I spent all day painting and avoiding bats, which is a really great way to start living in your head. Seriously. Do you know what I mean? All that menial labour, and you're so mentally bored that you start analysing all of the nonsense in your life, pinning down the exact moment that things went horribly wrong and now you're an old maid, living with your parents, painting their bathroom!?!?!?
*eh-hem*
Anyway, a few things seriously cracked me up tonight, so if you need an upper and the drugstores are closed, check these out:
- Video On Trial is the only TV show that makes me laugh out loud. Comedians making fun of music videos, OH the hilarity that ensues.
- If you've read and loved The Gallery of Regrettable Foods, then you'll love this blog - "Do What Now?"
- And I need, NEED this CD!!! "Songs for Ice Cream Trucks." If you go here, you can listen to the full track of "Where Do Ice Cream Trucks Go In The Winter." ... SO worth it!!! I promise it will make you smile!
That's it for now!
Gillian
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
Memo To The Bats Re: House Calls
Dear Bats,
I'm sure that you're lovely and fuzzy, but I beg you to refrain from letting yourselves into our house. Bats belong outside, not inside. Last night was the third time that we caught one of your renegade adventurists in our hallway. All of our attempts to block your entrance have failed, and we admit defeat in your quest to drive us insane. We can't sleep because of you. We can't open closets because of you. I was driven to tears last night over the anxiety of having to go to the washroom in the dark. I nearly wet my pants. So stop it, okay? I'm sick of sleeping with the light on and cutting liquids from my diet. Just leave us alone.
Tonight, as a gesture of our parting on positive terms, I will be sleeping in the car. This should allow you the time and space to finish up whatever "bat business" you need to attend to in the house, and then you must never, never come back again. I'm too young to die of a heart attack/sleep deprivation. You win. Take what you want and then leave us alone.
Thank you for your cooperation,
Gillian
I'm sure that you're lovely and fuzzy, but I beg you to refrain from letting yourselves into our house. Bats belong outside, not inside. Last night was the third time that we caught one of your renegade adventurists in our hallway. All of our attempts to block your entrance have failed, and we admit defeat in your quest to drive us insane. We can't sleep because of you. We can't open closets because of you. I was driven to tears last night over the anxiety of having to go to the washroom in the dark. I nearly wet my pants. So stop it, okay? I'm sick of sleeping with the light on and cutting liquids from my diet. Just leave us alone.
Tonight, as a gesture of our parting on positive terms, I will be sleeping in the car. This should allow you the time and space to finish up whatever "bat business" you need to attend to in the house, and then you must never, never come back again. I'm too young to die of a heart attack/sleep deprivation. You win. Take what you want and then leave us alone.
Thank you for your cooperation,
Gillian
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Blomidon Park
Well, even *I* have to admit that this province has some pretty spectacular scenery. This is Blomidon Park on the Bay of Fundy, about 15 km from the house.
Fog rolling in from the less sheltered side of the bay
Better shot of the fog, and pretty grassy things
Oooh, pretty!
Fog rolling in from the less sheltered side of the bay
Low Tide
Better shot of the fog, and pretty grassy things
Red cliffs... The soil is very red, this doesn't do it justice
Oooh, pretty!Still not sure I wanna live here tho ;)
Gillian
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Mad Ravings From The Bat Cave
Not a lot is new on this coast. It's been insanely hot, which is making us all a little weirder than usual. The humidity out here is staggering. It's like the world is your sauna; open pores, clothes heavy with the damp, everything is sticky. It's all I can do to lay in front of a fan watching fashion television on the satellite dish. (Nathan, can you believe mum let us have a satellite dish?! I can't either!) I'm really torn over Haute Couture. Being a Fashion Designer is one of my Top 5 Dream Jobs. (The other four being Artistic Director, Novelist, Museum Curator and Music Video Director... now you know!) At any rate, Haute Couture is just ridiculous, but how fun would it be to design? You could be like "I'm Christian Dior and I'm going to make a dress entirely of feathers" and people would pay a million dollars for it. And you would just laugh and say "I can't believe they fell for that." I would name my fashion line "Delcourt" to channel my French roots. Tres Chic!
Hmm, what else? Only two bat-nights so far, and lord help us, NO pest control companies (there are only three in the Annapolis Valley) have called us back. I think I'm past the Denial and Anger stages and am onto Bargaining. My nights are spent lying awake, creating elaborate plans on how I can get out of this. (If anyone has access to a hot air balloon, please drop me a line.) I've been dealing with my stress in the usual ways of colouring my hair and baking things (auburn and peach cobbler.) While I was colouring my hair I started to think about Tarzan, and wondered if I could use Jane as a role model in this adventure? I decided I'd have to have the Victorian Safari outfit to make a real go of it (Like Jane's outfit, in the Disney Tarzan movie! heehee!) It's all about the outfit, you see? I have fashion on the brain.
Alright, mum has discovered that I'm hiding and has "requested" my help unpacking again *sigh*
I miss you all. Come save me!!! HEEEEELLLLLPPPPPP!
Gillian
Hmm, what else? Only two bat-nights so far, and lord help us, NO pest control companies (there are only three in the Annapolis Valley) have called us back. I think I'm past the Denial and Anger stages and am onto Bargaining. My nights are spent lying awake, creating elaborate plans on how I can get out of this. (If anyone has access to a hot air balloon, please drop me a line.) I've been dealing with my stress in the usual ways of colouring my hair and baking things (auburn and peach cobbler.) While I was colouring my hair I started to think about Tarzan, and wondered if I could use Jane as a role model in this adventure? I decided I'd have to have the Victorian Safari outfit to make a real go of it (Like Jane's outfit, in the Disney Tarzan movie! heehee!) It's all about the outfit, you see? I have fashion on the brain.
Alright, mum has discovered that I'm hiding and has "requested" my help unpacking again *sigh*
I miss you all. Come save me!!! HEEEEELLLLLPPPPPP!
Gillian
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Welcome To The Pit Of Despair... er... Canning, Nova Scotia.
Well...
I am sitting in a room full of boxes, thinking back on my first five days in Nova Scotia. I’m trying to pinpoint the worst moment in five days of brimstone-and-boiling-lava HELL.
Was it the first day/night without electricity, sleeping on an air mattress?
Was it the heart-attack inducing array of nightmarish bugs? (see Figure A.)
Was it walking into the crooked, bizarre home-sweet-home in the middle of freaking nowhere?
Was it the realisation that I’ll end up working at Walmart if I stay? (The Walmart in New Minas, that is... because this town is too small to even have a Tim’s...)
Was it the bat flying around inside the house at 5:30 yesterday morning?
Has it been the ongoing struggle for internet access???
Perhaps it has been all of these things combined that have driven me over the edge. So let me make this perfectly clear:
I WANT TO GO HOME. RIGHT. NOW.
I’m going to try and stick around and help my parents with renovations and set up this summer, but I think I’ll have to move to Halifax in the fall at the very least to make a living doing anything (besides which, I can’t stand living in the country. This is so horrifying.) I dunno. I just don’t know. I just wish I could find a place where I belong. So far Nova Scotia is definitely NOT IT.
Although things have been 95% horrifying, there have been a few vaguely interesting things too: - On the ferry over from New Brunswick we saw lots of dolphins and a few Minky whales (not really well, just their fins, but still.)
- I finished Harry Potter.
- It’s been so humid here that I keep having flashbacks of The Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland :P
- The bats were cool... until one came inside... and then I cried.
- The air raid siren on the volunteer fire hall goes off at noon every day, which is cute.
- The soil and sand here are red, red, RED! The Cornwallis river looks like it’s filled with chocolate milk when the tide comes in.
- We went for a drive a few nights ago while the fog was rolling in over the cliffs, which was very surreal and slightly creepy. I took a picture of a boat. It was good fun, but mum was pretty sure we would fly off the cliff in the fog... in my opinion, this is a preferable alternative to living here.
So the plan for now is to barricade myself in my room when it starts to get dark until this little “bat problem” is resolved. Aside from that I plan on working REALLY hard getting this place in shape (I have my doubts that this will happen) so that I can move somewhere reasonable. This was a stupid move on my part. Good for mum and dad, but not (I emphasize, NOT) for me.
I miss you all TOO much,
Gillian
Figure A: This charming creature is about the length of my pinky from his antennae to tail. They like to hover menacingly in front of your face and say "BOO!!!"
Foggy Boat
I am sitting in a room full of boxes, thinking back on my first five days in Nova Scotia. I’m trying to pinpoint the worst moment in five days of brimstone-and-boiling-lava HELL.
Was it the first day/night without electricity, sleeping on an air mattress?
Was it the heart-attack inducing array of nightmarish bugs? (see Figure A.)
Was it walking into the crooked, bizarre home-sweet-home in the middle of freaking nowhere?
Was it the realisation that I’ll end up working at Walmart if I stay? (The Walmart in New Minas, that is... because this town is too small to even have a Tim’s...)
Was it the bat flying around inside the house at 5:30 yesterday morning?
Has it been the ongoing struggle for internet access???
Perhaps it has been all of these things combined that have driven me over the edge. So let me make this perfectly clear:
I WANT TO GO HOME. RIGHT. NOW.
I’m going to try and stick around and help my parents with renovations and set up this summer, but I think I’ll have to move to Halifax in the fall at the very least to make a living doing anything (besides which, I can’t stand living in the country. This is so horrifying.) I dunno. I just don’t know. I just wish I could find a place where I belong. So far Nova Scotia is definitely NOT IT.
Although things have been 95% horrifying, there have been a few vaguely interesting things too: - On the ferry over from New Brunswick we saw lots of dolphins and a few Minky whales (not really well, just their fins, but still.)
- I finished Harry Potter.
- It’s been so humid here that I keep having flashbacks of The Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland :P
- The bats were cool... until one came inside... and then I cried.
- The air raid siren on the volunteer fire hall goes off at noon every day, which is cute.
- The soil and sand here are red, red, RED! The Cornwallis river looks like it’s filled with chocolate milk when the tide comes in.
- We went for a drive a few nights ago while the fog was rolling in over the cliffs, which was very surreal and slightly creepy. I took a picture of a boat. It was good fun, but mum was pretty sure we would fly off the cliff in the fog... in my opinion, this is a preferable alternative to living here.
So the plan for now is to barricade myself in my room when it starts to get dark until this little “bat problem” is resolved. Aside from that I plan on working REALLY hard getting this place in shape (I have my doubts that this will happen) so that I can move somewhere reasonable. This was a stupid move on my part. Good for mum and dad, but not (I emphasize, NOT) for me.
I miss you all TOO much,
Gillian
Figure A: This charming creature is about the length of my pinky from his antennae to tail. They like to hover menacingly in front of your face and say "BOO!!!"
Foggy Boat
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Are We There Yet?
I am SO sick of this meshugana journey!!! GAH!!! GAH!!!!
I didn't get a chance to post yesterday because Dad ran off with my laptop, so let me fill you in on the past few days of nonsense.
Day Six - Ottawa to Quebec City
We had breakfast (Starbucks in a crowded hotel room) with my Aunt, Uncle and Cousin in Ottawa, which was really nice. From there, however, things went horribly wrong. It was a terribly rainy day and I wasn't mentally prepared for just how French Quebec would be. Bilingual nothing, this place is ALL FRENCH! I was irritated about that as we pulled out of a Tim's and dad was waiting at a yield sign to get onto the highway when an impatient truck driver decided to go around us (what the heck?!) and promptly smashed into us instead. Luckily only the tail light sustained damage, but boy were we angry!!! After that I pretty much decided that I hated Quebec and that I was catching the next flight to Calgary because this was a stupid adventure! Then I had a nap. I woke up in old Quebec City and darnit, it was so freaking beautiful that I decided I couldn't really hate it as much as I wanted to. It's like someone just put a piece of Paris in Canada, it's just incredible! I went for a walk with my mum, found a book store that was selling Harry Potter, and came back at midnight to pick up my copy!
Thank goodness my French is decent enough to understand this sign :)
I didn't get a chance to post yesterday because Dad ran off with my laptop, so let me fill you in on the past few days of nonsense.
Day Six - Ottawa to Quebec City
We had breakfast (Starbucks in a crowded hotel room) with my Aunt, Uncle and Cousin in Ottawa, which was really nice. From there, however, things went horribly wrong. It was a terribly rainy day and I wasn't mentally prepared for just how French Quebec would be. Bilingual nothing, this place is ALL FRENCH! I was irritated about that as we pulled out of a Tim's and dad was waiting at a yield sign to get onto the highway when an impatient truck driver decided to go around us (what the heck?!) and promptly smashed into us instead. Luckily only the tail light sustained damage, but boy were we angry!!! After that I pretty much decided that I hated Quebec and that I was catching the next flight to Calgary because this was a stupid adventure! Then I had a nap. I woke up in old Quebec City and darnit, it was so freaking beautiful that I decided I couldn't really hate it as much as I wanted to. It's like someone just put a piece of Paris in Canada, it's just incredible! I went for a walk with my mum, found a book store that was selling Harry Potter, and came back at midnight to pick up my copy!
Thank goodness my French is decent enough to understand this sign :)
Medieval Boutique... So lovely!
Pretty Street!
Day Seven - Quebec City to Fredericton
Today was less eventful, thank goodness. The day started with hotel/cat/map madness, but things cooled down enough for me to get seriously involved in Harry Potter, which allowed me to be vacant for most of the day. Ahhhh. Then this evening my mum and I had dinner with Kirsten and Claire! It was sooooo nice to see them, and Claire has just gotten sweeter and more beautiful since I last saw her. I can't believe she's five months old already! What a sweet pea! And Kirsten is as beautiful as ever too :) Ahhh, it will be so nice to live closer to them :)
Alright, well I have to get up at 5am to catch the ferry tomorrow (blah) so that's all for now. Tomorrow... Nova Scotia... Ye Gods!
Gillian
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Day Five - Sault Ste. Marie to Ottawa
One Word:
GAHHHHHHHHHH!
Driving cross country is driving me to drink. You spend 13 hours in a car and I defy you to not wish you had a bottle of Amaretto to help soothe your nerves. So I ordered Nachos and a glass of Merlot from room service... SO THERE! HA! I'm having a drink (insert *gasp* here.)
Today was so long on account of all of the highway construction and a little episode of being completely lost and hungry around Sudbury. Apparently it's the season for blowing up granite in the Canadian Shield! Who knew?
But here's the good news:
1. We're staying at the Marriott tonight, which is super posh and lovely. They have Bath & Body Works products for the tub and the bedroom is big enough for yoga! I also have a gorgeous view of downtown Ottawa from the 16th floor!
2. Tomorrow should be much shorter, as we're heading to Quebec City.
3. Tomorrow night at midnight: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows... Need I say more? Now I just need to practice saying "Avez-vous Harry Potter?"
4. Saturday I get to see Kirsten and Claire! EEEEEE!!!
5. I have nachos and Merlot and an enormous king sized bed... ahhhhh la dolce vita!
I think that's it for now! Time to go relax :)
Love,
Gillian
GAHHHHHHHHHH!
Driving cross country is driving me to drink. You spend 13 hours in a car and I defy you to not wish you had a bottle of Amaretto to help soothe your nerves. So I ordered Nachos and a glass of Merlot from room service... SO THERE! HA! I'm having a drink (insert *gasp* here.)
Today was so long on account of all of the highway construction and a little episode of being completely lost and hungry around Sudbury. Apparently it's the season for blowing up granite in the Canadian Shield! Who knew?
But here's the good news:
1. We're staying at the Marriott tonight, which is super posh and lovely. They have Bath & Body Works products for the tub and the bedroom is big enough for yoga! I also have a gorgeous view of downtown Ottawa from the 16th floor!
2. Tomorrow should be much shorter, as we're heading to Quebec City.
3. Tomorrow night at midnight: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows... Need I say more? Now I just need to practice saying "Avez-vous Harry Potter?"
4. Saturday I get to see Kirsten and Claire! EEEEEE!!!
5. I have nachos and Merlot and an enormous king sized bed... ahhhhh la dolce vita!
I think that's it for now! Time to go relax :)
Love,
Gillian
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