Subject to Early Failsauce
I admit it. It’s terrible.
I’m having trouble getting back on the serious, studious student train. I haven’t read to the bratasaur in probably a week. I’m posting later this week than I generally intended to. I won’t make excuses, because there are none. To say… I finally got my hands on Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and this is just horrible, horrible, horrible for my productivity.
I’m not saying I’m falling behind on schoolwork, because I am just barely in fact not falling behind. There’s some ailing little sliver of my quasi-responsible self that jabs me in the asscheeks regularly to remind me of my commitments enough that I manage to keep up where it would be truly detrimental to be not keeping up. Oh, yeah. And it was my lovey’s 38th birthday a few days back. Love you, sappy cheeseball.
Eck. Too much emotions. My mental faculties are proceeding with the hurling. Aaaand… onward!
So there was wind today. LOTS OF IT. The kind that makes rain go sideways and is kinda fun to watch but implants in you a deep seated urge to do the opposite of any activity that involves going out the front (or back) door. Alls I’m saying is there better not be any windstorm-like activity tomorrow morning or leaving the house to go to school will be one giant ball of unfun suckrock.
Oh and speaking of bratasaurs – so, the aforementioned tornado monkey comes clamouring down the stairs one day while I am trying to concentrate somewhat hard on something of at least moderate importance and exclaims:
“Mommy, are you going to DIE?!?”
In all honesty, I tried my hardest not to laugh as it was so utterly random. I managed the straight face quite well, actually. These random outbursts are to be expected from kindergarteners. Quite simply, my response was:
“No, not today. Is your table tidy?”
Straightface. I’m really quite good at that. In any case, I had been trying my darndest for near-on three days at that point to get her to clean her room. Some days she’s really quite good about picking up after herself (with the teensiest bit of prompting) and her room could remain perfectly tidy and in order for a week or more. But then it just utterly flees her and there’s nothing you could do to get her to pick up even just a few small items on the floor (like, a stuffed animal, an item or two of dirty laundry and her blanket and pillow, for example) and the mess instead snowballs into something that takes a week to get her to clean up. Oy. There has to be a better way of doing this.
Over and out.
-Kaman
Ottawa and the First Week of Winter Term
The first week back to school after the Christmas break was pretty lax. My instructors are… well, I don’t have much of a opinion yet aside from that I think they’re all pretty decent people. I’ve only seen them each once or twice so far, but things are looking good from the outset… I do have final exams in all my courses this term, however. Last term I only had two. I’ll live.
Last week, I blathered on about my time in Montreal over Christmas break and left you all with something of a promise to say a little bit about the two-day side trip to Ottawa. Here goes…
My boyfriend, as wonderful a boyfriend as he most definitely is, proclaimed that I could not possibly be Canadian until I had been to Ottawa, been to Parliament Hill and been inside the parliament buildings. I could object (am I not Canadian by birth?) but I really did want to go to Ottawa, so I kept my mouth shut save for agreeing that we should most definitely go.
We set out at about 7am, picking up the boyfriend’s best friend on the way. It was about a 2 1/2 hour drive from Montreal to Ottawa. Lots of ‘deer and moose crossing’ signs, very few other vehicles and nary an OPP car to be seen (there was one when we stopped at a Tim Hortons a short while into our trip for breakfast – I’ll keep the ‘cop + donut’ stereotypes to myself. Cops like pizza where I come from…). All in all, a rather quiet drive. And pity, there were no hoofed animals to be seen, even with the proliferation of signs.
Our first stop upon getting into Ottawa was… well, to be completely honest, it was finding a parking spot in close proximity to the parliament buildings. Okay, that was completely unnecessary – it was the Parliament Buildings. Upon arriving at the aforementioned buildings, we discovered that it wouldn’t be a long wait to get on a tour. The tour itself was rather informative (and slightly amusing at some points). It’s a stop I’d recommend for most any visitor to the nation’s capital. My favourite room was the library. It had this wonderful smell to it. It’s a beautiful place, with white pine, cherry, oak and walnut woods in its structure, as far as I know. And all those books! Lovely.
Our other stops on the first day consisted of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum (very, very cool – lots of planes!), as well as the Ottawa facility of the Royal Canadian Mint (where all the shiny collector and investment coins are struck!). After our touring was done for the day, we checked in at our hotel and made plans for the evening – an evening that consisted of beer, food and friends, of course.
Day two, we visited the War Museum (that place is huge!) and the Science and Technology museum. I think my daughter would love the latter, along with the previously mentioned Aviation and Space museum. I think I’d like to take her to seem them later this year.
At the end of day two, we milled about in Ottawa before heading back to Montreal for our last day or so there.
I enjoyed every part of my two weeks on the east coast of the country and I’m always happy to return, as we no doubt will next winter.
Until next time,
Kaman
Obligatory First Post of the Year
Hi-dee-ho, neighbour. Welcome to the re-launch of ‘The Kaman Islands’.
Here we are, the last dregs of 6 January 2012 passing before our eyes. Only a couple more days until the start of Winter term at school and the end of my first full day back in my hometown after the nearly two weeks I straddled the year-end with in Montreal, visiting the boyfriend’s parents for Christmas and New Year’s. There’s a few things I have to say about my trip:
Beer, food, sleeping in.
Gods, it was glorious… not to mention more beer than I typically drink in an entire year, being not an overly voracious beer drinker (I tend to side with apple cider, vodka and red wine, mostly). It’s odd that for all my liking of B.C. microbrews – they are goddamned delicious, I tell you – that I find myself somewhat fond of Molson Export. I am completely clueless as to why.
I am always thankful for the hospitality of my in-laws. They are wonderful people to be around. Not only was the food made by my man’s mother quite delicious, their (his mother and father) taste in restaurants is delicious as well. I do heartily recommend a little place called O Thym (http://www.othym.com/) at 1112 boul. de Maisonneuve East in Montreal. I had some rather nommy venison after starting with an octopus salad that, upon being halfway through it, I said I would definitely eat it again. Any other time I find myself in Montreal, I would happily revisit this charming little place.
Still on the subject of food, I found myself returning to Boustan (http://www.boustan.ca), one of the places we stepped into on our rather brief visit to Montreal, Christmastime 2010. Some of the best Lebanese I’ve ever had, to the point where we wedged in not one, but two visits this time around.
I wish ‘bring your own wine’ restaurants were legal in B.C. – I would be a staunch supporter of them.
This trip to Montreal confirmed that the 2010 trip was far, far too short. I would go back yet again – in fact, coming home felt weird. I was getting used to Montreal.
Ah well. Here comes another year of life.
Coming soon to ‘The Kaman Islands’: A blog post addressing my first ever visit to Ottawa. At 27. Gods, I’m such a shut-in!
Damn, I’m tired.
Over and out.
-Kaman
P.S. – Kaman starts the year at the weight of 172.8 lbs. She is 5’6.5″ and is not getting any taller or shorter. Her shoe size is 8.5, but a 9 tends to suffice.
