Music in no particular order

look up the actual video on youtube. It's great.

I heart him.

I forgot the most important thing. Hopefully this will make you laugh as much as it made me laugh.



It's hilarious and creepy. He'll /never/ stop. My time is up! Ah!

But, for real... go listen to Bat for Lashes and Florence and the Machine and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and John Vanderslice and Joe Purdy and The Maccabees and Badly Drawn Boy and throw in some Beach House.

Pictures I took over the past month and then forgot to post...

Lesley and I went to the park and then we stayed late and then we decided to attempt cartwheels.


and while we were cartwheeling, we were approached by three hilariously drunk Lebanese men whom we enjoyed making fun of, and then we agreed to pictures so we could show friends, except that drunken Lebanese man #2 decided he would take the opportunity to sneak-grope me...

If there had been a bit of warning, I would have protested, but it was a complete sneak-attack! Not cool, but also, kind of hilarious.

Then, a few weeks ago, David and I are heading west on Stony Plain Road when I notice this sign out of the corner of my eye...



And, given each of us regress to the maturity level of a 13-year-old around sexual innuendo, David immediately turned the car around and headed back to investigate.



First: gourmet dog treats? Seriously? Second: Why, when naming their gourmet dog treat and dog spa business did these managers figure that what would truly appeal to dog owners would be a reference to the method of fornication inspired by /named after their puppy's sex habits? Is it supposed to make one feel closer to his or her furry friend? "I hear ya Fluffy; nothin like a little lovin from behind" *snicker snicker* Ew. Seriously ew.

And finally, an environmental clothing campaign gone terribly wrong...





Can you see the room full of wired slogan-writing businessy people? Can you see the one leaping up with a cry... "I've got it! 'I'm reusable!' Yes! Yes!"

"Brilliant," they all cheer, "we'll have it printed and sent out in a week! We'll make millions!"

You'd think there'd be a system in place to catch this sort of thing. Consumer sampling? Perhaps review groups?

I got home about two hours ago and I realized it was the first time I had Gotten Home in months. I've been back here, in the apartment, but I've been dropping things off, picking things up, feeding the cat, hurriedly showering before heading back to some other temporary place: a hospital, my parents', work, school, David's. Always heading out and off. My 'home' - the one with the lease that I'm paying for and the mailing address and all that - has become a giant messy storage bin containing dirty clothes, a dead plant and an angry cat. My belongings are scattered in three different locations and I never know where anything is and the thing I need is never in the place I happen to be.

I called Sarah and frantically explained how I needed to break up with my boyfriend and disown my family and hire a maid and ignore everyone everywhere forever. She calmly suggested that this might be a teensy tiny overreaction and it might make more sense to but off hermit-dom until I had first tried cleaning the apartment, living at home a bit more often, buying two hair dryers, leaving some clean underwear at David's, updating my datebook, and taking some deep breaths. Thank God for best friends. I can't count the number of irrational decisions she's talked me out of.

Conclusion: I'm a hopeless homebody. Whether home is my apartment, a suitcase, or a tiny sac containing a hairbrush and undies, there can be only one, it needs to be relatively nearby at all times, I need to know exactly what's in it, and I have to see it at least once a day. I think I'm okay with this. mmmmselfawareness.

I started my master's degree on Tuesday and I think I love this program. I'm taking an IT class, as in no Lacan, no Derrida, no Butler, but lots of computer coding and podcasting and wiki creation and website design and management! But I'm also taking Information Management, in which we talk about the varied methods and implications of cataloguing systems and information grouping. And also I'm learning about the history of libraries and information organization. And next semester I'm taking practices of reading and storytelling and more IT! I'm so frickin excited!

Also, on Thursday, on my way home from school, I rounded a corner and what did I find on top of the dumpster?



If you think what you're looking at is a taxidermied deer head, you're very correct! Here's a closer look for those who missed it:



If I had had anyone with me to help carry it, I totally would have snagged it. Where the heck were you? I could have had my very own deer head!

This week has been a bad week for embarrassing nakedness. On Monday, my Dad walked in on me naked which blowdrying my hair. The best part (because it was so awesome that there were multiple awesome parts) was my Dad's reaction, which was to casually avert his eyes and continue looking for the item he had come to fetch. My Dad's not big on modesty himself, nor has he ever seemed bothered of phased by anyone else's nudity. Mostly I find it hilarious, though it's less hilarious when I'm the one naked.

And this morning, David's roommate came downstairs to do laundry while I was once again drying my hair and, once again, naked Laura was caught off-guard. Poor Travis seemed significantly more upset than I was.

The moral of the story? I should really start putting on clothes before I dry my hair.

Up until 30 seconds ago it was pouring rain outside. Up until a minute ago, I was outside too. That's why I look like this:



You're jealous.

David has been in Fort McMurray for the past couple weeks. Work travel can be awesome, but not when it sends you to Fort McMurray. Mostly I was pleased it wasn't me, but disappointed he didn't go somewhere that might yield cooler pictures or awesome presents. Of course, being the conscientious partner that he is, he brought me presents regardless. Someday, when my children ask me when I knew their Daddy was the one, I will recount the moment when, after returning from Fort McMurray, he opened his suitcase and presented me with these two CDs, purchased from the hotel lobby vending machine:

A Harry Hibbs Tribute: Tiny Ferries
...your nephew
...John Gerald Delaney
Second Edition



The back cover:



The best part of this one, aside from his stirring rendition of Skip to my Lou, is the notation that reads SONGS: (REALITY TIME)
See it? Yes? Are you as confused as I?

But the best...



come closer east coaster, by Eddie Coffey, sexiest man alive.
My favourite selection thus far is "With Me Rubber Boots On"

Be still my heart.

...in other news, two weeks until school! Eeek! And this morning I managed to express the romantic allure of librarian-ship better than I ever have before. It's because I get to see the menu! The menu of all possible people, and I don't have to commit to anything, but I get to survey all the options. And when these people come to me, whether they're filet mignon or a greasy cheeseburger, it's my job to find the appropriate condiments to keep them company. Maybe a red wine reduction/high-brow philosophy, maybe raw mustard seed/insect research, maybe ketchup/trashy pulp novels, maybe an earl grey tea/librettos. I get to be part of figuring out what best accompanies them. Because, while I don't like most people, I find them endlessly amusing, and though I may not have a taste for foie gras, I find it fascinating that it's out there and there are other people who just can't wait to sink their teeth into a juicy duck liver.

Now I'm intensely disturbed by the idea of looking out across a library floor and seeing nothing but giant walking hamburgers and steaks and omelets, or leading a huge baked potato to the Nick Hornby titles. Also, keenly aware that, following my metaphor through, I imagine the people I love to be items I've chosen off a menu and devoured. mmmmmm Sarah-curried-tofu. mmmmmmm David veggieburger. Fathima chai! Bacon 'n eggs 'n Joe! Ian crab! Noor cornbread! basit pomegranate! Lesley fries! Julia pizza! Megan broccoli with cheese! Everyone's so yummy!