...and wackiness ensues....

Hit it all you want, but the lift will take as long as it will take no matter how forcefully you press the button. You are more alert during your waking hours and this means that you can see exactly how you are managing to throttle your fish to death. The life of a party you most certainly aren't this weekend.                     (From Laughsend.)

Why yes... I have been more alert in my waking hours as of late. And yep... there's that damn fish again.

Life is...

a

lovely

ordinary

disaster.

These were the first three words that came up in the Random Word Generator just now. I didn't have a clue as to what I was going to do with them, but this is the first thing that came to mind and ... it works.

Bloodsuckers...

Went to go grab something to eat and have a picnic a deux in the backyard with big sister earlier. Out there for less than ten minutes and had seven mosquitoes land... There are now seven less of the little buggers in the world. The river is still high and high water usually means more mosquitoes, but the month of June was unseasonably cold, so the bloodsuckers weren't an issue until the hot weather kicked in. I believe we are now in our fifth straight day of beautiful sunny (finally) humid (blech) niceness. Haven't yet brought the little desk fan out, but it didn't cool down much last night as it usually does, so may have to go upstairs and bring it down here so at least there will be some air circulating. (Yeah, I've been here ten years now and I haven't had the old windows replaced and I still don't have screens in them. Sigh.)

Elephants never forget...

... is the saying I remember from childhood...

Received this in an email yesterday, courtesy of Edna, but had to leave the photos out:

You've heard them called "dumb animals" but these particular ones are amazingly intelligent creatures. With a "sixth sense" that is beyond our comprehension.

Lawrence Anthony, a legend in South Africa and author of 3 books including the bestseller The Elephant Whisperer, bravely rescued wildlife and rehabilitated elephants all over the globe from human atrocities, including the courageous rescue of Baghdad Zoo animals during US invasion in 2003.

On March 7, 2012 Lawrence Anthony died.

He is remembered and missed by his wife, 2 sons, 2 grandsons, and numerous elephants. Two days after his passing, the wild elephants showed up at his home led by two large matriarchs. Separate wild herds arrived in droves to say goodbye to their beloved man-friend. A total of 20 elephants had patiently walked over 12 miles to get to his South African house. Witnessing this spectacle, humans were obviously in awe not only because of the supreme intelligence and precise timing that these elephants sensed about Lawrence's passing, but also because of the profound memory and emotion the beloved animals evoked in such an organized way: Walking slowly - for days - making their way in asolemn one-by-one queue from their habitat to his house. Lawrence's wife, Francoise, was especially touched, knowing that the elephants had not been to his house prior to that day for well over a year! But yet they knew where they were going. The elephants obviously wanted to pay their deep respects, honoring their friend who'd saved their lives - so much respect that they stayed for 2 days 2 nights. Then one morning, they left, making their long journey back home.

I went agoogling and found one of the original articles here, and one from a few days later here. I highly recommend watching the video in the second (CBC) link. Yesh, it brought a tear to my eye... Must have been something to do with the trauma of watching Dumbo as a kid.

Just a brief message...

YouTubeLink. (Views 599,406)

Found it here this morning.

Summer Sunday Insanity

Why oh why did I wake up at 4:40AM on a Sunday morning after less than three hours of sleep when my eyes wanted to still be closed?

Sparkle... bubble...

Was listening to a little bit of this (Metallica) and a little bit of that (StaticX) and some Billie Holiday tonight and went agoogling for one of the songs. Found it, but also found the rather cool session with Wynton above. (Yes, that is an accordian in there.) Not really my style of jazz, but it is interesting listening to the interpretation / arrange-ment.

This is the one I was looking for:

Hot damn...

... it's good... Way more intensity and texture than this (a mainstay)and I would consider it much too special to use for this treat. Oh... and I had mentioned in previous post that I had purchased an "Almost Perfect" bag of it. I noticed that the regular price is $8.95 for 14 pieces... the bag I got was $4.31 with probably at least that many in it. The only thing "wrong" with them is that they are broken, i.e. not quite perfect. I say "bah" to perfect in a pretty box.

Nope...

... not tired. I've been up for 21 hours straight. I had gone to bed at a reasonable hour again last night... just after 1AM... Woke up at 3:43... Then woke up at 5:33... Was going to try to go back to sleep just after 6, but was too awake to even try. Now... this can be considered a good sign or a bad sign. First off, I was motivated to get moving. Good. I didn't sleep much. Bad. I wasn't tired. Good. I got up, got ready and walked briskly to the pool... Good, and swam a few laps... not many, but ten is better than none. Good. Walked to McDonalds... Good, and had my Sausage Egg McMuffin meal... Good. Bad. Walked to the grocery store... Good, picked up vegetables... Good, fresh French bread... Good. Bad, and a home decor magazine... Good. Bad. Walked home in the hot sun... Good and Bad... with two bags of groceries and backpack. Got hot and sweaty. Showered and walked to the old office job to get a couple things done... Good. Walked over to friend's shop and changed her entire window display... Good. Tagged along on a last minute roadtrip wherein I bought a bag of "almost perfect" Chili Pepper Chocolate (ate one piece)... Good.Bad, splurged on a small order of New York Fries with the Works... Good. Bad.Bad, as well as a Mocha Moo Latte... Good. Bad.Bad. Got back... had a Value pick Bacon Cheeseburger and small fries from McDonalds. Good.Bad. Drank two glasses of water tonight. Good. I count 11 Good and 10 Bad. So, all in all, not bad.

The thing is that the past three or four days have been considerably odd... out of sorts, mind-body detached-like, zoned out, gutwrenchingly twisted, zombie-ish, but all for no apparent reason. Usually this type of thing lasts for maybe five minutes or 15 at most, but not even close to that extreme. It was as if something was twisting me up or pulling and pushing me in different directions at the same time. No excessive thinking, which would be a natural cause. The complete opposite in fact. And then yesterday some clarity returned and it was almost as though a weight was lifted, leading to today's strange energy, which I haven't really had in about two years... I guess all one can do is see what tomorrow today brings.

I shall endeavour to sleep now as my eyes seem to be wanting to close finally. About time... closer to 22 hours now.

Good morning Friday...

Listened to a few more CDs in the getting rid of stack today. I was thinking that I might be the only person who would listen to Gloria Estefan and Megadeth in the same day. Now... the thing is, I do remember some of Gloria's songs, but I don't remember any by Megadeth (and I've found three of their CDs in my collection so far). However... I do remember why I couldn't quite get into them ... Just something about the lead singer's irritating voice and the oft extensive high pitched guitar solos, but the music does hold some merit, although a tad too frenetic or "busy" for me now. The song I posted is not their standard sound, and I found it had a certain appeal tonight. Oh... and the beginning of it reminded me of something that I am more familiar with and much more fond of.

Couldn't have said it better myself...

"You may feel like you're trying to grab a slippery fish with butter on your hands."

Mmm... scones...

Last week I picked up Blueberry Scones from the bakery... OMG... they were so soft and fluffy and chock full of blueberries... Slathering margarine (butter would be better, but still) on them added a smooth creaminess to the fluffy ... Sigh... This past weekend, it was Cheese and Raisin Scones... There was a light sprinkling of raisins and cheese in them, which added just a modest touch of flavour in each bite. The raisins were so plump and sweet that more probably would have been a bit overwhelming. Now, these scones, I had a hard time deciding if they were better nuked or toasted... It was a bag of six, so I had to freeze four of them, as they are best fresh out of the bag. (Freezing them right away maintains the existing texture.) Sliced them in half beforehand for ease of separation right out of the freezer. Still can't decide. Nuking them allowed the fluffiness to remain in full effect, but toasting left them with a crisp exterior and fluffy interior, which provided that little bit of extra texture that I like... Either way, the last one disappeared tonight.

For a moment...

The sun shone brightly for one last moment before fading into the cloud and descending behind the mountains. I was here to see it, and for that I am thankful.

To honour the fallen since last time:

Australia
Italy
U.K. (5)
U.S. (Arkansas, Ohio, Idaho, Virginia (2),
        Alabama, Michigan (2), Indiana,
        Florida, New York, Maryland,
        California (2), South Carolina (3),
        Washington, Arizona, Minnesota,
        Illinois)

Discombobulated

My head hurts... and feels... heavy... ringing... almost throbbing. Everything seems to be going in slow motion... dragging... as if in a haze or daze. The oft used word "lost" doesn't seem to encompass the feeling... It is more as though I simply wandered away from myself for far too long and cannot find my way back. It is taking a while to re-attach. My brain has effectively shut down.

(Funny, I was going to call this "Detached", but a search indicates that I have already used it. So... I figured "Disconnected"... Jiminy crickets.)

I'm going to try and go to sleep early again. Been sleeping a wee bit better, but it doesn't seem to be helping at this point... yet.

A star at dawn...

(Image courtesy of T1G)

Thus shall we think of all this fleeting world:

A star at dawn, a bubble in a stream;
A flash of lightning in a summer cloud,
A flickering lamp, a phantom, and a dream.

                                                                           (Words of The Buddha)

I had this written down in a journal from a few years back, and when I read it the other day, the above image and the dude who took it immediately came to mind.

Calm before the storm...

or... the lull... 

You ever had that feeling in the pit of your stomach that something... BIG... huge... life-altering is going to happen? And then... BAM... nothing? I think my human version of the doppler radar needs to be recalibrated. Of course though, as time passes, I find that isn't an indication of a forthcoming catastrophic change, but rather that something is simply ... just... wrong.

It's Monday...

At present, this river and the one it empties into are overflowing their banks, but I haven't been down there to check it out. This pic is from late in the afternoon some summer in the 90s. That tree stayed like that for years... and that boulder was a great perch. I knew that I had posted a couple pictures taken whilst standing in the middle of that river before, but for the life of me I couldn't find them searching through the blog, so checked Google images... Go figure... the post was called "Monday Sappy Crap".

What emptiness holds...

I've always known that there was an empty space in me... or in my life. I knew that it was an empty space, but it never really mattered. That empty space was just a part of who I was. Although I was well aware that that empty space was there, I never felt as though I was missing something. It wasn't until I became the empty space, that the edges of that empty space frayed, blurring the lines between life, existence and nothingness.

"We shape clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that holds whatever we want." (Lao Tzu)

Happy Canada Day...

I found this by Googling "Proud to be Canadian".

I had a feeling that I had said those exact same words somewhen.

Proud to say...

Yes, it is the day to celebrate the birth of our country, but I also wish to honour the memory of all those who were willing, able and determined to forge a life in this great country, to sacrifice of themselves and to fight for the freedom we cherish today.

 

A walk in the past...

From one of my notebooks, May 8, 1997

I walk down the street whilst a light rain falls. I turn the corner and stop. As I look down the avenue lined by aged evergreens, the sun peeks through just a touch, to illuminate the raindrops that now appear to be light crystals falling from the treetops. The cherry blossoms are flying upon the cold wind and in the distance, the snow kissed mountains sit silently.