This Gave Me The Giggles...

My roommate forwarded this joke to my inbox. I'm not sure where it comes from but I have to say that the absurdity of it all couldn't help but make me laugh...

Bush Sells Louisiana Back to the French

President Bush and a giddy Jacques Chirac shake hands on the deal.

BATON ROUGE, LA. - The White House announced today that President Bush has successfully sold the state of Louisiana back to the French at more than double its original selling price of $11,250,000.

"This is a bold step forward for America," said Bush. "And America will be stronger and better as a result. I stand here today in unity with French Prime Minister Jack Shiraq, who was so kind to accept my offer of Louisiana in exchange for 25 million dollars cash."

The state, ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, will cost hundreds of billions of dollars to rebuild.

"Jack understands full well that this one's a 'fixer upper,'" said Bush. "He and the French people are quite prepared to pump out all that water, and make Louisiana a decent place to live again. And they've got a lot of work to do. But Jack's assured me, if it's not right, they're going to fix it."

The move has been met with incredulity from the already beleaguered residents of Louisiana. However, President Bush's decision has been widely lauded by Republicans.

"This is an unexpected but brilliant move by the President," said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. "Instead of spending billions and billions, and billions of dollars rebuilding the state of Louisiana, we've just made 25 million dollars in pure profit."

"This is indeed a smart move," commented Fox News analyst Brit Hume. "Not only have we stopped the flooding in our own budget, we've made money on the deal. Plus, when the god-awful French are done fixing it up, we can easily invade and take it back again."

The money gained from 'The Louisiana Refund' is expected to be immediately pumped back into the rebuilding of Iraq.

Busy Times

I'm trying to type this post as kitty is trying to hog the computer keyboard, which is making it difficult. She wants my attention. Regardless, I shall post since I have been neglecting this place in the last week. School is truly back in full swing. Life is just busy but I am in a good mood so it is flowing smoothly. :) I have a neverending pile of readings but such is the life of a grad student.

From people's posts on boards and blogs, they are loving the new season of Arrested Development. It is indeed full of goodness. :) Tomorrow night is a new episode! Hurrah! I hope we get more great quotes out of it.

The Daily Show was good last week. Jon had a great bit about God not understanding the meaning of "God Bless America" with all the natural disasters that have been unleashed recently. He also did an impression of Shimon Perez, the former Israeli prime minister, reading Goodnight Moon, which was hilarious even though I am only vaguely familiar with that book. George Clooney was the guest on Thursday, and he is just one fine actor in all possible meanings of that word. He was charming, funny, smart, and well, he brings on the pretty. LOL His new movie, which he directed, co-wrote, and acted in about the showdown between Edward R. Murrow & Joseph McCarthy sounds really interesting. I'll have to catch that.

That makes me think... For anyone interested, there was a nice Q&A with Stephen Colbert in the NY Times magazine. I'll miss not seeing him on TDS, but I really hope his show will be successful. If only a broadcaster would pick it up in Canada!!!

Today's News. Now With More Arrested Development Commentary and The Fashion Corner!

I am just feeling tired today for no particular reason. I slept well; I don't know what is up. I had kind of a headache so I took a nap before dinner but it took me a bit longer than usual to drag myself to choir (registration starts at 6:30; I was there around 6:50-6:55). It was full by the time I got there. Bah. I'm on the waiting list, which means I can attend rehearsals but I'm not getting sheets of music (I must look on someone else's sheets) and I'm unsure of being in the concert at the end of the term. I will get in only if other people drop out. I was unsure in the first place if I wanted to be in the choir at all this term since I'm so busy and I have other things on my mind, I think I'm just going to skip it. I'll probably rejoin in January.

I'm starting to TA tomorrow morning. Stats tutorial at 9 am is hard on both me and the students. LOL

Arrested Development had its season premiere tonight. Such a funny show, who sadly got snobbed at the Emmys last night. It is so dirty and twisted for an 8 pm show; I'm so surprised that they get it passed the censors. Not that I am complaining since it makes me laugh so much. Clever innuendos are good mental jogging! ;)

I went shopping for some fall clothes yesterday. I have integrated Stacy's and Clinton's shopping techniques:

1) Try on a lot of clothes to buy a few pieces that look good.

2) Try styles that are likely to flatter your body type/height. I won't go in details but I know what that means for me.

3) Try finding pieces that are polyvalent but try to buy ensembles at once.

4) Look at yourself in the mirror, and be a tough critic as to how the clothes fall on you. LOL

Thus, I tried on so many clothes to find things that looked good but I still did it in about 2 to 2 and a half hours, which is impressive. I did find a few pieces (and I found the professional-looking pieces I needed) so it was a satisfactory trip. I finally bought the black velvety jacket I had seen last month. I had been thinking about it since then so I figured I was allowed to go buy it now since I was unlikely to change my mind about it. Lucky for me, there were two left in my size! The store had awesome sales so I found a nice black velvety skirt to go with the jacket for half price! I got a nice light-knit pale pink sweater to go with it. I also bought a skirt suit in a pied-de-poule pattern (I think the translation for that term is houndstooth but I'm not sure. It's a very small black and white checkered pattern). The skirt is knee-length and has a pencil shape except for the bottom, which flares out. It's hard to describe but anyway, I paired it with a silk-like dark purple camisole and I must confess I looked hot in that outfit. LOL Plus, the suit was 75$ instead of 150$ so I was pleased. I also got a dark red/purple knit sweater, which is super comfy.

Okay, I'm done describing clothes. Not the most interesting thing to read about, I'm sure. LOL Today, I am wearing the necklace that I got in NYC last January (you know, the one I was trying to put on at the restaurant unsuccessfully!) so I was thinking about all you girls. I really hope we get to meet up sometimes soon. :) Maybe I can convince you to trek up north? :D

20 Random Things About You

Gina asked for 20 random things about us. I thought it was a fun idea so here are 20 Random Things About Me.

1. I didn't speak English until I was 11.
2. I skipped Grade 2.
3. My biggest phobia is fire.
4. I got to spend a few hours working as a seal trainer when I was 8.
5. I can't eat eggs because the taste and smell make me feel nauseous.
6. I wear shoes size 7 1/2.
7. When I was 5, I took classical ballet lessons.
8. I have taken many dance lessons over the years, and know the basic steps to salsa, swing, triple swing, cha-cha, meringue, and continental dances.
9. My head is too big for most hats.
10. My hair was straight until I was 12.
11. The movie Beaches makes me cry every single time I catch it on TV.
12. My favourite necklace is a gold chain with a little Sagittarius medallion that was given to me by my maternal grandparents for my 1st birthday. (The original chain broke many years ago but my grandparents gave me a new one.)
13. I started babysitting when I was 11, and did so steadily until I was 20.
14. My favourite book is Pride & Prejudice.
15. I had a poem published in a magazine.
16. I got hit by a car while crossing the street when I was 8.
17. I played clarinet in a high school, and what a carnage for the ears that was.
18. I don't have a middle name.
19. The first album I ever owned was True Blue by Madonna.
20. I'm actually a spy working for the CIA, who uses the persona of an innocent Canadian girl. ;) (Hey, I had nothing!)

On a totally different topic, last night, David Cross was Last Call with Carson Daly, a show that I avoid like the plague because well, Carson is pretty uninteresting. Regardless, I read the appearance was really funny (and has AD special guests in it), and I found a link to it. It's in the 7th post from the top. It's a good piece of performance art. Hee.

Caption This!

I have been somewhat silent this week. Work has picked up, and I have enough reading and writing to do in real life that I haven't been Internet-inclined so much. I had my annual physical on Monday. Same old stuff. Because I have a family history of thyroid problem, my MD wants me to have an ultrasound of my thyroid. She couldn't tell if I was developing a goiter, which seems highly unlikely but it could happen. My guess is I have a weird neck but nevertheless. LOL So I have to go get a ball rolled on my throat. (Dirty! ;)) Hee. I've had so many parts of myself under ultrasound in the last few years, I could create a TV show featuring my organs.

I saw the picture on the left, and I had to chuckle at what the photographer thought he was doing... Bringing us breaking news?

This is a picture of Bush writing a note to Condoleeza Rice during UN hearings. The paper says: "I think I may need a bathroom break." Caption away. ;) LOL

Hollywood Stock Exchange

Four years ago, I discovered the Hollywood Stock Exchange. I have always loved movies so it was fun to play with it. Things got busy, and I pretty much forgot about it for over 2 years. The other night, I was looking at some of my favourite links, and just stumbled upon it. I went back to my old account, and lo and behold, I had made some money. Some of the movies for which I had picked up stocks back then were Elizabethtown, and Fun with Dick and Jane, which have come through and are opening soon. You can buy stocks for movies who ultimately never get made so it's never a sure thing. Anyway, those stocks have earned me some Hollywood dollars. LOL Anyway, I'm now back to playing the stocks there when I have a bit of time. If anyone joins, and wants to form a league (i.e., a group that competes with each other as to who has the most profitable portfolio), let me know.

My New Computer Wallpaper...

courtesy of TDS! :)

Fight The Future!

I don't why I have rediscovered my X-Files obsession lately but I have. Well, I think it has to do with this. OMNI 2 has started airing TXF, and they have put together some amazing promos. It's jsut really cool to see on TV. Mind you, it's certainly not the obsession it once was. Exhibit A of former obsession: I saw Fight The Future in theatre three times the week it came out. I even had taken the day off to go see it opening day. That, my friend, is dedication. Hee. No other show ever got my devoted viewership like it. I remember my mother rolling her eyes at the utter silence my brother and I required to watch TXF. Those were the days...

The X-Files just seemed to tap into something in my teenage years. I used to babysit on Friday nights so I would watch it from 8:30-9:30 on TQS, a Quebec channel. Thus, I initially watched it dubbed in French because we didn't have FOX widely available in Canada back then. Plus, the English-Canadian affiliate who broadcasted the show had it scheduled at midnight on Friday. I never used to stay up that late. Anyway, so I got caught up in the show somewhere in season 2. I remember the season 2 finale (Anasazi) cimented my fandom. That was one awesome episode.

My fondness for the show got squandered somewhere along the way with lackluster seasons 8 & 9, a somewhat disappointing finale, and X-Files message board drama. Over time, memories of fun times are again outweighing the jaded feeling I had about it all. I'm happy about that because it was an awesome show and it reminds of all the fun times I shared with my brother, watching TV.

Oh, and despite my not being obsessed with the show anymore, I'll happily skip work again to catch the opening day of the second movie. :)

101 in 1001

A few months ago, in my previous blog, I posted a list of a 101 things I wanted to do in 1001 days. I had ripped off the concept from Jessica at Ultratart. Anyway, I have done some things on the list. Of course, it is a work in progress but without further ado, here is a list with completed tasks duly noted.

101 things I want to do in the next 1001 days. (Started January 7, 2005, which means I have until October 6, 2007)

1. Get my Ph.D. You can bet on it since that is a big one.

2. Have a mega-post Ph.D. bash where I drink all the champagne I can muster.

3. Oh, and a very elaborate meal to top this all off.

4. Get rid of my old computer, which has been cluttering my bedroom for far too long. [Completed July 2005]

5. Buy a food processor so I can make more complicated recipes. I want one of those pretty KitchenAid red ones. Not that I'm superficial. LOL

6. Organize all my favourite recipes into some kind of binder/index card/other form of system. [I've started transcribing them all on my computer. Still in progress though.]

7. Try golf.

8. Make the numerous CDs I promised to friends. [Completed on January 22, 05]

9. Buy a pair of pretty but not practical shoes without feeling guilty.

10. Go back to NYC. [Completed on January 28, 2005]

11. Travel to Europe or to the South Pacific.

12. Go skydiving or parachuting because doing something scary can be good for the soul.

13. Call my grandmother more often because doing something nice is also good.

14. Go ballroom dancing.

15. Spend an afternoon with my 95-year-old great aunt.

16. Run a half-marathon.

17. Devote at least an hour a week to non-work books. [In progress as of January 22, 2005]

18. Reorganize my too-vast journal articles collection. [Done, August 2005]

19. Get my Monet poster up on my wall.

20. Watch the "Guys and Dolls" DVD that has been sitting on my shelf for months.

21. Read all five books of the "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy".

22. Knit a scarf.

23. Which means, learn to knit! [in progress February 2005]

24. Lose weight & stick with it. I'm not even going to venture a number. Any weight loss will be a gain for my health. [in progress May 2005 & kicking butt]

25. Visit Casa Loma.

26. Go to the ballet more often. [Got a membership for the 2005 season, and it has been a blast!]

27. Find a frame for that picture I have been meaning to give to a friend. [Completed June 2005]

28. Buy a fancy piece of lingerie.

29. Make a cheesecake from scratch. Not the greatest thing to go with the weight loss but I'll bake only one. LOL

30. Buy bubblebath and treat myself to a nice long hot bath so that I look like a prune when I come out. [Completed February 2005]

31. Go skiing at least once. It's been too long, and I actually used to rock the slopes.

32. Buy a small black purse for special occasions.

33. Go see U2 in concert. At least, attempt to get tickets!

34. Take another wine tasting course.

35. Also start a wine journal to remember which ones I like, and which ones should be avoided like plague.

36. Read a book about wine.

37. Start learning a new language. I'm thinking Spanish.

38. Travel somewhere where I can practice said language.

39. Get a massage.

40. Find true love. Well, you have to have tough ones in there.

41. Be more patient with my family. Also a challenge. [Things have been good on that front in summer 2005]

42. Visit the Air & Space museum in my hometown.

43. Go to the zoo.

44. I must have cotton candy while I'm there.

45. Write a good poem or speech for my dad's milestone birthday.

46. Give money to charities and/or homeless people more regularly. [In progress, spring 2005]

47. Eat a lobster.

48. Get caps on my front teeth.

49. Spend a peaceful weekend at a cottage/cabin and relax. [Done, July 05]

50. Swim in the ocean. Any ocean.

51. Learn the names of all my students in a tutorial. (I'm so bad at matching names to faces.) [I did a rocking job in spring semester 2005!]

52. Improve my poker-playing skills.

53. Play a game of Scrabble. It has been too long.[Completed January 30, 2005]

54. Have my own apartment and decorate it as I please.

55. Repaint/varnish a piece of furniture.

56. Visit the Ben & Jerry's factory in Vermont.

57. Try blue mountain coffee.

58. Host a dinner party all by myself.

59. Fix the cable hooking to the TV more permanently so that I don't have to muck with it every other day. Tape doesn't work. [I’ve mastered the art of fixing it, March 2005]

60. Get my own Christmas tree.

61. Decorate it.

62. Make bread.

63. Clean my inbox and organize messages.

64. Make my own pesto.

65. Garden. I've always wanted to grow my own herbs and/or vegetables.

66. Play tennis at least once!

67. Getting a set of matching dinnerware.

68. Start building a retirement fund.

69. Give blood at least once.

70. Have a set of photographs taken by a professional. I had someone done years ago, and they are still the most gorgeous pictures of me.

71. Release a book in nature with Bookcrossing.

72. Sing solo in front of a group of people.

73. Hang a windchime besides my window because it is such a soothing sound.

74. Go see a movie at the Bloor cinema. [Completed April 19, 2005]

75. Read about musical composers to be able to know more about Mozart, Beethoven, Vivaldi, Puccini and Bach.

76. Collect all the articles for my dissertation in a timely fashion.

77. Experience the world as a blonde or a redhead.

78. Go see a play at Shakespeare in the park. [Went to see Taming of The Shrew in July 2005]

79. Make a fancy picnic and go eat it in a park with a good book.

80. Buy new winter boots. [Completed March 2005]

81. Put together my teaching portfolio.

82. Call my professional association in my home province to discuss my file. I really don't want to do it. Sigh.

83. Roadtrip!

84. Learn to use Photoshop.

85. Spend a weekend at a spa.

86. Create a system to organize my incoming papermail, books,... [Done, August, 05]

87. Make my own cup of coffee every morning instead of going to the coffee shop.[In progress, January 2005]

88. Bring my cat to the park so she can play in the grass.

89. Get a better chair for my workdesk.

90. Send letters to my goddaughter.

91. Buy an iPod. Or get one given to me. LOL

92. Have a girly movie night with my best friend.

93. Go iceskating despite my chronic inability to stay upright on skates.

94. Bake treats for all my close friends.

95. Read Pride & Prejudice. As long as I'm at it, throw in rewatching the series as well. [Completed March 1, 2005]

96. Spend a whole day in bed. [I did it on April 20 & 21st, 2005 but I had the flu!]

97. Build my own website.

98. Go tour wineries not far from here.

99. Treat myself to Godiva truffles.

100. Go berry picking.

101. Last one is a freebie. LOL

What Would You Regret Not Doing If You Died Today?

I came home today, and I had a very sad email in my inbox. A fellow graduate student had a brain aneurysm on Friday, and passed away on his way to the hospital. I didn't know him at all; he joined the department last year, and I may have met him once. Nevertheless, it is such a shock when someone so young passes away. I guess you just don't expect to hear something like that.

It got me thinking about living in the present... I would like to think I have accomplished a lot but what would I regret not doing if I died now? I mean, there are so many things I hope to accomplish. There are big projects like graduating and getting a real job, buying a house, getting a boyfriend/husband/significant other as well as kids. There are plenty of trips and places in the world I want to see. But there are plenty of smaller things too that I want to do... I want to learn to bake a cheesecake, learn to knit well, jump off an airplane,... I need to revive that long "to-do" list I had.

I guess though it just makes me think though that I don't call my family and friends often enough to tell them I love them and how much they mean to me. I think they implicitly know I do but getting those words out is not always easy. Or rather, I think I (and people in general) get lazy sometimes with being kind to those who are closest to us.

If I had one main regret, it would be not being courageous enough. I often feel I don't assert myself enough. I'm shy and not enough of a go-getter. I mean, I do work for a lot of what I want, but I have a bit of the passive, demure Catholic girl thing going on, especially when it comes to guys. LOL I might be a good girl but as they say "Good girls go to heaven but bad girls go everywhere." So what would you regret not doing if you died today?

Official Movie Quote Showdown

Jamie is a movie-quote machine, and I think we watch a lot of the same movies so I always know which movie she is quoting from. Thus, I think we need a movie quote showdown to amuse ourselves.

Rules of the game(because rules help control the fun!)
1) Anyone can guess, and can contribute a quote.
2) No googling of quotes and then writing the answer. If you google it, you forfeit your right to play on that particular quote. LOL
3) You're welcome to provide clues if you think your quote is too obscure.

The first quote: "We had a nice couple of minutes together. She threatened me, I patronized her. Didn't have anything to eat, but I thought there was a connection. "

Bonus points for telling me which TV character said the above "Rules help control the fun." ;)

Blogging For a Good Cause

Like most people, I've been glued to the news, and seeing all the devastation in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. I think the chaos & lawlessness in New Orleans following the flooding are really the most troubling things to witness. I really hope things get better now that engineers are fixing the levees. Considering levees are only built to withstand up to Category 3 hurricanes, it is surprising not more of it broke loose. Canada is trying to do its part by donating some money (Over a million dollars to the Red Cross so far! Go Canadians!) and sending some military personnel. Hopefully, this will help a bit. I wanted to donate to children who had to return to school but who had lost everything , and through TWoP, I found a great place called Donors Choose. Teachers will be able to submit proposals to fill the need for school material for children who have been displaced. You can give through TWoP here.

This seems to be the week for catastrophes. Thursday night, I stumbled upon a documentary about 9/11 on A&E called The Anatomy of September 11th. I only caught the second hour of it but it was fascinating and very touching. It left me with a knot in my stomach. It had many survivors telling their escape story as well as engineers explaining why the twin towers collapsed. It also had journalists and rescue workers explaining the failure in communication that occured that day between the various agencies on the ground. It will re-air on A&E on Wednesday, September 7 at 9am & 3 pm ET as well as Sunday, September 11 at 1:30pm ET. It is well worth watching, taping or TiVoing.

Today, I cooked extensively. I made a peach-blueberry crisp (yummy although not my best ever...) and oriental pork on a bed of fusillis. Yum. Tomorrow or Monday, I'll be making a big batch of my vegetarian chilli so I can freeze plenty of it for the busy semester ahead.