my once-a-year cold

it only happens rarely, but every so often i get sick. not sick to the point where i have to stay home from work, merely to that point where my sinuses are clogged, nose is running and generally feeling a bit grotty. now ain't that a pretty picture?

i'm hoping to be better by friday though as on saturday my first friend visitors from canada arrive! janine and her sister carole are coming on their previoulsy planned canadian invasion to the british isles. they're stopping in liverpool from saturday to tuesday, then a quick excursion to dublin, before heading back to liverpool for one friday night out.

i'm soooo excited. *and* they're bringing me lipsmackers and maple syrup. what more could i ask for? besides pastries, bagels, kosher pickles...

*ahem*

disappointing response to the request for canadian trivia. c'mon guys, only a week and a half to submit your questions!

matej andraz vogrincic

"As with all his work, in Liverpool Vogrincic starts with a specific location - in this case, St Luke's church - and allows the history, resonances and emotions linked to the site to inspire his creation of a witty but moving artwork. "

i heart liverpool biennial

there are some things in life that you think you're never going to be able to see or be a part of. two years ago, the liverpool biennials was one of them for me. i never though i was going to be exposed to a ten week contemporary arts festival in the city where i lived; constantly confronted by art that made you think or made you laugh.

yet here i am.

last night i went to see an inconvenient truth, which opened my eyes a bit more to the threat of global warming. and today i read the paper for hours in tabac and then wandered around some of the biennial.

one of my favourite pieces was by a slovenian artist in the old bombed out church...st. luke's. pictures in the post above

what's my gorilla?

i've been signed up for this management development training at work. its running over 10 months so promises to be quite intensive, but i'm looking forward to it. they did this exercise today, well they did loads, but one freaked me out.

we had to watch this video of people playing basketball and had to count the passes of the white team. i counted 18, which was correct, but they then asked if we saw anything else. only one of 40 people saw it...the gorilla!

the point was to show us that we can be so focussed on a task that we don't see the big picture or what else is going on around us. and that's got me thinking...

what's my gorilla?

this makes me *angry*

i just watched a news report on bbc news.

apparently john reid, home secretary for those of you who don't know, has decided to advice muslim parents to watch out for possible extremist behaviour in their children and advise police if they suspect it. oh my god. are you a complete idiot? some of the apparent *tell-tale* signs of this possible behaviour are young people simply being adolescents! idiot!

and what about warning christian parents that their children may rebel against their religion and lifestyle, turn to the devil, extremist goth culture, and walk into a school with loaded weapons? hyprocrisy at its finest.

i think this just goes to show that terrorism really has such a broad definition and can be applied in many situations. maybe we should just be telling parents to raise their children to be good people.

bah. time for bed.

international talk like a pirate day

ahoy, me mateys. this be international talk like a pirate day...y'aaarrr! now to get all ye wee sprogs and lasses trained for a life on the high seas i be pointin me heartys in the direction of thar website for all things pirate... www.yarr.org.uk

aye, now all ye land lubbers be ready to claim yer booty! i be celebratin with me pirate monkey.

What's a pirate's favorite pickup line?
AAAAArrrrrr ya free Saturday night?

ahem.

today is also the remarkable day on which my grandparents - grandma & grandad *and* grandpa & grandma - celebrate their wedding anniversaries. they were married on the same day, three (? i think) years apart. the first couple in moreton, wirral, england and the second in niagra-on-the-lake, ontario, canada. hard to fathom that they've been married for 60+ years.

now *that's* something to celebrate. y'arrrr.

davoud's birthday photies

i just really like the colours in this photo...and shadows. sean doing a bit of washing up.

aw, sean to a picture of me, which is always nice. i look so happy because i'm finished with my plate full of glorious food.

the wreckage of the cake made with whisky and maple syrup in the attempt to replicate an old fashioned in baked form. nice candles.

sean and chris through half empty glasses.

...just like the shadows and light. and the pensive looks on chris and mikey's faces.

the birthday boy.

told you they got blurry, but it is a nice picutre of chris.

cheers to you too, nick.

packed

this past weekend was buzzing with festivities.

on friday night i seemingly did the impossible and caught up with all that i wanted to in the city. the liverpool biennial opened - a ten week contemporary and public arts festival around the city, brilliant - so rich and i checked out the score at FACT. i made it down to the docks for michelle's 21st birthday, tried to get into the apparently exclusive invitation only biennial party, but the line was down the block and we couldn't be bothered to wait. in the end, i met up with sam, kel, lou and andrew at dragon for a couple drinks and then a fairly early night.

jumped on a train on saturday morning to coventry for davoud's birthday. sean and i cooked up a storm in the evening and we sat around with friends to celebrate getting older. and i did feel older because we were having a proper dinner party to celebrate a birthday, not going out and getting pissed. but we still got pissed.

as soon as nick and i started mixing the old fashioneds and the bourbon and vodka were unleashed the pictures started to get a bit blurrier and things started to get interesting.

sunday was a bit of recovery and i was treated to family sunday night dinner with anna and davoud by his mum before hopping back on the train to liverpool.

i'm exhausted just thinking about it.

wow

i just found out something - other than the sun - to brighten up this otherwise dull and horrible day: as of may 2007 you can fly *direct* from toronto-hamilton to liverpool with fly globespan for a mere £260 return! and that's including all of the taxes, refuelling charges and admin fees...

so start saving because soon you will have absolutely no excuse *not* to visit.

call for canadian trivia

calling all canadians...or canadian aficionados. i need all the little nuggets of canadian trivia stored away in your brains to stump my british friends this thanksgiving. of course, you'll have to e-mail them because we don't want to be giving away any answers in the comments ;)

update on the flat purchase...i've received mounds of paper, which i now need to read when i have the time and the energy. its just been a bit of a crazy week, but i will do it. maybe i'll wake up slightly early tomorrow morning and at least get the two most important bits off in the post.

i went to see the *funniest* movie tonight. everyone must go see little miss sunshine. i haven't laughed that much out loud at a cinema in years. absolutely brilliant, clever, witty...amazing. see it!

beeeeautiful weekend

i think this is what they call indian summer...its been wonderfully warm and sunny over the past few days and is actually threatening to be a shocking 26 degrees today. i did notice as i was reading in the park yesterday though that the sun is distinctly weaker and the breeze is just that much cooler.

it was a very quiet and relaxed weekend around liverpool watching football, sitting on val's balcony admiring the stunning view and soaking up some sun, a bit of arts & crafts on saturday night (a bit sad, i know), and a very lazy sunday around town and reading in parks. i spent a lot of time on my own this weekend, but was quite happy to in some ways. the next few weeks promise to be a bti crazy so i think a bit of refuelling was needed.

in honour of this sunny day, i've shaved my legs and worn a skirt.

oh! also, started planning thanksgiving for this year. and to get everyone in the spirit of all things canadian, go and vote for your favourtie canadian invention. they'll be some surprises! i know for a fact that my brother will vote for the ski-doo, but how cool do uv degradable plastics look???

i'm thinking of devising a canadian quiz for this year's thanksgiving celebrations just to see how much my british counterparts have learned from me this past year.

i heart liverpool

yesterday was one of those days when i just can't fathom being happier anywhere else. i think the glow of the new job and all things museum-like make my life just that much better.

paul had invited the art galleries learning staff out for a drink, so kate and i headed over from the lady lever to meet him and doctor duncans - one of the most decorative pubs in town, my mum will vouch for that - and ended up hijacking a leaving do for one of the other members of the learning department. so i got the chance to catch up with all of my old work mates .

i headed over to val's *new* apartment. she's finally in the flat she was originally offered after 9 weeks of waiting! i came as the classy pizza delivery girl still dressed in my work garb and with a bottle of champagne. i was clever enough to pop the cork onto the next building.

i think it will be a bit of a quiet weekend, but i'm looking forward to catching up on things and just relaxing.

blog worthy news

i feel like i have so much news to tell! i'll start with the big news, which is that i've negotiated an offer on a flat and its been accepted! it's a one bedroom flat in a converted house that's newly developed. here's the link if you want to have a peak.

i'm really excited, but trying not to get too enthusiastic, as there is loads of red tape to go through and you never know what's going to happen. so everyone keep their fingers crossed and with any luck i'll be in debt within a couple of months ;)

this past weekend was sofian's leaving do - he's moving to australia in two weeks! - so there was a late night out on saturday, which involved going to the bar that everyone loves to hate: the blue angel. sof, val and i went for lunch in parkgate on sunday before heading to chesire oaks to go bowling. i think i got my ass kicked in the last game, but i did win the first round. i'm also saddened to say that i definitely got beat at air hockey...a poor showing i know.

so if anyone has any cast offs that they want to get rid of and mail to the uk, send them on...its going to be weird to move with literally no furniture!

blog worthy photos

because action shots are fun. i *think* this is sofian trying to get a strike. i did win the first game, but it was definitely beginner's luck.

val looking absolutely crazy as she finishes entering our clever names of man, knob and aus.

a picture of me failing at doing anything constructive...even with the kiddy rails to keep you from getting gutter balls!

blog it up, fuzzball!

ten points for whoever guessses which film quote the title of this post is adapted from...

i like september. it's probably one of my favourite months and that's got just as much to do with my memories of lovely autumn days in montreal as it does with going back to school and the settling in of routine. even though seasons don't really exist in the uk, i can still smell fallen leaves, wood fires, and new pencils.

not to mention, september 1st was a lovely sunny day and as a special bonus i stumbled up on a continental market in liverpool that was selling fresh croissants and chocolatines...that just made my month already and its not even truly begun.

i went to view a flat last night - accompanied by sam for a second opinion - and will see two more this morning. its got me thinking loads about what i really want in a house, what i can compromise on...big decisions that i'm definitely nervous about.

its crappy and rainy here today, so i think it may turn into a domestic goddess day: cooking and cleaning.