Weepy Mc Whines-a-lot

Yup, that's me today. I'm hoping it's just part of the hormonal rollercoaster that is my existence. Seeing as the last time I felt this crappy about myself was about 28 days ago, well... you do the math. The logical part of my brain is doing a great job of pointing out "This is just hormonal. It's PMS. It happens. Things are not all doom and gloom." It's there, and it's giving me a good pep talk. However, if you were to imagine my brain as a house party, and all the things that contribute to my mental state as individual guests, then currently my rational side is sitting by the stereo, looking through CDs, whispering this really fricken important information to itself. SO useful. The rest of the party is full of really loud soap opera divas all poised on that moment before they cry, because Lacy has gotten pregnant with Chad's baby but he can't acknowledge the child because of his affiliations to the circus. Oh it's all so dramatic.

Am I making any sense?

Today is emotional day. You know you've hit the cheese-y bottom when you find yourself identifying with an Evanesence song. If I'm going to be all dark and depressed, I should at least have the guts to be depressed to genuine Goth music. Not pop-Goth. And certainly not while driving a huge green truck around a small town. Talk about adding further insult to injury. To the people of Kingston, if you saw a girl driving a Ford 150 Laredo, wearing far too much eyeliner for summer and crying her little heart out along with a song on the radio... really at least one of you should have shot me.

Sigh. I'm in such a state today that I can spin ANYTHING into something to be upset about. Truly my finest hour. I know bad days happen. They happen to me like clockwork, but usually my life is in some kind of order, so I get grumpy about things like hair and hangnails. This time, when the monthly wallow-fest rolled into town, I have some legitimate anxieties and a whole lot of ambiguity to deal with. I can't think of a way to push those unproductive feelings aside today. And that's pissing me off even more. Someone should nail me with a tranquilizer dart and wake me up in 2 days.

Today's Sing-a-long song: (You guessed it) "Bring Me To Life" by Evanesence

//bows head in shame

HRH

Best Wedding Announcement Ever

First a preface: Many of my dearest friends were staff at Golden Words (the Queen's University Humour Paper). In fact most of the people on my side bar are GW alumni. When you work at a humour paper, and are hopefully a funny person, you tend not to be caught up in all things PC. I have a pretty healthy amount of distain for the PC movement, but that rant is another blog (being called vertically challenged does not change the fact that you're short). My friends say awful things. They always have and I've always loved them for it. I've also always known what kinds of people they are and the values that they have. They're great people and I adore them.

During our last couple of years at school 3 couples came into being around the same time. M and I in late December 1998, Mike and Dawn not long after that and Dave and Andrea about the same time. Besides the timing, all 3 relationships had one thing in common: we all tried to hide the fact that we were dating. Be it from other people (M & I) or from ourselves, it was one really big denial fest. By about March/April everyone had come out in the open and all three relationships have been going strong ever since.

I'd often wondered, considering the confluence of hook ups, which, if any, of these couplings would make the scary commitment first. It appears that the trophy and washer/dryer combo go to Andrea and Dave who sent out this great announcement yesterday (The names parenthesis are pseudonyms ):

Ah hem!

David (Soapy) and Andrea (Bebe Craque) would like to announce their official engagement to each other.

Their goal is to torment one another until infinity X 2 or until one of them is SO GAY (whichever comes first).

Yay!

Today's Sing-a-long song: "The Perfect Drug" by Nine Inch Nails
HRH

MIA

I've caught absentee blogger disease. I can make all kinds of excuses about how M was in the K this weekend, so frankly I had better things to do, but we all know that's not acceptable.

I guess I just haven't felt like anything big is going on. My life is very much on hiatus. Stuff is going on, but nothing that studio reps can confirm. I'm going to a lot of movies. I've seen how horrid T3 was (you really can't cover plot holes with expolsions people) and how fun Tomb Raider II: The Cradle of Life was (Angelina is just hot. Nuff said). I have eaten a lot of Twizzlers.

M's visit was really nice. It's hard living apart right now, so it means a lot to me when we get time together. Mum and Dad took us to a really cute Vineyard to dinner last night. We were sitting outside on a patio overlooking the grapes and the lake. The food, wine and company were wonderful. It was one of those "I really have a wonderful life" moments.

It's strange. While we're in this moment of pergatory (not to be confused with a Pagoda, like I used to do when I was wee) you'd think I'd be overwhelmed with distress and dispair. Sure I have slacker layrynith scares, but generally I'm happy. I feel good about the future. I feel excited about.

My mother put it really well. As M was pulling out of the driveway, leaving for Toronto, Mum couldn't stop talking about what a wonderful man M is. She said something really sweet to me: "You both have such wonderful futures ahead of you." Hearing her say that made me smile. Not only because a parent's confidence can make you feel loved, but because I knew she was right.

Today's sing-a-long song: "Queer" by Garbage

HRH

Rock the vote

Did you think this post was going to be about political awareness and activists? Silly rabbits, it's about supporting Canadian talent in the world of rock videos. I got an email from a highschool friend. Her man is up for a VMA (of the MTV persuasion). The neat thing is that he's up for the MTV2 award, which means that you can all use a moment of your day to click over here and vote for the Interpol video "PDA"... which Christopher directed.

I don't care if you liked the videos of the other bands. This is a situation where we have to bond all 6 degrees of separation. You can vote multiple times so I expect at least 15 votes from each of you.

Today's Sing-A-Long song: "PDA" by Interpol (of course!)

Almost Done

Today Canada Post delivered the last of our boxes. The Canadian Food and Inspection Agency is hosing down M's car to ensure that no evil bacteria has been brought over on the wheels of his car for a crazy $200.00. However, once that's done we will be in possession of all of our belongings and will have moved from Prague in less than 6 weeks. Booya.

The job hunt is showing some serious signs of life, but I'm weary of pontificating as I'd hate to jinx. It also seems that we've found ourselves a pretty sweet deal in terms of housing. Mind you, we can't really jump into it until afformentioned job prospects turn out. It's a lot of waiting and wondering. But at least our stuff is here!

HRH

Blocked

I am still here... and I have actually been writing blogs. I've just been deleting them a lot. I wish there was some device that would enable me to blog while I'm driving. The stuff I come up with in the car... brilliance I say.

Things are starting to fall into place life wise. A couple more steps and I'll be ready to let the public at large in on what's going on. I'm good. Still being a bit of a nerd, but good. I'm sure verbosity will return. I have things to talk about, but am a little low on will to do so. More to come.

Today's Sing-A-Long Song: "Dankeshoen" by Wayne Newton.

HRH

Reality TV for me

When I was packing to move back to Prague, Mike made a prediction that I would fill in the gap in my TV watching schedule (left vacant by the end of Buffy and the generally craptitude of Enterprise) with reality television. I scoffed at him, appalled that he would think that I, insert some kind of snotty description and title, Chelsea, would sink so low as to be amused by the squabbling, fronting and all around fucktardery that I believe a lot of reality TV entails. I say, believe, because I haven't watched much, so I'm kind of talking out of my ass here. You know... making ass-umptions. I really dislike the notion of being entertained by the misfortunes of others.

However, it seems that it has come time for me to eat a little crow (sorry Mr. Crow). I have fallen for 2 reality TV shows. TWO! I'm wearing my hypocrite pants extra tight today. And there is hope for me. Once I leave the confines of my parent's home and their wonderful Direct TV feed, I'll be hard pressed to get my fix. You see, both my beloved shows are on MTV. No, it's not The Real World, or Road Rules... though I am partial to watching Becoming when it's on. No I can't stop watching The Osbournes and Making The Band II (in which P. Diddy creates a hip-hop super group).

I find the Osbournes touching. It makes me happy when they unite as a family to paintball their neighbors and I die a little inside when Jack and Kelly yell at each other. More than anything, I watch the show to try and get a feeling for how their home is actually run. It's a mad house, but it works really well.

Making the band II is really fascinating. P. Diddy is a mogul, with assets in the millions (or billions? I think it depends on whether you include the fashion house Sean John). It's really amazing to watch this man work. While I loathe a lot of his music and will never forgive him for sampling my favourite song, the man just drips of success. It's remarkable how he can get the fairly volatile personalities in the group to get their act together. What totally blows my mind are some of the people in the group. They're having their shot at stardom laid right out in front of them and a lot of them are still giving off all kinds of attitude.

So I'm watching reality TV. Are shows like The Osbournes and Making The Band II gateway shows that will lead to me trying harder, more seductive offerings like those marriage shows. Only time will tell.

Today's sing-a-long song: "Strange" by Tori Amos.

HRH

Needed: A life… and, like, pronto

It is in the calm before the storm that our character as human beings is tested. We know the journey ahead is perilous, that we will be tested, tired and pushed to the very limits of our being. Knowing these challenges lay ahead, it is the wise man who spends the calm preparing for the eventual onslaught. Ensuring that should the worst happen, he will have done all that he could to survive it. The wise man sits in contemplation of life and its wonderful mystery. Using those moments of clarity to grow as a person, all the while becoming a more formidable opponent in the pending fray. Yes, that is the wise man.

I would like to take this moment to remind everyone that I am neither wise, nor a man.

This whole downtime thing is starting to loose it’s shiny new feeling. I’ve been home for a month now and I’m starting to feel pretty darn pathetic. It’s really hard to feel like the super girl who owns the ass of everyone in her way when you’re living on a pull-out couch. Please don’t think that I’m spurning the generosity of my parents. Without their kindness, this transition from East to West would have been really difficult and traumatic. With their help it’s been easy. Really easy. So easy that I’m finding it hard not to slip into the slacker labyrinth.

The slacker labyrinth is a scary place. It’s full of unrealized potential and empty bags of potato chips. I can see it waiting for me around every corner. Tempting me with tedium, obesity and 1000 channels of digital satellite. I’m fighting it dagnabit. I’m riding my bike, swimming, dancing and trying to remember to do my abs. I’ve banned the blessed S&Vs from the house, along with the evil Loblaw’s Two Bite Brownies. I have yet to watch anything on Network television, but am sadly watching a lot of VH1, MTV and MTV2 (maybe I should buy some shares in Viacom?).

It’s a battle. I look for jobs every day, I clean up around the house and run errands for the family. I’m even getting outside a lot. Yet I still see slackerdom looming. The most tell tale sign is that I’m turning night into day. Staying and getting up late. It happens to me all the time and I hate it. I want to be a morning person. Why can’t I just fall asleep?

It might be better if I were doing something social, but I’m reluctant to leave the house. I go outside all the time, so I don’t think I’m coming down with a case of agoraphobia, but I’m becoming really sedentary. I spend way too much time on the Internet. I tell myself that I’m just compensating for the horrors of dial-up in Prague, but when notice that you’re sitting in front of your computer, sucking back Altoids tangerine sours, with the Star Wars Episode III webcam, a Starwars message board, MSN messenger and Yahoo bingo open at the same time, you’re just another step closer to hitting bottom.

M told me that I should use this free time to take a shot a fiction. A fairly scary notion for someone like me who’s really just a service writer. Needless to say I haven’t even had an inkling of something to write, nor have I had much interest. When I was back in Prague I imagined I’d take this time to sit by the water with my laptop and pen something meaningful or at the very least entertaining. I would continue to feed my soul and I would reflect on the adventure I just completed. What have I done? I’ve taken the first steps to becoming an introverted nerd.

I’m being overdramatic of course. It’s not as bad as I’m making it sound. I guess I just had a bad moment a little while ago. I was sitting at the computer waiting for someone to post a message to the board. Actually sitting there waiting. I shuddered at myself and decided that maybe watching TV would be interesting. But nothing caught me. It all seemed empty. It was 11:00 p.m. and the house has quiet and dark. I had nothing to do and wasn’t the least bit tired. And it scared me. I began to imagine months upon months of spectacular unemployment. I could feel layers of dust settling on my skin and my brain slowing down to a light whirrh.

I felt really disappointed in myself and in a way I still do. I should have done more with the last 4 weeks. I should have already sorted out the contents of the storage locker instead of driving over and looking at it. It would have been good if I’d learned something more than how to create a smoky eye effect with gel eye liner. Should have, could have, would have. Sigh.

This would be easier if I could get the differences between a break and being a lazy bum.

Today's sing-a-long song: I'm so tempted to say "Longview" by Green Day... but things haven't become that dire. So instead "Down in a Hole" by Alice in Chains. Fitting no?

HRH

Goin' to the Chapel

Wedding season is in full swing my friends. Caterers are making piles upon piles of salads, chicken and cheesecake, bridesmaids are getting their hair piled higher and higher and wedding guests are getting drunk. All for love and isn't it just so romantic.

Who married who
Yesterday, Julie and I made our way to the booming metropolis of Renfrew, Ontario (population 8,500) for the wedding of one of our former co-workers from the HMV days. Yes, our dear funny Peter was marrying his girlfriend of 5 or 6 years (maybe more?), Kelly. Two really sweet, hardworking, good people who just adore each other. And damn, they both looked great.

Getting there
We left early, because it's a two and a half hour drive to Refrew from Kingston and I was going to change into my ensemble near the church so I could drive in something comfortable... and not wrinkle my dress. I got what appeared to be good directions from Yahoo Maps. I should have been skeptical, as the last time I got a map from Yahoo I was so totally lost in Toronto that I gave up trying to find my destination and just went back to Mike's. But I used them again. And the results were not good.

Everything was fine until we hit the 417 and turned East, which was what the instructions told us to do. What puzzled me was that Renfrew was clearly West of Ottawa. We drove for awhile, but I was sure that this was the wrong way. A quick call to Mike (Ottawa native) and then to his wonderful parents, Klaus and Judy and it was confirmed: We were going the wrong way and we were about an hour from Renfrew. It's important to mention that at this time it was 2:05 p.m. and the wedding was going to start at 3:00 p.m. Needless to say I was not pleased with myself. It's is also key to note that at this precise moment, it started to rain, which meant that high speed driving was going to be more perilous than usual.

Changing in car, not as cute as it is in those beer commercials
45 minutes and a great many swear words later, we pulled up at the church. I don't think I've verbally abused that many drivers before in my life. But we made it and there was a little time to spare. Time enough for me to change into my dress in my car. I know, class ALL THE WAY. Of course, in my haste, I decided to pass on a bra. And that's when the temperature dropped. I managed to look pensive and have my hand on my chin for most of the ceremony, so that I wasn't looking totally inappropriate in a church. After the ceremony, I hauled ass back to the car, donned the bra and it was smooth, slick sailing from then on.

Look who was and wasn't there
I spent a lot of time with Peter when I was dating the frontman of the band he was in. In fact Peter was the one that set us up oh so many moons ago. I knew that G had been invited to the wedding, but I also knew that G is a class A slacker and doubted that he would get is act together enough to make it. I haven't seen G since we broke up almost 5 years ago. I mentally prepared myself in case he had a change of character, but I wasn't surprised not to see him. I also hadn't seen any of G's old friends in that same time. It was nice to see a lot of the people I used to go to shows with. We had a good time reminiscing about days of yore (Mel, you totally should have been there!) and laughing at all the stupid stuff we used to do working in the mall. All in all, it worked out wonderfully.

Catholic weddings! God-tastic.
I'm not religious. I'm not a believer, but I understand that many people are. And I understand that faith is a very personal and precious thing. I understand that being invited to share in a moment of union between two people is a honour and I am always touched when people ask me to be there. I'm just really new to this whole church thing. Which is odd considering the amount of time I've spent in churches, studying art. When you're at a wedding, and you're actually listening to what they're saying, and there's no art for you to analyze, and you're not catholic...not even Christian... well, it's really confusing to outside eyes.

As strange as a lot of it seemed to me, the bottom line is that the bride and groom had a wonderful time, people were happy, the priest was actually pretty charming (when I could get through his accent) and I managed not to laugh at any inappropriate moments. What is it about church that puts me on sarcasm overdrive and gives me the giggles? Must be latent tension or something.

So it was a lovely day and everyone was happy and behaving well. It was so great spending time with my old friends and getting some super quality Julie time. Yayers!

And the best part of everything is that it's today. And today means that M is on a plane coming back to Canada. And that means that I get to see my sweetie on Wednesday after a month of being in different countries. So in honour of that...

Today's Sing-a-long song: "My boyfriend's back: by The Angels.

HRH

Nerd Attack

Today's Sing-a-long song: "Teenage dirtbag" by Wheatus

I was perusing some Star Wars message boards today (like that's different that any other day. //embarassed smile) and I caught a list of confirmed and possible locations being used for Ep. III. Most of the shooting is going on at Fox Studios in Sydney over the next month and a half, but after principal photography is done, there will be some location work.

So here, courtesty of Ep-X, are the confirmed locales:

New Zealand
Switzerland
Italy

Now here's where I start getting excited. The rumoured locales. They may not be true, but even if one or two of them pan out in my favour...

Como, Italy (Where my sister's best friend lives)
Scotland (Okay, I don't know anyone there well enough to pay a suprise visit)
Czech Republic (Eeeee!)
Toronto, Canada (Super Eeeee!)
Timanfaya, Canary Islands (A popular Czech holiday spot?)

It's interesting no? Kind of like it's my destiny. Out of 5 locations, I have roots in 2. However, recent reports say that Toronto is out, but I'm just going to ignore those. Ohh I'm a scary, scary girl. Seriously though, there was word given in an online chat with the stunt co-ordinator that there will be some girl on girl jedi fighting action in this film. Can't you just see it: Me, working my way through the labrynith of rocks that is Cesky Raj, fighting was will be an ultimately futile battle against imperial forces or somewhere in Toronto that just screams 1977 science fiction (maybe the observation deck of the CN tower?) losing limbs to the Dark Lord of the Sith. I would so rock.

Don't shake your heads at me, whispering "geek" under your breath. You'd do it too if given the chance. So let me have this moment of nerdgasm and share in the joy. I hear it's infectious.

HRH

To clarify...

Time to clarify. I do like aspects of modernism in interior design (those being design elements that were popular between WWI and WWII). Check some more recent applications of that style here. Caban is neat. My mum adores Caban, and shouldn't be allowed in there without supervision and I fear a similar fate for me.

I am going to try my hardest to avoid IKEA. It's a great store, but it's just lazy.

HRH

HaaZaa!

Today's Sing-a-long song: "Hyperballad" by Bjork.

It is with great joy and relief that I make the following statement. I have decided what my home decorating style is. It is modern. For many, this kind of revelation is not a big deal, but most people, actually everyone but my sister and I, don't have my mother for a mother. My mum is uber-mum. Crafty as all get out, smart, kind and a gazillion other wonderful things. My mother loves to decorate. In fact, while she has her schooling in Nursing and a Masters in Education, she's spent a good part of her career redesigning and decorating Kingston General Hospital.

I've been home for about a month now, and I've had some time to watch many of the home decor shows that she watches on a daily basis. All the time trying to evade her questions and comments of "Do you want me to do that in your new place? I could go that really easily." Of course, I'm grateful that I have a demi-god of interior design on my side, but I've always felt bad that I could never give her a definitive answer of "Yes, I'd love that." or "Mother, NO!" Well, now I can. I can confidently say no to wicker, and older styles of furniture. Why? Because now I know what I like.

Because of my lifetime of not really knowing my own style, I've found myself living in homes that are great, but not really unified in any kind of way. It's just been a hodge podge of things that have turned out well. Waffling no more I can actually say what look I want. Modern. Which is exciting. Finally I know. I can sell the furniture I've had in storage and start anew. I just hope, hope, hope that M will be keen on the modern look too. (crossing fingers)

HRH

Serendipity and the Sing-a-long song of the day

I was going to add a new feature to my blog today. I had this brain wave while I was driving to Kingston, singing my little heart out to the Buffy musical "Once More With Feeling." I realized that I sing a lot. In fact, I sing all the time and I really enjoy it. And as my blog is a digitized version of the things I'm thinking and doing, it became clear to me that this facet of my existence was unrepresented. So I decided I was going to create something like "Karaoke song of the day" which would mean if I found myself in a situation where there was some karaoke going on, this would be what I'd choose.

It then occured to me, that having been to a karaoke night a big one time in my life, I might be misleading the readership into thinking I was one of those people down at the local belting my little "why can't I be a singer too" heart out every week. And I'm not. I can sing, but I should be paid for it. Kind of like how I can drive, but it doesn't mean that I should be hopping into a Forumla 1 car any time soon.

The whole concept of the "karaoke song of the day" was tossed right out the window after reading Jay's blog about how singing badly in front of people with perfect pitch (dude, I'm so jealous!) is like slowly killing a man... one note at a time. I am a lesser being and only have relative pitch, so I can only imagine how bad wannabe singers can sound to the aurally gifted. (Aside: When I sang Karaoke, I was kind to all those around me and I stayed well within my vocal range. Kari and Wendy as my witnesses. Wether or not I was on key, I don't know. I was pretty hammered.)

So nix to that name. I guess it will have to be something like "Sing-a-long song of the day." Something that I could do in public if need and opportunity arose, or something I could just enjoy in the privacy of my own home. The song may not be a song that I like, or something I'm always listening so. Just something I can sing a long with.

Today's Sing-a-long song of the day is: "1000 Miles" by Vanessa Carleton.

HRH

On the road again

Last night Mike, Tash and I made our way to see the Foo Fighters at Arrow hall. For the sake of readers who read The Royal Word and I Feelafel, you can check out how the evening went on Mike's blog.

I'm about to make my way back to Kingston, again trekking across the most boring stretch of highway in the western world. I really must remember to take Tania's Spic Pop (she named it!) CD out of the changer. Love it as I do, I'm now hearing Shakira and Enrique in my sleep. Not good. This trip back I'm going to have company and as such shouldn't be blasting the tunes. My sister's little black kitty Ingido will be with me and I don't think she's into Latin Music or Alt Metal. Indy's arrival means once I'm back in the K, I will be hearding 4 cats around the property. Hey, it's something to do while I wait for calls from the 20 some jobs I've applied for.

In other news, I managed to visit Toronto and not buy anything. I think I deserve a cookie.

HRH

I won't be ignored

I'm back in Toronto again. This time I'm here to pick up my sisters cat, Indigo, and to watch Dave Ghrol and Co. fight some foo.

Driving in last night was interesting. I was making really good time until I hit Port Hope, where the west bound lane of the 401 turned into a really big parking lot. It took me an hour to get from Oshawa to Scarborough. Of course, once I passed Brock road, the highway went back to normal. Why all the waiting? Looky loos slowing down to check out an accident. There are not words for how irritated I was.

Once I was up to speed again, I put my new favourite Toronto driving song on, "Faint" by Linkin Park and all was good.

HRH

Product watch

It's been awhile since I've done a make-up post. Don't think that I've forgotten about it. I know where my duties lie. I've just been busy. I had to set my mother up with a make over and I think I did a pretty fabu job as she's now doing less work in the a.m. and is getting more results. Of course she is now enjoying the wonders of Flextencils. Yayers!

Shopping for make-up in Canada has been wonderful. You know why? Service. These girls are smart, fun and have no 'tude. I've managed to stay in budget by sheer will power alone. There are some great sales people in the cosmetics industry I tell you. I also really need to invest in a new set of brushes, which will basically be like making a car payment...

Anyway, here are some products that I've been adoring:

:::Mascara:::

While I'd hate to use anything but the wonderul curling mascara from Lancome, I have to say that I have found a new love. It's called Magnascopic and it's by Estee Lauder. I have it in brown (not even black) and the results are just breathtaking. Pricy... oh my. Amazing... hell yeah.

:::Blush:::

I discovered a wonderful new make-up company while I was in Toronto. It's called Cargo, it's Canadian, it's mid-priced and it's great. I told myself I could only look, but I couldn't resist picking up some blush from them. The line was developed for pros, like M.A.C. was, but hasn't gone mental price wise. Cargo has also endeared themselves to me by having the best GWP ever. A limited edition Tote Le Monde bag, worth $90 retail. I'm going to be a long term customer methinks.

:::Eyeliner:::

I decided to see what all the fuss was about Bobbi Brown Gel Eyeliner (about half way down the page). I went into Holt Renfrew expecting to see all the usual brands available in Canada, but I was pleasantly suprised. Finally I could get my paws on some Bobbi Brown. (Still no sign of Benefit so far. Boo-urns) After a really fun lesson on using the liner and how to really do the "smoky eye" look I was sold. The only draw back is that it requires an oil based eye make-up remover, which I didn't have and didn't get for 3 days. Meaning I had bedroom eyes for the better part of a week. I guess I can be happy to know that it lasts. The great part about this liner is that once it sets, it doesn't move. Which means NO SMUDGIES! You will need a brush to apply it.

:::Lips:::

More praise for Cargo. It is my secret wish that once I become a make-up artist, I get to desgin a line for them! Anyway, another great item they have is their lip gloss. It comes in a huge tin with two complimentary shades, meaning you get 3 colours out of it. The gloss is light and it's fragrance free which is great. One of the reasons we seem to rip though lip gloss and blam (:-)) is because it's tasty. By making the gloss fragrance free, you're less inclined to eat it off your lips. And the colours are just lovely.

:::Face:::

It's summer so I'm trying my best to wear as little on my face as possible. I've become freckled! And while Shiseido offers products that can help minimize the appearance (and apparently the existence, but I really doubt that) of freckles, it's become clear that M digs them, so I'll hold onto them for a little while.

So I'm going for a sheer look. I've found a great product that provides and even tone, but it essentially weightless (and it lets the freckles through, sigh). The Teint Cristallin Waterlights Make Up Stick from Chanel is great. It's super quick and easy to use and feels really cool going onto your skin. Perfect for summer.

Another product I've picked up is Lancome Star Bronzer. It really seemed like a good idea at the time. It's this really soft brush with bronzing power that you pump into it. It claims to compliment any skin type, but having tried it, it seems to work everywhere but my face. On my body it creates a light sparkly glow, like a light tan, but on my face... it's just orange. Mind you, I'm awfully pale, so I could just be expecting far too much. If you decide to get something like this, make sure you test it in the sun before you buy it. It really seemed like a good idea at the time.

HRH

Tidbits and Tedium

You'd think after a flurry of bike riding in the recent weeks I'd remember that bottles of Gatorade always come with a protective seal. Mind you I have become rather skilled at removing said protective seal whist riding my bicycle.

Zeus is the cutest cat ever. As I went for my post ride swin in the lake today, Zeus sat on the lakeside deck and meowed at me until I came in. I kept on assuring him that I really could swim, but he wasn't having any of it.

I'm trying to alter the way that I speak. It has recently come to my attention that if I am going to be presenting myself as a serious and competent person in job interviews, then I should chill on ... er... reduce the frequency with which I use slang and the words "like" and "you know."

Of course, I will return to the valley-esque slang diva that I am once I have secured employment and again mastered the skill of knowing when to turn the brain on and off.

HRH

"And then it exploded!"

This post is coming to you a couple of days late as the web host for www.thefalseidol.com went mental (or more appropriately got bought out and simply stopped working) and it took awhile for tech support (aka Mike) was able to remedy the sich. Aren't I lame, I can't even host my own darn blog. Just as a heads up The Royal Word may be moving to a new URL in coming weeks

Anyway...

Yesterday (from the time that I'm writing this post) was Canada Day. Yay Canada! I decided that since it was going to be my first Canada Day on native soil in 3 years I might as well spend it in the Nation's Capital (The Ottawa for our Canada Impared readers). Mike was a more than gracious host, not only picking me up in Kingston on the 30th and dropping me back off on the 2nd, but also having having just wonderful friends and family who sheltered and entertained me during my visit.

And I have to say it was just the best day. Walking by Parliament Hill (missing JC's speech, thankfully - I was with you until you went off about Kyoto dude), having a sip of super-sweet lemonade, real Poutine for lunch, dinner on a patio (the rain shower didn't matter), seeing The Snowbirds and The Skyhawks, getting a personal tour of Canadian Museum of Civilization from Gary, the perfect guy to have in your group on Canada Day (I totally adored the History of Men's Fashion Exhibit) and of course... THE FIREWORKS!

17 minutes of fireworks. Dude. It was like the sky was exploding. I've never seen anything like it in my life. We sat on the Peace Keeping Monument and watched the sky come to life over (and through) the glass walls of the National Gallery. It truly was a fun day and I just can't get over how wonderfully friendly and positive the people in the crowds were.

I can honestly say that I have now been repatriated (or as Wendy called it "re-maple-patriated"). I have never seen so many people wearing red and white (even in a White Stripes video) and looking good to boot. I was going for the non-conformist look and just painting my toes and donning a red sweater if it got silly. But by the end of the night a Canadian flag had become part of my outfit (mostly because I was sitting on a wall in a cargo mini, but still I felt the love) and listening to people singing "O'Canada" - not sure if they're singing it in English or French - while the fireworks finished just made me feel at home.

This is where I can say my peace and enjoy the right to vote, where the poutine is made just so, and the accents don't sound funny to me at all.

HRH