the pod bay door

:: I arrived home from work at 1830 hrs, angry with myself because of something that transpired today. It’s interesting that when you are mad, especially with yourself, and then you let the anger manifest itself further, whatever happens next usually will get you madder still.

Lately I’ve been losing things: business cards, stamps, a program book, another book I bought as a gift, and on and on. It’s been driving me nuts. Anyway, I arrive home, furious with self, and gather together a blood test request, post office parcel notice, and a prescription. I drop off the prescription, then drive to the lab for the blood test (close by). I park and walk to the lab only to notice that I grabbed the wrong document, and had to turn around, drive home, and get the right one for the test. I was not a happy puppy. I retrieve the correct form and arrive at the lab a second time, only to remember that I had to fast for eight hours before the test. (Note to self: D’OH!)
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:: The day has been spent preparing for the drive tomorrow, on the way to Winnipeg. I am not a fan of that long drive anymore, but am looking forward to being in town to attend the high school reunion, and see a few good friends. Today I enjoyed a 90-minute full-body massage, and later in the afternoon, met Avalee and had a very enjoyable two-hour coffee visit with her. Thanks, av, I enjoyed it and hope you did too. Av and I are fellow EFMF volunteers. She’s moving to Toronto soon to study web design.

:: There is too much happening, too much to do, all the time, all the time…

:: While exiting my car this afternoon (decarring?), I shut the door on my watch band and broke it in two. *sigh* I have no idea how that happened.

:: I just discovered that my new HP 5550 printer does double-sided printing! Trees will be saved. Lordy. It’s a noisy little bugger, though.

:: Installed an HP 5550 printer tonight, my HP 812-C was not long for this world, and not worth the trouble or money to repair.

:: Have been really tired lately, but have myself only to blame. Staying up too late, and eating a lot of not-so-good food (like ice cream and pizza). Plan to change this soon. I did 30 mins on the cross-trainer tonight, and have Pilates tomorrow. But I believe the food intake needs dramatic altering – I’ve proven to myself after 10+ years of regular exercise that I can’t shake any weight, so it must be the food plan, right?

:: My Winnipeg plans have changed slightly, I will probably drive through to somewhere east of Saskatoon on Sunday, and spend the night at a motel, then drive to Winnipeg on Monday.

:: The weekend included three movies and a surprise birthday event, organized by L’il Kim, for Heavy G at The Sidetrack on Saturday night, which mean we who attended were able to watch The Northern Pikes, one of my favorite Canadian bands, perform late in the evening. The Pikes’ tune, Wait For Me, is one of my favorite songs ever, and features very tasty guitar work by Bryan Potvin. I was at the ‘track early enough to catch the band during its sound check, and spoke to Bryan afterwards. I told him how much I enjoy his work and style, and he took the time to show me the intro to Wait For Me, for which I am grateful – thanks, Bryan. (I’ve been working on it at home on the Martin J-40MC). The Northern Pikes are true road warriors, and have been at it for almost 20 years. Their new album, It’s A Good Life, is due out next week, check it out, you won’t be disappointed.

The evening was much fun with good friends, and my pal D Fy and I spent some time during the Pikes’ set to dance our asses off. Thanks, Deb! Geoff’s birthday is on July 8th, and he hits the big Three-Oh, so drop in on him and wish him well. He’s getting old.

:: The movies I saw were 28 Days Later, Terminator 3: Rise of The Machines, and Ash Wednesday. (ASIDE: Despite having loaded Macromedia Flash 6, I cannot enter the T3 site. Anyone else having this problem?).

:: I leave for Winnipeg in a week. One of the reasons is to attend a 32-year high school reunion.

:: It is becoming unprecedentedly difficult for anyone, anyone at all, to keep a secret.

In the age of the leak and the blog, of evidence extraction and link discovery, truths will either out or be outed, later if not sooner. This is something I would bring to the attention of every diplomat, politician and corporate leader: the future, eventually, will find you out. The future, wielding unimaginable tools of transparency, will have its way with you. In the end, you will be seen to have done that which you did.

The above excerpt is from William Gibson, writing in the NYTimes, brought to my attention some weeks ago by Derryl. It’s a fascinating observation written on the 100th anniversary of George Orwell’s birth, and a sad reflection on the state of privacy in the world. (Registration required for NYTimes.)

:: Ever get the feeling that life will never slow down, no matter what you do to change that? It’s a quiet, lovely July 2nd evening, the sun still shining despite the time being 9:53 MDT. The house is quiet after an activity- and family-filled weekend, my 50th birthday being the excuse for the gathering. Tonight I wanted to see 28 Days Later, but by 9:15 I was too exhausted. I want to slow down life, but life isn’t listening right now. (Speaking of 28 Days Later, watch the first six minutes of the movie right here. I can’t wait to see it.)

:: This busy 4-day weekend continues. My folks will be here until July 2, when I return to work. I’ve been consuming too much of my mother’s cooking, and can hear the YMCA rear-driven cross trainers calling my name. I registered for another Pilates class, beginning July 3rd. Saw The Italian Job today, and Moonlight Mile tonight. Things falling apart in my house, including a toilet, a folding door, and leaky taps, were all repaired by this evening. A $110 cheque I thought I’d shredded by accident was found some time later – turns out I shredded the claim form instead.

:: Have you noticed how things go missing? Recently, maybe a week ago, I found an envelope with pictures of a few cousins, which I’d misplaced for months. Now I can’t find it again.

:: So what happens now that I’m on the flipside of 50? Do I begin finding myself, do I find that elusive woman, do I treat myself better, stop beating myself up all the time, celebrate life, find joy, discover happiness, reduce debt?

:: On my mind: I’d like to try acting, learn to play more instruments, like maybe the saxophone, drums, better guitar, smile more often.