Singing the Mystery

Food Adventures

2009-05-04T08:37:00.009-05:00

I've been way more excited about cooking lately. Probably because I have someone to cook with and for a little more regularly now (Yay!). I've been so excited, in fact, that I've started taking pictures of our creations. And I just realized that every picture I'm going to post was made from a recipe by Isa Moskowitz and Terry Romero so I figure I better link to their Post Punk Kitchen as a shout out before I begin. Their recipes are all vegetarian or vegan. And AMAZING. There. Homage paid. Proceeding.

This is called Mac Daddy (from Veganomicon). We were eating leftovers yesterday and remarking AGAIN how suprisingly delicious this vegan mac and "cheese" is. It really is. For reals. I made the mac and Jake make the broccoli sauteed with garlic medallions and red wine. Oh! And the beverage is homemade iced tea, my aunt Jackie's recipe, which I've slightly adapted: Start with 4L water in a big pot, boil, take off heat. Add 6 orange pekoe tea bags. Steep overnight (this is an ESSENTIAL STEP). In the morning add one can of frozen lemonade or 3/4 c. Lemon juice and 1 c. sugar (or to taste).

This is Eggplant Peanut Soup. With chopped up peanuts and cilantro on top. That is all.

Here we are making green tea cupcakes (from Vegan Cupcakes take over the World):

I am finishing off the marzipan flowers with a dot of yellow icing in the middle. Notice how Jake is keeping an eye on me. Just in case.

Look! They look just like the picture!

We win!

I dress up as a green tea cupcake.

Reflections on September plus Some Promised Photos

2008-08-30T13:17:00.008-05:00

I realized the other day that two years ago this September I was not happy. At all. Witness me crying into my cereal bowl most mornings. I'm not completely sure why this was happening, but I have a feeling it had to do with not feeling like I had a plan for the future. I was in some temporary jobs (too many of them, and only one of them was good...I will leave those of you who know me to figure out which one that was) and they were too grown up. Too grown up as in, I had to get up before the sun to get to them in time. But! They were also not grown up enough, what with the temporariness and the no future-ish-ness. There were really good things happening in my life, like moving out with two awesome roommates. But I seriously considered moving back home because life was really overwhelming.

Fast forward to last September: I came home from running around Europe, getting dropped off in the middle of a forest in Croatia and other such awesome things, with two of my favourite people in the world (hey roomies!), to a job that I had interviewed for on the phone in a small Italian village on a cliff by the sea. Woo! What an awesome sentence. And I was happy.

But not as happy as this year. I don't know, something is in the air, maybe, but I feel great this (gulp) almost September. I've had an amazing year doing a job that I love (mostly because of the people) and taking classes that I love. And I'm lucky enough to get to do that all again this year. And I'm posting this now so that in February, which, despite my kicking and screaming, I have been told we cannot skip, I can look back and remember how lucky I am.

No more mushiness! Instead! Long promised photos of me interviewing for, and finding out that I got, my job:

This is the phone, on the busy main street, that I used (I'm not actually talking to anyone yet)

Here is a more different view (Andrea is taking the photo from our apartment)

What? You can't see me? I am right above the white tenty thing, with the green bar in between my head and my body. See:

This is me in Greece, on the island of Santorini, having just found out I got the job. I am doing "victory arms." Even my hair is happy.

Espresso Fueled Exclamation Points

2008-07-18T18:16:00.002-05:00

Oh Hai! I have had a lot of espresso today! Because of lack of sleep this week. And I thought, what a great time to post on my much neglected blog because: Look! I'm Zany! And incoherent!

Wednesday was the low point of the week. Or actually, maybe the high point. It is hard to classify. I had to basically write an entire paper because I had chosen to write on Pride and Prejudice, so, of course, I had to spend the few days before this reading through the entire novel and making notes INSTEAD of writing anything. I ALSO had a Calculus assignment due. On material I had not learned yet. AND I had to work an eight hour day before I could begin any of this.

So! It was 5:30 and I decided I would write until 6 and then have supper. Just before 6, I was nodding off, so I put my head on the arm of the chair I was sitting in, thinking: "maybe I should just jump in bed for a quick nap..." The next thing I know, it is 6:30 and I wake up to find that I CANNOT FEEL MY EAR. AT ALL. No, wait! I CANNOT FEEL THE ENTIRE LEFT SIDE OF MY FACE. Because it was smushed against the arm of the chair for 30 minutes. ALSO: I feel like crap: headache, dizziness etc. (wow, I just realized I'm making it sound like I had a stroke...no, I am fine). I went into Andrea's room to let her know about my woes and flopped down on her bed. We commiserated. She is in the middle of a crazy course and had an insane amount of work as well. Mike, who is also taking the insane course, soon joined us. I was suddenly struck by the fact that I was hungry, but also felt like crap, so I said to Mike, I said: "Mike, I require a smoothie for dinner!" Which doesn't sound funny, but to Andrea and I, in our state of insanity, it was THE FUNNIEST THING EVER. So the floodgates of mirth were opened and I don't think I stopped laughing all night, mostly because I was entirely not ok and everything seemed ridiculous. So that was fun! And I did get my smoothie, although I had to create it myself. AND I finished all my school items, and I did them well. Now, if only I can get the (even more bigger) Calculus assignment done that is due this weekend!

I know! Assignment due on the weekend! What?

Memo to Winter

2008-03-20T17:00:00.002-05:00

Dear Winter,

While it is true that many (seemingly insane) people seem to love you, what with the winter sports and all, there are also many people who do not share this love. At the risk of angering the former group, who, being insane, may try to kill me, I have to tell you, with all due respect: You have worn out your welcome. The Southern Hemisphere needs you. It is time to move along. MOVE ALONG. See, we here in the Northern Hemisphere have extended an annual invitation to Spring on the 20th of March. You never leave in time. AND you always come earlier than your standing invitation in December. Autumn and Spring might gang up and cut you, you never know. I wouldn't wait around to find out.

In closing, please take your snow, and your cold, and your wind, and your general misery, and get out.

With Respect, but not Love,

Stephanie

P.S. The robins are also here.

How Rude!

2008-02-11T11:37:00.002-05:00

To not post for over six months without any explanation! Honestly. Bloggers these days.

LOTS has happened! So as to not bore you I shall provide a concise, bulleted list:

Had random adventures in France, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Greece and England.

Drove in France. On crazy roundabouts.

Interviewed for job in Waterloo while in small village in Italy. Will post photo of me on pay phone on street corner.

Got new fabulous job (Youth Program Coordinator at WMB Church).

QUIT ZEHRS JOB.

Started new fabulous job.

Started new fabulous English program.

Went to see Feist.

Went to see Hairspray.

Planned many youth events.

Planned a ski/snowboard retreat for 50 youth which killed/injured 0.

Continued to love living with fabulous roomies.

Wrote many papers.

Started working at a shelter for the houseless.

Got married.

Just kidding.

One other thing that happened that I could not bring myself to put in a bulleted list is that my dog Riley died. It was five months ago now but I still have a hard time thinking about her without feeling very sad. She was a good friend. And everything still reminds me of her (right Paul?). Mom and Dad got a new puppy and she seems like she might be almost as wonderful, although she has large paws to fill. Her name is Darby. I'm sure I will post more about her later.

Bonjour Tout le Monde

2007-07-31T04:15:00.000-05:00

Bonjour from Paris! I wish I could post pictures but I don't know if I am going to be able to.

We had a full day yesterday. The highlight of which was Notre Dame. We were there while Vespers was going on and it was beautiful.

At supper, we sat next to this young Frenchman who was performing card tricks for our waiter. At one point, he asked the waiter to pick a card. The waiter did and showed it to us (it was the 6 of clubs) then the magician put it under Carley's wine glass, face down. He then riffled through the deck until Carley said stop. The card she stopped on was the three of spades. That card went on top of the wineglass. Then he snapped his fingers and the cards changed places. It was crazy and I can't figure out for the life of me how he did it...unless he has two three of spades cards. It was very cool.

Back from Mars

2007-07-18T08:12:00.001-05:00

...Just kidding.

I have, in fact, NOT been abducted by the aliens that called me on my intercom line. I can see how you would get that impression from my last post followed by six weeks of silence. Basically in those six weeks I have been going insane, supervising registration for a youth short term mission trip to Montreal. Then I went to sign them all in and frolic around Montreal for a while. Now I am back and I am happy to say that I no longer work for MBMSI. Let's just leave it at that. :)

Montreal is beautiful and awesome because:

1. People speak French. And let's face it: French sounds better than English.
2. There are beautiful churches EVERYWHERE. With GOOD ACOUSTICS.
3. You can be walking around downtown, minding your own business, and come across David Usher performing in the main street (This happened! I saw David Usher! For free! And he was good! And he even sang some Moist songs! And also that one that is on the radio now, and the one with the opera sample).
4. There is a man there who gives away free hugs. I didn't get one, but Kerry did and it looked like a really good one.

So, I'm off to Europe in 9 days. I'll be there for a month so my blog will probably be AWOL again. But who knows, there may be some bonus Euorpean posts!

Scared and Frightened

2007-05-30T10:45:00.000-05:00

The internal intercom line on my phone just rang even though NO ONE ELSE IS HERE.

A New Post

2007-05-29T11:53:00.000-05:00

Sorry for my brief hiatus, I have been running around, frolicking in the springtime, tripping over tree roots, spraining my hand, and generally being spastic.

Things I have been thinking lately:

1. The new Feist album is friggin' awesome.
2. I'm really glad that I only have 20 more days of being an admin assistant left.
3. I emphatically do NOT heart Boundless.org, despite my group membership on facebook.
4. Only one more hour until I'm allowed to go get Starbucks.
5. Thinking of your favorite books/movies/etc is really hard. What if I forget an important one and people discover how uncool I am and stop liking me?

You should probably wear earplugs if you plan to be in my general vicinity

2007-05-08T19:17:00.000-05:00

I'm going to try to contain myself. I'm going to try to use only one (or maybe two) exclamation points at the end of each sentence. And no ones after the exclamation points. And no all caps. Or italics. Or repeating the key words of every single sentence. Or sentence fragment.

Oh to hell with it. IT'S SPRING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

The trees are green... GREEN! With leaves... LEAVES! And in the forest there are trilliums growing... TRILLIUMS! And the air smells like blossoms...BLOSSOMS! DID YOU HEAR ME? I SAID THE AIR SMELLS LIKE BLOSSOMS! Because there are BLOSSOMS on the trees! And LEAVES! And the leaves are GREEN!

I used to think that I had S.A.D. but now I think I must be bipolar and my manic/depressive cycle only happens once per year, with the depressive happening in the winter and the manic happening in spring. Because, seriously people, I am SPAZZING OUT. And the 313 people can testify to the fact that when I realize it is spring I SCREAM. But at least I don't pretend I'm a cat. Not that anyone I know does that.

Recipe for Insanity

2007-05-03T09:38:00.000-05:00

You will need:
1 ceiling full of fluorescent lights (2 or 3 would be enough).
1 Computer, noisy.
1 Computer monitor.
1 window out of which you can see the gorgeous blue sky and sun.
1 office chair.

Place yourself in the chair directly in front of the computer monitor. Make sure you are close enough to the computer to hear the noise it emits. Look out the window periodically and yearn. The lights will do their thing on their own. Handle them as little as possible. Do not over bake.

Right now I need to go counteract this recipe with some chai and some Josh Radin.

On Punctuation

2007-04-26T14:54:00.000-05:00

I walk by a sign every morning outside a financial planning place that reads:

LIFE TOO TAXING FOR PLANS THAT WORK CALL 123-1234

This drives me insane each and every day. This is at 8 am when I am still cranky from the people who insist on talking on the bus ("like, oh my GOD, I can't believe she did that! I was, like, totally wanting to tell her blah blah blah like blah I like this boy blah...like"). I always think to myself: Why would I want to entrust my finances to people who can't even make use of a simple question mark to MAKE THEIR BLOODY SIGN MAKE SENSE? See how easy using a question mark is? I just did it twice in a row. Unless they are trying to say that life is indeed to taxing for plans that work. Meaning that those poor hard-working plans can't possibly handle how taxing life is. That might be what they mean. Rod Burgundy?

Another random comment on punctuation: We all understand that a string of exclamation marks conveys a certain amount of excitement in proportion to the number of exclamation marks in said string. Not that I am endorsing such strings (don't worry Amp). But the degree of excitement conveyed can be multiplied by 10 if the string is immediately followed by a 1 indicating that you were so excited while typing that you took your finger off shift too early in an attempt to get to the next word faster.

I have to go catch the bus in the rain now and I get to walk past the questionmarkless sign!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Wither the Arts?

2007-04-19T13:09:00.000-05:00

A couple things have come to my attention lately that make me sad:

1. Stephen Harper cares not a whit for the arts. (not that I'm surprised)
2. A world famous violinist can play some of the most beautiful music on earth on a Stradivarius (got that? Joshua Bell + Strad + Bach) and over 1 000 people will walk by and NOT EVEN NOTICE.

These parts make me happy though:

1. Yann Martel is challenging S. Diddy to read a recommended book every two weeks. You can read about this effort here.
2. A world famous violinist agreed to masquerade as a street musician for an experiment.

Lessons Learned:

1. If you ever become Prime Minister please Read Stuff. And appreciate it. Or else.
2. If you happen to see any world famous musicians (or, frankly, ANY talented musician) playing on the street, stop and listen. It's for your own good.

ETA: ha! I spelt "whither" wrong by accident and I was about to change it when I realized that it is kind of punny!

Travelling Vicariously

2007-04-09T10:39:00.000-05:00

The past few days have been very busy! I just got back from Rhode Island on Saturday, and left immediately for Botswana. The Rhode Islanders were all pretty crazy. I think they must put something in the water there. Or maybe it was just the people I was staying with. Dorcas was closer to sane than the rest, but Conrad and Abigail, not to mention the DeVilbisses, definitely tipped the scales to Decidedly Insane.

Mma Ramotswe and Mr J.L.B Matekoni are much easier to live with. I'm glad I decided to spend the rest of my Easter holiday in Botswana. It is the perfect combination of excitement (with the mysteries to solve), and slow paced relaxation. I highly recommend it!

I think I might move on to India next...

Books and Book Blogs

2007-04-04T15:41:00.000-05:00

I've been checking out book blogs lately and found one that I quickly became addicted to. It's called 50 Books and you should definitely check it out. I got inspired and decided to post pictures of what I'm reading, just in case anyone cares.

The Soundtrack of My Life

2007-03-30T09:17:00.000-05:00

While I was listening to Imogen Heap today I realized that for the second time in a month the song I was listening to described my life (well, actually, a line in the song did, the rest of the song is pretty generic). So, instead of try to figure out which one to declare the official theme song of my life, I decided to create a list of songs that make up the Soundtrack of my Life:

1. The line "don't get yourself in situations" from I Am In Love With You - Imogen Heap
Lolo also understands this. :)

2. Taking the Long Way Around - Dixie Chicks
This one is pretty obvious...I can't figure out what is supposed to occur in my life, so I avoid committing to a profession, or to a relationship (although I feel as though I WOULD possibly commit to a relationship if a suitable one presented itself). And the particularities of the song do not correspond to my life, but I wish I was travelling around in a pink RV with stars on the ceiling, possibly one that flew, so I could travel to more places.

3. Is it Any Wonder? - Keane
One of the best lyrics on love I've ever heard: "...love is just a lyric in a children's rhyme." Yes, I'm bitter about love. Who isn't, really? P.S. to my Smug Married friends (especially those of you who didn't date anyone but your spouses, you just won't understand, and that's ok): that was a RHETORICAL QUESTION. Please don't try to contradict me. I know you're blissful, how nice for you. Really, I do think it is nice, I love all of you. But. Don't. Contradict.

4. Easy to Ignore - Sixpence None the Richer
While we are on the cynical-about-love kick, I thought I would throw this in. I will stop whining now, I promise.*

5. Good Love is on the Way - John Mayer
See? I really am optimistic!

6. Why Georgia - John Mayer
He is so wise, especially for someone who also wrote "You're Body is a Wonderland." Which, music wise, I actually like. I really can't bring myself to like lyrics that include the line "bubble gum tongue" though. I'm sorry. I just can't

7. More Than This - Peter Gabriel
Peter (yes, we are on a first name basis. I did listen to him in the womb after all) does such a great job of both summing up life and making you go "huh"? If you think you understand what his lyrics mean, you are probably wrong. Which is similar to how I feel about my life. This song blows my mind...

8. Signal to Noise - Peter Gabriel featuring Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
...but this one does even more. Plus the vocals are insano. And what describes me more than insano vocals? I just don't know.

9. She Stumbles Through the Door - Sarah Masen
This describes perfectly how I feel about my faith right now. Some key lines: "on the pages of a memo were picturesque cliches she once called Providence" and "were the angels fighting demons in the corner of the room or was it happenstance?"

10. Take the Bench - Sloan
"Take the bench, little girl, and sing your little heart out."
Ok, I will.

11. Crystal Ball - Keane
Same ol' "I don't know what is happening" theme. This is pretty much how I feel at all times.

12. Square One - Coldplay
I DO just want somebody listening to what I say. THANK YOU Chris Martin of Coldplay.

*Except to say that I wish "Paperweight" by Josh Radin and Schuyler Fisk was on this list. But alas, it is not. I am really done now, the rest of the list is not whiny at all. Except the YBIAW part, but John can take it.

And Also: Adventures in Life

2007-03-13T08:58:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I discovered as I was driving to work that I was an hour late. I had changed all the clocks except for the one on my phone, which is serving as my alarm clock while I am with the animales. So, as soon as I got to work I changed my phone. Done. Problem solved. My boss was not in and I finished all the work I was supposed to so no harm done. Later I told the story to a friend of mine. He was surprised my phone hadn't updated itself. he asked if it had an Auto Update feature. I checked. It did. So I turned it on, to avoid this problem in the future.

Today I discovered upon waking that I was an hour late again. I looked at my phone and it had Auto Updated to the old time, probably because they moved DST this year. BAH! So I decided to skip breakfast and got ready super-fast. On the way to work, I decided to get a coffee. Normally I would go to Starbucks, but Tim Horton's was on the way, so I went and ordered a coffee and breakfast, only to discover that I HAVE NO CASH. I KNEW I SHOULD HAVE GONE TO STARBUCKS! So I went in the opposite direction that I should have been going to get to work, and I went to Starbucks and got my coffee. When I got back into the car the Dixie Chicks were singing "Taking the Long Way". And I realized that, not only did this song pertain to my morning, but it also describes my life. And that actually made me happy. Now I need to go drink my coffee.

THE END

Adventures in House Sitting, Part 2

2007-03-13T08:50:00.000-05:00

Oh animales, how I love thee, let me count the ways:
2: Escape attempts, caused by
1: Very large, evil cat, that almost killed the dog (this is not the cat I'm looking after, she is nice, this one was the spawn of the devil).
23 hours per day: The amount of time the cat spends purring. Yes this includes when it is right next to my ear at night
0: The number of times the dog has to pee when I am at work for eight hours
1 or 2: The number of times the dog has to pee at night when I am sleeping for eight hours.
0.03: The number of milliseconds it took the cat to jump out of the tub when I turned the shower on.

You Too Can Be Happy For Just $10 000 per Year!

2007-03-09T09:32:00.000-05:00

I read an interesting article yesterday. It is basically about happiness and what we need in order to be happy. Especially interesting (although not surprising) is the fact that although the GNP has been consistently on the rise for the last while, the level of satisfaction people claim to have has stayed basically the same. What I was surprised by is the "magic number" of 10 000. This magic number is the amount of dollars per person per year that it takes to be happy. People who make more than $10 000/person/year (so a family of four would need $40 000) are not happier than those who make only $10 000. That number seemed very low to me...I bet most of the people reading this make more than that (it doesn't count if you are in school!). Also worth checking out is the part about sustainable agriculture...there were some surprising numbers there too.

Adventures in House Sitting, Part 1

2007-03-05T09:14:00.000-05:00

I am currently house sitting for my boss, who is away in Florida. Where it is warm. And not freezing. Or full of snow...but I digress.

The house that I am sitting contains one dog and one cat. We all know how I feel about dogs so I won't gush too much, but the dog is awesome. Not as awesome or as insano as my dog. But awesome nonetheless. The cat is CRAZY. In a good way. She enjoys:

sleeping in my laundry.
drinking from any source of water that is NOT her own water dish.
batting at the drapes...which she must do RIGHT NOW so she must run across the house and take a flying leap at them.
purring/licking my face/attacking my feet (which aren't even moving!) whilst I am trying to sleep.
licking the drops of milk out of my cereal bowl while I am distracted by the dog.
trying to attack the dog by employing the full body, limbs akimbo, giant ferocious leap but being foiled by (ie bouncing off) the arm of the couch.

Needless to say, it has been great fun so far!

Evangelism Is My Favourite!

2007-03-01T10:34:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I just can't believe what lengths people go to for the sake of evangelism. But I am extremely grateful that God has a "wonderful, lead-free plan for [my] life." Because, really, who doesn't love a good lead-free plan?

Time Wasting with Books

2007-02-20T14:13:00.000-05:00

Via Paul

"It works like this: The bolded books are books I've read (and even enjoyed) [but not necessarily] ... italicized books I would like to read, books with crosses are on my shelf and asterisked books I've never heard of. The books that are striked out I am unlikely ever to read. The books listed here that haven't felt the touch of my cursor and remain unedited I could care less or more about on any given day.I imagine the books on this list were selected for their best-seller status or something like that."

1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown) -shh, I know it isn't good, but it's a page turner!
2. †Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. †To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. †The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. †The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. †The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. *Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. †Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. †Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger) - *shudder*
23. †Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. †Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. †Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. †The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. ~~The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)~~
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. *The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. *The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. †Bible
46. †Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. †Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. †Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. †The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. †The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. †Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. †War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davies)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. ~~The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)~~
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller) - Currently in progress!
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. *Shogun (James Clavell)
74. ~~The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)~~ (see #91)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. †The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. *Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. †Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down (Richard Adams
87. †Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. *Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. *Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje) - I wish I hadn't read this!
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. *The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. *The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. *A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. *The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

Sickness and CD covers

2007-02-15T20:56:00.000-05:00

I am sick at all times. It's le Poo.

On a happier note, I feel as though I should make a CD because my cousin Jaime just sent me CD cover worthy pictures...which are pretty rare considering I'm not very photogenic. I have my yearbook photos to prove that.

We are playing scrabble, it is the summer....yahoo summer.

Library Thing

2007-02-06T09:31:00.000-05:00

My friend Emily, who works at the Waterloo Public Library (and is awesome, as is my other librarian friend Jan), told me about the coolest website ever. You can catalog all your books and create your library online. It is geeky, it is pretty, it is great. For a sample of the greatness and prettiness, see the new addition to my sidebar.

Joy Cometh in the Morning

2007-01-25T11:28:00.000-05:00

Or so they say. "They" being, in this case, Psalm 30, and various songs based thereupon.

I am not a morning person. For me, joy cometh not in the morning. Sadness, irritability, anger and other such emotions unrelated to joy cometh in the morning. The ability to Commune With Other Human Beings cometh at around 9am. Joy cometh, at the earliest, 1pm. Unless it is a Saturday, the only day when joy cometh in the morning, when I realize I do not need to get up just yet.

There is, however, one hint of joy in most of my mornings. When I walk past a tire store on my way to work in the morning, I am greeted by a large Chow Chow and a small Chow Chow who are tied outside. Occasionally, if he is untied at the moment, the small one will try to accompany me to work. He is my friend. He is puffy. Funny puffy dog=joy.

A Ridiculously Long Time Between Posts

2007-01-09T08:53:00.000-05:00

So, now that no even checks my blog anymore because it has been so long since I last posted....

I shall post.

Christmas was great for the following reasons:

Carley came home. (She proceeded to leave again but that didn't make Christmas good.)

Melissa, Diedre, Aaron, Jan, Paul, Michelle and Trevor all visited. Fun Times.

I had a week off work.

I shopped for books at a bookstore in which I needed A SHOPPING CART.

I saw many babies: Abby, Aydan, Naomi and Kaedmon. Babies Everywhere.

Did I mention the store where I bought books and used a cart?

Jesus was born.

I stayed with my family for a few days and just hung out. It is always wonderful to be with them.

Riley wore antlers.

Yes, it was all very fun.

And now, I shall begin 2007, being resolved to not make resolutions.

Why Facial Hair is Often Wrong

2006-12-07T15:40:00.000-05:00

What is up with Neil Gaiman's beard?

You might not actually see it if you click on the link, because the pictures are randomized...but click around the site a bit, you'll find it.

For those of you who actually care, I'm sure you've already seen it.

Quarter Life Crisis #2 (ish?)

2006-12-05T08:32:00.000-05:00

Working full time for 20 months straight in jobs that I am less-than-passionate for has made me begin to freak out. I will probably try to resolve this cognitive dissonance by going back to school. Possibly to get an English degree. (?!?) That way, I can either be a teacher or a travel writer.

It doesn't really change the way my life will look in the short term. I was going to go back to school next year in any case. But the MTS (Master of Theological Studies) idea is beginning to look less and less attractive. Mostly because I am getting sick of church. I can't really explain it, but I am. I'm not getting sick of God, or of the people at church, or of the leadership at church, just of church. I figure this is not the way to get started in ministry. Although, if I could work at a church AND take courses in liberal arts from a secular school, I think that could be a good balance...we'll see.

Baraka

2006-11-29T11:49:00.000-05:00

Since Jan is the boss of me, and she said this, I'm posting now.

The title of this post is Baraka. This is an Islamic word for "blessing". It is also the title of a super-rad movie.

There are several reasons that make this movie awesome:

no plot
no dialogue
shot in 24 countries
cool musique
beautiful scenery
makes several excellent points. Without using words

I know that numbers 1 and 2 don't seem to be assets. But they are. So there.

Quote of the Day

2006-11-14T13:42:00.000-05:00

"That book sucks"

- Paul McIlwraith, Lead Pastor, WMB, when he saw me reading The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard in Starbucks. The funny thing is that I didn't realize for a second that he was joking. I thought I was going to have to change churches. :) It would have been even funnier if I had been reading the Bible.

Next time I see someone reading the Bible, I'm going to say: "that book sucks."

Uh-oh...too sacrilegious?

Batman and Son

2006-11-14T13:32:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, while waiting for a ride to small group, I witnessed this:
A Young Man and a Small Child, both wearing capes, run into the lobby. They then used their "super-vision" to look for and finally spot the van they were waiting for pull up outside. Another boy was dropped off by 'Nana', and the small boy admired himself in the window while whispering "batman...yeah...batman" to himself.

I was confused by this scenario...I thought the young man was the cool babysitter, possibly the cool uncle, to this small child. And I thought "Nana" was picking the small child up to take him home with his older brother. But...could it be? Could this guy, who looked younger than me...possibly be the father of these two? My confusion ended when the older one called him "Dad."

Coolest, Cutest Dad EVER.

Pink Thongs do NOT Belong in Yoga Class

2006-11-09T09:14:00.000-05:00

Or, really, any thongs.

Especially not in the front row.

They just don't.

Buy Nothing, Create Something Week

2006-10-31T12:11:00.000-05:00

Back at our fall retreat in September, our Regeneration (College and Career) group at WMB decided that we wanted to do something to raise awareness about consumerism in our lives. So we decided to have a "Buy Nothing" week, during which we don't buy anything (other than a set budget for food). We also discussed how the fact that few of us know how to make many things for ourselves impacts our need to consume. So we changed it from simply "Buy Nothing" to "Buy Nothing, Make Something"

Last night, my Mom taught a group of us how to make soup and biscuits and we made a huge batch so we all have a couple lunches for the rest of the week. Quantity cooking is better and so much cheaper! The rest of the week will include "Trick or Eat" reverse trick-or-treating (collecting food for the food bank), a community meal, Urban Croquet (sounds fun eh?), a night of learning to sew/knit/etc and a movie night.

Maybe this week you could think about how you can buy less and make more...

A Narrow Escape from Certain Death

2006-10-12T12:34:00.000-05:00

So, I'm sitting at my desk, when I hear a HUGE crash coming from outside. I get up to investigate and see our 7-foot long, steel (read: enormous and very very heavy)sign on the ground. It is not supposed to be on the ground. It is supposed to be hanging at the top of the second storey of our office. The wood it was attached to apparently rotted and down it came. My first thought was: "That could have fallen on my HEAD! I could have DIED!" I was just about to go out and get the mail after all. Providential Timing is all that has saved me!

LOOK OUT!

Weekend from Heaven

2006-10-10T09:31:00.000-05:00

I had the best Thanksgiving weekend ever! Normally I don't go in for the "and then I did this" type of blog post, but I ask for your indulgence this one time:

Friday night, my cousin Jaime came over for a sleepover, we watched What Not to Wear, drank some wine, and she taught me how to smoke a pipe. I felt like I needed to ponder something (think Sherlock Holmes).

The next morning my dad picked us up and we went fishing. We wore waders, which Jaime thought were "like a home" because they were so big. We got to the river and it was really really high. So we couldn't fish at the spot we wanted to because we would have had to cross the river and we couldn't because it was too high. Walking in the water was fun though. We ran into a small child on our way back to the car and he remarked excitedly "Dad, I see some FISHERS!" I am a fisher. We tried another spot and my dad and Jaime saw a fish.

Saturday and Sunday were full of family and food. Good times.

Monday I got to call Carley and catch up on her England adventures. I finished off the night with some Friends watching accompanied by some knitting.

Best weekend ever.

Good Jobs and Good Books

2006-09-29T12:44:00.000-05:00

I like my jobs. That's pretty much all I have to say about that. My favorite project right now is creating a mural of all the MBMSI missionaries. i get to work on a world map (yay maps), plot the locations, and make it all pretty.

Right now, for some reason, I am reading 4 books. I keep starting new ones and reading whichever one suits my fancy at the moment.

The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. Don't read this. Not unless you want to get seriously messed up. Seriously. Also don't check out The Simple Way. Because you might get ideas and want to do that too. :)
Under the Overpass by Mike Yankowski. Similarly Up-Messing, although not to the same degree because I don't think I would actually do it.
In the Name of Jesus by Henri Nouwen. Little but powerful.
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. You either love her or hate her, I love her.

Uh-oh, Even Lolo is Posting More Than I Am.

2006-09-18T08:31:00.000-05:00

I guess this is a good chance to catch everyone up on the state of my life.

I am not crazy, nor am I going crazy, nor having a major breakdown, although I had a close call on the weekend.
I will not go crazy in the near future due to the fact that I have a new job as a part time admin assistant at MBMSI. This brings my job total back up to three again, however, the MBMSI job is at the same place as the Conference job and will end up being just less than full time put together. Pretty much 8-4 Monday to Friday. Which is Almost Normal. Hence the Not Going Crazy if you define crazy as abnormal. Zehrs is now relegated to one shift/week, which is very close to the ideal of none.

But I Didn't Even J-Walk! I Swear!

2006-09-11T15:58:00.000-05:00

Today I got picked up by a policeman.

I was just walking home from work, minding my own business when I hear this voice over an intercom. I couldn't hear what the voice was saying but I turned around to look just as a police car pulled up beside me. I bent down to ask what he wanted trying frantically to figure out what I had been doing wrong. Turns out it was Lolo's cousin Jeremy! He drove me the rest of the way home in the squad car...he wouldn't let me put on the sirens though.

My love life takes yet another hit

2006-09-08T22:10:00.000-05:00

John Mayer, who was quite possibly my most likely love prospect, is rumored to be dating Jessica Simpson. For my sake, lets hope he is sending a cryptic message to the world on that topic via this blog post.

Pedestrian Adventures

2006-09-04T15:19:00.000-05:00

I've been walking to and from work a lot because I don't own, or have access to a car. While walking, I've noticed that pedestrians seem to be invisible to the rest of the world. In three weeks I have been:

Sprayed by lawn sprinklers.
Doused by passing motorists driving through puddles.
Almost run over by inconsiderate and/or blind motorists attempting to execute right hand turns.

I have also almost been late for work several times.

This makes it seem like walking has created a soaking wet, half-dead, fired-from-her-job Stephanie. In fact, it has made me healthier, more aware of time, and less stressed. I highly recommend it.

Another very good reason for walking is the fact that it is good for the environment. Which isn't really true, it would be truer to say that it isn't bad for the environment. I recently did an ecological footprint quiz and discovered that mine is 5.6 global hectares (compared to the 1.8 global hectares available for every person alive right now). This essentially means that it would take about 3 earths to sustain those living the way I do. And I DON'T DRIVE. Pretty scary. I actually filled in the quiz again to see what my score would be if I did drive and it wasn't as different as I thought it would be: a 6.3 (three and a half planets). The biggest part of my score was actually the food part. After filling the quiz in several different ways I determined that it is practically impossible for anyone to acheive a score close to the 1.8 ideal without being vegan, eating 100% locally grown food, not having electricity and walking everywhere. It really opened my eyes to how unsustainable my lifestyle is. And it made me feel a lot less smug about all the "good" I'm doing by walking.

Slaves to Telecommunication

2006-08-30T23:38:00.000-05:00

First, for your reading pleasure, excerpts from a written transcript of my telephone call with Rogers, in which I attempt to clarify and change my cellphone plan:

Rogers guy: how can I help you?
Me: I'm interested in maybe changing my plan.
RG: ok
Me: first, can you tell me what the "Wireless Essentials Discount" is that I see here on my bill?
RG: I don't see that here it must be on your bill. [?!]
Me: yes. What is it?
RG: I don't know.

This exchange didn't give me much hope for the rest of the call, and, unfortunately, I was correct in my negative assumptions. Turns out the Wireless Essentials Discount is what I got for having both call display and voicemail on my phone together as a package. I found this out AFTER I removed voicemail from my account. At which time this [edited for length, which was too long, and clarity, which was not present in any way] conversation transpired:

Me: so, I just removed my voicemail feature, at $5.00/month, but in doing so, lost a $6.00/month savings? That adds a dollar to my bill.
RG: Yes.
Me: Why didn't you tell me that before?
RG: I don't think I can add it again.
Me: Well, please find a way.
RG: Ok, I added it again.
Me: Will I get the discount again?
RG: no
Me: then please remove it.
RG I can give you voicemail free for a couple months.
Me: no thank you. Could you please tell me what the Airtime Option fee is?
RG: I don't know. Can I put you on hold while I find the information I need?
Me: Yes
[hold music}
RG:Ma'am?
Me: yes?
RG: it means you get more minutes in a month,
Me: What does that mean, how many more minutes?
RG: I don't know, it would take me an hour to find that information.

Deep. Cleansing. Breaths.

So, I never did find out what the Airtime Option was. As frustrated as I was, I realized after the call that I shouldn't have been frustrated with RG. No, he didn't have any useful information, and yes, he ended up making my bill more expensive. Despite all this, however, I believe he handled my call as well as he could have. It really seems like it was hard for him to find any information. I didn't get the impression that he was deliberately trying to be unhelpful, although it did seem as though he didn't care. That apathy felt familiar to me, it is what happens to me when I feel like I have been left alone in left field, unequipped for the task I have been given. I'm pretty sure that was the case here too. I'm really sick of the way many companies seem to have decided to stop investing in people, employees and customers alike. I ended up feeling enslaved to this plan that I know nothing about and can't get any information about. And poor RG is a slave to frustrated customers because his company doesn't see fit to equip him to do his job properly.

In conclusion, I've decided to break free from the tyranny of Rogers Telecom and cancel my plan altogether. If, after months of being cell-free, I decide I need one for whatever reason (I never did want one in the first place!) I will look into getting a new plan. Not with Rogers. Although, phone companies are not looking all that good in general (hey, 313, remember the MTS debacle?). Hopefully I can do without one and remain free of the scourge of wireless telecommunication.

Honestly! What do I think I'm doing!

2006-08-29T11:02:00.000-05:00

Yikes.

I'm starting a blog. The whole idea of posting things for all to see is quite scary. Although, I suppose no one but people I know will ever read it. The possibility is, however, still quite daunting. Carley definitly gets the credit for the idea of using this as a place to practice my writing, which has always been something I've wanted to improve. I totally stole her idea. Shameless, really. So, you know who to thank (or, more likely, blame) for this...