ctv visit

Ronnie and Reid, last night at Jack Astor's.


Visited Luisa at CTV yesterday with Jeff and David Barker. Very cool to see the set of Daily Planet, a program that Jeff and I watch frequently.



Luisa, Jeff and David in Luisa's office at CTV
(not sure what David is doing here, may be snooping through
Luisa's stuff?)


We also checked out the set of Canada AM and other CTV shows, and got to be on set when Pauline Chan and Tom Gibney did the 6 pm CFTO news.

Many thanks to Luisa for the opportunity!



Luisa, Jeff and David on the set of Daily Planet.


Today is the LAST DAY to post your New Year's resolution and win a fabulous prize!

Today is also the last day to come up with a new name for the newsfeed tool, RSS.



A sign in one of the many corridors
at CTV (which reminded me of the maze of "twisty little
passages, all alike" in Zork).

December/2003 comments: Read | Post | LJ

2003 retrospection

Looking at a slice of Asian pear through Sara's microscope.


I was at a Christmas party recently where one of the attendees was angsting over the fact that she would soon turn 25 ("That's A QUARTER OF A CENTURY, you know!"). Being nearly twice her age, I was highly amused.

It's not that I revel over the fact that I'm getting older, and I remember how traumatized I was when I first noticed those first few wrinkles around my eyes. It's more the case that I'm aware of how much worrying I did when I was in my mid-20s, mostly about things that didn't really matter in the long run. And yes, it makes me think twice about the things I worry about now. :-)

Tomorrow is the LAST DAY to post your New Year's resolution and win a fabulous prize! :-) I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I can't help but do a little bit of retrospection at year's end.

In some respects, this past year wasn't the greatest because of the tendinitis I've had since March. At the low point, I wasn't even able to hold a book, cut my own food, or hold a glass of water with one hand; I've come a long way since then, even though I am still using ViaVoice.

But then I started making list of all the good things that have happened this past year to post in my Blatherings but gave up; the list was too long, and inevitably I would leave something out. It was a good exercise, helped me look back at 2003 more fondly, and anticipate 2004. :-)



Saw this at my mom-in-law's place.


For those interested, I've added the lyrics and chords to my new Lord the Rings song The Question to the Urban Tapestry song archive. Allison, Jodi and I have way too much fun performing this. :-)

December/2003 comments: Read | Post | LJ

terence chat

Chatting with Terence Chua.


Because of my tendinitis, I have had to cut back on my personal e-mail a great deal. I've been keeping up some phone contact with friends, but long-distance bills limit that as well.

One alternative I've started using recently is iChat. I use ViaVoice for text messaging (to the occasional amusement of my chat partners, I'm sure, since I leave ViaVoice errors as they are to save on manual editing effort) but have also done some voice chats.

Very cool... voice chats have the convenience of e-mail since the initial contact gives the other party the option to ignore or decline a chat invitation, and no long distance charges! Jeff Bohnhoff helped me walk through the initial set-up (thanks, Jeff!).

Today I chatted with Terence, who lives in Georgia, and we both had our iSight cameras set up as well. I showed Terence my messy home office as well as introducing him to my husband. I love technology! :-)

Only two more days left to post your New Year's resolution and win a fabulous prize!

December/2003 comments: Read | Post | LJ

ice sculptures

Gollum ice sculpture.


Went for a run this morning; the mild winter weather right now makes runs much more pleasant. Clear blue sky, sunshine. . . I could almost pretend it was an early spring day. Almost.

I've started to keep a running log using the free service provided by Runner's World; I can log where I've run or walked, how long, how far, intensity, my current weight and other information. Over time, I will be able to chart my progress as well as access a variety of statistics. I should point out that those who just walk will also find this online log book useful, and you can record as little or as much information as you'd like.



Aragorn?




An ice sculptor.


Yesterday afternoon, I went walking for up Yonge Street. Was happily distracted along the way by the Lord of the Rings ice sculpture at Yonge-Dundas Square, Bakka Books, and the Metro Reference Library. Went to see "Master and Commander"; unfortunately I have been spoiled by of the comfortable seats and stadium seating at Paramount movie theater. Canada Square Theater paled in comparison, and I really despise the sticky floors. Enjoyed the movie (which had Pippin in it!), went out for dinner with my sister afterwards.



John Rose in Bakka.


Looking forward to attending GAfilk in Atlanta in a couple of weeks! I will be rooming with Mark Osier and Jodi (unfortunately Allison will not be able to attend :-( ), then staying with the Suttons for a few days afterward. Super-pleased to hear that Chris Conway (who posts as "christo") is attending; I haven't seen Chris in quite a few years. Speaking of Chris, is here is the holiday photo I received from him this year:



From Chris Conway: "As most of you know I gave up cards years ago - Instead I usually circulate one of my treasured photos from my days working in the movies with Carmen Miranda - this enclosed one was from 1943 executing one of the trickier moves in our†big feature†dance the film 'Uncle Samba"'"


Only a few days left to post your New Year's resolution and win a fabulous prize!

December/2003 comments: Read | Post | LJ

holidays

Reid & Bronwyn.


Is it just me, or does the Christmas holiday speed by more quickly every year? It's always a bittersweet time for me, as it must be for many of you out there who have lost loved ones. For me, the holiday season is more a time of spending time with close friends and family, reminding myself yet again of how much I have to be grateful for, to never take anything for granted.



My brother-in-law, Kaarel.


Last night, we went to a party hosted by our friends Reid and Luisa. It was my favorite kind of party, with lots of interesting pockets of conversation here and there, activities like board games and networked computer games throughout the house, hanging out with friends I've known for many years, meeting a few new ones. Got to hold John and Kristen's new baby, Jamie, who looked up sleepily at me for a moment before falling back into a deep and trusting slumber.

Partway through the evening, Jeff and Andy took out their telescopes and set them up on the sidewalk in front of the house. The sky was clear, and we took turns looking at Saturn (you could see the rings!), the Pleiades (sp?), and other objects in the night sky.

Hope you are all having a wonderful holiday.



Hearts game.

December/2003 comments: Read | Post | LJ