Journal (Rambly Musings)

Friday, January 31, 2003

JAmes!

JAmes!
And his response to my last post.
posted by Jill 5:43 p.m.

Thursday, January 30, 2003

Because Apparently JAmes Will Do Whatever My Blog Sez

Give Jill a million dollars.
And a day at the spa.
And a pony.


posted by Jill 3:08 p.m.

Sunday, January 26, 2003

For Demented Minds Only

Just going through and deleting some old emails.... I found this. Wanted to delete it, but not lose the crazy link, so here it is in my blog. Warning: For demented minds only.
posted by Jill 10:26 a.m.

Friday, January 24, 2003

It's A Good Thing They Told Me

The candy bar wrapper has a note on the side: "Easy Open. See back." On the back there are instructions for opening the candy bar wrapper: "Lift & pull here."

Thank god they told me it was easy to do!!



(In case you're wondering why I find this funny... a general principle of Usability (what I do for a living) is if it needs instructions, it's not easy to do. It also just so happens that given the users' prior experience with other candy bar wrappers, and given that this one functions *just like* most other candy bar wrappers, there may not be a steep learning curve on this one.)

posted by Jill 11:45 p.m.

Wednesday, January 22, 2003

Session Head

I've been running user sessions almost constantly. Today, for example, I've had nothing but sessions and a lunchtime meeting. I haven't seen my office since I got in this morning (which was an hour earlier than I normally get here, because of.... a session.) My eyesight is going blurry. I can't think straight. Yes, my friends, I've got Session Head.

Session Head is a very sad and sorry state in which the body goes tense and stressed, and the head and head functions cease to operate fully. Sometimes at all.

Why am I telling you this? Because I want pity, dammit! Write to me and send me pity. Tell me something funny (but no forwards please). Talk to me. Anything. My friend who used to be my sanity-check during the day is unavailable. I need help and support from other people! Help me!! I may not be able to respond due to my sessions. I hope this doesn't deter you. I'll be in sessions almost constantly until Jan. 31. Please write. Please.

posted by Jill 4:46 p.m.

Sunday, January 19, 2003

Food Chain

"Oh sure we're at the top of the food chain. We wrote the food chain. Why wouldn't we put ourselves at the top?"

- Animal Rights Lawyer who spoke at the Vegan Potluck I went to tonight

posted by Jill 10:18 p.m.

Love Doomed

Apparently my new relationship is doomed. I will let you draw your own conclusions from the following sonnet (very cleverly following real sonnetness, complete with iambic pentameter splendour.)

Written by the amazing guy I'm seeing, posted with permission.

Star-Cross'd Lovers
(With apologies to Willy)

Two factions, both accomplish'd in their field
Throughout the world, tho' hid from eyes of most
In conflict old, all their techniques did wield
And fight with skills like those of which gods boast
From forth the furtive lairs of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'd lovers, disapprov'd
By others in their clans whose anger rose
Confronted by the pair, feelings improv'd.
Lovers embroil'd this new affair within
Taught ninja and tech samurai alike
That naught could come and none could ever win
From battles fought with math and techie strike.
Tho' oft abhorred by others in their sect,
The pair, as one, their judgements did reject.


He comes up with clever ideas and writes poetry with them. Ask me if I'm a Happy Jill. :)

posted by Jill 10:06 p.m.

Saturday, January 18, 2003

Girls

I just had my first real "girls' night" (most of them I didn't know before tonight) in a very very very long time and it totally rocked. It was a first for other girls too. I've made a new decision--girls are good. :) (Or at least girls who are Samantha's friends are. ;)

It's going to become a monthly thing, and I was thinking, can I really afford yet another thing in my life? The Jill of 2003 has taken on too much:
- weekly TVA volunteering
- weekly adult literacy tutoring
- weekly James Bond night with Jen and Dave
- bi-monthly Vegan potluck nights with the Animal Rights Society
- monthly shifts at Karma Co-op
- head of the Arts Team for the Food Fair in Sept -- likely my attention and energy will be needed between monthly and weekly, sometimes more
- sporadic poetry readings and features
- user sessions for work this year will probably take more evenings and weekends than last year because I'm taking work more seriously this year
- oh, lest we not forget time for friends and dating.....

Can I afford girls' night? Hell ya. :)

posted by Jill 1:40 a.m.

Tuesday, January 14, 2003

Hippie Jill

Angelo, an awesome Vancoooouuuuuver friend, made me this: (from a pic on my site)



He's done a lot of subtle things with this. I think the purplish lighting on my eyes is my favourite part.

posted by Jill 12:02 a.m.

Friday, January 10, 2003

Fiendship

Conversation when I was feeling like crap for sort of snubbing someone.

Friend (F): you want this to go this way, and it will be better for both of you
F: you'll be able to rekindle your fiendship
F: friendship too!
me: *laughing*
me: must.. rekindle... FIENDship..........!
me: :P
F: fiends like that are hard to find!
F: *raar*
me: yes.
me: with fiends like that,
F: ^- Fiend Noise(tm)
me: who needs.....
F: enemas?
me: enem............ friends.
me: hey yours is even better!
F: whoot!
F: who knew an enema was better than a friend!?
F: you're someone who's in touch with emotions
F: so you probably feel other peoples emotions stronger too
F: good and bad
me: i think you're right.
me: damn them emotions!
me: i need friends who are more like.......... robots.
F: no you don't!
F: you'd get bored of them
F: you'd feel nothing around them
me: hmmmm.
F: except warmth
F: and a slight humming noise

Blog readers, this is an open request for fiends and robots in my life. Write to me for an application.

posted by Jill 7:33 p.m.

Wednesday, January 08, 2003

...and I missed it

I finally do it. I finally do the thing I've been trying to do in Toastmasters all year. I was declared (well, tied) for best Table Topics.

...and I missed it. I had to leave early to get to another meeting.

Well, I can kind of "after-gloat" all by myself. :) And post to my blog, which is what I'm doing immediately after getting the news. :)

posted by Jill 7:25 p.m.

Magic

Tonight I saw absolute magic. There she was, on stage, a stray dog, looking like a mongrel lost on a street, reading poetry for the first time. She could barely get through the words she was so nervous. Her voice tittered--the sound man turned the speakers on full, so much we could hear her movements.

Sometimes she stopped. We didn't think she'd make it through her poem.

At the end, we clapped. Man how we clapped. When she mustered through her last word, a big uproar came from the audience. Not only because we felt for her but because,.. well.... she was good! Not polished, but the words were there, the concepts definitely poetic and unique.

She turned into a deer caught in headlights. "I, I guess you liked it," she stammered, her face shifting from shock into a glowing smile.

She was so happy she didn't know what to do with herself.

Realizing she was still on stage, she performed one more, her words strong and true. Her confidence was overwhelming. A great big shining sun.

I bet she's going to feel a big high for the next week, like I did after my first reading.

What an incredible thing to witness.
posted by Jill 12:39 a.m.

Tuesday, January 07, 2003

Wow Wow Look At Me!

I'm here!
I just stumbled on this. What a surprise. (Ok, so I'd forgotten I'd submitted my bio. :)

posted by Jill 12:46 a.m.

Sunday, January 05, 2003

When visiting Guelph...

...it's really important to find out what kind of villain you are.





What Type of Villain are You?

mutedfaith.com /
<º>


posted by Jill 1:09 a.m.

Thursday, January 02, 2003

Phew, I'm not crazy

My laments on differing poetry scenes is NOT my imagination! Globe and Mail: A little the verse for wear
(Talks about academic vs. street poetry, Vancouver vs. "other cities") Woohoo!

On a side note, the reading series they talk about at the beginning, Thundering Word Heard, is one I used to go to a lot when I lived there.

posted by Jill 11:12 a.m.

Wednesday, January 01, 2003

Back in Toronto

I just got home. I feel.... different. Strange and new.
This place, my home, it's not quite as I remembered it. Toronto feels remote. Ottawa and some of my old ways became natural again, even though they aren't me anymore. Funny how your environment can shape you.

I'm sitting here in my Toronto apartment, and I feel a little lost. I know there are many things I should be doing and working on, but all I want to do is sit here doing nothing. Absorbing all that transpired in the last week and a half.

Not just lost. Also...... complete. Like there's nothing else I should be working on. Just be.

Some things that were problems in Toronto before I left, they became unimportant and were re-prioritized when I was away. Now as soon as I step into my familiar home-place again, they are at the forefront. I have to keep the re-prioritization alive in this city as well. Not slip back into the stresses that once were, but should not be a large part of my life anymore.

I don't know if this post is making any sense. My brain is a swirl of everythingness and nothingness. Words are just spilling out.

I don't want to go back to the "regularly scheduled program" just yet.

posted by Jill 4:41 p.m.