Ushering in the Top 10

Siobhan - I was happy to have her start the show to get her out of the way. She started out soft and smooth, and like that, I enjoy her voice. Then, she spoiled a good thing with her screams. Why?! WHY?
Casey - He sings, "Hold On" and I say, "how long?"... As long as you need me to, Casey. He's a huge entertainer, musician, looker, and he can sing!
Mike - I enjoyed every bit of that; great job, Big Mike!
Didi - Sweetie, I gotta be honest with you - that wasn't good; that wasn't good at all.
Tim - appalling; horrific; terrible; ear-piercing WRONG. Not sure your "Teflon" is strong enough to keep you guarded with that one. Go home already, Tim. You.can't.sing! To add insult to injury, you're a spaz.
Andrew - I think he showed good control and made that song his own. I enjoyed it - a huge improvement over the past few weeks. It didn't even remind me much of "Straight Up"!
Katie - Meh. She wasn't convincing. I think it was a poor song choice. There were moments I didn't mind, and there were moments I couldn't wait for her to be finished.
Lee - Well, he rocked that now, didn't he? That was fabulous. I also think his humbleness is adorable.
Crystal - FABulous. I love her. She's our clear winner. I'm glad she got to 'prove herself' in the fact that she can still rock without the guitar, but I do admit I look forward to a return of it, too. Simon was absolutely right; she doesn't need to be anyone but herself. She's great.
Aaron - And, why, pray tell, was Clearasil-boy given the limelight spot of the evening? This song is a personal favourite of mine since I attribute it more to be Matt's song than Bill's...and I wish it had've been Casey with it this week. Clearly, he didn't listen to Usher's commentary about the "I know". It wasn't the worst of the night, but it sure as hell wasn't the best. And P.S., your fauxhawk looks RIDICULOUS.

Bottom 3: Siobhan, Tim & Didi
Saying good-bye: solely on the curse of "Vote for the Worst", Didi since Tim will be safe again. I wouldn't shed a tear of Siobhan left either.

I'm numb, and it's not the wine*.

If you've been following my blog for a while now, you'll know that from time to time, I've complained about problems with my wrist. I went as far as to see a surgeon about the problem, who referred me on to a neurologist to test the nerve damage....only to be told that there was little to no 'noticeable' damage, and there was nothing that could be done to give me comfort. In the words of said neurologist, "You know your own body; if there are changes you need to make (ie. quitting your job to avoid repeated stress on your wrist and hand) then you know what you have to do". Brilliant, eh? Needless to say, I was FUMING when I walked out of his office. Up til recently, the problems with numbness, tingling and pain seemed to be kept at bay. Just in the past few days, though, I've noticed a resurgence of symptoms, however. Sweet Mother of the little Baby Jesus, please make the pain and numbness stop altogether, or make it so bad that the doctors want to do something to help me.

Ok end of self-pity post. But think about it, I am only thinking of YOU. Really think about it...if I'm struck with carpal tunnel or repetitive stress disorder, however will I continue blogging and filling all of your lives with such joy?

Maybe I can blame the full moon on this, too? Doyasuppose?

*perhaps a little whine, though.

Farewell to Nanny Banks

The matriarch of the Banks family has passed away. Nanny Banks was a lovely lady with a true lifespark and an amazing sense of humour. She will be sadly missed. Today my heart goes out to the Banks/MacIntyre family. She's left a spot in everyone's heart that will never be filled. I hope her precious memory will help keep you strong. Sending love and hugs....xoxoxo.

...every other day of the week is fine...

You know you're on your way to a stellar day when the first thing that happens at work upon arrival and turning your PC on is to discover your monitor screen has turned a brilliant green hue. You self-diagnose the issue, in your own intelligent opinion, to be a monitor on its very last leg. The screen looks like it's almost moving, and you can feel yourself on the verge of a blinding headache from the contrast of what a high 32-bit screen is supposed to look like vs what it looks like now. Proud of yourself for at least diagnosing the problem, you call the IT department to open a trouble ticket, and you wonder how long it's going to take for a replacement, hoping the blasting headache that is on the forefront stays at bay. To your surprise, the IT guy is at your desk in record time, only to fiddle with the connecting cable at the back of the monitor. He tightens it in 10 seconds flat, and voila, your 32-bit high colours are brilliant once more. You're a little red in the face, but he agrees to simply close the ticket with a standard, "t-shot, problem resolved on site"...yet, you know inside he's shaking his head, thinking about your ineptness when it comes to the inner (or in this case, outer) workings of a PC.

The morning passes rather slowly. You decide to break up the day by inviting your c0-worker, who just happens to be running on the same schedule as you, to lunch at a nearby restaurant. You slip your key in the ignition, put the car into reverse only to have her receive a text about a sick child, and you lose your lunchmate to a necessary parental moment. Opting to avoid the dining solo at the restaurant feeling (and ultimately realizing enough time has passed now that it would be futile to sit, wait, order, wait & eat whilst dining solo, anyway), you opt to go to a nearby coffee & bagel store for a quick drive-thru. They're out of your favourite bagel. They give you chili instead of soup. You open your tea to discover it's green and not peppermint (and then for a moment can't even remember which one you actually ordered).

You have a minor power struggle with a co-worker, and ultimately decide to be the bigger person and bow down to let him win (even though deep down inside you really, really wanted to keep it going and prove yourself to be the more deserving winner)...and your day is now only half over.

On break you view your online banking site and realize the silver lining in missing out on your lunch date is the money saved in not going. You are now again into overdraft and payday is many long days away.

Welcome to my Monday.

I completely blame the full moon that we're embarking upon and since it's not officially here until tomorrow, am a bit frightened about what the rest of the week will bring. On the other side, it's a short week....now that's something to smile about ;). Hope your Monday was smile-worthy! :)

That's Entertainment

Chris & I had a fairly relaxed weekend. Friday night neither he, nor I, felt like making anything for supper so he took us out to Pizza Delight for supper (thanks honey!) and then we headed over to Jumbo Video to pick up a few movies. I'd been wanting to see Law Abiding Citizen for a long time, so finally had an opportunity to grab it while there were still a few copies left. We also rented The Fourth Kind, which claimed to be based on actual video & audio coverage of case studies examining the possibility of "alien abduction".

Law Abiding Citizen was probably one of the best movies I've seen in a long, long time. It had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen - even when Chris took out the chips & dip (the amount of chip crumbs on the floor the next day confirms that). If you have somewhat of a strong stomach (some of the scenes are a little disturbing), I highly recommend it. It was brilliant!

Both of us were pretty tired so even though we started the Fourth Kind, we didn't last long and ended up going to bed and watched it Saturday night. The creepy parts of the movie were indeed creepy - and if you're mind is open to other possibilities that are 'out there', you may just enjoy that one too.

Neither picks are going to likely win any film-fest awards or the great Oscar himself -- but if you're in for a few hours of entertainment, you shouldn't be disappointed. Lemme know what you thought if you have seen either, or end up doing so, eh?

Fear

Shortly after our family had moved to the Island from Ottawa (I was 10 years old), I had a nightmare that had me waking up in tears, with my heart feeling like it was going to beat out of my chest. To this day, I can still remember the dream vividly, and how it made me feel.

In Ottawa, we lived in a townhouse, and across the street there was a park with a ball diamond in behind another row of houses. My friends and I spent hours over there, playing. I dreamt that I was back in Ottawa, visiting my old neighborhood. I was taking a nostalgic walk across the road from my old house, to check out the place that held so many childhood memories. As I walked up to the pitcher's mound someone grabbed me from behind, putting his hand over my mouth and a knife to my throat. His voice was gruff as he threatened, "Be quiet, or I'll slit your throat".

It was at that point that I woke up. I tried to muffle my cries because I realized that it was just a dream, and felt silly for being so upset. Instant relief took over when I fully realized that it was only a dream, and that I was safe, in my bed. If given the chance to go back to my old neighborhood to take a look around, I'd go. Would I take a walk across the ball field by myself? No.

I can only imagine the unspeakable fear and absolute horror that poor woman from NB felt as she was abducted on her way home from work. What strength she had to have as she actually lived someone's worst nightmare. I am so happy for her, and for her family that good fortune was on her side and she was able to escape. I hope the full extent of the law is handed to that crazy freak who made her endure such terror.

Bi11board favourites...

So it's Tuesday, and American Idol night. And Mylie Cyrus as mentor, eh? Riiiiight. This ought to be good. Everyone give a great big welcome to my dear friend Tanya, who's spending Idol with me tonight. We celebrated our "Christmas in March" tonight - always late every year, but to be truthful, it's kinda nice having a night to look forward to celebrate with just the two of us. Plus, we get to open presents! Thanks Tan - I love my new lunchbag; I will soo be the talk of the lunchroom!! I've put Tanya to work tonight, making her my guest commentator for the night.

And onward to AI:

Lee -Ok so I think he stepped it up a bit like the judges told him to do. I really enjoyed it, and I really enjoy him. Tanya's take: "I think he's cute - and he has to stay because he's cute".
Paige - She had to go with the soft and dependable, safe type of song...yet, I don't think that it helped her plight. Meh. That was terrible ("BOOOOOOOOOO," from the other side of the room as Chris inadvertently has to hear it in the background). Tanya: "This song is supposed to give you goosebumps, and it's so not".
Tim - Oh Tim why, why WHY would you even attempt something like QUEEN. Awful. The best part of it was when it ended (typed, btw, before it even ended). Tanya: "It's like karaoke at high school" (said before Randy, btw).
Aaron - The only good thing about that performance was the fact that it was better than Tim. And that's all I will say. T: "I've got nothin'"
Crystal - Tanya and I got to chatting during her performance so we don't have any constructive criticism for her -partly because we know she's safe and she's potentially the winner. I think she can make any song her own. T: "I really like her; I hope she wins".
Mike - I enjoyed that, and was happy to hear a softer side of Big Mike for a change, but I did not enjoy that big high note. Why does he have to do that? We all know he can sing. T: "He's always doing that falsetto isn't he?"
Andrew - I didn't love it but, I really don't care for that song either, so that might have had something to do with it? T: "That song reminds me of raisins every time I hear it; and I'm so over "Straight Up" (me too); I wish they'd stop talking about that."
Katie - Oh.My. It started out not bad....but it ended horribly. Methinks she is going to find her way to the bottom shelf. T: "I've got nothing to say. Meh. It was alright".
Casey - Interesting song choice (and I swear it was typed before the judges)...can't say it was my favourite of his performances, but I still believe that Mr. Casey is going to be with us for a long, long, long time yet. T: "I think he did good but kind of indifferent, ya know? I haven't seen anything tonight yet that made me say, 'Oh my God that was awesome'".
Didi - Man I hate that snarly look she gets on her face when she's trying to emote 'mean'. The song choice "You're No Good"...hmmm...significant of her performance, perhaps? Perhaps. T: "I thought the song suited her voice. I don't like the song though".
Siobhan - Um....hellllo the 80's called...they want Sheena Easton back. Go to Broadway Siobhan. I don't like you. And I HATE, HATE, HATE your screaming!! T: "I don't get it".

Bottom 3: Paige, Tim, Katie
Homeward bound: Because "Vote for the Worst" is tending to work we won't see Tim go - but he should. That said, probably Paige will pack her bags.

Final thoughts from little T: "I think that whole show was forgettable".