etc. Mostly just The West Wing and Alias though. :-) I was so excited to see the Barenaked Ladies on the West Wing last night! And Alias I just love - Victor Garber can do no wrong.
I just bought the Lord of the Rings DVD, so you know what I'll be doing this weekend. :-) I am looking forward to the second one, but I really need to watch the first one again, since it has been about 10 months since I saw it, and I've forgotten pretty much everything!
Something made me decide to do some reading on the procedure of declawing a cat, and I really wish I hadn't. It made me so sad!! We had my cat declawed when he was 6 months old, but we had no idea what it involved. It was just kind of presented to us as something that is typically done. I would never do it again, now that I understand what it is. I spent the rest of the night apologizing to my kitty. :-)