Surprise, surprise...NOT!

The woman at Mom's work who hit (and scratched) her car in the parking lot is now saying "they have to talk" after Mom sent her the estimates and waited several days for a response. You'd think she would be happy getting away with only a $250 bill for scratching someone's car, but no, ten to one she will worm her way out of it despite telling two co-workers EXACTLY what she did.  Sadly, I know my Mom well enough to know that she will let it happen in order to "keep the peace" at work. So much for taking responsibility and doing the right thing eh? And yes, this is a SOCIAL WORKER. So nice to know that people in positions of authority just EXUDE morality isn't it? I'm not surprised in the least, I am however, thoroughly disgusted.

Radio Riches!

Mom and I won  a thousand dollars today for answering two questions. I could have gambled and answered one more for eighteen hundred (which I ended up knowing the answer to) but I just couldn't do it. I'm so not a gambler, and we are about to go on a trip to Quebec (another freebie from the same station) that is going to have lots of transportation costs that aren't covered, so, this was them giving us spending money. That was very nice of them.

Radio Rocks!

An Impromptu sunday drive meets half a baseball...

Had a really enjoyable spontaneous day out with Mom yesterday. We headed out niagara way with no real destination in mind (besides the Tim Horton's to fill our coffee mugs as quickly as possible.) Niagara is an area lined with countless vineyards/independent wine makers. Row upon row of vines line the fields on both sides of the road. It really is an amazing sight, everything so perfectly trimmed with streamers blowing in the breeze (to keep the birds from snacking on the various grapes) It's clear that it's a big job keeping everything in line (literally) and trying to ensure ideal growing conditions. It is all so unpredictable. Anyway, the fields seemed to be in great shape and once again, we stumbled upon a day park that we found by accident last year. A little gem with tall trees, picnic tables, and cool crystal waters. (Lake Ontario) So pretty. The benches that line the waterfront path are all dedicated in memory of loved ones (right down to each plank on a wooden deck that spans part of the boardwalk) People haul out their portable barbeques (wish we'd done this) and the smell of grilling burgers fills the air along with kids laughing/playing on the nearby playground.

Mom and I made use of our portable Scrabble game as she kicked my butt in a big way (no doubt punishment for actually beating her for the first time in years during our last contest.) Right beside us was an
older couple, sitting in lawn chairs, their bare feet propped up together on one side of a picnic table, each reading a book but still carrying on snatches of conversation  It was so cute watching them together, moving almost in tadem, clearly, still madly in love.

Mom and I cheated and split a sub. Not our usual picnic fare, but easy, which is what we were going for this time. The fruit stands on the way back proved too expensive to buy anything (I believe in supporting local farmers, but I won't pay twice the price of the supermarkets for baskets that aren't filled to the brim.). . So, we passed on the produce and went to visit my Grandfather's grave.

We don't do it often (both Mom and I don't care for graveyards, why visit him there when he is constantly in my dreams?) Anyway, imagine our surprise when we found half a baseball stuck onto the gravestone.My cousin had mentioned something about keeping half of a baseball while "grandpa had the other half" but I had no idea what he was talking about other than wondering where the heck he got the baseball. Anyway, turns out, half of it is now permanently stuck in stone. Talk about tacky, it looks awful. I don't know who's idea it was, but whoever made the decison should have asked the other siblings (there are six in total)  before they altered the headstone. I mean, my grandfather loved baseball but he loved all sports, he was an athlete. I love animals, it doesn't mean I want a big horse head sticking out to commemorate my final resting place. Yuck. And the idea that no one else even had a vote? That's worse. It's a good thing I don't visit often, because I can tell you with absolute certainty that I would eventually want to rip it out with my bare hands and start taking names about who did what and when. Again, seriously tacky.

And the walls come tumbling down...(AGAIN!)

More Livejournal service disruption. Raise your hand if you're glad you have a "backup" blog. ***raises hand*** Apparently Russia enjoys attacking free speech sites every other weekend. :-P I'm so glad I don't have a pay account over there, yikes!

Responsibility Anyone?

Okay, this is going to be a vent post, sorry, I can't help it. What is with people not keeping their word and dodging responsibility when they do something wrong?

My Mom recently had a co-worker accidently scratch her car while trying to park. Said co-worker immediately owned up to it (and told others she had done it) but instead of apologizing, the lady started to backpedal saying "Maybe you shouldn't have parked so close to the fence." Next came "Well, I don't see any damage." Even though scratches were clearly visible. Mom spent time going to two different places to get estimates. The damage is minimal at $250, but that isn't the point. (at least not in my mind) What is with people not taking responsibility for their crappy behavior? If you do something wrong, apologize and do what you can to make it right, don't make excuses. It seems to be happening on a daily basis from car damage to hit and runs. In the last two months alone,  we've had three hit and runs in the area where the driver took off and left people lying on the pavement. No doubt hitting someone is a scary experience, but really? You take off and leave someone to die? One poor soul was killed instantly and then robbed. Yes, I said robbed. While she lay dead on the road, someone took off with her purse and began using her credIt/debit cards. What is wrong with this world?

I'm not a saint by any means, but I pride myself on being a responsible person. If I do something wrong I say I'm sorry, If I owe you money, I pay it back. If I give you my word, you can take it to the bank. It's not rocket science, hell, it's not even all that difficult, so why do so many people seem to have such a problem with it? Maybe the schools need to add it to the curriculum. Reading, writing, arithmetic, and RESPONSIBILITY. It may be our only hope.

Birthday Girl

So, it's birthday number 39 for me today. It feels strange only because I've already been saying I'm 39 for this whole past year. That's right, I lost a year somewhere, apparently a symptom of being in my late thirties. :-) No big plans, just at Mom's for the weekend. We were supposed to head out to Toronto today, but neither one of us was feeling too energetic. I think we crashed from the decandant desserts of the previous night :-) So, we stuck close to home, lazing around reading books and bowling/golfing on the Wii. Hoping to make scones tomorrow with a recipe direct from Ireland. If they turn out well, I'll post the recipe here, if not, well, at least you didn't have to eat them!

A Scottish Treat

I was finally able to upload the video Mom took on her camera as were were leaving Scotland. It was beyond cool. People stood out in the rain to play for us/wave flags/say goodbye. This video captured Scotland in a nutshell. Warm/friendly/willing to go the extra mile. So glad rhat I finally got to upload this while spending the weekend here.

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v624/CindyM99/scotlandvideo/?action=view&current=MVI_2138.mp4

The voice you hear in the background is our captain speaking. He was a Scot, and was telling the passengers to get out on deck to hear the goodbye. "A wonderful end to our Scotish leg of the journay, we've enjoyed the Scottish warmth and hospitality." I teared up just watching it. The sooner I can get back, the better!

Keith Video

I uploaded a Keith video from the concert. Good lord, it took a LONG time and it jumped from 33% uploaded to  100 pretty darn quick. Never a good sign. I watched a bit of it, not great but I like that you get a feel for the energy. Take it for what it's worth! Off to Toronto with Mom later today. Not sure if we will do the Toronto market or go up to the Mark McEwen food store. (A chef on the food network.) The store has all kinds of different foods/drinks and rhey love to let you try a taste of everything.

Great free dinner tonight. (Radio win of course) Steak fahitas followed by two killer desserts. Fried donuts with dipping sauce (carmel and/or chocolate) and Mom got these two huge chocolate chip cookies served warm in a skillet covered in carmel sauce topped with vanilla ice-cream. We never get desserts when we go out to dinner so it was a nice treat. Made me think of "cookie dude" on the ship. <sigh>

Anyway, here's the video link

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v624/CindyM99/keithconcertvideo/?action=view&current=MVI_2728.mp4

The Canadian Country Music Awards gets a big ol' MEHHH from Cindy!

Mom and I won tickets to the Canadian Country Music Awards taking place last night in the arena five minutes from my house. I knew Mom really wanted to see them live, and I'd never been to anything like it, so we decided to pretend it was a Friday night and go on the heels of seeing Keith in Toronto. I mean if I can watch an Aussie rock country I should support my fellow Canadians in their endeavour to do the same, right? Nice theory, but again, I say, MEHHH. Mom rushed over to pick me up directly from work because the organizers said the doors would be opening at 5:30PM. I was dropped off at the box office doors and told to go inside and see if they would let me in. So, ticket in hand, I entered the side doors as Mom went off in search of a coveted parking space.

I zipped right past the box office wickets heading for the side entry where I know the elevator is (I don't do escalators) A gentlemen was standing at the door blocking my way but a quick "excuse me, I need the elevator." moved him right out of my path. A girl in a wheelchair was already sitting by the doors waiting to go up to her seats, so when the doors slid open to reveal an attendant, she took her upstairs (to the disabled section) and me down to the ground level since we had floor seats. The doors opened and she told me to head around to the right. I immediately knew something was off. There were few people around, and when I handed my ticket to a girl standing there, she had no idea what to do with me. I told her that the seats were general admission and I was trying to get out on the floor before the masses came in and trampled me. She studied my ticket, clearly not knowing what to make of it. "I'll have to go check with someone," she mumbled, "I'm just the greeter." While she was gone, I started looking around. People were running back and forth with food, flowers, and whatever else they could carry. A woman came rushing out to speak to another smartly dressed woman. "Dressing Rooms this way, green room that way. Don't forget!" It seems I had stumbled right into the VIP section. LOL It was then that I started noticing the VIP tags/creditials around everyones' necks.

Five minutes later, the girl came back with my ticket, accompanied by a security guard. Neither one could make sense of my ticket, rushing off to talk to yet another body while leaving me standing there. Finally, they come back with lady number three.  "Ummm how did you get down here?" I patiently explained that I had walked in the side doors and ridden the elevator down. The frown on her face was almost comical. "They aren't letting people in yet, there's security all over the place." Not sure what to say to that, I stood there waiting to find out what they are going to do with me. Finally, they opted to get me a chair and stick me in a corner. They were clearly concerned about my "security breech" but didn't want to kick me out for fear of having an issue should I have problems getting to my seat. "We'll have someone escort you to your seat after they open the doors." Umm...Okay.  I could hear a sound check going on behind me and desperately want to rip open the curtain to hear Ronnie Dunn sing and wait for it...I hear Keith Urban's voice. Mom and I had speculated that he might be there live (after being in the area for his Toronto concert) so I just blantantly ask the greeter chick "Is he here?" I didn't even have to say his name. Peeking behind the curtain she says "No, it's a video message, he's on the big screen." Total letdown.

I knew that Mom was going to come back from parking the car soon and she had forgotten her cell phone, so we had no way to communicate. She was going to be entering the box office doors to find me gone and given how uptight they were about me getting down to the ground level, I worried that she wouldn't find me. They wouldn't let me ride back up in the elevator to find her so I just had to sit there, hoping she would be able to find me. Ten minutes later, she came gliding down the escalator. The people standing in line next to the elevator told her they had seen me once she described what I was wearing. Now two of us were standing around in the basement where nobody wanted us. By this point it was 5:45pm. They were fifteen minutes late, and it was hot outside. Mom complained to one of the attendants that they were fifteen minutes late opening the doors with hoards of people standing out on the sidewalk. Only those that knew about the side entrance were getting in. "If they aren't finished setting up, we can't open the doors." Both of us rolled our eyes. We had just been at the Air Canada Centre two nights before where people are treated like gold. Events don't run late, and the seating staff know every inch of the place and where people are supposed to be. They don't leave disabled people standing around and they don't ignore you because it suits them. Anyway, two minutes after Mom mentioned people baking out on the sidewalk, the EMT's were called upstairs because someone had passed out. Nice.

Finally, as people started streaming in, they opened the mysterious black curtain and let us in. We headed for the first row of chairs we saw (oddly enough they were to the side of the stage) and the women was all "No, no you're down here..." Cue my shocked face. It was a frigging mosh pit. I'm not kidding. No seats, just a big old hole in front of the stage with stairs leading down to it. Right, I was going to stand for three hours. Not $#@# likely. I sat on the stage while Mom raced off to try to solve this latest problem. Fifteen minutes later, some promo chick comes right up to me, extending her hand out "I'm so amd so, I'm going to get you a chair and you can sit off to the side." Okay great, problem solved right? Only, we got there early for nothing. We got stuck in another corner where videographers and cameramen walked in front of us all night. I think what bugged me the most was the fact that the radio station never mentioned that the "seats" were in a mosh pit and we were expected to act like crazy fangirls. No kidding, people were actually given instructions on how to act/what to do and the station had plants everywhere holding up station signs. It was beyond tacky. Couple that with the fact that the same Canadians get nominated every year because Canada is totally lacking in original artists and honestly, the majority of the artists still have to play the fair curcuit to make a living. If they're smart, they write their own material, that's where the money is but it's not unusual to see one artist win the same category three years in a row. Not because they are oozing talent, but because they release new albums quickly and their competition is limited. BORING.

Best performance of the night went to Ronnie Dunn (formerly of Brooks and Dunn) and he's not even Canadian he was a " special guest.." Mom and I passed the time pretending to mug for the camera while we got completely ignored in our little corner, chowing down on bananas because we were starving and had snuck stuff in in our purses. Seriously, it was all a little pathetic. Big "pass" on the festivities when they came back to Hamilton in a few years. Total amateur hour on so many levels from the disorganized arena to the cheesy radio station plug. No thanks, I can do much better in the prize department. :-)

Oh well, at least I got to see Keith's smiling face again, even if it was only on the big screen! :-)And I got to breech security, not my first time doing that either, it's shocking how I seem to be "invisible" to most despite walking with crutches. Twice in the last month I've had people come to my place to pick up tickets only to have them walk right past me as I was sitting on a bench right in front of their face. I've often told Mom "I could rob a bank and no one would notice." Sad, but true.

Are you ready Toronto? Keith Urban at the Air Canada Centre

This was an ad posted on the electronic board outside of the arena. We waited patiently as multiple ads ran on the screen for the perfect shot...Go Mom! Great shot!






I never get tired of looking at the CN tower. They change the colour every night as it literally towers over the skyline. Spectacular.

Keith takes the stage...





Cool round background video







To say Keith is high energy is an understatement. He's always on the move with guitar in hand, ready to crank out the next riff. I commented to Mom that I think his guitar anchors him. It keeps him from getting lost in the craziness of grabby fangirls, and people shouting in his ear. It really is crazy. He brought a bunch of fans onstage to sing with him and one girl just went nuts. One of his band members finally grabbed the back of her shirt to keep her from following him to the front of the stage and we could hear the screaming from our seats. Still, after the song, he went to the side of the stage and took pics with all of them. Class Act. He doesn't take any of it too seriously and yes, true to form from previous concerts, he handed a fan his guitar and had another one in hand ten seconds later.















I have a video of one of Keith songs (I'll surprise you) but I couldn't send the video to myself from Mom's because of her email storage limits. We use her camera when we go to events since it's ten megs as opposed to my three. (Yes, I need a new camera.  :-))

I'm hoping Mom can post the video to photobucket by the weekend and I'll either post the link here, or post the video on my other journal. LJ doesn't seem to like videos so it will likely just be the direct link over here.

A Day in Toronto, how can you not love this city?

So, we headed out to Toronto in the late afternoon, pre- Keith concert, to enjoy the gorgeous, sunny day. I must confess, it's these kind of days I treasure most of all. Warm, bright sun with just a hint of fall that sweeps in on a gentle breeze as you sit on a patio enjoying an early dinner. We didn't plan on the patio-sitting, though Mom later confessed it was in the back of her mind. It's a restaurant right on the harbour and it's normally overflowing with patio-goers who want to enjoy good food with a great view of the harbour. It was an unexpected treat to find the perfect table and claim it as our own, as we shared a hamburger and some killer french fries. Does it get any better than this?

We saw this "Music Box Dancer" along the boardwalk. Buskers and musicians perform along the strip for change. This was incredibly creative and fun to watch as she twirled atop the box, complete with the sound of the unwinding key as she spun around and had her picture taken with tourists.

Somestimes, it's fun to play tourist in your own backyard!





Mom calls this hair "Cindy needs a haircut hair." I call it my "rocker chick hair" in honour of Keith! :-)






In the winter, the water behind me is an ice rink, in the summer, canoe practice! It's Canada, our weather requires versatility! $4 for 20 minutes on the water. Mom and I figured we would still be going around in circles after our time was up so it was a PASS on this activity! :-)

Better to stuff our faces on the cool patio...

Toronto, Keith Urban, and the Canadian Country Music Awards

Off to Toronto later today to catch Keith Urban in concert. No front row seats this time (boooooo!) but it should be a great time anyway. Keith is a consummate performer. When he is playing his guitar, it's clear that there is no place else he would rather be. He closes his eyes and you know the crowd fades away, the music hums through his fingertips and you can see that he is riding the perpetual high of doing something that he truly loves with the added bonus of being able to make a comfortable living, is there anything more satisfying?

The International Film Festival is in Toronto as well (along with a bunch of A-list celebrities) so I'm guessing we will have to go fairly early to make sure we can beat the crowds and get around okay. I've always wanted to see a TIFF screening, but I'm not fussy on the pomp and circumstance that surrounds these things. (Like I care what someone is wearing or what party they attend) No thanks. If you want to impress me, show me a thought-provoking movie with a solid story and memorable performances. Hold the glitz.

Monday night, I'm back in Hamilton for the Canadian Country Music Awards. On the fence about this one. Not sure what to expect. Might be completely bored by the award presentations, or might love all of the live performances. Who knows. Floor seats that are general admission could make it interesting as it's first come/first serve and if we end up at the back of the floor, we'll pretty much see nothing. There's been a party vibe in town all week as they have lots of "lead up" events that are creating a real buzz. Anyway, it will be an experience and of course, we got the tickets for free, so it's all good.

No School for Me!

It's the first official day of school for most of the kids around here and I have to say, I've been "schooled" to death. My friends on Facebook have been posting for weeks about how concerned they are for their kids starting a new year. They're worried about kids taking two buses (I did that in college for a 7am math class and I can tell you that noone was holding my hand or worrying about me standing around in the dark.) I get the concern when it comes to smaller kids (although again, my Mom wasn't a coddler). We got our new teacher's name at the end of the previous year and that was that, you didn't ask to switch classrooms, or talk to the principal, or prepare a list of do's and don'ts for some poor, unsuspecting educator who couldn't possibly keep track of thirty kids' special needs. Did I get help when I needed it? Sure. Did I know how to ask? Sure. But I didn't get everything smoothed over for me weeks before going into a classroom.

I remember my first year of high school.I asked that a second set of books be put in each of my classes (I had four per semester) so that I wasn't lugging so many heavy books around. Well, you would have thought that I asked for the moon. There was a huge debate over whether it was even possible and in the end, I gave up and hauled books around for no good reason beyond bureaucratic red tape.

For four years I trudged up and down staircases with heavy bags, this time, without any help. Sure, I could have gone to a school with an elevator and saved myself a lot of grief, but why do that? I knew what I was capable of, I knew it would be a good physical challenge for me, and most importantly, I knew I could do it. My only concession was being granted more time to write tests (I was a slow writer) Somehow, they managed to make a federal case out of that too, so by the end of grade ten,  I  deemed it wasn't worth the trouble and just picked up the pace, hoping I could make up in clarity what I lacked in speed. I survived and I took a lot of pride in that.

If my Mom worried about me, she seldom showed it. I wasn't drowning in her tears on the first day of school, she didn't fight my battles for me (although there were some days I wish she would have) and at the end of the day, I think I came out better  for it.

Showing concern for kids is one thing, setting them up so they never learn how to fail is another. I've fallen flat on my face (both literally and figuratively) and I've lived to tell the tale. Failure can hold just as many valuable lessons as success, there's no need to always cushion the blow. Kids take pride in sorting stuff out on their own, why not let them learn that they have the strength of character to do just that? I guarantee, they'll thank you for it. Maybe not now, maybe not next week, but someday, in the not too distant future, you'll hear "thank you" for what right now, seems like an overwhelmingly thankless job. So, dry those tears, replace them with a reassuring smile, and tell  your kids that they're going to be great, that you know they can do it, because, they can.

Someone shared this gem with me on Facebook. Relates well to this topic IMO. I couldn't post it on my other journal (LJ doesn't seem to like youtube links anymore) Let's see if it works here...

Saying goodbye to the beach

It's been a great summer here. Since we got back from the UK, we've had good weather (in between bizarre storms) and been able to go to the beach a lot. I'll miss the freedom that the colder weather will slowly rob me of, as the snow begins to fall keeping me inside, but at least I'll know we made the most of the sun, the sand and the surf!

Here's a pic of Mom as she sits on our favourite "floatie." Watching her navigate this sucker in the water was too much fun. I'm only sorry I couldn't capture her tackling this thing in the waves as she fights to stay "aboard."  It was too funny watching her roll backward off the thing, struggling to plug her nose in time before hitting the water.

I LOVE being able to stand up alone in the waves thanks to the buoyancy of the water. It's not uncommon to hear me saying "so this is what you "normal" people can do all day, walk everywhere and stand alone. I hope you appreciate it!" It's the little things:-)

Thanks for the memories Port Dover, let's make it a date next year!

A cheapskate, some laundry, and a magnetic bracelet to the rescue!

Everybody who knows me, knows how much I hate doing laundry. The hunting, the gathering, finding loonies, tracking down quarters, trudging downstairs with an overflowing basket of clothes...By this time I'm sweating profusely in my too hot apartment building as I bend down to gather the t-shirt and/or underwear that is trying in vain to escape the spin cycle.

I stuff as many articles of clothing in as I can. I STILL find $1.25 a load ridiculous. The washers are twenty years old, their grungy and dirty (ironic given their sole purpose in life) and all I can think about is how many people have used this machine over the decades. Eww.

Anyway, as usual, I ended up getting down there about two hours later than expected. I'm normally a very punctual person except apparently, when it comes to dirty clothes. Avoidance will do that for you. The plus side of tardiness is that you get the machines to yourself. No need for pointless, inane chitchat with neighbours you secretly can't stand. Yay!

My elation was short-lived however after I proceeded to knock one of my quarters down into the belly of the washer. Damn. I'm 5'0 on a good day, not good for retrieving tiny items out of deep basins. A broom is kept beside the washer for the sole purpose of helping me move stuff around so I can get it out. No, I'm not kidding. The Superintendant was going to throw the thing out before I told him I needed it to make sure I could reach all of my clothes. It sits there patiently, awaiting both my arrival and inevitable signs of distress as I grab for it and start swirling the clothes around looking for higher ground. I always find it, but the quarter was proving inpossible to corral. It kept sliding just out of my grasp, and after my third attempt at retrieval, inspiration struck.

TWO WORDS: Magnetic Bracelet

I ran upstairs (okay, I can't run but you get the idea) found the bracelet (I haven't been wearing it because it's too tight-my wrist got fat!) and voila! Instant success! The coin stuck to the end of my bracelet.

You may ask why I bothered and here's my answer, why should I just leave it for someone else? That quarter can pay the taxes on anything that is $1.80 here. A chocolate bar (my personal fav) A bag of chips, anything at the dollar store. You get the idea. Afterall, a penny saved is a penny earned and I'm lucky enough to have twenty-five of them! It's a good day!