3 for 3
Mood:  lazy
Now Playing: Elisabeth upstairs doing show tunes.
Topic: Stephen Says
Today's been totally lazy for me and I've managed to relax. So lazy that we were supposed to go out and see Good night and Good Luck but just couldn't be arsed to. In fact, I've managed to succeed in not getting dressed today. Huzzah!

So with absolutely nothing to report, here's a link to a good blog to read and a pretty scary entry. LINK.

E&I are going to watch The Office now.

More Blah
Mood:  don't ask
Now Playing: Tom Waits; all the songs we have on random
Phew!
I'll try to make more sense than yesterday. But I've come off my 2nd 13 hour day in a row and am pretty sluggish. Picked up a bottle of wine from the Co-Op on the way home only to discover, once I was home, that the label is also written in braille, which is pretty cool.

I tried to watch the gold medal hockey game but only got through the 1st period. Sure, I had to work but it was too painful to listen to British announcers butcher the play by play. On top of repeatedly mixing up the players names, there were long periods of extended silence and a bizarre obsession with constantly pointing out that the referee was also an NHL referee, as though that's something that's even remotely important to the game. They also kept calling 'break aways' 'break outs' which was generally irritating. Overall, just too irritating to bother with even though it was an actual to goodness good match.
Pity.

A REAL update from Stephen
Mood:  down
Now Playing: Animal Collective
Topic: Stephen Says
Right, well I'm about to drop. Today turned into the day from hell & was the longest, most tedious day so far. But I'll get to that later.

As some of you may know, I've been a tad (i.e., VERY) stressed out about a bunch of trumped up sexual harassment charges against me. Against a male member of staff. Who has met Elisabeth. Twice. But still will not believe that I'm heterosexual. Anyway, I was officially cleared of any wrong-doing yesterday and it's been generally agreed that being homophobic is pretty shitty and that using your homophobia to slander a heterosexual collegue (Who you know is heterosexual) for your own personal gain is pretty shitty, too.

Long story short: A 6 month long chapter of bullshit that I've had to deal with is, at long last over, thank God. And I'm sorry if the language is strong but let's see how you feel if an incompitant mother fucker is making light of serious charges (ie, sexual harassment) against you to save his own incompitant ass.

damnit, I wish I could say more. If interested, e-mail me at...

So yeah, today was horrible - possibly the most stress-filled day of my working career. Delusional people are the worst. Not that they're delusional, but that they're determined to impose their version of reality on others to safe-guard their own version. Damnit, I can't explain it other than I had to do this crazy (!) alternation between fun, efficient and evil all at once and, at the same time, almost have to section someone under the Mental Health Act, which is a big deal that you can't take lightly; especially when they're so delusioal that they're under the impression that what they're doing is safe and sane.

But I'm sorry; you CANNOT wash electrical appliances in the dishwasher and expect them to work once they've dried out.

Or expect them not to be a fire hazard.

That, on top of ambulances, paramedics and my own raised voice driving their paranoia levels sky-high (Not a good thing with people who are actually STRUGGELING with paranoia), my day was pretty shitty...

And then the fire alarm went off. Again and again and again.

I know it doesn't make much sense but tust me, it was pretty horrible. I'm struggling with a cold and haven't been feeling well to top it off and I need time to get my energy back.

Anyway, I'll end it here because I'm not explaining anything very well so whatever.

Deal with it.
Rock'n roll.

White Winter
Mood:  celebratory
Topic: Elisabeth's Entries
It finally snowed today! YAy! Lots of white fluffy flakes that eventually stuck to mortified cars.

I didn't realize it until I left work & everything look like a frosted shredded mini-wheat!

I think this weekend is going to be a BIG CLEAN & shopping event.

Tomorrow's Friday, and casual day has been cancelled. 2 people from head office are coming for a meeting.

Stephen's working a late shift so I'm just chilln' like a villin'.

In Need of Discipline
Mood:  loud
Now Playing: BBC4- Ant & Dec are not gay
Topic: Elisabeth's Entries

Yo---anyone still there? It's been a few days now since our last blog & it's getting extraordinarily ridiculous.

So we've just been chilling out...Stephen got drunk last night, we're enjoying watching The Office (Ricky Gervais). Painful, but great.

Well it's payday today, and even with going to Barcelona, we just can't seem to spend all our money, which is just shocking, shocking.

We're preparing for the visit of Stephen's mother Susan on the 8th of March: 2 weeks away!

Today I found a bottle of champagne under my desk...someone's left-over from Christmas that I might just take home...and I had a dream that I stole a car with one of girls from accounts.

Otherwise, we're enjoying drinking smoothies & eating pasta asciutta.

Stephen's smoothie recipe
Mood:  lazy
Now Playing: Royksopp - Melody A.M.
Topic: Stephen Says
1 cup unsweetened soy milk,
1/2 cup of orange juice,
1/2 cup of plain yogurt,
2 bananas,
3 tbsp honey,
(Other fun things to add: 1 tbsp of vanilla or a sprig of mint)
A handfull of berries,
and two of any desired fruit(s),
Blend.
Makes enough for 3 people or two people who want to drink lots of smoothie.

This past week's fruity focus has been on kiwis, nectarines, peaches & strawberries. Past hits have involved blueberries & raspberries. I want to try a mango but am intimidated by the fact that I've never bought one; let alone prepared one.

It has been a very quiet week, all told. We're fighting off colds and are looking forward to not doing a heck of alot.

Oh No!
Mood:  sad
Now Playing: The Beatles
Topic: Elisabeth's Entries
No! Cat Power has been cancelled b/c of ill health!

Damn.

Feeling a bit under the weather today...but I think Stephen's grocery shop will perk me up: Pita pizzas & champers....

...and in conclusion
Mood:  happy
Now Playing: Still Skinny puppy, still Last Rights...
Topic: Barcelona 2006
I just realized that there aren't any pictures of Elisabeth enjoying Spain.
So here are two.
Hopefully she won't be too pissed off about this in the morning.

This is her on top of Montjuic (sp?) in front of the MNA (I think)(And I don't know what MNA stands for in the first place):

And here's her on top of Montserrat near the cathedral. Hopefully this picture will show just how massive the whole thing is (Something the other pictures just don't do justice):

My God, was it only 48 hours ago?
Mood:  happy
Now Playing: Skinny Puppy - Last Rights
Topic: Stephen Says
Jeeze, at least I had yesterday off - Elisabeth's already worked to days to my one. Mind you, I just finished a 13 hour shift and was almost punched by a resident so I suppose that balances things out.

Thinking back over the long weekend, it's funny how there's so much more that I could add but won't because there are just too many small things that happened. Like Elsabeth eating really good goats cheese and doing a verbal double-take as she realizes just how bloody good the cheese is while she's trying to tell me just how good it was. As soon as you put this cheese in your mouth it felt like it suddenly stared running around your tongue, setting off each of your taste buds like a fire cracker. It was too strong for my tastes, naturally.

And of course, real life tends to be a bit disappointing when compared to the fantasy life that you adopt while on vacation where you eat out all the time, prance around without a care in the world and don't have to work. Then, all of a sudden, you get home and there's your phone bill and a sexual harassment hearing coming up next week against a male co-worker who refuses to beleive that you're straight.

Oh boy, I can't wait until that's all blown over so that I can tell the world about this little drama in my life.

So that's it for Spain, I suppose. Was it only a dream? With regard to the oft lamented book club; I've been leant a copy of G.P. Taylor's Shadowmancer that I've been putting off reading for a long time but the woman who leant it to me will be getting back from South America soon and will want to know what I thought of it. Anyone want to play book club with me? It's a young adult's fantasy that falls somewhere between Harry Potter & His Dark Materials. I'm game if you are.

Barcelona Part II
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Barcelona 2006
I went to Barcelona hoping to see colour, culture & passionate people. It sounds so very Broadway musical of me "See the people...the passion, culture and colour...all colours, of-the-people!"

But these basic ideas turned into much more complex realities.

I went expecting to see colour visually. But the sky was overcast, and most of the buildings were made of stone, painted in subtle colours. Now if you take "colour" to mean "vividness or individuality" (I looked this up in the dictionary...) then Barcelona does not disappoint! There was colour in the foods, personalities, architecture, history, and events.

The quality of life is inspiring. With the choice of beach, mountain, suburbs, medival city, church, gallery, club, bar, park, monument, plaza, cafe, restaurant...whatever your tastes, Barcelona is there. Creativity and imagination are going strong in Barcelona. Gaudi's Sagrada Familia (unfinished cathedral...see Stephen's blog) is literrally cementing this spirit of Barcelona.

We saw a parade of traditional spanish puppets, which repesent saints or famous Catalans? But the puppets were worn by people who then became the puppet's feet. They paraded & danced & generally looked very funny.

As for food, I was very happy to try Manchengo cheese and found it tangy & delicious. Olives, dates, chocolate, grapes, bread, cavas & wine...staples of my diet...

Here's some more pictures of the trip...

A view from the Sagrada Familia

The view from our apartment window.

The view from Montjuic.

PS: HAPPY VALENTINE's DAY xoxoxox