Sobering Realization

While not a shock, this can hardly be good news: "Two-thirds of world's resources 'used up'."

Good times.

Tim Hortons Observations

There's been a lot of talk about Mr. Horton in the blogging world, so I'd like to add my two-cents. Here's my list of Tim Hortons-related observations.

1. As Retroboy pointed out recently, what is with the rimming? Why is it that every time I get a coffee, the lid opening is always situated right on the seem? It's really annoying.
2. Have you ever pulled up to a Tim Hortons at the same time as someone else and see that driver actually race to get to the door before you? I love catching people do this. They have a very sheepish look on their face when they realize that you know what they did.
3. Ever since Tim Hortons started really penetrating the northern States, my chances of winning during Roll Up The Rim have drastically declined. I've bought nearly two cups of coffee a day since February 28th and I've won exactly one coffee. Woohoo. I used to win ALL THE TIME! I don't know if there's a real correlation, of if it's just a freaky coincidence. I'm not above a good conspiracy theory, however.
4. Why am I always behind the person in the drive-thru who is ordering coffees and sandwiches for the entire office?

Favorites list

I love lists. Here's one that I made up. I've gotten enough of them emailed to me, but when I actively go looking for a list that I can fill out for my blog, could I find one? No!

Feel free to copy the questions and add your own answers to your blog, or leave a comment below.

1. Favorite book? Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, followed closely by The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, both by DNA.
   
2. Favorite movie? For now, it's Pride & Prejudice (The A&E/BBC version), but that may change after April 29th.
3. Favorite game? Trivial Pursuit (Canadian Edition).
4. Favorite food? Anything deep fried. Possibly deep fried wontons.
5. Favorite time of day? 11 AM. I've been up for a while and gotten stuff done, but it's still early enough that you could do anything, and get anything done.
6. Favorite song? Just Like Heaven by The Cure, and Bad Moon Rising by CCR.
   
7. Favorite car? MINI Cooper S in White with Black Bonnet striping, black mirror caps, and black roof (with the Sport Package).
8. Favorite drink? Blue Martini (Stolie's Vanilla Vodka, Lemonade, and a splash of blue caraco).
   
9. Favorite place to hang? Of the places I've been, I'd have to say the Muskoka's, followed closely by Chicago. Of the places I'd like to go, I'd would say Venice, or possibly Mykanos.
10. Favorite activity? :) Depends when you ask me. As it stands, today I would say it is "having really good sex on a warm afternoon", but tomorrow I might say "reading" or "watching a movie with Arthur." I also like jumping off the dock into a quiet lake in the summer. But who doesn't?
    

From the Mouths of Babes

Benjy (singing Smash Mouth’s remake of “I’m A Believer”):

“Then I saw her face, now I’m a believer.
Not a trace. Get out of my mind!”

**************
Benjy: Sweetie meows a lot.
Me: Yeah. She’s in heat. I have to get her fixed.
Benjy: To fix her heat?
Me: Sort of.
Benjy: Because she meows when she’s hot?
Me: Yeah, something like that.

****************

Benjy: (playing with Barbie) This boy and this boy are going to get married.
Friend: No, two boys can’t get married.
Benjy: Can too.
Friend: No.
Benjy: Yeah, it was on the news! They can too. Ask my mom!
Friend: No way. Trillian, is that true?
Me: Hmmm. Your mom just called, it’s time for dinner.

*************

Frankie: Is it true that you have to spend money to make money?
My sister: Um. Sometimes. Where do you get this stuff?
Frankie: I don’t know. It just pops in my head.

*************

Frankie: Dad, is it true that if you kiss a girl you have to marry her?
Arthur: God, I hope not.
Me: No, you don’t have to marry them. But it is definitely against the rules for nine year olds to kiss. That’s a real rule. You’re not kissing girls, are you?
Frankie: No, but I give them piggyback rides. Jordan said that if you give a girl a piggyback ride you’re having sex.
Arthur: Well, Jordan's a dumb ass.

*************

Benjy: I know the Easter Bunny is just a Dad in a bunny suit.
Me: You do? How do you know that?
Benjy: Because bunnies aren't that big. That would be scary.
Me: What about Santa and the Tooth Fairy?
Benjy: What about them?
Me: Are they real?
Benjy: Mom! They're people! Remember, I sat on Santa's lap at Christmas. You were there. Geesh!

***************

Friend: Do you believe in God?
Frankie: Which one?

Weight Loss Truisms

As I move towards adopting a healthier lifestyle, I seem to have attracted the attention of every dieter within a 10-km radius. For these people (and for myself), here are some truisms to keep it all in perspective.

• If you’re not a happy fat person you won’t be a happy thin person. You don’t gain self-contentment from losing weight.
• Squeezing your ass into an ill-fitting size 12 pant does not make you look thinner than wearing the size 14 that fits correctly. (Cut off the tag if it makes you feel better).
• On the same line of thought, wearing tapered pants only emphasizes the size of your ass in relation to the size of your ankle. Opt for straight leg, wide leg, or boot cut pants. Believe me on this one.
• Don’t skip your Tai Bo class because you’re too tired. You’ll feel so much better after you go. Really. I promise.
• No – I don’t want a copy of your miracle diet – I’m trying to get healthier, not thinner at all costs.
• Opt for whole grains instead of white flour, pasta, and rice. Honestly, your body treats white flour the same as sugar.
• Sweet potatoes are a gift from the nutrition gods: they are both tasty and highly nutritious.
• Be good to yourself: do what is good for your mind, body, and spirit.
• Don’t benchmark yourself against others. We are all different, and that’s a very good thing.
• Only you can make you feel bad about yourself. And only you can make you feel good about yourself.
  

Invitations

I have this friend who's always saying, "Oh, I never see you! You never come over!" And yet she never invites me over. I invite her for dinner and such about once a month and she always comes, but I'm never invited over for coffee, or dinner, or anything.

Basically, if I want to go over to her house, I either have to show up unannounced (which everyone just loves) or call her up and invite myself over. She always seems happy to see me on these occasions, but I feel like I'm the one who always has to do all the work.

I like spending time with her, but my weekends tend to get filled up with people who've actually invited me over. Unless I don't have any plans, I don't tend to think about calling up people to invite myself over to their houses. You know what I mean? When I was a kid, my mom taught me that it was rude to call up a friend and ask if you could come over to their house. I either had to invite them to my house or wait for an invitation.

And I'm getting kind of resentful of being made to feel guilty for not coming over to their house more. Is it me, or is this a little weird?

New Beginnings

I went to one of those parties today - you know, the ones only women get invited to where your friend hosts and the agent tries to sell you stuff - candles, cookware, plastic dishes, books, jewelry, makeup, or some other thing. Well, I'm a huge sucker for these parties. Partly because I'm too nice to say no, but also because they're kinda fun.

Well, one of the women there was a colleague of mine at the company where I used to work. When I worked with her she was a he, though.

I'd heard that she was undergoing gender reassignment, but I had found it hard to believe. When I knew her she was one of the nastiest, most slovenly men I'd ever met. She looked a lot like Barny from the Simpson's. When she was a man, she was unhappy, negative, and rather toxic in her attitude. I avoided talking to him because he just brought me down and I found him rather creepy.

As a woman, she's like a different person, which I guess she is. I had a nice chat with her, and I can't believe the transformation. She just glows she's so happy. She's easy to talk to, has a great outlook on life, and just seems to be in a really good place emotionally now. Looking at her now, I find it hard to believe that she was ever anything but a woman.

I guess it goes to show that we can't possibly imagine what other people are going through, or understand why they act the way they do. Everyone has lives that we don't see. Everyone has a past that we know nothing about, and emotions that we can't even guess at. I certainly was pleasantly surprised by humanity today, which is a nice change of pace.

True love and other silly notions

I don't buy into the whole contrived nature of Valentine's Day and I've been known to forget my wedding anniversary more than once, but in all, I consider myself a romantic. Love, as they say, truly does make the world go round. Love - in all its forms - is what keeps most of us going. Me included. I loved my husband when I married him, but I absolutely adore him now.

What I don't believe in, however, is the whole argument that there is one true love for everyone in the world. Much like alcoholism, I think love is part genetic chemistry, and part environment. I would wager that there are hundreds, possibly thousands of people that a person could be compatible with. I might have a better chance at happiness with some over others, but it's all about your attitude, your environment, your personality, and the roll of the dice.

Could I have married someone other than Arthur and have been just as happy? Chances are, yes, I could have. It's quite possible that I could have made a go of it with Zaphod and led a different, but altogether equally satisfying life. Having been married to Arthur for nearly a decade, I'm thrilled with our life together - more so every day - and can't imagine any other life.

I think that's where the idea of one true love came from. Two people land in a great relationship, grow together as individuals and as a couple, and become so in tune with one another that they think that it must have been fate that brought them together, and assume that this was the one true love that they were meant to be with.

It's sweet and romantic, but it's a little too fatalistic for me. It doesn't take into account all the hard work, all the effort, and the good judgment of the two individuals. I think true love is more a matter of strong will and chance than some destiny marked in the stars. Fate sounds a little too Old Testament for my liking. I don't believe that anything on the planet is that well orchestrated that some cosmic energy could pre-ordain my one chance at true love.

So, while I am very grateful that I love, and am in return loved, by what I consider to be one of the greatest men in the world (yes, Arthur, I mean you), I'm going to give Arthur and I credit for that, rather than the gods.

What about you? Do you believe that there is only one true love for everyone?