babysitting

My sister has bronchitis right now :-( so I'm helping out with Sara and Annie. Yesterday I picked Sara up from school, for instance. I was nervous about getting there too late, so ended up arriving about fifteen minutes early instead. I caught up on news and played Scrabble on my Palm, studiously avoiding all eye contact with the mothers gathering on the front lawn area, also waiting for their girls. Last time I picked Sara up, two mothers started chatting with me, thinking I was Ruth. Awkward for them, awkward for me.

As I sat on the front steps of the school concentrating on my Palm, I realized that if the other mothers DID think I was Ruth, they'd likely think she was being unusually antisocial. Heck, I thought brightly, who cares. She'll have to deal with the aftermath, not me!

"Hi, Auntie Debbie!" It was Sara, but as I looked up I also noticed that the mother waiting just beside me looked familiar. It was my friend Christine, from grade school, the same Christine who had seven roses on her desk on Valentine's day when I had none; she was still tall, blonde, blue-eyed, gorgeous.

"Hi!" I said, caught by surprise.

"Ruth!" she said with a smile.

"Um, I'm Ruth's sister."

"Debbie?!"

I felt like an awkward adolescent again, the class nerd. She was dressed fashionably; I had on a t-shirt and comfortable but somewhat frumpy pants, in preparation for playing outside with Sara and Annie, loose bits coming out of my ponytail.

But then I saw Sara put on her helmet, grab the scooter I had brought from her house, and give me a big grin of excitement. And suddenly I didn't care about anything except the fact that I was there for Sara, and she was bursting-happy to see me. Christine and I chatted very briefly, but I told her I had to go, would probably see her again next time I picked Sara up.





After we got back, I fixed the girls a snack then listened to piano practising and helped them with their homework. Annie didn't really have homework, but liked to pretend to since Sara did. I was surprised by how much homework Sara had; I don't remember having much when I was in grade three. She had math exercises, French, two types of spelling exercises, an alphabetical ordering exercise, times tables to practice for 15 minutes, and an oral presentation to prepare for. I ended up forgetting about the presentation practice, oops.

After homework was done, the girls had a choice between tv time or playing outside.

"Badminton!" they both yelled, so that's what we did. We played in the alleyway between their house and their neighbours. Sara and Annie took turns volleying with me.

Normally after this, my sister also makes supper (we ordered in Swiss Chalet). After supper, she works on her illustration projects. I don't see where she gets the energy!

Going over again today, this time for most of the day, including taking Annie to her piano lesson after school.





Links/News:

Please consider sponsoring me for the CIBC Run For The Cure.

You're all invited to Allison's and Jodi's Virtual Birthday Party!

One year ago, I saw Monty Python and the Holy Grail for the first time.

Two years ago, I was having a hard time in Philadelphia.

Three years ago, I got a fun phone message from Dandelion Wine.

Four years ago, I had a Powerbook 7500.

Five years ago, Andrea did a Guest Blather.

Remember the Infocom text adventure version of "Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy"? You can play it on Douglas Adam's site.

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Today's Blatherpics:

	Annie's drawing of a warrior elf-princess. I know I'm her aunt, but I think this is pretty darned good for a 5-year-old. She did not copy anything; this is her own creation.
	Annie practising piano.
	Sara and Annie do homework.

POLL: Web mail services?

Happy birthday, Jodi! Don't forget to drop by and visit Allison's and Jodi's Virtual Birthday Party.

My sister's sick, so I'm going to be helping out with Sara and Annie the next few days: picking them up from school, doing homework with them, taking them to piano lessons, etc. A micro-mini-dose of motherhood. :-)

Does anyone know Barb Riedel's e-mail address? She and I have been playing phone tag for a while (she left a message asking me to call her with my snailmail address), and she doesn't have an answering machine on her phone. Or if you do have regular contact with Barb, could you please give my e-mail address to her (or snailmail, if you know it)? I don't tend to answer the phone during the day while I'm working, and I'm not going to be home much in the evenings over the next while. Thanks for any assistance.

Yay, my two new Chris Conway CDs arrived! I ordered My Mind's Island on his Web site, and Chris sent Alien Salad Abduction gratis since Allison, Jodi and helped out on vocals and instrumentals in his "Alien Jellyfish Song".

I'm thoroughly enjoying both CDs and was especially amused to see one of Andrea Dale's phone messages turned into a very cool-sounding track called "Deep Space Phone". :-D

For more information about Chris and his recording projects, please see Chris's Web site.





When I'm travelling or am having trouble with my own server mail, I use Yahoo mail as an alternative. I've liked Yahoo because I can set the Reply-To: field to my regular e-mail address, I can pick up my POP mail if I want to, it has an address book, folder organization, lets me use nicknames, has a spam-filtering option. I also use the Yahoo!Calendar feature to share an online calendar with Jeff.

However, I've noticed that my Yahoo mail account has started to accumulate more and more spam despite the filtering option (though maybe recently launched anti-spam lawsuits will help stem the growing tide). I also suspect that Yahoo is going to start charging for its services eventually. While I don't mind paying for a good, alternate e-mail method, I don't want the payment part sneaking up on me after I've come to rely on the address.

So this brings us to today's poll question...

POLL: What Web mail service do you use, if any?

Yahoo? Hotmail? PObox? Bigfoot? I've been considering Mac.com, which is a paid service, mainly because of the nice interface, lack of Yahoo-type ads, and other service offerings (15 MB e-mail storage instead of Yahoo's 6 MB, 100 MB hard disk online storage). No mention of a spam filter, though, plus I'm ticked off that the cool-looking desktop calendar feature is available only to those who use OS X. Plus the $49.50 annual fee (U.S.) seems pretty hefty to me.

Does anyone know of any good Web mail services out there? I'm willing to pay a fee, but I want good spam filtering, no obnoxious pop-ads, at least 10 MB e-mail storage, address book, .signature, reliable service. Bonus features: reply-to options, POP account access, autoreply/vacation message options.

Answer in Blatherchat

Links/News:

Please consider sponsoring me for the CIBC Run For The Cure (event to support cancer research).

I updated Waiting For Frodo after seeing the new trailer. If dying for a frame by frame detailed analysis of the trailer, see TheOneRing.net (warning: many spoilers).

I'm re-reading Chapter 13 of "Fellowship of the Ring".

One year ago, Jodi was highlighted in Billboard magazine.

Three years ago, I was having trouble to find someone to insure Inkspot.

Four years ago and five years ago, I invited people to join Jodi's and Allison's virtual birthday party.

Roberto Benigni as Pinocchio? Scary thought.

run for the cure

As some of you already know, my Aunt Agnes died from breast cancer two years ago. My Uncle John asked me to consider participating in the CIBC Run For The Cure this Sunday, which is an annual event organized by the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

Since I started running in the spring, I never thought I'd ever want to participate in an organized running event. But this is different. Having lost my mother, grandmother and aunt to cancer and knowing friends (like Andy's partner, Christine) who have had cancer or lost family members to cancer, I have developed a deep-seated hatred for this disease.

I also like the fact that the guidelines for the event emphasize that this isn't a race, that participants can run or walk as they please, and that everyone is encouraged to go at his or her own pace.

If you're interested in helping to sponsor me (any amount appreciated, no matter how small), you can make an online donation through this Run For The Cure donation form where you can enter the runner's name (I'm registered under "DEBBIE OHI", no need to enter the city). Donations will used to support the advancement of breast cancer research, education, diagnosis and treatment. Donations are tax-deductible in Canada.

If you're interested in participating yourself, here's the CIBC Run For The Cure Web site. I found out today that some of my cousins are going to be there, too (Naomi & Rick & sons, Rob & Andrew).

Thank you.

Links/News:

The Two Towers new trailer is online!

...which inspired me to post a new Waiting For Frodo, of course. :-)

You're all invited to Allison's and Jodi's Virtual Birthday Party!

One year ago, Toronto had a lot of ladybugs.

Two years ago, Jeff visited me in Philadelphia.

Three years ago, I had password overload.

Four years ago, I was a snail killer.

Five years ago, I wanted cucumber sandwiches.

birthdays

Congratulations to Jodi and James, who have bought a house in Newmarket! They'll be moving in late November. It's Jodi's birthday on Tuesday and Allison's birthday on Thursday, by the way, and you're all invited to their virtual birthday party, which will run for exactly seven days.

Today's photos are from Reid's 40th birthday bash yesterday. The one at the top is of Reid in the midst of a Silly String attack. The party was great fun. Luisa did indeed provide pumpkin pie instead of cake for Reid. :-) Everyone brought potluck. What a great word that is, potluck.

Here's a scrumptious apple pie made from scratch by Laura Suzuki and Peter Cook, still warm from the oven when it was set on the table:





Andy, Luisa and Reid:





Luisa's brother Tony and me:





Harald (don't you think the red plastic thing on the windowsill looks like a little heart above his head?):





Michelle brought a copy of a fantasy anthology in which one of her short stories appeared (Familiars, edited by Denise Little). Here's an excerpt mentioning a mysterious character named Reid Ellis:





Caroline, in the network Quake game that ensued much later in the evening:





I crashed in the guestroom around 11:30 pm, and Jeff woke me around 2:30 a.m. to go home.

I'm going to check out Word on the Street later today. From my office window, I can see the tents set up along Queen Street for this annual literary festival.

Yes, I know this Blatherings entry is more incoherent than usual, but I haven't had a lot of sleep in the past few days and am feeling pretty brain-fried. I think a substantial Sunday afternoon nap might be in order...

Links/News:

One year ago, I decide to still go to California despite 9/11.

Three years ago I had meetings (though I didn't specify, these were re: sale of Inkspot) and saw Cabaret with my friend Cathy.

Four years ago, I went to the dentist and then went to buy chocolate.

Five years ago, I mourned the passing of Sigmund and Lettuce (two of my Sea Monkeys).

happy 40th, reid!

Happy 40th birthday, Reid!

Jeff and I went to Reid's pre-birthday LAN party last night. While Jeff, Reid, Frank, Andy, Iain, Ronnie and Michael bashed each other to bits (virtually speaking), Luisa and I hung out in the living room and talked. I crashed around 11 pm in the guest bedroom; Jeff woke me up around 2 a.m. when the games wound down and everyone was headed home.

We drove Andy home (who posts as "aiabx" in Blatherchat). I was pretty braindead after being woken after three hours sleep, and only vaguely remember the conversation in the car on the way to Andy's place. I think I asked him to tell me a story. Context: I've loved bedtime stories since I was a kid. I almost always ask Allison and Jodi for a bedtime story at night whenever we're rooming together at a convention, but they are almost always cruel and say no. So does Jeff.

Andy, however, was kind enough to give me the following story:


Once upon a time there was a fuzzy little bunny rabbit.
The bunny rabbit was happy. That is, until the lawnmower came.


I've known Reid and Luisa for 21 years, back at the University of Toronto. He and I went out for four years; he was my very first boyfriend. We went to the first OVFF together. Later on, he and Luisa started dating, and I ended up being Luisa's matron-of-honour (Jeff and I were married by that point) at their wedding.

Looking forward to the birthday party later today.

Luisa's making pumpkin pie. ;-) For an explanation, see the following excerpt from Blatherchat recently:

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LUISA:

About Pies. A conversation with Reid:

Luisa: "What kind of cake do you want for your birthday?"
Reid: "Pumpkin Pie"
Luisa: That's not a cake.
Reid: "But I like Pumpkin Pie"
Luisa: "I can't stick 40 candles in a pumpkin pie and divide it amongst 30 people."
Reid: "We could get TWO pumpkin pies."

(Good lord, why does this sound more like a conversation with my 7 year old??)

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FRANK:

Better get 3 Pumpkin Pies, I'm coming too.

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ANDY:

4.

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ME:

5!!! I love pumpkin pie! Whipped cream, too? ;-)

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Links/News:

One year ago, I raved about the Lord of the Rings trailer.

Three years ago, I talked about being a nerd in school.

Four years ago, I went to see Urban Legend with David Goulden.

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Today's Blatherpics:

	Reid, back in our university days. Not sure where this photo was taken. Perhaps at my dad's house in Bramalea, since that's my brother in the background.
	Ronnie (Reid's and Luisa's youngest son) attaches himself to Frank's leg.
	Ian, Andy and Reid at the birthday LAN party.