It's a good thing I have a positive, upbeat, and resilient personality, because first thing this morning, as I was running on the treadmill, my eyes AND ears were assaulted by the Jonas Brothers as I tortured myself on the treadmill. 6:30 is way too early for that kind of shit. Thanks, MuchMusic, for treating us to an early-morning viewing of the latest video offering by these three assclowns:



I feel bad for teenage girls today. Who are they supposed to have Tiger Beat crushes on? It's either these three amigos or Zac Efron. Neither option is particularly appealing but I'd do Zacquisha every day and twice on Sunday before I'd succumb to a Jo Bro...not that that's an issue since they're alleged virgins. At least we know Efron is getting some, since his girlfriend takes naked pictures and emails them and they end up on Perez.

I'm just not looking at them and seeing "teen heartthrobs". I'm sadly a little old to be the target demographic, but even as an "older woman" (sob, sob) I don't understand the appeal. There are definite hair and eyebrow issues. There is no bad-boy interest. There's no element of danger or excitement. There's not even a metrosexual, at-least-we-can-share-beauty-products-and-be-friends vibe. They look like kids that hang out in the computer lab at lunch and eat bologna and mustard sandwiches on white bread. They probably suck at all sports except maybe badminton, know waaaaay too much about dinosaurs, and are allergic to peanuts.

When I was in high school, I don't think I ever had a real celebrity crush. I had a pretty major obsession with Kurt Cobain in middle school, and I did swoon a little at Ben Affleck in Armageddon. I thought the Silverchair lead singer was kind of hottie for a minute before he turned all eating-disorderly and gaunt. I do remember being one thousand percent enamoured with Jordan Knight from New Kids on the Block in elementary school, listening to Step by Step over and over ad nauseum and putting the NKOTB posters that came in Honeycombs and Alpha-Bits up in my room. That's embarrassing.

But as for the Jonas Brothers, I'm not feeling it. I do not appreciate them being played between 6:30 and 7:15 am, especially when flanked by Miley Cyrus and some mandatory Canadian content that no one's ever heard of. Running four and a half miles before breakfast is quite enough punishment without the extra little knife-twist of crappy pop tunes and horrendous dancing.

Today was not a great day. I'm feeling very tired, very frustrated, and cranky. I had a headache, my hair was uncooperative and looked crappy, my outfit was boring, etc. Work was really busy, yet I felt like I got very little accomplished. I had trouble concentrating (probably because of the aforementioned headache...just looking at my monitor hurt my eyes) and spent much of the day getting more and more irritated and stressed. One of my good friends from school had a baby last night and I'd love to visit but I really don't have time, so I feel like a shitty friend. My dad thinks he's got rheumatoid arthritis but won't go to the doctor and my grandmother is seeing a shrink. I'm sure I would too if I'd buried two husbands in the past five years. On top of everything else, I gave up dessert for stupid Lent, so I can't even console myself with a big chocolate brownie or bowl of ice cream. Yogurt and frozen grapes do not cut it when you're feeling this glummish. I want to go shopping but I'm trying to save money for the wedding, and I hate budgeting. I'm still driving around with my broken windshield from Christmas break and a wallet full of American cash I need to convert back to Canadian, but I can't find time to actually make an appointment at Speedy Auto Glass and get into the bank. I really want to either crack into my very nicely stocked wine rack and get obliterated (not a good idea with a 7:30 am meeting tomorrow and a performance review at work in the afternoon), or put on some emo music and sweatpants, get into bed, and have a good sob. The early morning meeting is also keeping me from doing that...can't show up with swollen, puffy red eyes!

I'm determined I'm not going to let February 25 be a shit day. It's 8:47. I have three hours and thirteen minutes left to make today awesome.

1. I am getting into my gym clothes and working out for 45 minutes.
2. I'm going to have a shower with my awesome Philosophy Cinnamon Buns shower gel that smells actually good enough to eat.
3. I'm going to wrestle with H2B. I always kick his ass. He is super careful not to bang my head against the hardwood floor, whereas I totally beat the crap out of him, stone-cold stunner style.
4. Before we fall asleep, I'm going to make H2B tell me things he likes about me and things I'm good at. I'm going to make a mental note of them, and then pull them out during my performance review at work tomorrow :D

OK...three hours and six minutes left. Time is a-tickin'. If I'm going to salvage this Wednesday, I've got to move! Surprisingly, I feel a bit better even after writing this post.

Bright and early this morning I was reminded that today is Shrove Tuesday, aka Pancake Tuesday. Being a hell-bound heathen, I had no idea what that means, but I like pancakes, so I was totally on board. I decided to do a little investigative research (i.e. Wiki that bitch!)

"Pancakes and doughnuts are associated with the day preceding Lent because they were a way to use up rich foodstuffs such as eggs, milk, and sugar, before the fasting season of the 40 days of Lent. The liturgical fasting emphasized eating plainer food and refraining from food that would give pleasure: In many cultures, this means no meat, dairy, or eggs."-Wikipedia

The term "rich foodstuffs" is basically sexually arousing to me and I've been drooling all day long just thinking about the fatty pancakes I'm going to mow down on for dinner. I plan on stuffing myself to the point of illness because tomorrow's Ash Wednesday, the kickoff to Deprivation Month or something of the sort. Technically, I don't have to give anything up for Lent (TGIB!!!!*) I think it's as good a time as any to try to break a bad habit.

I made a list of possible vices to try and refrain from for 40 days and 40 nights:

1. Swearing
2. Making Fun of Others
3. Chocolate
4. Caffeine
5. Driving Infractions
6. Buying Clothing I Don't Need

I might as well vow to give up breathing or drinking water.

At a loss, I actually Googled "things to give up for Lent" and learned that instead of giving something up, you can also adapt a positive behaviour for Lent. That seems a little more reasonable, but it also seems like cheating somehow. Isn't the whole point to make a sacrifice that betters you?

After lots of thinking I decided to both give something up and do something good for Lent this year. I'm going to give up dessert, and I'm going to compliment five different people every day. The compliment piece should be pretty easy. I know I'm always thinking "I like her outfit" or "He did a really good job on this project" but I'm not great at actually TELLING people what I admire about them. I know how nice it feels to be complimented too, even on something stupid. For example, at a bookstore this past weekend, two women told me my jacket was cute and I was happy for at least an hour! The dessert bit will be a little more challenging. The deal is, I eat really healthfully all day long but after dinner and in the evenings I tend to not know when to stop. I think I have it in my head that I've eaten so well all day I deserve a treat...and another...and another. It's sabotaging my efforts to get in better shape for summer and it makes me feel super full and gross. This is a perfect opportunity to wean myself off eating a salad for dinner, and then capping it with an ice cream bar, THEN a brownie, THEN a pudding, and so on. Fruit and yogurt are OK desserts. Cookies, pie, cakes, brownies, cupcakes, puddings, chocolates, sweet breads, etc. are off limits as of tomorrow.

I think I can do this. I HOPE I can do this! Last year, I gave up Diet Coke for 40 days, which you'd think would be impossible. I actually made it all the way through Lent and beyond. Even today, I might drink a couple Diet Cokes a week...I used to drink a couple of them daily. So I'm hoping that quitting sweets cold turkey will kick off a little bit of weight loss and wean me off my sugar dependence. Wish me luck!

*TGIB=Thank God I'm Baptist. (This is the only time of year I can say that!)

Browsing Chapters with H2B yesterday, I came across this book on the $20 table:


The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich

The title definitely got my attention, and while working four hours a week and making a comfortable living sounds a little far-fetched, I figured there would be some tips and tricks to make working life a little more efficient, so I had a gander at the book.

There were some useful things that popped out at me...how to scan an article really quickly while still getting the gist of it, learning to say 'no' when you have enough on your plate, and so on. Common sense stuff, sure, but who doesn't hedge a little when asked to take on one more thing or waste half an hour reading an article that should have taken two minutes?

I didn't end up buying the book, but a few things jumped out at me from the introductory pages:

"If you've picked up this book, chances are you don't want to sit behind a desk until you are 62."

"What does an igloo-dwelling millionaire do that a cubicle-dweller doesn't? Follow an uncommon set of rules."

"Gold is getting old. The New Rich are those who abandon the deferred-life plan and create luxury lifestyles in the present using the currency of the New Rich: time and mobility."

Time and mobility...freedom to do as you please. Means to travel, see the world, come and go. Isn't that really the ultimate wish, even more so than having a boatload of cash? People say if they won the lottery they'd quit their jobs and travel...so doesn't that mean that freedom, flexibility, and mobility are truly the desired aspects, more so than money itself?

When I was little, I'd whine at LEAST five times a day, "I can't wait to be grown up so I can do what I want!" My parents would laugh at me and tell me I better buck up, because I was never going to be able to just do what I want 100% of the time. I'd argue to the point of tears. To my six-year-old self, it didn't seem conceivable that as an adult I wouldn't be able to do what I wanted at any given time. It seemed apparent that as a grown-up I wouldn't ask anyone's permission to do anything, ever. If I felt like going to Disneyland, I'd go. If I wanted chocolate dinner (read: Jello pudding, Fudgee-o's, and chocolate milk, FYI) I'd eat it. I'd have ponies and dogs and ride my bike on the road and NOT wear a helmet, and that was that. Money wasn't really a question. Working wasn't a problem. In my mind, it was my life, and I got to choose what I did, plain and simple.

Fast forward a couple decades (!!!) and I can hear my parents' "I told you so's" loud and clear. Obviously life is nothing like what I had imagined when I was a first grader. But isn't it amazing to think about working four, eight, hell, even 20 hours a week...really productive, full-on hours...and having the rest of the time free? Think about a day where you get to leave the office at noon or even right on time. Isn't that the best feeling? Imagine getting to do that every day! What would you do with all that free time?

I love my career almost 100% of the time, something I don't think a lot of people can say with any degree of honesty. The work is super challenging and there's never a dull moment, but it's engaging, it's interesting, and it's fulfilling. Going from 40+ hours to 4 per week sounds ridiculous and I don't know how I could do it.

I do know that there are a lot of time sucks at work that I'd gladly eliminate if I could, and I know productivity would probably explode like crazy: e-mail, for example. Every time I get an e-mail alert I check it right away. ALWAYS. I can't wait. Then I respond to it, right away. I think a good thing for me to try is checking e-mail once an hour only, then sit back and observe how the world keep turning when a message sits unread in my inbox for 52 minutes. I also have a tendency to stay at my desk during lunch hour, eat a Lean Cuisine and barely look up from my monitor. I don't think the office is going to fall apart if I leave for some fresh air for 45 minutes, yet I have the perception that it's going to.

I'd like to read The 4-Hour Workweek. Am I expecting to cut my billable hours to 4 per week? No way. However, I'm interested in some of the book's messages--learning to ignore the unimportant, offloading unnecessary tasks, and cultivating "selective ignorance". I'm also curious about some of the 4-hour case studies online and will probably check out a couple of examples.

Has anybody read this book? What did you think? How many hours do you work, and what would you do with the extra time if you had a four-hour workweek?

The Oscars are on tonight, and I'll probably be tuning in for at least a bit of the festivities. Generally I like to watch the red carpet to see the fashion, and tomorrow I'll definitely be looking at Go Fug Yourself to recap the highs and lows. I'll also crack a bottle of wine with big plans to watch the entire awards coverage, but instead will pass out by 10:00 pm. It's kind of an annual thing.

Really, I'm hoping to see something like this again...



Here are my predictions for who'll take home an Oscar this year in the major categories:

Performance by an actor in a leading role
Richard Jenkins in "The Visitor" (Overture Films)
Frank Langella in "Frost/Nixon" (Universal)
Sean Penn in "Milk" (Focus Features)
Brad Pitt in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler" (Fox Searchlight)

Of all those movies I've only seen Benjamin Button, and while I love my Pitty, from what I've heard, Frost/Nixon is a pretty sweet flick. I'm totally guessing at this one.


Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Josh Brolin in "Milk" (Focus Features)
Robert Downey Jr. in "Tropic Thunder" (DreamWorks, Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Doubt" (Miramax)
Heath Ledger in "The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.)
Michael Shannon in "Revolutionary Road" (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage)

I hope so, at least. I want to see cutesie Matilda :)

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Anne Hathaway in "Rachel Getting Married" (Sony Pictures Classics)
Angelina Jolie in "Changeling" (Universal)
Melissa Leo in "Frozen River" (Sony Pictures Classics)
Meryl Streep in "Doubt" (Miramax)
Kate Winslet in "The Reader" (The Weinstein Company)

I love love love Kate Winslet. I think she should win all the Oscars.

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Amy Adams in "Doubt" (Miramax)
Penélope Cruz in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" (The Weinstein Company)
Viola Davis in "Doubt" (Miramax)
Taraji P. Henson in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
Marisa Tomei in "The Wrestler" (Fox Searchlight)

VCB was great and Penelope should win awards just for speaking.

Best animated feature film of the year
"Bolt" (Walt Disney) Chris Williams and Byron Howard

"Kung Fu Panda" (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by Paramount) John Stevenson and Mark Osborne

"WALL-E" (Walt Disney) Andrew Stanton

I'll be shocked if Wall-E doesn't win! So cute!

Best motion picture of the year
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
A Kennedy/Marshall Production Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin, Producers

"Frost/Nixon" (Universal)
A Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment and Working Title Production Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner, Producers

"Milk" (Focus Features)
A Groundswell and Jinks/Cohen Company Production Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Producers

"The Reader" (The Weinstein Company)
A Mirage Enterprises and Neunte Babelsberg Film GmbH Production Nominees to be determined

"Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight)
A Celador Films Production Christian Colson, Producer


Slumdog Millionaire was the best movie I'd seen in ages. What's not to like? I have my fingers crossed.

Why was today so sweet? Let me count the ways:

1. I started off the day with a 4.3-ish mile run. AWESOME. I love running in the morning, both because it gets it out of the way nice and early and frees up my schedule for the rest of the day, and because it gives me such a nice burst of energy that lasts a while and a sense of accomplishment that stays with me all day long.

2. When I was in the shower post-run, H2B went to Starbucks and bought me my grande coffee with nonfat milk and Splenda. He's trained really well.

3. Megan and I went to see Confessions of a Shopaholic--mediocre film made much better by the fact that a) it's buy one ticket for regular price, get the second for $1.99 weekend at Empire and b) it meant we had Kid's Packs for lunch.

4. Went to Michael's, saw the wedding invitation DIY options, and was able to relax a little.

5. Painted two new acrylics. I'm a shitty painter, but I'm really liking these two. They're a set and I'm very happy with the end result. Clueless was on while I painted which was a great little blast from the past.

6. Cinnamon buns are baking as I speak so the apartment smells all domestic and cinnamony.

7. Next up is dinner and drinkypoos at Moxie's with H2B, Adam, and Heather. Super pumped for that (I'm starving and have been sneaking bites of raw cinnamon bun dough for the past hour.) I plan to get shittered and foolish. After that we'll either head downtown or back here for some Guitar Hero. Either option sounds equally appealing.

I'm feeling 100% better today compared to earlier this week, when I was all funky and down. I love Saturdays like this where I'm productive but don't head into the weekend with a ton of plans. Best day I've had in a long time.

<3

I have the February blahs in a wicked way. Tonight I made excuses to get out of not one, not two, but THREE socializing opportunities in favour of sitting home to blog, eat, and go to the gym, alone. This is so weird and unlike me!! I'm pooped and have no desire to see my friends or go out, which makes me feel old and depressed and boring.

The weekend is coming up and my plans include cleaning the apartment, taking lots of naps, and going to see a movie, which seems like a tremendous effort. And you know what's sad? I'm just as excited for this weekend as I was for last weekend in NYC. The prospects of having free time and catching up on sleep are positively thrilling right now.

I don't know if I should be happy about being satisfied by such simple things, or freaked out by the fact that cleaning my apartment is appealing to me. I'm just feeling a little exhausted and glum. I'm tired of winter, I'm tired of the gym, I'm tired of it getting dark so bloody early in the evenings. I want the sun to get warm and stay out longer. I want to be able to run outside, not on a treadmill. I don't want to have to worry about the weather forecast before I decide to go anywhere.

I really hope spring is just around the corner. In the meantime, the only option is to keep slogging through winter and hope I get out of this funk soon. Right now I am going to put my gym clothes on, run 4 miles, come home and do something that makes me happy--I'm thinking I'm either going to paint or play Guitar Hero--and dream about spring.

H2B and I spent Friday through Sunday in New York City, a first-time visit for both of us. To say we were overwhelmed by the city would be a gross understatement. Prior to visiting NYC, the biggest city I'd ever been in was Toronto, and New York makes Toronto look like a village.

People have been asking me how I liked NYC. The short answer is, I loved it, but I wouldn't want to live there. In true OCD fashion I have broken out a list of pros and cons about the city that never sleeps.

PROS:
-The people were super friendly. I don't know who started saying that Maritimers are the friendliest people on earth, because I find generally they are the most ignorant and rude. In New York we were asked multiple times if we were lost (I guess we looked pathetic!) Waitstaff were nice, store clerks were nice, people on the street were nice.
-The pace was awesome. When a traffic light turned green, people DROVE.
-Central Park is beautiful and was probably my favourite thing about the city.
-Everywhere you look there are street vendors selling hot dogs and big pretzels. I'm not a fan of the 'dog but I could get on board that soft pretzel wagon mightily fast. This would make me a turbo fatty if I weren't walking everywhere and burning off the pretzel calories!
-I really enjoy taking subways. I'd love not having a car.
-Shopping was obviously amazing.
-There are so many cultures, it's incredible. At dinner for example, our waiter was Egyptian and the table behind us were visiting from Italy but one of the guys was originally from Ethiopia.
-There's this feeling that whatever is happening in the world is happening first in New York. The attitude and the vibe there is incredible--so high-energy and exciting.

CONS:
-So many people. There were times when all I wanted was 30 seconds to look at my map or just regroup, which was impossible.
-It's expensive. I'd need to be super wealthy to live there and enjoy myself.
-No space. Other than Central Park, everything is a concrete grid. There is no room to run around and act a fool, which is pretty much a mandatory in my daily life.
-On a lazy day in Halifax I can go out looking like a dirtbag and frankly, blend in pretty well. In New York I would constantly feel pressured to look nice (which can be a good thing too, I suppose...)
-I think the competition for jobs, apartments, ANYTHING would be so intense and exhausting. Here, if 50 people apply for a job it's considered an overwhelming response. In New York you'd probably have thousands of people applying for a position!

The consensus is, it's a wonderful place to visit and I definitely want to go back in the spring or fall, when the weather's a bit warmer but not stinky-hot. I think I could have spent a month there and still not seen everything I wanted to. We had to pick and choose pretty carefully to manage our time as best we could, so we saw Central Park, the New York Public Library, Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero, Rockefeller Centre, did a bunch of shopping, and took a million pictures. Next time I'd want to do more museums and galleries, and maybe take in a ball game.

Overall, it was a fantastic but exhausting weekend. I didn't want to leave, but I was happy to get home.