Mean is hereditary

So I have this really mean landlady... and when I say mean I'm referring to the kind of person that takes pleasure in drowning kittens. Somehow she's gotten the idea that we're really bad tenants, I'm not sure how she came to this conclusion. We pay our rent, we mow the lawn (occasionally), we haven't destroyed anything in the house and we very seldom call to have things fixed. But despite the mentioned points she thinks we're awful. She's decided to raise our rent $300 which is unfortunate.

So she called about 2 1/2 weeks ago to say she'd be out of town for a while. She gave us the name of either her son or daughter to call if we had problems and she reminded me that she needed new rent cheques... no problem. I had every intention of taking them over early just to be considerate but things came up and I forgot. So today I realize it's the 30th and she needs cheques by tomorrow so I dropped them off in her mailbox around noon.

I come home this evening around 8:00 and there's a message from Mean Landlady's daughter. I'm going to type the message in as much detail as I can remember:

"Hi this is Mean Landlady's Daughter, I was supposed to have cheques from you by this morning but when I checked the mailbox they weren't there. Just wondering where they are or if this is your way of giving notice. Please call me because until I hear from you I'm going to assume this is your way of giving notice to vacate the property."

Going to assume we're vacating the property??? What? That was completely unecessarey... rent is due on the 1st, not the 30th. I have every right to wait until tomorrow to deliver them if I so choose. I called and left a very pleasant message saying we are not giving notice and the cheques are in the mailbox but I'm annoyed... there's no reason to be so mean about everything. Her tone was very rude and condescending.

And we get it already... you want us to move...

Good to see her mother is rubbing off on her
L

Rant

I oficially hate Stabilo (it's a music group)

A friend of mine loaned me their cd so, as per usual, I brought it home, opened up my iTunes and went to listen. But wait - iTunes doesn't recognize the cd, that's odd. Oh well, I'll just open its folder and copy it onto my computer and then I'll put it into iTunes.

Why would anyone... at this day and age make a cd that isn't compatible with iTunes?!! I don't get it but I'm angry!

The cd will let me burn it or copy it to my computer but it won't play in iTunes. The only program I ever use to listen to cd's is iTunes but they expect me to count them as an exception and use another program? Forget it... I just won't listen to it. I spend the majority of my time listening to music on my iPod... can't do that with this cd.

The only up side to this whole situation is I actually don't really like Stabilo's music so I wouldn't really want to listen to them anyway.. it's the pricipal of the situation though.

So, in conclusion... not being able to use iTunes ticks me off

So I just googled itunes and Stabilo together and came up with this message from the band...

"We're very sorry your experience buying our music was a negative one. e are grateful that you actually went to the effort and shelled out the cash to actually buy the cd. unfortunately, we the band have no control over the copy protection on the album. in fact, we asked the label not to make our disc copy protected. unfortunately the bottom line is that it's not our call. however, there are ways around it particularly if you are running a mac (which i'm assuming you aren't otherwise it should have worked). itunes is another option. again, we're sorry this was your experience, realize there is a lot of great music and hope you will find a way to listen to ours. thanks for the support."

stabilo

I feel a little less angry
L

"just do it again and this time with feeling"

Straylight Run
A Slow Descent

i'm tired
cynical and broken, but wiser
heavy with a sense of resentment
but i used to be so much different
i used to have so much faith
when i startedyou knew that i always meant it
i knew i could make a difference
i struggled to be heard
and then finally, one day people started listening
and i knew it
but as soon as it began it was ruined
a slow descent from unique to routine
over and over
"just do it again and this time with feeling"
the spotlightthe focus on the friends and the feelings
that made those stupid songs all worth singing
and don't you say a word
unless you're pretty sure that you want it analyzed
so we drovefor what seemed like days
over roadsand four lane highways
we said all we had to say
and i realized in time that it didn't mean anything
never
not ever again...
not like that
"it's only a matter of time"

L

Win! Win! Win!

We won our first softball game tonight!!! Not only did we win but we actually deserved the win. The final score was something like 24 to 13. It took us the whole season but with one game left we did it. If we continue maybe we'll make it further in the play-offs than we expected!

I even got two people out on second tonight, yay! (we won't go into detail about the girl I sort of hit in the face... oops, that's why you don't slide)

Everyone played so well tonight! Good game team, can't wait for next Wednesday.
Don't forget to check out the pictures of tonight's game

It might be going to my head that Jenn said I was the cutest player on the team :o) Thanks Jenn!

L

V for Vendetta

I just went and saw V for Vendetta and all I can say is...so good!!! I loved it!

A Very interesting Version of the power of one's Vehement Voice and the Victory that follows

The thought of how corupt Governments can be is horrifying I was pleased with the content too. There wasn't a lot of language and there was no sex scenes. There was some violence but less than I expected. I would recommend it to anyone
L

To Sir With Love

“I made it just for you”

Let me paint you a picture… I’m lying on bed just finishing donating blood. There just happens to be a cute blood donor guy collecting all the bags of blood. My bed just happened to be close to his table… the above was my witty, flirty line

He responded with something like “It’s such a nice colour”. Heh heh, flirting over my blood.

There was a little more to the exchange but I’ll just leave you with that highlight.

Turns out cute blood donor guys make the whole process much more enjoyable
L

The Thirsty Dog

Picture it... Calgary... 2006...Friday Night

I stand in The Thirsty Dog (a pub), next to a pool table with a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Not really my typical Friday night.

It all started on Thursday night, Will, a fairly new convert very randomly called me and invited me to check out this band he loves. The randomness of the call immediatley put me into excuse mode. Our Stake was having a Broadway Night that a friend and I had considered going to... we were going for sure now!

Friday dawns and Broadway night doesn't really work out... I now have no excuse. I don't want to just not do anything, especially in case he asks how Broadway night was and I don't want to go alone so I call up Will.

He tells me the location and time to meet him. As suspected it's a very smoky bar.
A bunch of his friends are there and they're pretty great people. Ayla was the owner of the beer and cigarette, I was playing pool with her and it was her turn to shoot.

Turns out I'm not so bad at pool if there's someone there to tell me exactly where to hit each ball... I sort of won twice and I was winning for a long time another game. I choose to believe that Will wasn't trying to let me win :)

There were some interesting characters there... there was the shirtless old man. He was wearing a fleece zip up sweater that was zipped down pretty far and there was no shirt underneath... don't underestimate the grossness of it.

Then there was the extremely drunk, hoe-ish girl. The kind of girl you instantly dislike, despite not knowing her at all. Like a train wreck, I couldn't stop watching as she threw herself at every male in the bar (I'm sure her boyfriend of two years would love that).

Then there was the drunk couple that started "dancing", it was entertaining.

It actually turned out to be a really fun, unusual night (don't worry Mom, I won't make a habit out of it and my date neither drank or smoke).
L

Joyeux Noël (Merry Christmas)

This movie is inspired by a true story, which happened during the World War I, for Christmas Eve 1914, in many different places of the battlefront.

“When war breaks out in the lull of summer 1914, it surprises and pulls millions of men in its wake.

And Christmas arrives, with its snow and multitude of family and army presents. But the surprise won’t come from inside the generous parcels which lie in the French, Scottish, and German trenches.

That night, a momentous event will turn the destinies of four characters: An Anglican priest, a French lieutenant, an exceptional tenor and the one he loves, a wonderful soprano and singing partner. During t his Christmas Eve, the unthinkable will happen: rifles will be left at the bottom of the trenches to go to see those opposite, shake their hands, exchange a cigarette and a piece of chocolate, wish them Merry Christmas!”

“If we could read the secret history of our enemies
We should find in each man’s life sorrow
And suffering enough to disarm all hostility”
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


I loved this movie… it’s one that I wish everyone would see. I highly recommend it.

Trailer:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony/joyeuxnoelmerrychristmas/
L

The Enjoyable Tele-Marketer

I get this call from a guy…I wish I’d caught his name.

He’s trying to sell me the Globe & Mail and let me tell you, he almost convinced me of the Joy and Pleasure I can receive from this Well Oiled Machine. There are Puzzles and Comics and the latest Sudokus. He proceeded to tell me how this magazine has changed his life…he’s a better man because of it. At this point he proposed that I try it on a trial basis and then when it Blossoms into something Beautiful I can sign up for a longer term contract.

If I don’t jump out of bed and hit my head on the ceiling he’ll be surprised…but don’t worry, their Stealthy-like Ninja Carriers won’t ever wake me up…they’re that quiet.

Their handy vegetable based ink won’t get all over my clothes or the furniture.

When I politely refused the offer of this incredible magazine he then told me about the Beautiful Saturday paper I could sign up for, telling me I would Cherish it as it is Therapeutic Value at its finest.

When I again politely refused he made me promise that if I change my mind I’ll “Grab the Bull by the Horns” and let this magazine change my life.

When I commented on my enjoyment over the phone call he informed me that he hasn’t even started on the coffee, that he’s only drinking some Safeway like Cola. He’ll be a bit more peppy once he gets the Coffee. I’m not sure he could have been peppier.

I know this might sound unbelievable but I haven’t exaggerated any of this…all of the descriptive words I used above were his…I enjoyed the call so much that halfway through I started typing up notes. He actually said all of that stuff above. There was also something about how nothing would make him happier then me signing up and something about him river dancing if I subscribed.

My favorite part was the Stealthy-like Ninja Carriers…I actually had him repeat that part.
L

Sexy

“That looks…sexy”

I’d just made up this very nice little chart for a report I’m working on. Upon giving it to the person I was doing it for that was their response.

It made me chuckle and seemed blog worthy.

Nothing about this particular chart was very sexy. It was a map of Canada with boxes of information surrounding it. Funny how different things look when they're important to you.
L