Just Cuz Anndi said so....

Alright alright ALRIGHT.

I've been tagged by the luvleee Ann to do this meme. So, before I finish packing, here ya go (sorry no audio codes - I have a hard enough time doing those when I have time to spare).

LIST FOUR SENTENCES YOU'VE NEVER SAID BEFORE:
1. Sorry, but Taylor Hicks just doesn't do a THING for me.
2. No karaoke for me - I don't like the attention.
3. I'd rather give birth than eat that slice of chocolate cake.
4. The Damm duck is innocent.

LIST ANY NUMBER OF SONG TITLES THAT DESCRIBE HOW YOU'VE FELT THIS WEEK:
1. Crazy Train - Ozzy Osbourne
2. The Bitch is Back – Elton John (yep, me too Ann)
3. If I had $1,000,000 - Barenaked Ladies
4. What am I doing Hanging Round? - The Monkees

IMAGINE YOU'RE HAVING THE IDEAL PERFECT DAY. WHAT FOUR THINGS WOULD YOU BE DOING?
1. Waking up, in NYC, to breakfast in bed served by that special someone in a speedo
2. Sitting on a patio watching the people stroll by, sipping a latte and eating a rich pastry (it's the ideal perfect day right? So no calories)
3. Spend all day lazily checking out the shops in the Village
4. End the day by walking in Times Square when it's all lit, and sneaking into Central Park after hours for some lovin'.

MAKE UP FIVE CREATIVE NAMES FOR A NEW ROCK BAND:
1. Sin Bin Inmates (yes Paul, a twist on yours)
2. Melted Lipstick
3. Large Double Double
4. THUD
5. Crossbow

CONGRATULATIONS! YOU GET TO GO BACK IN TIME AND ENSURE THAT THREE SONGS WERE NEVER WRITTEN, THUS SPARING HUMANITY FROM EVER HAVING TO HEAR THEM. WHAT THREE SONGS WOULD GET THE AXE?
1. Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie - Abba
2. Party All the Time – Eddie Murphy (I know, I stole it from Ann - but seriously, it's true)
3. Barney's Theme Song


Ok, seeing as how ALMOST everyone's been tagged, and I know she needs to smile a bit more, I'm tagging SUZIE, and PAUL (just cuz he hates being tagged).

ONLY FIVE MORE DAYS

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

In five days, I will be in Detroit at Wrestlemania 23!! I am so psyched. I can't believe it.

You have to understand - I never thought I would get there. It was a pipe dream - something to be done someday. I still can't believe it's happening.

People can laugh at me all they want and say the dumbest things I've ever heard (and trust me, they do). "You DO know it's fake right?" being at the top of the list. Well, DUH. I'm not ten anymore. I've been watching since I was ten, but I do know the difference between real and fake.

And just to debate the topic for a second - yes, the storylines 90% of the time are contrived and conceived in the war room. BUT, the other ten per cent of the time there is real hatred between the players, and the storylines build on that. And a lot of the time, the "actors" go off script. And the injuries - well, trust me, THOSE are definately real. Sometimes they might be upgraded to critical because a wrestler needs time off to do his family thing (yes they DO have families), or sometimes an injury is understated in order for the wrestler to complete the storyline.

And then there are times when things go horribly wrong. Like Owen Hart (God rest his soul). In that case, it was an improperly strapped harness for a simple ring entrance that resulted in his death. No one can predict these things, as in "real life". It's a part of the business.

These men and women that fight in the squared circle LOVE what they do. They train hard, live over half their lives on the road, just to entertain. A lot of them don't get paid the money they deserve. More than half wind up in rehab for substance abuse, and they have more broken bones and bruises than over 75% of this world will ever see in their lifetime. And they still continue.

These men and women do so much for charity - guarenteed more than the WWE advertises. They go overseas to support and play for the troops. They are some of the most generous people in athletics with their time and likeness.

I fully admire all of the members of the WWE roster. It's not an easy life for them - but they chose it and they've worked hard for their success.

So - I can't wait to see all that hard work pay off. With everything that's been announced, it looks like it's going to be a hell of a night.

And I'm gonna be there!!!!

And so it is Hump Day

Well, thank you so much to all those who kept my grandfather in their prayers. He's still got a blockage in his throat, but the fever is gone. Unfortunately, the psychologist that saw him says he's got the beginning stages of Alzheimers. Well, at 86, there might be stuff I'm tempted to forget too. LOL. They're keeping him in the hospital for at least another week, could turn into three. Which means I'll be seeing a lot of that damn place - like I haven't in the last five years. Sheesh!

Prayers are required once more, this time for a young lady I work with. She just found out she's got stage four lung cancer, and she' s only 25. Georgia is a part time paramedic, and a part time student. She's such a tiny little thing, and it's just so sad. Please pray for her. We're holding a fund raiser on April 1st for her - which I will unfortunately not be able to attend, but will be buying a ticket anyway.

Once again, bored out of my tree at work, and youwould think that my brain would want to type out something wonderfully creative, but me thinks I have been intimidated by all the talent that has been brought out of the Soul Patrol. From the hilarious and imaginative (Dana) to the dark, tortured side (Bond, you have to share the title with Turn this week), to incredibly insightful editorials on human nature (Yoda), my creative muse has apparently decided that this would be a good time to take up drinking.

SO, onto a little something I found on youtube. I remember the song from back in the 80's, but never realized the significance of it until last night, when I googled it and found the video.



I had no idea of the political message in this video. I just knew that the song kept getting stuck in my head. And then I did some reading about it. It's such a sad incident - to be executed because you believe in something. To be so young, and have such convictions, and then to have your life taken because some asshole believes differently.

On the 18th of June, 1983 in Shíráz, Iran, ten women were executed by hanging for their unwillingness to renounce their Bahá'í belief in the face of the Islamic fundamentalism that had recently overtaken their country. This act was particularly disturbing since usually only Bahá'í men were targeted for execution. The incident brought outcries from the world community appealing to the Iranian government to implement basic human rights for the Bahá'ís. This international pressure had its effect in that recent years have witnessed fewer executions, but Bahá'ís are still denied basic rights of education, employment, assembly and legal protection. The Bahá'í Faith is a religion native to Iran and is considered apostasy by the religious leaders of Shí'ih Islam. Since the religion began in 1844, over 20,000 of its adherents have been martyred. Of the ten women executed in 1983, the youngest was only a teenager. Her name was Mona Mahmúdnizhád. (from http://www.adressformona.org/truestory.htm)

Now, I can't even claim to comprehend what she must have been feeling when she was standing there, waiting to die for what she believed in. Hell, I have problems comprehending a world where a difference in opinion is cause for a war. This song always made me cry, as does the video. There are days I wish I understood more about politics and religion, but seeing something like this, it's senseless and no amount of scripture or laws can justify it.

Bored bored bored

Ok, so I'm sitting here at work, on a Friday BORED out of my frickin' mind (I hear Dr. Evil in my head when I say that). My boss is more than well aware that there is SFA for me to do today, so he is in a forgiving mood while I sit here and aimlessly surf the net.

Hotmail is having many many issues today, so I can't check on my ten email accounts. I've checked out everything I need to, and I know I should be writing my wrestling column, but I can't be bothered right now. So I figured I'd get a blog entry in, considering I've been seriously neglecting it lately.

So hats off to the hoochies and the hotty who had a blast in B'ham last weekend. As I've said many times, I wish I could have been there with you. But there is hope that Taylor might make his way up here to the Great White North, and if he does make Toronto a stop on the tour, I expect to see a bunch of you here!

Yesterday was my grandfathers 86th birthday, and the poor man was rushed to the hospital because they think he's got a viral pneumonia. At his age, that could be lethal. So, I'm actually kind of glad that there's nothing for me to do today, cuz I can't properly concentrate. And I have to work a hockey game tonight. I worked the last one on Wednesday night, and I got so pissed at those guys.

HOW, tell me please, how do you end the first period with a 3-1 lead, and THEN lose the game 7-4???????? How the hell does this happen? The Marlies aren't the best in the AHL, but they're definately not the worst. They'd better win tonight, or the coach is going to have an aneurism.

So Sanjaya is still alive on American Idol. HOW? WHY? The kid is cute, and can sing, I'll give him that. But there's no power behind it. It always sounds like he's whispering the songs. The show said that they'll never put someone like Taylor through again - and speculation is because that we, as the Soul Patrol, scared the ever loving shit out of the producers. The voting for him was so phenomenal that they couldn't contain it. You can so tell that they didn't want Taylor to win it, because they are pimping out Chris Daughtry (who sounds like a bad Pearl Jam imitation no matter HOW good he looks), and Katherine McPhee (no comment on her). It really doesn't matter though. Those two are going to be a flash in the pan (mind you- five years from now or so). Taylor, however, will have one of those careers like Tony Bennett. Classy, long lasting, and full of talent.

So what's on your iPod? Or MP3 or even your Windows media player? My friends go through my iPod and they are SO confused about what type of music I like. I love it all (ok, most). I refuse to be pigeonholed into a specific type. Example - the next twenty songs on my iPod (it's on random right now):

Box Set - Barenaked Ladies
Take Me Home - Phil Collins
By 7:30 - Vonda Shepard
Woman's Point of View - Glen Burtnick
Desert Moon - Dennis DeYoung
A Kiss to Build a Dream On - Louis Armstrong
A Little More Love - Olivia Newton John
Good Luck Charm - Elvis Presley
Gonna Move - Taylor Hicks
Not enough - Our Lady Peace
Now & Forever - Carole King
Fallen Angel - Styx
Per Te - Josh Groban
Talk Dirty to Me - Poison
Two of Hearts - Stacey Q
Lost Brotherhood - Gowan
One Blue Day - The Wilkinsons
If This is the Last Kiss - Meatloaf
No Good Deed - Wicked Soundtrack (Broadway)
Sugar Shack - can't remember who sings it
Lips of An Angel - Hinder

So see what I mean? It often confuses my co-workers as I can be playing air guitar, rocking out to Bon Jovi one second, and doing jazz hands for a broadway tune the next. I love having 1821 songs and not knowing what's coming next. It's great. Especially when I'm practising for karaoke .

Ok gang, this has been a slice, but in six minutes, I officially clock out for the day. I'll update this weekend at some point - hopefully. Please keep my grandfather in your thoughts, and I'll catch ya later.


Stay sane inside insanity - and never forget your towel.

Thursday Thirteen - things I miss from childhood

Ok, so I can't be bothered to go and find my html code for this, so it's going to be plain and simple, which kind of goes with today's theme.

Yesterday, my adorable nephew was over and playing with playdoh. Responding to the multiple demands of "Auntie Ang - come play", I got on my stomach and started to press playdoh into molds and animals. At the end of the night, the telltale smell of the stuff was attached to me, which made me think of how much I missed it.

So this is 13 things I miss doing from my childhood (as always, in no particular order)

13. Playing hide and seek - remember doing this until all hours? The best was outside in the summertime, because all the kids knew each other, and our parents didn't mind us hiding in the backyards or around the tool sheds. And then when it was time to go in for the night, calls of "Olly olly oxen free" resounded through the neighbourhood (still don't know what it means).

12. Going toboganning - I remember having endless amounts of energy to hike back up the hill after careening down at top speed. These days, down once, have a coffee, MAYBE make it back up for a second time (ok, not QUITE that bad, but close). Back then, being cold was no big deal.

11. Playing with lego - All those cities we used to build, and if mom or dad tried to take them down to put the toys away, what a fit my brother and I would pitch!!!

10. Swinging - every playground had a swing of some form, and as soon as we caught sight of the park, we'd all run screaming for them. Whether it was a tire swing - which I got sick on more than once - or the bucket swings, or even the toddler swings (we'd sit on top of the bars if the other swings were taken). Then we'd push each other as high as we could go.

9. Watching cartoons - ok, some of us still do this - but I mean CARTOONS. Talking bunnies and aliens, and it was all obviously fake. Not this anime that's huge now, not cartoons that look too good. I remember cheesy, big lines, not a ton of detail, loud colours and crazy dialogue. Those were the real thing.

8. Writing stories - that had plotlines that made no sense, time wasn't a factor (everything could be accomplished in a day), no basis in reality - and having someone say "That's a really good story.", instead of "You missed a crucial plot point." Characters always got along, and it was good vs. evil, black and white - no grey areas existed.

7. Colouring - I really enjoyed this when I was a kid. I found it was a creative task that could be done anywhere. Colouring inside the lines, outside the lines, outlining the lines - there were endless possibilities when you coloured. The sky could be any colour - I could create my own world. The best gift in the world was a new box of Crayola crayons, and a brand new colouring book.

6. Jump rope - Oh my god I LOVED doing this. I used to have double dutch tournaments on my driveway, and all the kids on the block came over to play. Amazing amounts of fun in the summer....

5. Slumber parties - Good old fashioned everyone-sleeps-in-one-room-get-out-the-makeup-talk-about-boys-crank-call-your-teachers-do-eachothers-hair-gossip-eat-popcorn-chips-and-candy-until-two-a.m.-and-the-first-one-to-fall-asleep-gets-an-undergarment-frozen slumber parties. Where the guys all gathered outside to see girls in their p.j.'s and attempted to crash. I really miss those.

4. Jumpsies - kind of in the category of jump rope, but different. A large rope of elastics (usually strung together during class) held by a person on either end, and to play you had to go through a series of jumps over the rope starting easy and ending with some complicated moves.

3. March Break - Every year, my brother, mother and I would go to the family condo in Florida and spend ten wonderful days with my grandparents and aunts. With no friends around, we only had each other. It really stressed the importance of family, and I like to think it's why I have such a great relationship with them now.

2. Swear words - when we were kids, the words "stupid", "shut up", "jerk", and the ever popular "doody head" were forbidden. Back then, those words caused us to earn a time out, or a smack on the bottom. Some enterprising parents even used the soap. Today, they're a part of everyday conversation, and the swear words are a hundred times worse.

1. Innocence - and the absolute belief that mommy and daddy can fix anything that happens. I mourn the most for the loss of it.


Stay sane inside insanity - and never forget your towel.

Wordless Wednesday - Enjoy!

30 Things....

I stole this from Dana, who stole it from Turn, who got it from Mimi.....

1. In two words, explain what ended your last relationship.

Can't remember

2. When was the last time you shaved your legs?

Last night

3. What were you doing this morning at 8am?

Wondering if I could get away with calling in sick

4. What were you doing 15 minutes ago?

Visiting the Couch

5. Are you any good at math?

Nope

6. Your prom night?

Uneventful

7. Do you have any famous relatives?

I am a distant relative to Madonna (her great grandmother and my great great grandmother were cousins), my third cousin on my father's side is Bobby Curtola, and my husband's cousin is Canadian crooner Murray MacLaughlin

8. Have you ever taken out a loan to pay for school?

Only once, and it JUST got paid off.

9. Do you know the words to your MySpace song?

I don't think I have a song on my MySpace.

10. Last thing you received in the mail?

Bills :(

11. How many different beverages have you drank today?

One - tea

12. Who most recently made you smile?

In person? My idiot co-worker. On line? Anndi

13. Who did you lose your virginity to?

My ex Kevin

14. Do you draw your name in the sand when you go to the beach?

Always

15. What's the most painful dental procedure you've had?

Tooth extraction

16. What is out your back door?

My backyard which I LOVE

Where's 17?

18. Do you like the ocean?

YEP

19. Have you ever received one of those big tins of 3 different kinds of popcorn for Christmas?

No, I haven't.

20. Have you ever been to a planetarium?

Yes - I think I was in grade eight

22. Something you are excited about?

April 1st - WRESTLEMANIA

23. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

Strawberry

24. Are any of your great-grandparents still alive?

No. :(

25. Describe your keychain.

A WWE spinner keychain, my Styx lucite (lights up) keychain, and a heart with a Canadian flag in the middle

27. When was the last time you spoke in front of a large group?

Does it count if I was yelling at hockey patrons to get the hell out of the building so I could go home? Yes? Then Sunday.

28. What kind of winter coat do you have?

Mickey Mouse :D

29. What do you think of the person you copied this from?

Dana is sweet, and incredibly talented and just a peach of a southern gal (:D)

30. Do you sleep with the door to your room open or closed?

closed


Stay insane inside insanity - and never forget your towel.