Whoa.

As in "Whoa. I have a blog and I haven't posted on it in over a year. How sad is that?" So here we go. Posty-post-post.

Not sure if there's anything that is worth saying on here, not much in the way of news to share, I wouldn't say. So how about treating the world to a dose of my reflections on random subjects? Why not, I say! Reflect away.

A lot has happened in the world in the past year I suppose. There is that. Not much of it happened directly to me, but it is interesting to consider the ripple effect, isn't it. Take gas prices. I'm still driving to work, reluctantly (because I don't want to work where I work and would prefer not to have to drive at all) and the price of gas is creeping steadily up. This can be traced in many ways to the constant instability of the Middle East, the rising power and demands of Chinese industry, the Keystone pipeline project, so many other things. And there we have it. Although I am not involved in any of those larger movements, they have a direct impact on my life.

Makes me wonder about the things that I do having effects on others. For example, say I'm short with someone at work, because I'm stressed, or frustrated or whatever. They turn around and are unkind to the cashier at the grocery store. Who gets flustered and makes a mistake. This cashier gets flustered a lot and makes a lot of mistakes, and then loses their job. Then their family is in trouble. And then it's all my fault! Ahhhhh!

Be nicer, people. I'm going to make some lunch for my family now. Nicely.

I remembered the thing!

Guess what guess what guess what? I remembered the thing that I forgot when I was writing the last posting here. Considering the topic now, it's not that important, but may as well put it out there anyways. The thing that came to mind was...

EATING ON THE TTC. Or really any mass transit, other than places where food is served, like trains and planes. Now, this is a personal thing, and if you eat on transit, more power to you. I will confess that I have eaten on the Greyhound from time to time, and often have something to drink, even an open container like a coffee on the bus, but eating something from your hands, like a sandwich, and then touching the TTC, and then eating again? Or whipping out something with a fork and going at it? Really? Transit is a dirty, dirty place. And no, a few germs won't kill you, they'll probably make you stronger, but what if they don't? Also, it can be bad enough dealing with people's personal smells and noises, let's not add food smells and chewing to the mix. Let's just not.

Forgetfulness

Well, this morning on the bus I thought of what I thought was a pretty nifty hook for a new blog post. And would you believe, that after two hours of work, which were almost exclusively reading and writing and therefore should have kept me on the ball, I've completely forgotten what it was? It's true.

I do think that the mind is a funny thing. You forget things you'd like to remember, and embarrassing memories or negative associations seem to hang around forever. Of the following situations, what's worse, do you think?

Option 1: You know something significant is happening, and you forget it anyway
Option 2: You realize later that something significant happened, but you forget what it was

There are probably other combinations of significance and memory inspiration, but those are the two I've got today. Deal with it, okay? The good thing about being the author of this blog is that I can totally change my mind. And my legions of fans will have no idea.

So, now I'm trying to remember if there's anything else that I forgot today. The high irony of this blog is killing me. Happy Holidays, everyone. Don't forget stuff.

Procrastination and Other Drugs

Well, it's been an almost obscenely long time since I've written here. Again. Oops. In my defense I do spend an awful lot of time on the computer, so maybe the subconscious doesn't want to do this too? That's pretty weak.

What's even weaker is the reason for this post. You're seeing this now because I'd rather do almost anything else than what I have to do, which is finish an assignment. Silly, right? Especially given that the assignment is totally self-directed, I made up the question, I did the research and now all that remains is that I have to write it up. Blah.

Enough of that. Let's comment on life. I still work at the Zoo although not for much longer. Time has sped by, which is usually the case when we're having a good time, isn't it? I've seen so many cool things that I never thought I would have experienced if you'd asked me a year ago. Yesterday I saw a baby marmoset, for pete's sake. They are pretty cute. About the size of a chipmunk, but a fully formed primate. Which brings me to the subject of primates in general. I have decided that they may be among my least favourite animal classes. They're so much like us, it can be off-putting. I don't know if I like seeing so much of myself in an animal.

Now, this could be construed as a comment on zoos in general, which it really isn't. I have no problem with the ethical curation of living collections, combined with a safe environment, excellent health care and nutrition, and responsible breeding, research, and conservation efforts. This is how animals are treated here and it is done very well. And given the other activities of humans, habitat destruction, pollution, poaching and other irresponsible behaviours, this is the only way we're going to be able to preserve some of these species until human attitudes change. For example I heard today that there may now be more tigers in captivity than in the wild. If we don't want to destroy the species, we're going to have to keep them here. Some might say that we're interfering with the logical progression of nature, but since we caused the problem, it is for us to do what we can to solve it.

I don't know if that was very articulate, or even had much of a point, but at least it's a post. And now it's done. And I have to work on the paper. That is it. Goodbye.

Ta-Dah!

Otherwise known as the best way to introduce a dramatic entrance, if you weren't aware. I actually practiced some entrances a couple of weeks ago, and I sense that the internet is just dying to hear allllll about them.

We went to Nuit Blanche in Toronto, all night arts festival. A few interesting things happened, and there were certainly things to look at. Highlights: Royal Conservatory of Music (even though there was a line, it was nowhere near as long as they led one to believe it would be), the floating filmstrip, a van with thousands of holes in it, really late-night fried rice, City Hall - especially glowing cube and ball of elastics, and photographs at Bau-Xi Photo. Lowlights: CRAZY people on the bus, kind of disappointing Holt Renfrew facade thing, equally or perhaps more disappointing ROM facade thing, and 40 minute round trip to discover that the "secret" installation was no big secret and then hitting my head on it.

What does this have to do with entrances? Well, I arrived in line for the RCM thing with a certain amount of panache, and then proceeded to celebrate winning a small argument with more enthusiasm than I generally display in public. This I think set the tone.

Enough about that, let's talk about the Zoo! Where I work! For free! Because the city bus is capricious at best - malicious at worst - I often arrive with some drama here as well. The days are blending together a bit, but it's a rare week when I arrive on time more than three times in a row. It seems self-evident to me that if a city/province wants people to use mass transit, that city/province should guarantee service. I'm not asking for expansions or improvements, at least at this time, all I want is the bus to show up within 3-5 minutes of the posted time, not 30-40. Yes, that's really all.

Having completed the rant, here's an animal picture for you. My favourite pavilion at the Zoo is the smallest one, Malayan Woods. It has free range butterflies, a couple of cool bugs, a giant fish, birds, snakes and the clouded leopard, one of the world's cutest cats. So, a bit of everything, a fun rainforest climate, and less than five minutes from my desk! I may make a surreptitiously dramatic entrance there at the end of the day. Would not want to frighten the animals.

Homelessness is no joke. Fortunately for you, I'm funny.

Well, the lease is up on the fabulous downtown apartment. Oh for the day that I can actually afford a downtown Toronto condo. Although when that day comes, it will be in a building that has windows that open and possibly even balconies.

The housing situation was stressful and dicey for a while, but now it is more or less resolved, at least for the short term. It is very very very close to work, which I think is in the end the most serious consideration at least at this time.

And what is work, you may ask? Well, it's Zoo! Unfortunately, it does not look like I'll be getting keys to all the animal enclosures, but I do get to go there for several weeks! Yay! No real idea yet as to what the work might be, but I have a little desk, and a kind of lame nametag, and things so far are good. Except my feet. I really need new walking shoes, and six hours hiking in the ones I wore today is leading to some blistering. Boo.

Interesting facts about my desk: it is full of apparently meaningless files, as my supervisor just pushed them aside and removed stuff at random to make a place for my purse. It also has an open bag of elbow macaroni in the top drawer. Said supervisor also suggested I could make myself at home there and that I was "...free to bring your own macaroni if you want to..." I think that may be an exact quote, and the intent is certainly the same. What, may I ask, would I be needing macaroni for? I'm pretty sure they're having me work on training manuals.

Finally, I got a souvenir today! Bird droppings on my head! And I don't even mind! Because animal stuff doesn't freak me out, except naked mole rats (ugly, ugly, ugly, even if they do have names, like 'Kevin'), and imagining the giant cockroaches anywhere else but in their case. I also don't particularly want to be there when the big cats are given their weekly whole or half beef heads as nourishing toys. It's kind of like giving a Kong toy to a domestic pet, I guess, but it's the head of a cow. Ewww. Better find out when those feedings are just in case I happen to be in the Nutrition Centre that day for some reason.

So, this post ended up not being about housing, really, but that should be okay. Tune in for more stories.

Phase II

The archives job is over. Sad violins play softly in the background. It has been really cool, and I think that the 1500 scans are an impressive feat. It's also been really nice to have a routine. I know that I always say that my ideal career has me not doing the same thing every day, and that's still true, but there is something to be said for keeping regular hours.

I should have drawn a picture, or something, to commemorate the achievement, but I have recently been introduced to the work of Demetri Martin, and I now know that I'm just sort of funny. That guy is hilarious. Situational humour, observational even, which is the kind of funny that I like to think that I am, but way, way more. So probably no more drawings from me unless I come up with something really good.

Some of you, who are familiar with the pseudo-asthma that inspired the title of this blog, will be happy to know that I had another dramatic moment on Saturday. Luckily, with a little coaching, I was able to calm down and not suffocate. So, in the future, if it happens again, it can be cured by forcing me to breathe more slowly - in on count 1, out on count 2. Helpful trick!

I wonder if Thursday can come to my next apartment (the cat). There is one here, but she lacks personality and looks, and is currently out in the common room making the most odd and pathetic noises. She has resisted most attempts at friendliness and now it is over. But a furry friend would be nice. If you have a dog you're not using, let me know.

More blogging when the occasion warrants, I promise!