The title of this post is a rip-off of one of the lines of the up and coming "Talladega Nights". If you haven't seen the trailer....OMG. Go HERE right now!

Thank you to everyone for all of your well wishes yesterday. It was so nice to get everyone's support. I'm thankful to report that my hosting provider restored my site from a July 23rd backup. I only lost a couple of days worth of stuff. The thoughful guys over there, after having a nice laugh at my expense I'm sure ("Did you read her email? That poor pathetic woman sounds desperate and clueless"), sent me a how to on backing up the database. I'm ready to roll again!

When I was 16, I discovered boy bands. Actually, correction....I discovered THE boyband. N'Sync was the next best thing to chocolate for me for a while and I had a massive crush on Lance - I think it was the hair. Well it turns out that my crush is gay! I'm happy to hear he's made this public. My sister didn't let me forget the crush though. "HAHA...did you hear that your loverboy is gay? HAHAHAHA" Little bitch. If I didn't love her so much I would have knocked her one. But alas, she's blood and I DO love her to death and I know she was kidding.

When my site problems occured on Thursday morning, D was already asleep so he didn't find out about it until the next morning. I told him what had happened as we walked to the bus in the morning. "I'm really down about it. I think I need a hug". His response "We're in the alley! I'll hug you later". WTF? Since when do you shy away from a hug in public? It's not like we're dry humping or anything! Needless to say, I made a bit of a stink about it with a little twinkle in my eye. We made up a few minutes later just before getting on the bus. We're wosses. Can't stand to be upset with eachother for longer than a few hours. The longest was 9 hours (a whole work day) and then I was calling him right at 5PM.

Oh yeah! And if you live in Canada, congrats folks! We're 10th on the list of happiest nations in the world! Condolences go out to my American buddies. You guys only came in at 23. Check out the story.

Hope you all manage to get out and enjoy the slightly milder weather! Have a great weekend!

OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. I just want to break down and cry my eyes out.

For 3 weeks I've been tinkering with my new movie reivew blog. This afternoon, I accidentally killed it. Not sure what I did but it's gone. All of it, gone. Hundreds of hours of work down the drain. To boot, there are now a whole bunch of files in my root directory which I can't delete, I've tried re-installing the blog, which appears to work fine, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to re-direct it to my home page. I fluked out the first time around and it took hours to do and now I can't seem to be able to do it again. I've hit bottom. I can't tell you how disappointing this is. I seriously just want to break down and cry for this and all the other shit that's happened lately. The only good thing out this entire ordeal is that the changes I made to the theme itself are saved (I had a backup on my computer) but other than that, I'm back to square one.

If anyone out there is a WP wiz that is willing to give a poor, screwed up soul a hand, I would seriously appreciate it. I'm so frustrated I don't want to look at it ever again though on the other hand, I'm pissed I can't figure it out.

I'm going to bed now. I'll try to do something with this again tomorrow. I'm too sad to work on it anymore tonight.

Contrary to popular suggestion, I have NOT been hit by a truck, been eaten alive by mosquitoes or drank myself into oblivion (as much as I did drink this weekend). It's been an insane couple of days. The logo madness that some of you may remember from a few months back has continued but I finally created something which she likes. Now she has three to choose from. The funny thing is that I didn't think she was going to go for it. To be honest, it's not my favourite of all the options I've provided but it's the one they seem to like the most. I tried to upload them but the photo upload service appears to be non-functional at the moment. Check them out here instead. Thoughts are, as always, welcome. Just don't tell me it's a Star Wars rip-off. I know that, you know that, the bloody name of the font is Battlestar! However, I did make changes to it and it looks darn spiffy. Still not my fave but then I'm not the boss. My opinion only counts for half. Now I just have to try to get some sort of payment for the endless hours I've put into this 'little project'. Next on the list is a company website.

It's been an insanely busy couple of days. The visiting Korean investors leave today. Personally, I think they just got tired of my coffee. Things are relatively back to normal. I have one more computer to put together and set-up and then I'm done with this crap (at least until the next time something breaks down). I just need the Dragon Lady to leave so I can actually get stuff done. When she's here I'm constantly running around because some little fire is always burning - I jump around all over putting them out so none of my work gets done. Can't wait 'till she's gone.

Thanks for reading about my oh so crummy few days. I promise to have fun stuff to post for tomorrow. Who knows, maybe even for later.

It's already Thrusday! I can't believe how the week just evaporated. Blink and *poof* it's gone!

Monday 11AM to today AM - "Marina, I can't open this attachment!" yells the oh so sofisticated and professional Dragon Lady (my new name for the boss lady). Oh god. Here we go, think I. "Unable do download message. Insuficient space." Yes ladies and gentlemen, for the first time in my life I saw what a full hard drive message looks like. Sure, it's only 7GB but please lady just delete some of that shit already. What use do you have for a 4yr old document that you haven't opened since July 12, 2002. Oh wait - you haven't opened it since you created it!!!! Just print the bloody thing and delete it. "But what if I lose it??" a very likely concern keeping in mind the state of her office (she missed the tornado warning). The saga begins. I spent the next three days upgrading her computer including installing her current (full and useless) hard-drive just in case she needs to open that 4yr old document again. The entire process would have been much faster if I didn't have to worry about the rest of my work.

Tuesday 9AM to Wednesday PM - "The Koreans are coming tomorrow" says the Last Minute Man (the boss man). ??? "What Koreans?" I ask. "The potential investors. We have to get blah, blah, blah and blah, ready for them by tomorrow morning." You should have SEEN the stack of crap I had to edit, photocopy and bind. Not bad but remember I'm still working on Dragon Lady's PC which she insists is "priority". WTF for? She's never here! But I'm the lowly peon. I follow instructions - most of the time. But I was sneaky...oh so sneaky. That new computer I put together for her....I swaped out the CD burner which she'll never use and I put it in my computer. Now I can back-up my system in 3 mintues rather than 3 days (I was zipping and putting my files on floppy disks - a desperate act, I know).

Wednesday 4PM to present - Koreans arrive. Give me beautiful introduction gift. Make my day. Then they start in on the coffee. OMG they like their coffee. I haven't made this many pots of coffee since I worked catering and at least then, we had a massive coffee maker (56 cups at a time). The one in the office = 12 cups. In 2 days I swear I've made 50 pots. There are only 12 of them. That little gift...not so special anymore.

At least tomorrow will be better. It's Friday after all.

I had all of these great plans for the weekend. They included getting LOTS of work done but, instead, I went out on Saturday and didn't come home late so everything was shifted to Sunday. The problem came when Sunday rolled around and I was sooooo lazy, I didn't even want to leave the house. D dragged me out to get some groceries but then I came back and dropped my lazy ass ont he counch. Didn't get off there again until dinner and after doing the dishes, I went back there again. I just can't believe how totally lazy I was. So much for getting stuff done.

I spen Friday night with D. Went for dinner (all you can eat sushi at our favourite restaurant, Shabusen) then a trip to Chinatown for the Market where I picked up DVD's for $5 each. New ones too! Sure, they're Chinese versions (and I won't ask how they had a copy of X-Men 3 for sale) and I bought one that I can't play because it's the wrong zone but all in all, I'm quite happy with my purchases and at least now I know what to look for the next time!

I've also come to the conclusion that big hair is sexy. On Friday I came into work with big hair because I showered late the nite before and didn't bother to style my hair. I thought I looked good in the morning so I just left it to fly with the wind. I had so many positive comments I decided to leave it lose for the weekend. I swear people, I've never had so many men check me out. Being totally serious!! Not that I'm looking because I'm quite happy thank-you-very-much but it's nice to be noticed. I think I'll wear my hair like this for the next little while. It's so easy too! Wash, brush, dry, brush before leaving! For the first time in my life I'm happy that I have 1) so much hair and 2) so much volume! :)

Nothing makes me perkier in the morning than a good tune. This morning's honour goes to Ludacris' Stand Up. Throw in the fact that it's Friday morning and I'm ecstatic!

I'd like to start by sharing a joke with you. Actually, it's not really a joke as it is a funny "story". This was sent to me by , of all people, my boss lady. I think it's bloody hilarious but I'm not sure how the boys are going to feel about it...

Divorce

A married couple is driving along a highway doing a steady 40 miles per hour. The wife is behind the wheel.

Her husband suddenly looks across at her and speaks in a clear voice.

"I know we've been married for twenty years, but I want a divorce."

The wife says nothing, keeps looking at the road ahead but slowly increases her speed to 45 mph.

The husband speaks again. "I don't want you to try and talk me out of it," he says, "because I've been having an affair with your best friend, and she's a far better lover than you are."

Again the wife stays quiet, but grips the steering wheel more tightly and slowly increases the speed to 55.

He pushes his luck. And, "I want the house," he says insistently..

The speed goes up to 60.

"I want the car, too," he continues.

The speed goes up to 65 mph.

"And," he says, "I'll have the bank accounts, all the credit cards and the boat!"

The car slowly starts veering towards a massive concrete bridge.

This makes him nervous, so he asks her, "Isn't there anything you want?"

The wife at last replies in a quiet and controlled voice. "No, I've got everything I need," she says.

"Oh, really," he inquires, "so what have you got?"

Just before they slam into the wall at 65 mph, the wife turns to him smiles, and says "The airbag."

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I love this one.

And, because for nearly a week I've been saying I'd do it, here's a meme I first saw on Amy's blog. I think it's a fantabulous one too.

One Word Meme

YO U … C A N … O N L Y … T Y P E … O N E … W O R D !
N O … E X P L A N A T I O N S !

1. Yourself: happy
2. Your boyfriend/girlfriend: love
3. Your hair? greying
4. Your mother? best
5. Your Father? loving
6. Your Favorite item? books
7. Your dream last night: forgotten
8. Your Favorite drink: coffee
9. Your Dream Car: lamborghini
10. The Room You Are In: colourful
11. Your Ex: forgotten
12. Your fear: unhappyness
13. Where do you want to be in 10 years: retired (*roflmao*)
14. Who you hung out with yesterday? hubby
15. What You’re Not: superwoman
16. Your Best Friend: many
17. One of Your Wish List Items: debt-free
18. What makes you happy: life
19. The Last Thing You Did: type
20. What You Are Wearing: black
21. Your Favorite Weather: fall
22. Your Favorite book: many
23. The Last Thing You Ate: dinner
24. Your Life: fantastic
25. Your Mood: happy
27. What are you thinking about right now: lunch
28. Your Crush: Keanu
29. What are you doing at the moment: working
30. Your summer schedule: movies

This weekend can't come quickly enough. For some reason, the week seems to have gone by quickly but at the same time, it feels like what I did Monday I actually did last month. Weird. Must be the lack of sleep this week. It's thrown a loop into my clock.

I got a bit carried away yesterday. I accidentaly deleted the database I had created for my new website and then, after a near breakdown, I started from scratch. It actually worked out for the best because it looks much, much better now than it did before. If anyone is interested, you can pop over and check it out here. It's not "officially" launched because it does still need a lot of updating which will happen over the weekend but it's a good general idea. If you notice something that doesn't align or look right, please leave me a note in the comments section there or here along with the browser that you're using so that I can try to correct it. Soon the blogger version of the site will be no more! Believe it or not, even working from a template, that "simple" look took nearly 6 hours of coding and graphics editing. YIKES! I think it still needs at least 6 more hours!

Oh yeah, and I finally downloaded that song that Sylvia was talking about. Darn you Sylvia!!!! Now I have "Ms. New Booty" in my head!!!! ;)

The skies opened up this morning and it's been raining ever since. It started off as a light, pleasand drizzle and has progressed into a storm complete with winds and a chill that we haven't experienced in a few weeks. Looks like winter again.

We had a fantastic turn out yesterday for our monthly Bookcrossing meetup. Fifteen people (a few of them newly arrived to the country and one visiting for a few days), lots of converstaion, coffee and wine later - made for a later night than usual. I didn't roll into the house until sometime near 11:30. Can't wait to go home and just relax tonight. I've had a number of folks ask about t-shirts for the group and this is the next little project - a t-shirt design competition. This is going to be mighty interesting!

Canada's Next Top Model is on tonight. I'm excited to see what happens. The previews have built up a moment which is going to hurt someone. Not sure what the girls find but it's going to make for a great show!

Thankfully, the boss lady has left for the day. Now I can actually do some work! LOL

I need either: 1) A couple of days off or 2) A 48h day. I have so much stuff to do over the next couple of days I'm just not sure where to start. The movie reviews are starting to pile up and I just haven't found the time to sit and write. I have to set up a couple of schedules for various groups for the next couple of weeks. I have to start prepping for back to school in September and SFX might not be completely out of the question as a friend of ours is talking abou driving out. I'm not getting my hopes up on this one. If it happens - great. If not...I'm not going to get upset over it.

D went to Bellingham yesterday. This is a funny story. He lost is birth certificate. To boot, he had to renew his driver's lisence on the weekend and they took away his old one, the new one is in the mail so to boot, he has no photo ID. I thought they'd given up on the idea of going but they decided to try it regardless. Well, he must not look like a terrorist because they let him in and out! Off the cuff on Sunday I had said that if they did go, I wouldn't mind some Victoria Secret hand lotion. He's a sweety! He went in there all by his lonesome (bro decided it wasn't his thing) and actually asked for assistance. He brought me an amazing bottle of Passion something or other body cream and spray. WOW. The stuff is amazing! I need to take a trip down there now. He wouldn't stop raving about the stuff at VS. It was really funny.

Now let's see if I can't post a review for POTC2...

I couldn't help myself. I have a soft spot for books (and movies) so when I saw this, I HAD to swipe it. I borrowed this from Amy. You should check out her list too! I'm warning you now - it's a LONG list! And I was really good. My additions are all Canadian!

Here goes folks:

Bold the ones you've read and add five new additions to the bottom, then tag 5 people. I'm not tagging anyone though. Just take it if you like!

01. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
02. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
03. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
04. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
05. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
06. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
07. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
08. 1984, George Orwell (TBR)
09. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Sorcerers Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The Durbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt (Totally Brilliant!)
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley (One of my favourites of all time)
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac (I want to!)
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel (TBR)
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho (TBR)
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnights Children, Salman Rushdie
101. Three Men In A Boat, Jerome K. Jerome
102. Small Gods, Terry Pratchett Maybe it was this one.. ?
103. The Beach, Alex Garland
104. Dracula, Bram Stoker
105. Point Blanc, Anthony Horowitz
106. The Pickwick Papers, Charles Dickens
107. Stormbreaker, Anthony Horowitz
108. The Wasp Factory, Iain Banks
109. The Day Of The Jackal, Frederick Forsyth
110. The Illustrated Mum, Jacqueline Wilson
111. Jude The Obscure, Thomas Hardy
112. The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole Aged 13 1/2, Sue Townsend
113. The Cruel Sea, Nicholas Monsarrat
114. Les Miserables, Victor Hugo
115. The Mayor Of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy
116. The Dare Game, Jacqueline Wilson
117. Bad Girls, Jacqueline Wilson
118. The Picture Of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
119. Shogun, James Clavell
120. The Day Of The Triffids, John Wyndham
121. Lola Rose, Jacqueline Wilson
122. Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray
123. The Forsyte Saga, John Galsworthy
124. House Of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski
125. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver
126. Reaper Man, Terry Pratchett
127. Angus, Thongs And Full-Frontal Snogging, Louise Rennison
128. The Hound Of The Baskervilles, Arthur Conan Doyle
129. Possession, A. S. Byatt
130. The Master And Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov
131. The Handmaids Tale, Margaret Atwood
132. Danny The Champion Of The World, Roald Dahl
133. East Of Eden, John Steinbeck
134. George's Marvellous Medicine, Roald Dahl
135. Wyrd Sisters, Terry Pratchett
136. The Color Purple, Alice Walker
137. Hogfather, Terry Pratchett
138. The Thirty-Nine Steps, John Buchan
139. Girls In Tears, Jacqueline Wilson
140. Sleepovers, Jacqueline Wilson
141. All Quiet On The Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque
142. Behind The Scenes At The Museum, Kate Atkinson
143. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby
144. It, Stephen King
145. James And The Giant Peach, Roald Dahl
146. The Green Mile, Stephen King
147. Papillon, Henri Charriere
148. Men At Arms, Terry Pratchett
149. Master And Commander, Patrick O'Brian
150. Skeleton Key, Anthony Horowitz
151. Soul Music, Terry Pratchett
152. Thief Of Time, Terry Pratchett
153. The Fifth Elephant, Terry Pratchett
154. Atonement, Ian McEwan
155. Secrets, Jacqueline Wilson
156. The Silver Sword, Ian Serraillier
157. One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest, Ken Kesey
158. Heart Of Darkness, Joseph Conrad (I still have nightmares about reading this book)
159. Kim, Rudyard Kipling
160. Cross Stitch, Diana Gabaldon
161. Moby Dick, Herman Melville
162. River God, Wilbur Smith
163. Sunset Song, Lewis Grassic Gibbon
164. The Shipping News, Annie Proulx
165. The World According To Garp, John Irving
166. Lorna Doone, R. D. Blackmore
167. Girls Out Late, Jacqueline Wilson
168. The Far Pavilions, M. M. Kaye
169. The Witches, Roald Dahl
170. Charlottes Web, E. B. White
171. Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
172. They Used To Play On Grass, Terry Venables and Gordon Williams
173. The Old Man And The Sea, Ernest Hemingway
174. The Name Of The Rose, Umberto Eco
175. Sophies World, Jostein Gaarder (Another excellent read!)
176. Dustbin Baby, Jacqueline Wilson
177. Fantastic Mr. Fox, Roald Dahl
178. Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov
179. Jonathan Livingstone Seagull, Richard Bach
180. The Little Prince, Antoine De Saint-Exupery
181. The Suitcase Kid, Jacqueline Wilson
182. Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens
183. The Power Of One, Bryce Courtenay
184. Silas Marner, George Eliot
185. American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis
186. The Diary Of A Nobody, George and Weedon Gross-mith
187. Trainspotting, Irvine Welsh
188. Goosebumps, R. L. Stine
189. Heidi, Johanna Spyri
190. Sons And Lovers, D. H. Lawrence
191. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
192. Man And Boy, Tony Parsons
193. The Truth, Terry Pratchett
194. The War Of The Worlds, H. G. Wells
195. The Horse Whisperer, Nicholas Evans
196. A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry
197. Witches Abroad, Terry Pratchett
198. The Once And Future King, T. H. White
199. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle
200. Flowers In The Attic, Virginia Andrews
201. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
202. The Eye of the World, Robert Jordan
203. The Great Hunt, Robert Jordan
204. The Dragon Reborn, Robert Jordan
205. Fires of Heaven, Robert Jordan
206. Lord of Chaos, Robert Jordan
207. Winters Heart, Robert Jordan
208. A Crown of Swords, Robert Jordan
209. Crossroads of Twilight, Robert Jordan
210. A Path of Daggers, Robert Jordan
211. As Nature Made Him, John Colapinto
212. Microserfs, Douglas Coupland
213. The Married Man, Edmund White
214. Winters Tale, Mark Helprin
215. The History of Sexuality, Michel Foucault
216. Cry to Heaven, Anne Rice
217. Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe, John Boswell
218. Equus, Peter Shaffer
219. The Man Who Ate Everything, Jeffrey Steingarten
220. Letters To A Young Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke
221. Ella Minnow Pea, Mark Dunn
222. The Vampire Lestat, Anne Rice
223. Anthem, Ayn Rand
224. The Bridge To Terabithia, Katherine Paterson
225. Tartuffe, Moliere
226. The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka (TBR)
227. The Crucible, Arthur Miller
228. The Trial, Franz Kafka
229. Oedipus Rex, Sophocles
230. Oedipus at Colonus, Sophocles
231. Death Be Not Proud, John Gunther
232. A Dolls House, Henrik Ibsen
233. Hedda Gabler, Henrik Ibsen
234. Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton
235. A Raisin In The Sun, Lorraine Hansberry
236. ALIVE!, Piers Paul Read
237. Grapefruit, Yoko Ono
238. Trickster Makes This World, Lewis Hyde
240. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
241. Chronicles of Thomas Convenant, Unbeliever, Stephen Donaldson
242. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
242. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon
243. Summerland, Michael Chabon
244. A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole
245. Candide, Voltaire
246. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More, Roald Dahl
247. Ringworld, Larry Niven
248. The King Must Die, Mary Renault
249. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert Heinlein
250. A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline L'Engle
251. The Eyre Affair, Jasper Fforde
252. The House Of The Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne
253. The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne
254. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan
255. The Great Gilly Hopkins, Katherine Paterson
256. Chocolate Fever, Robert Kimmel Smith
257. Xanth: The Quest for Magic, Piers Anthony
258. The Lost Princess of Oz, L. Frank Baum
259. Wonder Boys, Michael Chabon
260. Lost In A Good Book, Jasper Fforde
261. Well Of Lost Plots, Jasper Fforde
261. Life Of Pi, Yann Martel
263. The Bean Trees, Barbara Kingsolver
264. A Yellow Raft In Blue Water, Michael Dorris
265. Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder
267. Where The Red Fern Grows, Wilson Rawls
268. Griffin & Sabine, Nick Bantock
269. Witch of Blackbird Pond, Joyce Friedland
270. Mrs. Frisby And The Rats Of NIMH, Robert C. O'Brien
271. Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt
272. The Cay, Theodore Taylor
273. From The Mixed-Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, E.L. Konigsburg
274. The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster
275. The Westing Game, Ellen Raskin
276. The Kitchen Gods Wife, Amy Tan
277. The Bone Setters Daughter, Amy Tan
278. Relic, Duglas Preston & Lincolon Child
279. Wicked, Gregory Maguire
280. American Gods, Neil Gaiman
281. Misty of Chincoteague, Marguerite Henry
282. The Girl Next Door, Jack Ketchum
283. Haunted, Judith St. George
284. Singularity, William Sleator
285. A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson
286. Different Seasons, Stephen King
287. Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk
288. About a Boy, Nick Hornby
289. The Bookmans Wake, John Dunning
290. The Church of Dead Girls, Stephen Dobyns (Turns out I'm not the only one who read this!)
291. Illusions, Richard Bach
292. Magics Pawn, Mercedes Lackey
293. Magics Promise, Mercedes Lackey
294. Magics Price, Mercedes Lackey
295. The Dancing Wu Li Masters, Gary Zukav
296. Spirits of Flux and Anchor, Jack L. Chalker
297. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
298. The Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex Practices, Brenda Love
299. Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace
300. The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison
301. The Cider House Rules, John Irving
302. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
303. Girlfriend in a Coma, Douglas Coupland
304. The Lions Game, Nelson Demille
305. The Sun, The Moon, and the Stars, Stephen Brust
306. Cyteen, C. J. Cherryh
307. Foucaults Pendulum, Umberto Eco
308. Cryptonomicon, Neal Stephenson
309. Invisible Monsters, Chuck Palahniuk
310. Camber of Culdi, Kathryn Kurtz
311. The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand
312. War and Rememberance, Herman Wouk
313. The Art of War, Sun Tzu
314. The Giver, Lois Lowry
315. The Telling, Ursula Le Guin
316. Xenogenesis (or Liliths Brood), Octavia Butler
317. A Civil Campaign, Lois McMaster Bujold
318. The Curse of Chalion, Lois McMaster Bujold
319. The Aeneid, Publius Vergilius Maro (Virgil)
320. Hanta Yo, Ruth Beebe Hill
321. The Princess Bride, S. Morganstern (or William Goldman)
322. Beowulf, Anonymous
323. The Sparrow, Maria Doria Russell
324. Deerskin, Robin McKinley
325. Dragonsong, Anne McCaffrey
326. Passage, Connie Willis
327. Otherland, Tad Williams
328. Tigana, Guy Gavriel Kay
329. Number the Stars, Lois Lowry
330. Beloved, Toni Morrison
331. Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, Christopher Moore
332. The mysterious disappearance of Leon, I mean Noel, Ellen Raskin
333. Summer Sisters, Judy Blume
334. The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Victor Hugo
335. The Island on Bird Street, URI Orlev
336. Midnight in the Dollhouse, Marjorie Filley Stover
337. The Miracle Worker, William Gibson
338. The Genesis Code, John Case
339. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevensen
340. Paradise Lost, John Milton
341. Phantom, Susan Kay
342. The Mummy or Ramses the Damned, Anne Rice
343. Anno Dracula, Kim Newman
344: The Dresden Files: Grave Peril, Jim Butcher
345: Tokyo Suckerpunch, Issac Adamson
346: The Winter of Magics Return, Pamela Service
347: The Oddkins, Dean R. Koontz
348. My Name is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok
349. The Long Goodbye, Raymond Chandler
350. At Swim, Two Boys, Jaime ONeill
351. Othello, by William Shakespeare
352. The Collected Poems of Dylan Thomas
353. The Collected Poems of William Butler Yeats
354. Sati, Christopher Pike
355. The Inferno, Dante
356. The Apology, Plato
357. The Small Rain, Madeline L'Engle
358. The Man Who Tasted Shapes, Richard E Cytowick
359. 5 Novels, Daniel Pinkwater
360. The Sevenwaters Trilogy, Juliet Marillier (Amazing. She's a great writer)
361. Girl with a Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier (TBR)
362. To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf
363. Our Town, Thorton Wilder
364. Green Grass Running Water, Thomas King
335. The Interpreter, Suzanne Glass
336. The Moors Last Sigh, Salman Rushdie
337. The Mother Tongue, Bill Bryson
338. A Passage to India, E.M. Forster
339. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky
340. The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux
341. Pages for You, Sylvia Brownrigg
342. The Changeover, Margaret Mahy
343. Howls Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones
344. Angels and Demons, Dan Brown
345. Johnny Got His Gun, Dalton Trumbo
346. Shosha, Isaac Bashevis Singer
347. Travels With Charley, John Steinbeck another big favorite
348. The Diving-bell and the Butterfly, Jean-Dominique Bauby
349. The Lunatic at Large, J. Storer Clouston
350. Time for Bed, David Baddiel
351. Barrayar, Lois McMaster Bujold
352. Quite Ugly One Morning, Christopher Brookmyre
353. The Bloody Sun, Marion Zimmer Bradley
354. Sewer, Gas, and Eletric, Matt Ruff
355. Jhereg, Steven Brust
356. So You Want To Be A Wizard, Diane Duane
357. Perdido Street Station, China Mieville
358. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Anne Bronte
359. Road-side Dog, Czeslaw Milosz
360. The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje
361. Neuromancer, William Gibson
362. The Epistemology of the Closet, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick
363. A Canticle for Liebowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr
364. The Mask of Apollo, Mary Renault
365. The Gunslinger, Stephen King
366. Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare
367. Childhoods End, Arthur C. Clarke
368. A Season of Mists, Neil Gaiman
369. Ivanhoe, Walter Scott
370. The God Boy, Ian Cross
371. The Beekeepers Apprentice, Laurie R. King
372. Finn Family Moomintroll, Tove Jansson
373. Misery, Stephen King
374. Tipping the Velvet, Sarah Waters
375. Hood, Emma Donoghue
376. The Land of Spices, Kate O'Brien
377. The Diary of Anne Frank
378. Regeneration, Pat Barker
379. Tender is the Night, F. Scott Fitzgerald
380. Dreaming in Cuban, Cristina Garcia
381. A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway
382. The View from Saturday, E.L. Konigsburg
383. Dealing with Dragons, Patricia Wrede
384. Eats, Shoots & Leaves, Lynne Truss
385. A Severed Wasp, Madeleine Lengle
386. Here Be Dragons, Sharon Kay Penman
387. The Mabinogion (Ancient Welsh Tales), translated by Lady Charlotte E. Guest
388. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown
389. Desire of the Everlasting Hills, Thomas Cahill
390. The Cloister Walk, Kathleen Norris
391. The Things We Carried, Tim O'Brien
392. I Know This Much Is True, Wally Lamb
393. Choke, Chuck Palahniuk
394. Enders Shadow, Orson Scott Card
395. The Memory of Earth, Orson Scott Card
396. The Iron Tower, Dennis L. McKiernen
397. Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand
398. A Ring of Endless Light, Madeline L'Engle
399. Lords of Discipline, Pat Conroy
400. Hyperion, Dan Simmons
401. If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things, Jon McGregor
402. The Bridge, Iain Banks
403. How to Be Good, Nick Hornby
404. The Stone Diaries, Carol Shields
405. A Map of the World, Jane Hamilton
406. Eragon, Christopher Paolini
407. A Series of Unfortunate Events, Lemony Snicket
408. I'm a Stranger Here Myself, Bill Bryson
409. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling
410. Buddenbrooks. The Decline Of A Family, Thomas Mann
411. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling
412. Deception Point, Dan Brown
413. Momo, Michael Ende
414. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Carson McCullers
415. The Lion in Winter, James Goldman
416. Homicide, David Simon
417. Bastard Out of Caroline, Dorothy Allison
418. Reasons to Live, Amy Hempel
419. Self Help, Lorrie Moore
420. The Killer Angels, Michael Shaara
421. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
422. The Outsiders, SE Hinton
423. Anywhere But Here, Mona Simpson
424. Was, Geoff Ryman
425. 253, Geoff Ryman
426. Everything Is Illuminated, Johnathan Safran Foer
467. The Graduate, Charles Webb
468. The Stranger, Albert Camus
469. In The Pond, Ha Jin
470. Stones From The River, Ursula Hegi
471. The Sheltering Sky, Paul Bolwes
472. Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier
473. Farenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
474. Doctor Zhivago, Boris Pasternak
475. Wild Swans, Jung Chang
476. A Widow for One Year, John Irving
477. Son of the circus, John Irving
478. Brick Lane, Monica Ali
479. The Half Brother, Lars Saabye Christensen
480. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold
481. Blindness, José Saramago
482. While Oleander, Janet Fitch
483. The House of the Spirits, Isabel Allende
484. Like Water for Chocolate, Laura Esquível
485. Latitudes of Melt, Joan Clark
486. If on a Winter's Night a Traveler, Italo Calvino
487. The Flandres Panel, Arturo Pérez-Reverte
488. Iacobus, Matilde Asensi
489. Z : a Love Story, Vigdís Grímsdóttir
490. My name is Isbjörg, Vigdís Grímsdóttir
491. The Virgin's Lover, Philippa Gregory
492. The Other Boleyn Girl, Philippa Gregory
493. The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd
494. The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafón
495. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hossaine
496. Chocolat, Joanne Harris
497. Coastliners, Joanne Harris
498. Holy Fools, Joanne Harris
499. Daughter of Fortune, Isabel Allende
500. Portrait in Sephia, Isabel Allende
501. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Mark Haddon
502. Collector Collector, Tobor Fisher
503. Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides
504. Labyrinth, Kate Mosse
505. Cat's Eye, Margaret Atwood
506. A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare
507. Changing places, David Lodge
508. Pygmalion, G.B. Shaw
509. Lucky Jim, Kingsley Amis
510. Moll Flanders, Daniel Defoe
511. The Virgin Suicides, Jeffrey Eugenides
512. Unholy Trinity, Richard Peet
513. She's come undone, Wally Lamb
514. The favourite Game, Leonard Cohen
515. Piece by Piece, Tori Amos
516. Anansi Boys, Neil Gaiman
517. The Neverending Story, Michael Ende
518. Vineland, Thomas Pynchon
519. The Crying of Lot 49, Thomas Pynchon
520. How we are hungry, Dave Eggers
521. The Fall of the Kings, Ellen Kushner
522. The Steppe Wolf, Hermann Hesse
523. The Ghosts of Sleath, James Herbert
524. Moving Pictures, Terry Pratchett
525. The Troyan War, Homer
526. Silence of the Grave, Arnaldur Indriðason
527. Cassandra, Christa Wolf
528. Emil and the Detectives, Erich Kästner
529. Mr. Palomar, Italo Calvino
530. Brother of Sleep, Robert Schneider
531. The Confessions of Max Tivoli, Andrew Sean Greer
532. Answer me, Susanna Tamaro
533. Popular Music from Vittula, Mikael Niemi
534. A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking
535. The Phsyicists, Friedrich Dürrenmatt
536. Hyperspace, Michio Kaku
537. Star Trek Memories, William Shatner & Chris Kreski
538. Der Dativ ist dem Genitiv sein Tod, Bastian Sick
539. The Crazed, Ha Jin
540. Waiting, Ha Jin
541. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, Dai Sijie
542. The Bridge of San Luis Rey, Thornton Wilder
543. The Good Earth, Pearl S. Buck
544. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain
545. These Three Remain, Pamela Aidan
546. Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen
547. Trials and Tribulations, Theodor Fontane
548. Murder on the Orient Express, Agatha Christie
549. Pope Joan, Donna W. Cross
550. Mansfield Park, Jane Austen
551. The Third Twin, Ken Follet
552. Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton
553. The Notebook, Nicholas Sparks
554. All The President's Men, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein
555. The Lion of Ireland, Morgan Llywelyn
556. The Golden Key, Jennifer Roberson Melanie Rawn & Kate Elliot
557. Pendragon's Banner, Helen Hollick
558. The Time-Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger
559. The Romantic Comedians - Ellen Glasgow
560. It's Superman - Tom De Haven
561. Comics as Culture - M. Thomas Inge
562. Nine Princes in Amber - Roger Zelanzy
562. Paradise - Toni Morrison
563. Smiles on Washington Square - Raymond Federman
564. Dust Tracks on the Road - Zora Neale Hurston
565. The Wearly Blues - Langston Hughes
566. I, Robot - Isaac Asimov
567. Doctor Faustus - Christopher Marlow
568. Running Blind - Desmond Bagley
569. Angela and Diabola - Lynne Reid Banks
570. Robots and Empire - Issac Asimov
571. The Vagina Monologues - Eve Ensler
572. Girl, Interrupted - Susanna Kaysen
573. Playing Away - Adele Parks
574. Of Human Bondage - W.Somerset Maugham
575. Hannibal - Thomas Harris
576. Trix - Stephanie Theobald
577. The Little Friend - Donna Tartt
578. JPod - Douglas Copuland
579. Generation X - Douglas Coupland
580. My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult
581. Cosmos - Carl Sagan
582. Lady Chatterley's Lover - D.H. Lawrence
583. Chariots of the Gods? - Erich von Daniken
584. Gulliver's Travels - Jonathon Swift
585. Rendezvous with Rama - Arthur C. Clarke
586. The Probable Future - Alice Hoffman
587. Practical Magic - Alice Hoffman
588. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants - Ann Brashears
589. Franny and Zooey - JD Salinger
590. Trixie Belden and the Secret of the Mansion - Julie Campbell
591. Amnesia, Douglas Cooper
592. Fall on Your Knees, Ann-Marie MacDonald
593. The Diviners, Margaret Laurence
594. Mona Lisa Overdrive, William Gibson
595. A Terrible Beauty, Nancy Baker

It's been a pretty crazy Monday morning but I'm moving at a snail's pace today. I'm still tired from the weekend and I'm not sure a good sleep is going to do the trick. I seriously think I need a week to just relax and recoop.

Friday was a great success. We had a huge group of costumed folks turn out for POTC2 and the 2 1/2 hour wait seemed to fly by with all the fun and excitement we had. This is a great group picture taken after the show while everyone was milling around. More pictures can be found here. Although I took my camera with me, I didn't manage to take any shots. I can't wait to see the rest of the pictures. It was fantastic fun and I'm looking forward to more of these outings! The movie review itself should be up at some point today.

D's b-day was great fun. He got sloshed like a 18 year old getting drunk for the first time. We stayed up 'til 3AM at which point most folks started to head home. I didn't get to bed until almost 4 after all the clean up and although I slept in on Sunday and did NOTHING, I'm still tired! I literally did dishes and then sat in front of the TV for hours on end. It was restful but completely counter productive.

I hope everyone else had a great weekend! :)

I'm not sure why but it seems that every time I have an event going on in the evening, the day at work is CRAZY and out of hand. I haven't had much time to do anything but work today! AHAHAH Go figure. :)

To boot, I've had a couple of last minute line party related stuff come up that I'm trying to sort through AND I still have to call everyone for D's b-day surprise BBQ tomorrow. AHHHHHHHHHHHH!

At least I'll have all day Saturday to relax while the boys are partying it up in Cultus Lake! Nice. I'm not even cooking anything. That's what M&M Meat Shops is for!

Disappointment hit at 2:30 or so yesterday afternoon when Portugal was eliminated from the WC Final by the French. I read a headline this morning "French fry Portugal". AHAHAHA Fortunately, this wasn't quite the case. We played a great game with great opportunities but sometimes you need a little luck too. Nothing to be ashamed of. We have two years to prepare for Euro Cup and another run at a title.

At home, my mom and I had a discussion about this. I am always so impressed by the number of folks that crawl out of the woodwork to follow their homeland during these events. I love these patriotic moments but it puzzles me that once it's done, all those people hide away again and they're only Portuguese again if the team does well during the next championship. No big deal, it's bound to happen but I'm not sure why people can't be proud of their heritage all the time. I'll be the first to admit that my parents and I are much more patriotic than the average folk and I think that's why I'm having such a hard time understanding this. It's such a tiny country, it has achieved such great things in history, we're spread out all over the globe (the emigration has always been higher than the immigration) and yet many people hide their roots. I know this isn't an isolated incident and that it varies from person to person but it's really apparent during events like this one. That was kind of pointless ranting but I had to get it out.

The costume for Friday is nearly done. A very drunken D helped me tie it up yesterday during the test fitting and I swear it took longer than if I had done it on my own but I was so thrilled that he offered to help, I just didn't have the heart to tell him I was better off on my own. Other than that, it's been rather un-eventful!

I hope everyone else's week is going as well! We're nearly at the end of it!

Wow. I'm exhausted today. Last night I met the movie group for an outing to The Devil Wears Prada and by the time we finished blah blah blahing, it was just after 11. I missed my bus and had to wait for the next one. It made for a very late night. It was made particularly worse by the fact that I had to pee, badly, and everything at the mall was closed. I ended up taking a different bus up the road so that I could go into the 24h Tim Horton's to use the washroom. When I got off the bus, I swear, I nearly peed myself. I'm sure I was walking funny. Lately, this seems to be happening much more often. I think it has something to do with all the extra coffee and water I've been drinking. It's not pretty!

I confirmed and made final arrangements with the theater for Friday. Turns out we have a group of approximately 40 people in costume and a whole bunch more who will be joining us for POTC2. I'm really looking forward to it and I think it's going to be a great event. I'll make sure to post lots of pictures! In the meantime, I still have to add eyelets to my newly made bodice and finish sewing the skirt. Hopefully, I can get the rest of this stuff done tonight.

The only thing on my mind at the moment is the soccer game which is scheduled to start in about an hour. Oh goodness. I can't believe I'm going to miss watching it. Go green and red!

Oh goodness. I can't believe it's Tuesday monring already. The weekend was a flurry of activity. Actually, it was pretty quiet...I just wanted to use that phrase "flurry of activity". D and I did very little other than sleep and BBQ. Got up early to watch the game on Saturday and then went off to celebrate Canada Day, spending most of the morning walking around Canada Place eating shaved ice. Sunday, he got up to watch the F1 race while I slept in until nearly noon. Then off to Superman Returns (if the review isn't up when you visit, it will be up shortly...promise!) and by the time we came home, it was after 10pm. Yesterday was a combination of cleaning, sewing and...you've probably read about my TV habits so I'll avoid mentioning it again.

I *really* didn't want to come to work today. I should have taken a few more days off to catch up but alas, I failed to do that so I had to drag my ass out of bed. I did manage to wake up during the comute to work. I listen to a podcast 3 times a week. For a while there, I had to stop listening to it on the way to work because I always had this stupid grin on my face from trying not to LOL. But I've given up all hope. Monday's show was particularly funny. Honestly, if you like movies, you HAVE to listen to these guys. It's bloody hilarious. You can download the most recent cast at their website, The Movie Blog. I encourage you all to check it out.

I also read a great article this morning on the 25 worst tech products of all time - at least according to PC Word. There were a few that I'd never heard of but there was also more than one that I shook my head at because I remember them (and I remember thinking how shitty they were). You can get the full list here.

Happy Independence Day to our Southern neighbours! And remember kids, don't play with fireworks!

It was nice to have the day off today. It was a rather busy weekend and I had planned to use today to catch up on rest and though I did manage to get a bit of extra sleep, it was still a busy day. I did some much needed cleaning, laundry and, I made the grave error of turning the tv on at noon. Flipping throught the channels I came along TVTropolis which is a new "classic tv" station and believe it or not, I watched Beverly Hills, 90210 - The marathon. I know, I know, what the heck was I thinking??? All I could do was laugh at the fact that I used to *love* this show. Watching it now didn't strike the same cords as it did when I was 15 but it was still fun. I will admit that Luke Perry was (and still is) dreamy. He had this bad boy appeal mixed with an intelect beyond the regular teenager. Yes. Dreamy.

I still can't believe we watched this and BELIEVED that these guys were in highschool. Honestly, they all look like they're at the very least in their mid 20's however, watching the re-runs was fun and I'd see them again if they came on. In a while though. I think I've had my fill for the next little while. But Perry is still dreamy.