The Joys of Using the Internet with Jaws

So, here I am to bitch...I am currently trying to research project on the influluence of Western society's polution on Africa and everything I need to read is in PDF. Jaws is not configured to read PDF's. I'm going insane. If that isn't annoying enough, most of the sites I want to get into require a membership that costs money. Since when did knowledge become a bloody commodity? I really dont'know what to do...I am at a loss. Oh and sorry for the messy entry-that would be my screen reader AKA Jaws, not doing its job...which would be reading the screen and telling me what I have typed. Aahhhh!
Okay now that is out, I shall return to trying to research and perhaps one day when I am feeling a little more eloquent-instead of writing grunts and screams-I shall rant about the commodification of knowledge.

Happy International Women's Day

Well, the day has come. Today is the official day of International Women’s week-it is International women’s Day. I’ve been browsing the web to see if I could come up with any interesting sites and this is what I’ve found.

http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/women/womday97.htm

http://www.womenforwomen.org/index.htm?gclid=CIrD0Ofg5ooCFQLxgAodHxRAjw

http://www.girlpower.gov/

I hope you enjoy them. And for all my “girls” out there, Happy International Women’s Day! This one’s for you. (I think I may have posted this song before, but it’s a good one). 

Title: This Ones For The Girls lyrics
Martina Mcbride
This one's for all you girls about thirteen
High school canbe so rough, can be so mean
Hold onto, on to your innocence
Stand your ground when everyone's giving in

This one's for the girls

This is for all you girls about twenty-five
In a little apartment, just trying to get by
Living on, on dreams and spaghetti-o's
Wondering where you life is gonna go

This one's for the girls
Who've ever had a broken heart
Who've wished upon a shooting star
You're beautiful the way you are
This one's for the girls
Who love without holding back
Who dream with everything they have
All around the world
This one's for the girls

This is for all you girls about forty-two
Tossing pennies into the Fountain of Youth
Every laugh, laugh line on your face
Made you who you are today

This one's for the girls
Who've ever had a broken heart
Who've wished upon a shooting star
You're beautiful the way you are
This one's for the girls
Who love without holding back
Who dream with everything they have
All around the world
This one's for the girls

Lindsay here!

Okie dokie!
To all those out in blog land, the two pictures taken at the dinner and dance or whatever they got all dressed up for, are now on photobucket! Check out the link in the left frame under LINKS or something to check them out!
Ciao bellas! (and Bellos)

Something to Chew On

As I stated yesterday this week is International Women's week. In honour of this week I am trying to post to show my support. Today I thought I'd give you a little tid bit of information about International Women's Week and what it stands for. Happy reading.

Short Description: 2007 marks the 30th anniversary of International Women's Day. Established in 1977 by the United Nations, this important day provides
an opportunity to celebrate the progress made to advance women's rights and to assess the challenges that remain. International Women's Day (IWD) encourages
us to consider steps to bring about equality for women and girls in all their diversity and to celebrate the collective power of women past, present and
future
If you go to google and put in "International Women's Week" you can find a lot of different sites who have something dedicated to International Women's Week. There are even free Ccards you can send to those very special women out there. So, do some digging-you may be surprised what you may find.

"Lost Woman"

In honour of International women's week, I thought I'd try to post every day this week. (Apparently I'm not doing very well considering it's Tuesday, but hear me out). I found these Ani Difranco lyrics and I think they're fitting. So, for post one of International Women's week, you shall have the pleasure of reading "Lost Woman."

i opened a bank account
when i was nine years old
i closed it when i was eighteen
i gave them every penny that i'd saved
and they gave my blood
and my urine
a number
now i'm sitting in this waiting room
playing with the toys
and i am here to exercise
my freedom of choice
i passed their handheld signs
went through their picket lines
they gathered when they saw me coming
they shouted when they saw me cross
i said why don't you go home
just leave me alone
i'm just another woman lost
you are like fish in the water
who don't know that they are wet
as far as i can tell
the world isn't perfect yet
his bored eyes were obscene
on his denim thighs a magazine
i wish he'd never come here with me
in fact i wish he'd never come near me
i wish his shoulder
wasn't touching mine
i am growing older
waiting in this line
some of life's best lessons
are learned at the worst times
under the fierce fluorescent
she offered her hand for me to hold
she offered stability and calm
and i was crushing her palm
through the pinch pull wincing
my smile unconvincing
on that sterile battlefield that sees
only casualties
never heroes
my heart hit absolute zero
lucille, your voice still sounds in me
mine was a relatively easy tragedy
now the profile of our country
looks a little less hard nosed
but that picket line persisted
and that clinic's since been closed
they keep pounding their fists on reality
hoping it will break
but i don't think there's a one of them
leads a life free of mistakes

Wasn't that a weekend?

The weekend has finally come to a close and although most people would not use the word "finally" when they are speaking of a weekend ending, I feel that it is very appropriate here.
My weekend started Thursday and not because I had four days off, but because I started racing at the short course provincials. Thursday's race went well and Friday I didn't make it in-as I have noted in another entry. Yesterday was probably the most fun day (I'll get to that later), and today went (pardon my pun), swimmingly. :)
Let me start with yesterday since it was probably the most eventful day. We arrived at the university's pool to do a quick warm up before hopping in the car and heading out to Etobicoke where the meet was being held. My race was the second event of the morning and I was finished by 9:30. We had found out earlier that morning that SWADs (swimmers witha disability), do not get finals at this meet for some stupid reason, so Tenie and I decided that we would go to see her aunt's art sowing in Toronto. Tenie had been invited a while back and was pretty disappointed when she discovered that the swim meet interferred with going to the show. The only problem was that I looked like I had just come from a swim meet. So, to remedy this, we hopped a bus and then the subway line to the Eaton's Centre. We grabbed a bite to eat since we were both starving and then started running from store to store in search of a more appropriate outfit. Within an hour we had found a fun, light dress and a chocolate brown blaser for me and we hit the subway station running. Many subways had been re-routed due to construction and we found ourselves in a sticky situation. But with some help from the TCT staff and a few good hearted citizens, we managed to get our asses out to the Distillery District. The bus driver that drove us from the subway station to the District even got out of his bus to point us down the right street and show Tenie a few land marks. He gave us directions for a better route back to Etobicoke and we were off to the races again. We arrived at the gallery with plenty of time to spare and managed to duck intoa bathroom to get changed and splash some water on frizzy hair. (We even beat the artists there). While we waited for her aunt and uncle to arrive, we browsed the art work and jewellery put on display by the different respective artists. Tenie's aunt was so excited because it was her first show in Toronto, which in the art world, apparently is a big deal.
When her aunt and uncle arrived they were both pleasantly surprised to see u.s. I had never met her aunt before, but we managed to have a great conversation about jewellery making. I told her that I was interested in learning how to make my own, and she told me that she was willing to teach me. All I have to do is bring the beads and the rest of the materials. (I think we're planning to go visit over Easter and maybe then I'll have my first jewellery making lesson. Ever since Carmen and I made our own necklace and earrings, I have been thinking that it would be a good creative outlet for me). We only stayed an hour because it would take us two hours to get back to Etobicoke. So, we said our good-byes and hopped back on the bus. We were supposed to be back in Etobicoke by 7 and we made it with twenty minutes to spare. The entire process (the lunch, the shopping and the jumping from one form of transportation to another), had taken a total of eight hours. (Oh and the gallery viewing is included in that time as well). By the time we got back the last swimmer from ROW was in the water and we were able to get a ride back with Dean, the head coach. Did I mention he drives a BMW with leather interior? Very nice!
By the time we got home I was starving as usual. We had managed to grab a muffin and a Greek pastry from Union station, but that did not satisfy the swimmer in me. Tenie threw on some chicken wings and we all dug in. I showed Alicia and Carmen the outfit Tenie had bought me and they were very impressed; considering the limited time we had to pull something together. I headed to bed around 10 because I was wrecked from the day and I had to get ready for the next day's race. I fell asleep to Carmen reading Jackie's "bad side" of the "zodiac" to her. (Apparently they headed over to Jackie's after and watched Thunder Cats and drank wine. I am sooooo jealous)!
Today we (me and Tenie that is), early and walked over to the university. My coach, Sean, and his mom (he's only 3 years older than me), picked us up from the pool and drove us out to Etobicoke for my final race. Tenie was sleep deprived and kept going on and on about how it didn't matter that my toes were cold because I would still be able to walk. I tried to explain that toes were imperative to one's walking ability, but she decided thta since the Ninja turtles had only two toes, and could kick some serious ass, I would be fine.
We arrived at the pool with all ten toes intact and I swam the 100 free. The race went better than I thought it would and that was very exciting. Dean, the head coach I metniioned above with the BMW, suggested a new race strategy and I used it. Fortunately for me, it seems to be a good idea, so I'll be practising that more often. Sean was pleased with my race as well and then we took Sean and his mom out for lunch. It was supposed to be a t"thanks for driving us" lunch/breakfast, but Sean's mom threw a 20 at us and wouldn't take it back. It was a lot of fun though. Except for the part where I almost snorted orange juice out of my nose because Sean mentioned the Ninja turtles again. After a big breakfast of waffles, apples and cinnamon and ice cream toppings, they drove us home where I promptly fell back into bed for three hours.
All and all I think it was a good meet. I swam well, which is a bit of a relief and we managed to have some fun along the way. That said, I am glad it is finally over. I'm tired and although I have to wake up tomorrow morning at 6:30 for practice, it's better than 5:30 for racing. :)
The only thing missing from the whole experience was Jetta. I opted to leave her at home today and yesterday because she hates the pool deck. Plus, there wasnt much room and I was afraid of her getting stepped on. On that note, I think I should go take her out-she's dancing around be hind me.

Spring Cleaning

Okay so perhaps my entry should be more appropriately titled "spring changes," but the cliched saying is "spring cleaning," so it will stay that way. :)
Lindsay and I have been trying to get this new blogger thing to work. She's working the technical end with the new visual changes, and I am attempting to master all of the new things that are included with the "New Blogger."
Thta said, this post is to let all of my dedicated readers know that the "comments" section is being worked on. By changing the appearance of my blog, the "comments" option has to be changed as well. This seems to be an annoying process Lindsay is working on. I, on the other hand, will continue to post randomly and hopefully the "comments" option will be back up and operating soon. :)
Also for your viewing pleasure, there will be a couple of new photos added to "my photo bucket," in the next few days. So, stayed tuned for those.
Other than that, life has been pretty "normal" around here. (If you can call our lives "normal"). Technically I am supposed to be racing in Etobicoke today, but due to the crazy storm we've been having for the past 24 hours or so, driving was not safe and so we have stayed home. Tenie has just looked out the window and the latest weather report is that it's completely white with snow. That means, we will continue to hole up in our house and try to stay warm. Actulally, it's not that cold-it's just blowing snow and freezing rain around. This morning Tenie and I attempted to go to the pool to be driven to the competition and it took us 25 minutes to walk to the university's pool. This should have only taken 10 minutes.
I did a practice and then headed home through the treacherous streets. The oen thing I did like about the storm was how pretty the trees looked with the ice hanging from them. It kind of looked, to me anyway, like someone had a handful of jewels and had just thrown them up in the branches and they had stuck. I realise this is a highly romanticised outlook because the freezing rain is dangerous, but it still looked pretty.
Anyway, enough babble about the snow storm-I am off to get supper ready. I am starving! And, I should be racing tomorrow, so I better make sure I eat properly.

Reading Week Recap

Reading week is almost over and I've barely done any reading. I'm not sure that is too surprising. I had been working really hard for the two weeks leading up to Reading week, so I think I needed the break. The beginning of the week was filled with the usual mundane tasks such as cleaning the house and grocery shopping. Sunday, Jeevan was in town and I got to see her and a few other friends for supper. I returned home after supper and baked Tenie's grandma's tasty muffins-I was going to call them world famous, but I think that would be over exaggerating a bit. Earlier that day, Jetta, Carmen and I were picked up by Carmen's dad and we went to her Oma and Opa's for lunch. We ate so much food and my dumpling had the money in it. (I guess it's a tradition that Carmen's Oma hides coins in the dumplings). Carmen laughed and said, "I knew I should have kept that one for myself." Jetta got to go outside after lunch and play in the snow. Carmen's Opa's backyard is fenced in-for the most part-and we were able to keep her corralled in there. She had so much fun running with her face in the snow and jumping through it. She is so small that she had to hop through the depper stuff because she kept sinking. It was cute. Monday was rather uneventful. Although I did go out to lunch with a camper I had this summer, her husband and her friend. The three women of the group-me included-had guide dogs and we spent the entire lunch basically talking about your dogs. I kind of felt bad for her husband because it is a topic he can't really join in on, so I tried to change the subject, but it always seemed to come back to the dogs.
Tuesday, Chris and I played Scrabble and he beat me by only nine points.This is a miracle because he's amazing at Scrabble and to beat him is nearly impossible. Wednesday I hopped a bus to Toronto and then took a Go Bus with a bunch of people I worked with this summer at camp, to Oshawa.
One of the guys we worked with, meet us and his mom drove us back to their house. We spent the rest of the afternoon sledding down the giant hill he has in his backyard. Jetta got to run around wih Lotta, another guide dog, and Floss, the family's pet. The dogs would chase us to the bottom of the hill and always beat us back to the top. Jetta and Lotta kept getting in trouble for eating the frozen compost heap. Brats! That night, we sat indoors, sipping hot chocolate that Nathan had made for us and eating cinnamon buns his mom had made in the bread maker. We talked about the summer and how we wanted to go back but weren't sure if that was going to happen. Ming and Meagan pulled out pictures from the summer and Nathan eventually got his. Meagan had brought jellybeans, but they weren't no ordinary jellybeans. They're the ones with crazy flavours-not Jelly Bellies...the cheap rip off kind. :) Those had been a hit at camp, so she had brought them with her to remind us of the summer. Nathan tried the whole evening to stick them up my nose or in my ears, but fortunately for me, I'm quicker than he thinks. :) He also took pleasure in digging out the buttered popcorn flavoured ones and feeding them to me-they're so gross!
Thursday we got up and headed out to the train station again. I stopped over night in Toronto witha friend. We ordered in supper and watched a bit of TV. I wasn't very talkative because I had cramps to kill a moose, but it was still nice to see him. Friday morning I caught the 6:30 bus back to Waterloo and spent the rest of the day sleeping, having an over the phone interview for Women for Women International, and buying beads from the bead store with Carmen.
Last night we watched Brigit Jones' Diary 2 and made necklaces and earrings for ourselves. She had brought back peach wine that her parents made and I actually liked it. She had stopped in at one of our favourite dessert places and bought us cake for dessert, which we definitely endulged in. We also spent part of the evening running around a bridal store trying to get the plans in order for the bride's maid dress I need. My friend Jason is getting married in July and he asked me to stand up in his wedding. He emailed me the dress description and style number yesterday, so I spent a part of the day phoning bridal stores and trying to figure out which store had the cheaper prices.
The dress was a size ten, but Carmen managed to tighten it up enough for me to sort of get a feel for it. It's a long, satin dress that has a gathered skirt. It is a deep red and the back is lace up. Oh and it's strapless. I'm not too sure about the gathered skirt, but the rest of it is pretty. I'm a bit worried though because it's a heavy satin and the wedding is taking place outdoors in the middle of July. I think we are going to sweat our asses off. Either way, I'm still looking forward to the wedding. Tenie's also getting an invitation and I hope she decides to come. Jason says he'll be sad if she doesn't.
We've also made plans to go camping this summer. I'm pretty excited. Jason says he's going to leave his dog at home though because he figures that the dog will pull the tent down on us. lol
Anyway, I think that is pretty much it for the week. Today will be spent doing work that I have neglected and going over to feed Chris's cat. Tomorrow will probably be th same, but with a twist. Tenie's coming home tomorrow so I was thinking of having a picnic on the living room floor. We're all feeling like we need spring to come soon and since it is still the dead of winter, I thought I'd transform the living room into a spring get away.
So I guess I'll leave it at that for now. I have to go read Stearn and write a four page paper about how death impacts a person's life. Woot, woot! :)
PS: It's a beautiful sunny day out there, so if it's sunny where you are, get outside for me. I'll be stuck in here writing for the greater part of the day.

The Furry Thiefs-or so I thought

Happy Saturday to everyone-it's teh middle of February and hopefully that means that winter is almost over. Since the weather has been so chilly lately, I thought I'd try to warm everyone up with a silly story: one that comes from the silliness that is my life.
Although it does not start with "once upon a time," it is guaranteed to be interesting.
Yesterday morning I woke up early to finish studying for my social statistics exam. I had been going crazy all week trying to get two other assignments done and study for a different exam. So, I felt like I should put in a few hours before the exam to make sure I would do all right. Thursday night I had returned home from night class completely exhausted because that was the class that all of teh assignments were due in and I had written the other midterm that morning. I had not had a nap and I had been up since six, so I immediately crawled into bed. My eyes were bugging me, I think partially because I am fighting some kind of cold and partially beause I was tired. (Just so you know, my eyes are prosthetic. That means essentially that they are made out of a sort of plastic and I can remove them). And that is what I did...well, only one at first. I pulled my right eye out Thursday before I fell asleep because it was bothering me the most, but I woke up in the middle of the night and the left was also starting to become irretated. Now, as every responsible eye owner does, I put my right eye in a container before I went to sleep to ensure that it did not get lost. Unfortunately, I was not thinking straight when I took the left out and just left it sitting on my bed side table. When I awoke Friday morning, I looked on my bed side table for the eye, but it was nowhere to be found. In a complete panic, I began searching frantically behind the dresser, under my bed, on the floor, in the front hall-I was beginning to fear that somehow it had gotten tangled up in my housecoat and I had accidentally taken it outside when I relieved Jetta. I cououldn't believe that it was gone. Prosthetic eyes are not cheap, and it is nearly impossible to get into see the guy who makes them-he is a very busy man. Not to mention, I had exactly two hours to get my ass to my Stats midterm. After some more fruitless searching, I just gave up. I had decided that the cats had stolen it and that it was hidden in some dark, unknown corner of the house. I tried to calm down by eating breakfast and trying to study, but I couldn't focus. I thought that if I took a break from scouring the house, I would somehow find it later-and hopefully in time for my exam. As I flipped through the calculations for the mode, median and the mode, I felt the panic overwhelming me. I ran upstairs and woke Carmen up (it was 8:30 in the morning), and exclaimed "the cats stole my eye!" She bolted out of bed and tore downstairs. The two of us resumed the search. I had hoped that with the help of someone else, and someone with working eyes nonetheless, the eye would be found. She asked me where the other one was and I told her, but insisted that the left was not with the right. Not believing me, she opened the container and said, "here it is." I said, "no, I already know there is one in there." She laughed and said, "1 2, I can count to two you know," and handed me both eyes. I was so embarrassed, but we had a good laugh. Through the fuzziness of sleep, I must have put the eye in a safe place after all and therefore, my cats didn't actually steal my eye. I'm not sure there is a lesson to be learned here-maybe except that, take bot out at the ame time and put them in the same place. :) Either way, both very expensive eyes are where they belong and not in my cats' mouths.
I hope you've enjoyed my little story. Hopefully there won't be a "next eime" to this story, but if there is I can assure you, you'll get to know all of the gory details. So in hopes of this never happening again, I will end this blog with:
The End

"Shameless"

(Ani Difranco lyrics again)
i cannot name this
i cannot explain this
and i really don't want to
just call me shameless
i can't even slow this down
let alone stop this
and i keep looking around
but i cannot top this

if i had any sense
i guess i'd fear this
i guess i'd keep it down
so no one would hear this
i guess i'd shut my mouth
and rethink a minute
but i can't shut it now
'cuz there's something in it...
this is my skeleton
this is the skin it's in
that is, according to light
and gravity
i'll take off my disguise
the mask you met me in
'cuz i got something
for you to see
just gimme your skeleton
give me the skin it's in
yeah baby, this is you
according to me
i never avert my eyes
i never compromise
so nevermind
the poetry
(slightly modified because not most of song is correct. Just selectted what sounded right).