sushi

Went to Fune for our anniversary yesterday. Had salmon sashimi, rice, shiitake mushrooms, New York roll, and a Spider Roll. The Spider Roll didn't really have spiders in it, for those of you who are wondering. The chef didn't have the regular ingredients (I can't even remember what they are, but they're good!) so we asked him to improvise...and improvise he did! Several staff members came to admire his creation when he set it out, and it was absolutely delicious (though we still don't know exactly what was in it). Chris, the assistant manager, gave me a rose and also sent us home with a surprise "doggy bag" which contained a candle and two small containers of plum wine and Scotch.

Going to visit my dad in Bramalea tonight. He has a visitor from Japan, a friend of ours named Ryo Suzuki. Maybe I'll practice some of my extremely limited Japanese! Hopefully Ryo will still be so dazed with jetlag he won't notice my abysmal accent.

My book revision's going pretty well. It's more of a rewrite than revision, but I'm averaging about 1000 words a day, writing in the morning, doing Inkspot stuff in the afternoon. I'm still on Chapter 1 of "How To Organize Your Work and Your Life".

No more men outside my window, yay!

Officemusic: NIGHTNOISE (A Different Shore). Tape player: DAT dump of Puzzlebox
recording of "Dark Man" and "Urban Legends". I've been practising my flute part to Dark Man on a daily basis when I'm waiting for files to upload, etc. We do our recording this Thursday.

mom-in-law in hospital

Went to see my mom-in-law in the hospital yesterday. She seemed to be in good spirits in spite of the tubes in her stomach and the abysmal hospital food.
What is it about hospital food, anyway? How can hospital food be so universally reviled? Perhaps there is a Secret Book Of Rules somewhere in the hospital vaults, one of which is "Hospital Food Must Look And Taste Bad". Heaven help the hospital that breaks this rule; they'd probably be mobbed. Though I suppose there's actually a kind of logic to the unappealing esthetics of a hospital room...the point isn't to make patients WANT to stay, after all. ("I'm so bored this month. Hey hon, let's splurge and spend the weekend in Women's College Hospital!") One of the doctors foolishly left her stethoscope on a table in my m.i.l.'s room so I tried it out on myself. Couldn't hear a thing. Either I wasn't using it properly (I know, I know, how could one POSSIBLY not know how to use a stethoscope?) or I have no heart.

A niece story. My sister was at a toy store with my 3-year-old niece Sara. Sara saw a doll that she really, really wanted. She was allowed to hold it (carefully) and look at it, but was told they couldn't buy it that day.
My sister told her that perhaps she would get the doll for her birthday.

"When's my birthday?"

"In the summer, Sara. When it's warm outside and the flowers are growing and you can wear your swimsuit out in the backyard."

"Oh." (pause) "Are you going to think about it?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Well, in picture books when mommies think about it, they always get it at the end."

Jeff and I both agree that we would have made terrible parents, because by this time we would have broken down and bought Sara the doll. My sister didn't, though she said it was very hard to resist the temptation. :-)

puzzlerecording

Adding our vocals and flute to Puzzlebox's "Dark Man" recording tonight
at Taxi Stand Studios.

Busybusy.

Ruth called and said that Sara set up her first lemonade stand the other day, after being inspired by some lemons her grandma brought over. She was very excited and keen on the idea, and refused to let Ruth buy any lemonade because after all "if I let my family buy lemonade, there might not be any left for anyone else!" She only let her grandma buy one cup of lemonade (her grandma also made the lemonade). They priced the lemonade at 5 cents. Ruth watched in agony from the front screen porch (Sara's daddy sat with her) as neighbours and strangers passed by. Everyone smiled at Sara, but NO ONE BOUGHT ANY LEMONADE. How could people pass an adorable (and I'm being completely objective here, of course) four-year-old girl at a homemade lemonade stand and not buy any lemonade for five cents?!? I don't understand. Ruth was on the verge of calling up some neighbours begging them to go outside and buy some lemonade when TWO PEOPLE ACTUALLY DID BUY LEMONADE!!! Sara was overjoyed and thrilled, and both her parents immensely relieved.

My plea to all of you: Go out and buy some lemonade from a little kid right now! Go on! Do it!!!

Wow, I was in one of Anne Walker's dreams (see Blatherchat)! I'm honoured!

"Oh boy, did I ever have a wierd dream last night... I dreamt that I was walking around Soho (the really "dodgy" part of
London), and that all of a sudden a black cab pulled up, and out jumped Debbie! With crimped hair, and a very skimpy
black outfit... Debbie was organising a book deal, according to my dream... And Allison had bought a sweet shop just
around the corner from my parents' house (which, in the way of dreams was right next door to this huge building that
Debbie had gone into). I tried to follow Debbie into the building to find out about her book deal, but the place turned into a
huge music/book store and I couldn't find the escalator to get out! I was very relieved to wake up from that one. I'm trying
to figure out when I ate the pickle that must have caused a dream that bizarre!"

'Skimpy black outfit', hm? :-D :-D

books

Read ELLA ENCHANTED by Gail Carson Levine yesterday (1997, HarperTrophy, for ages 8 and up) and loved it...it's an extremely entertaining remake of Cinderella, with a twist. Am currently reading HOW TO BUILD KILLER WEBSITES by David Siegel and am truly humbled. I am doing everything wrong! I feel like tearing everything down and building anew!! Ah well. Wish I had more time.

I think it's horrible that Aero bars aren't available outside of Canada! This can't be true!!! Does anyone know the reason for this?

I am unbelieveably behind in Inkspot email. I'm not very good at delegating, either, but I'm training myself to try to enlist more help from my two Fine Assistant Editors, Fox (whom I met through Talis Kimberly), and Chris Donner (whom I met through Rand). Chris used to be in Rand's old band, Omega Beat, and now works in Connecticut as an editor and freelance writer.

Ropes are still hanging outside my window, but no sign of the Man Outside My Window. I can go back to being a slob in my office, woohoo! More drilling sounds, but fainter. I think they've moved off to another part of the building. Another woohoo!

Officemusic today: INDIGO GIRLS.

cottage

Spent the weekend in the Muskoka Lakes region at a friend's cottage.
Went biking, swimming, and played some tennis. It was my first time playing
tennis...lots of fun, and I can see the appeal of this sport if one had
more coaching and coordination. My friends cheered whenever I hit the
ball (no matter where it went :-)). Woke up this morning with a really sore forearm!