And one finger waves goodbye

Today I leave Picton. Woo-Hoo, or as we say in Alberta Yee-Haw!
I will only miss the nearby beach and my local coffee shop. I will miss Toronto a lot, but I may turn this into another post.
Blogging will be sparse in the coming weeks as I drive across the country and get settled in Medicine Hat.

So we lost in hockey, get over it

Many hockey fans across the country are crying into their beer tonight because Canada finished out of the medals in Olympic hockey.
In some ways it seemed easy, great players, coaches and hell it's Canada, should almost be a snap. But in reality, not so much. (I'll let James handle the actual insight on the the team).
Now we all must prepare for the media onslot of 'what went wrong.' I predict this will take presidence over all other Olympics coverage, especially the fact that we won FOUR medals today. Two gold and two silver medals makes up a pretty good day for Canada, but those athletes who earned their 15 minutes with Brian Wilson or Ron Maclean will be pre-empted for analysis with Don Cherry about why the Canadian team couldn't pull it together.
So I say congrats to all those who won any of the current 18 medals, and a boo-hoo to the mens hockey team.
With the men out of the hockey does this mean there'll be more air-time for curling?

EDIT- The Star's Rosie DiManno shares my sentiments.

Me + sports = pain

I'm not particularly athletically inclined. I keep myself in decent physical condition, but whenever I attempt an activity I haven't done in a long time I manage to hurt myself.
Last year, I played football for the first time since junior high and limped away with several sore muscles and a sprained ankle.
This past weekend I partook in a cliche Canadian tradition and went skating on the Rideau Canal. I haven't been on skates in at least 5 years, and though I managed not to fall I'm still limping a couple days later. It was fun, it was really cold, and at the end of the day I'm glad I bought that tensor bandage last year.

On the road again

I've always been a 'home is where my stuff is' kind of a gal. This is partially because I've never lived in one place long enough to have a definitive 'home.' I don't have one childhood home that I grew up in, realistically I have seven. When I'm on vacation my hotel is home, when I'm in Toronto Pete and Kara's is home, and since these days most of my stuff is in Picton, I call it home.
Starting in March, I will be calling Medicine Hat home. I was offered a job at the paper there and I'm looking forward to starting the next phase of my life. I will be sad to leave Ontario behind--and I'm annoyed that I have to change all of my identification and what not again-- but it will be nice to be closer to 'home' in Calgary.
Now the craziness begins. I'm trying to figure out to move out there without spending a small fortune. When I came to Ontario I didn't have any furniture to ship, so that was easy, this time around it's a different story. That's probably not going to happen. I'm also trying to decide the best way to get my car out west, the cheapest way is probably to drive it out, but a cross-country road trip on my own sounds painful. So we'll see what happens.
Does anyone have tips on a cross-country move? Does anyone want to drive across the country in a Buick with me?

The reviews are in

There's nothing I enjoy better than an entertaining and scathing review of anything. I especially enjoy this kind of review when it's about something or someone who drives me crazy. Reviews of CDs by teen pop stars, or movies starring Jennifer Lopez, and of course reviews of anything Leah McLaren does.
So when I stumbled upon the review of Leah McLaren's new book in the Toronto Star, I was filled with glee and then rushed to my copy of the Globe's book section to see what they had said. Since I haven't read the book, and probably will avoid it with a ten-foot pole, I will give a brief review of the reviews, because they both entertained me on a different level.
To say that the Star trashed the book is an understatement. It's never a good sign when the review barely mentions the work being critiqued. It's an even worse sign when the best thing that can be said about a book is that the font is nice to look at and easy to read.
"The font selected, Electra, is an eye-pleasing serif. Unfortunately, poor Electra has endured unspeakable molestation courtesy of McLaren's prose."
Ouch, that's gotta hurt. Reviewer Ryan Bigge can't even come up with an English word to desribe how bad the Continuity Girl is, and acknowledges that this review will likely have little effect on the sales of this book.
There is an unacknowledged bias in this review, the most obvious being that it is in the Star. The other, also obvious, flaw is that the reviewer is male and thus not McLaren's target audience. Still, the review is hilarious and likely a better read than the book.
I was disappointed to see the glowing review written by Joanna Goodman in the Globe (sorry it's not posted online). Goodman praises McLaren as the future of chick-lit. God help us all.
"Leah McLaren's positions herself at the forefront of this literary movement, proving that chicklit can be clever, poignant and insightful."
Those who read chicklit at all already know that it can be all the aforementioned things, and not new to McLaren. Those who read McLaren's column know that she is occasionally clever and insightful, but normally cliche, self-indulgent and pointless.
Though McLaren often annoys the hell out of me, I don't consider her a bad writer, but I also don't consider her to be a great writer. Apparently Goodman does.
"We forgive McLaren in large part because her prose is so witty and engaging and we can't put the book down."
This entire review blows proverbial smoke up McLaren's ass. Goodman calls the book a relevant and astute observation on the pressures on a modern career woman. Now, call me crazy, but McLaren is as far removed from the modern career woman as Sex and the City is from the reality of being a single woman.

In need of a project

It has officially started. I've started to go nuts. There are only so many hours in a day that can be spent on job boards and cold calling/emailing editors. My laundry is done and my house is clean. And as much as I enjoy reading the paper and drinking coffee that too has a time limit. Now what?
I'm in need of a project, or several projects, to prevent me from losing my mind. Any suggestions? (p.s. my cds are already alpahbetized so that isn't an option)

First day of school

I love to see another side of politicians, not just the talking head from the podium or the attacking persona from question period. I enjoy seeing politicians looking like people. As I watched the swearing in of the new government I caught a moment that made me laugh.
A few minutes before Stephen Harper formally became Prime Minister Harper, he took a seat in Rideau Hall and looked back to his buddies Peter MacKay and Stockwell Day. The normally staid politicians were smiling and making lighthearted comments (that I couldn't hear). It reminded me of being in an assembly in junior high, where you look through the different isles to see your friends and joke around until the teacher catches you. From the looks on their faces it was like the soon-to-be PM and his cabinet were saying to each other 'hey guys, isn't this cool?' Harper genuinely seemed excited and happy, and it was nice to see him not looking like a cardboard cut-out in a turtleneck.
The whole cabinet seemed to be having a pretty good time having their 'class picture' taken. So probably for the last time, we saw the human face of Canadian policitians. It's nice to know they're people too, it's just too bad they keep that side so well hidden.

From teen tv to Oscar

Do you ever feel bad for the cast of Dawson's Creek? No? Me neither? I'm sure they got handsomely paid for their years in Capeside and now what are they up to? Sure we all know that Katie Holmes is carrying wack-job Tom Cruise's baby but realistically the more interesting former Creek cast member is Michelle Williams.
This week, Williams was nominated for an Oscar for her role in Brokeback Mountain.An honour I would say she deserved, though she didn't stand out in the movie she handled the character well and did stuff that Oscar voters seem to love (like cry a lot). I doubt she'll win, but she was worthy of being nominated.
I feel the need for a sarcastic where are they now. I would love to know what is going through the minds of the rest of the cast. Did they all immediately fire their agents? Or question their film choices? Has Joshua Jackson signed on for Mighty Ducks 4?
On Dawson's Creek (yes I'll admit to watching the show) Williams character often had slightly more interesting storylines but I doubt she was the one pegged as most likely to succeed. Holmes had some potential, making some decent movies like Pieces of April, then she hooked up with Cruise and all has gone to hell. And as much as I enjoyed Rules of Attraction, I haven't seen James Van der Beek since, though the barista at Starbucks did have a strong resemblance...
So as Williams picks out an Oscar dress while holding Heath Ledger's baby, she can only improve from her awful Golden Globes dress, the rest of the cast will call and wish her congratulations while re-examining their own career choices.

Want my old job??

As most of you know, I was laid off from my job last week. Apparently because of a lack of money.
But, lucky you. If you check out Jeff Gaulin, you can have the job that was once mine, but I wouldn't recommend it.
Welcome to my life. At this rate, someone will probably move into my apartment before I move out.