The end of yet another glorious year

This time 'round, I had decided not to make any New Year's Resolutions. I figured I am turning 50 (50! 5-0! Five zero!) in 2011 and that is traumatic enough. Why add pressure?

But then I started thinking about all the things I'd like to improve about myself. So I will ponder my deficiencies and probably have a list tomorrow morning.

To those Down Under: Happy New Year! Stay away from the flood zone.

Movie Review

I saw the original True Grit at the Border Drive-In when I was 8 or 9 years old. I loved John Wayne, and the rest is history.

I think the new True Grit is terrific. Jeff Bridges is great. It seemed to me that he was doing a John Wayne tribute. Not a parody, but an homage, if that is the right word.

But the best thing about the movie is the dialogue. If you like the way people spoke during The Civil War, you'll love the talkin' in this movie. I'd see it again just to listen to their vocabularies. Nobody talks like that anymore and it is our loss.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JAW FAN

Hope your birthday is better than your Christmas!

Nanuk, the Gamer is Born?

I'm back from the Holy City. I had a very nice Christmas. There's almost no snow in TO. That alone was great.

My niece got an iPad for Christmas. She was furious at her boyfriend for spending too much money on her, so for a part of Christmas Day she wasn't talking to him. Ha Ha. So what did he do? He showed me how to play Angry Birds. This is the greatest game ever.

I am now completely hooked on Angry Birds. My sister said if I buy an iPad just to play a game, I am officially crazy. I'm not sure if I will go that far. But that game is unbelievably addictive. Later, during the evening, when my niece had somewhat gotten over her anger with the bf, she showed me how to play Plants and Zombies. Another great game.

Is 2011 going to be the Year of Nanuk the Gamer? Stay tuned.

Happy Holidays!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, and especially to JAW Fan whose cheesy company is treating him like a slave.

A little relief

I needed a mental health break tonight, so I went to see The Fighter. I went with BGTSmoothie.

Mr. Smoothie has stalled in his dieting, but he is still going to the gym. He looks a bit slimmer.

At one point in the movie, we get a long loving shot of Mark Wahlberg's exquisitely muscled back.

Me: When your back looks like that, let me know.
BGTS: When my back looks like that I won't be at a movie with a 49-year-old woman.

Ok. I deserved that.

As far as the rest of the movie goes, this has to be one of the most obnoxious families ever put on film. The Greek chorus of big-haired sisters was worth my price of admission. Christian Bale is unrecognizable and amazing. Superb. And Melissa Leo, who I have liked since Homicide days, is also superb. If it wasn't for his perfect back, Mark Wahlberg would be totally invisible compared to his two co-stars. Thumbs up for all.

Work is not setting me free

I sent an email to my boss complaining that the "system" she had set up, a mere 3 months ago, for processing work appears to have fallen apart. I asked her to provide written procedures explaining how things should work. Rather than respond in writing, she came to my office and said "There is no system. Everything is broken".

She didn't answer any of the questions in my email. And after our little talk she left. So that's it. There is no system. Everything is broken.

Tell me why I should continue to give a shit. I want to care. I just can't.

LottoMax this Friday: $50 million.

Work people

I really need several months away from these people.

Christmas break is not going to cut it.

*Sighs a massive sigh*

*Sick* Day

We are entitled to 7 sick days per calendar year, and here I was yesterday, looking at the calendar, mid-December, and still 1 sick day unclaimed.

So I am home today.....and, irony, I have a slight head cold. It won't stop me from doing the requred puttering and chores, but still, what a bummer to have a cold on my *sick* day.

Bah Humbug

I am feeling very Grinchy (or Scroogey) about Christmas cards this year. Why have they become a Big Bother? I don't know. But I've decided I'm only sending cards to my old aunts this year. So if you are a loyal reader of this esteemed blog, and have gotten Christmas cards from me in the past, don't expect one this year....unless you are my aunt.

And if you are one of my aunts, and you are reading this blog, how come you never told me you read my blog? Or even own a computer?

Waterworks!

Did anyone see 60 Minutes last night? They did a profile of John Boehner, the new US Speaker of the House.

Is there anything that doesn't make that man cry like a baby. It was very bizarre.

"The sky is an especially lovely shade of blue today"
Boehner: WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!

This is not much of an exaggeration.

More Snow

My helper is not amused.

The Blackie in Winter

Stop taking pictures and let me in the house, already!

C'est L'Hiver

This country is for the birds. Looks like we will have about 20 cm total snowfall by the end of our first storm of the season.

I took the metro last night and when I got to my station there were ZERO buses headed west. Nary a one. Fortunately I was properly dressed so I started trudging along and got to Grand Blvd. when a bus pulled up. I boarded the can along with the rest of the sardines. Then the bus driver had the nerve, the temerity, to say I had not swiped my card, which I had, but obviously he couldn't tell which arm it was that poked through the crowd to do the swiping. In my sweetest voice, I said that yes, indeed, I had swiped my card and proceeded to swipe again. Of course, the card was invalid because it had JUST BEEN SWIPED 10 seconds earlier. But the driver said Ok. I smiled but inside I thought "You, sir, are a giant asshole for being a nazi about card swiping on a brutal night like this".

I shoveled snow for 30 minutes last night before bed, and another 15 minutes this morning, just to clear the path to the sidewalk again.

In jolly news, it appears that Crazy Polish Neighbour is away or ill (let's hope the latter) because this morning it was Crazy Polish Wife who was shovelling, which she never does. Being civilized and not as crazy as her crazy husband, she does not dump their snow on my property. So I was happy to see her out there.

And Blackie the cat is spending the day in the mudroom because where can he go? I put him outside but the sidewalk had not been cleared yet so he had no way to run home or to any other shelter without pouncing through snow that is taller than him. So I let him back in the house, and left him some water and a bowl of dry food.

This is not good

I just read something about a biopic of the Clash and who should play Joe Strummer.

This raises the following questions:

Clash biopic?
Why?
Who decided this was a good idea?

Christmastime is Here

Time for fat felines to sleep near the tannenbaum.

Note to MsMushrooms

Is your email down? I sent you two messages yesterday and I've got back two delayed delivery notifications....?

P.U.! ARGH! BLECH!

It is only December 3, and already I have been subjected to Wonderful Christmastime, the worst song in the universe.

It makes me gag.

How I hate it. Paul McCartney should be sent to Guantanamo for that piece of crap.

Gawd, I hate it.

Time to relax

My boss is in a seminar for two days. Ah!

I hope she takes a break and eats something and avoids slipping into a diabetic coma. There appear to be ample coffee breaks, etc., so she should be okay.

Now I get to coast (even more than usual). Ah!, I repeat.

He's a 10, she's a 4

I saw the not very good Jake Gyllenhaal/Miss Ann Hathaway romantic comedy (?) last night. There's too much going on in it. It's trying to be three movies at once, so it's a mish mash of stuff.

Positive: Lots of nude Gyllenhaal
Negative: Not nearly enough Oliver Platt (fully clothed, thankfully)

Oliver Platt is always a supporting player and there's never enough of him in anything. Alas.

Did I mention lots of nude Gyllenhaal?

Anyway...I think Miss Ann Hathaway is a really unattractive young woman. Her face is all lopsided, like Julia Roberts, but even worse. I mentioned this to BGTSmoothie and now I am in the Smoothie doghouse. Apparently she has a "hot Jewish girl look". Well, how would I know that? I said that Gyllenhaal is a perfect ten, and she unfortunately is a four. Then I had to listen to Smoothie's incredulous "a four??? a four???" for the rest of the evening.