I'm watching Deal or No Deal Canada. They've done a couple funny changes: instead of $1 and $2 they're 'Loonie' and 'Toonie' on the big board, and the call from the banker comes through the Rogers phone line.

The contestant is from Calgary. He shows up in full cowboy regalia: hat, chaps, jeans, cowboy shirt. He presents a white cowboy hat to Howie Mandel (it's something Calgarians do to visiting dignitaries, apparently).

Turns out he's a member of the Alberta Gay Cowboy Association. Yes, he really is a gay cowboy.

Carl and I canNOT stop making Brokeback Mountain jokes.

I also can't help but cheer for this guy a little. He's too cute!

edit: he ended up selling the $5 case he had for $131k. I guess I can call that a 'win'.

While Carl naps, I changed my LJ layout a bit and the title, too, as well as dropping down to a Basic account. I hate ads too much to bother with wanting to keep extra icons. I'm sure I'll cope somehow.

Otherwise, things are as ever they were. Carry on about your business.

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/story/2008/06/23/carlin-obit.html

Shit piss fuck cunt cocksucker motherfucker tits.

George Carlin was influential in developing my sense of humour and satire. I started listening to him when I was eleven, after I found the Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television bit on a tape hidden at the back of my parents' tape collection (yes, remember audio tapes? I do!)

I memorized that bit. In fact, I memorized the whole tape and repeated it - mostly to myself - on a regular basis. I /still/ giggle at 'tater tits'.

See you around, George. Thank you for the laughs.

There is a chipmunk living in the rocks that are in front of my front window. I keep seeing him dart out and run around, capering like the nimble little rodent he is. The cats are enthralled, and I'm amused.

I also heard my first cicada of the season, buzzing away.

Nature is neat, if not a little annoying sometimes.

I've been having some pretty bad internet troubles at home lately - lots of static on the phone line, not being able to stay connected to the internet, and so forth. I finally called in a damage report (again, I called the first at the end of May but they said all I needed was new filters) and the tech - a nice gentleman named Joe - came out and replaced my old modem.

My line is apparently good on Bell's end, from what they've been able to tell. So Joe thought about it for a bit and said 'let me replace the modem, it's one of the oldest models out there and that could be affecting it'.

The modem is replaced, my line sounds crystal-clear, and so far my connection is good. Here's hoping it stays that way.

Apparently stepping on phone lines can affect your DSL signal quality. Is this true, or is this poppycock? Techheads, what say thee?

Meanwhile, it's really humid and damp in my little hobbit-hole. I think I need a dehumidifier.

The phrase 'long dark tea-time of the soul' has been floating around in my head a lot, lately.

I think that's what time it is in Amanda-land.

FIREFOX UPDATED

IT ATE HALF MY BOOKMARKS AND MY CAT THEME

I AM FUCKING PISSED

oh hay, pictures

( lulz, i think i'm on myspace )

That is a LOT brighter red than it showed on the box.

Oh well. Hair is dyed now, no turning back at this point.

I need to update the look of this, and get to writing more. Things are starting to stop sucking at long, long last.

I'm terrified to hell and back, and yet? Totally excited.

But mostly I can't wait to quit work. Heheh.

** DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS E-MAIL ***

The last processing action taken on your case

Receipt Number: XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Application Type: I129F , PETITION FOR FIANCE(E)

Current Status: Approval notice sent.

On March 31, 2008, we mailed you a notice that we have approved this I129F PETITION FOR FIANCE(E). Please follow any instructions on the notice. If you move before you receive the notice, call customer service.

If you have questions or concerns about your application or the case status results listed above, or if you have not received a decision from USCIS within the current processing time listed*, please contact USCIS Customer Service at (800) 375-5283.

*Current processing times can be found on the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov under Case Status and Processing Dates.
*** Please do not respond to this e-mail message.


Sincerely,


The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

Teehee. Memes.

Still alive.

Visa paperwork? Has been sent. It will be landing tomorrow noon.

And there's nothing left to do but wait.

Yep.

Whoopie doo.

Many thank yous to everyone who answered my request - I've got plenty of contacts now, and I think this ought to be enough to satisfy the 'proof of relationship' aspect of the visa.

It's very scary - I always thought I'd live in Canada for good, and now here I am almost ... excited, in a good way, to move to Buffalo in the near future.

Anyhow, I'm at work and I can't wax poetic at the moment. Maybe I'll try and do that later.

I'll post pictures of my new place once I clean up a little more, and after Carl and his family come up to take s'more stuff down south and help clean out the garage more. I admit, having a space that's all my own is nice, but then I just feel very, very alone and the niceness wears off.

I just try not to think about it, before anyone tries to offer advice or, like my dear mom does, try to encourage me to revel in being alone - I am trying to weather this as best as I can. It's just daunting sometimes, that's all, to go from having your other half and housemates around all the time to having a pair of cats who are total ingrates and the world's daftest rat.

Hey, guys.

For anyone out there who has met both Carl and I in the real world, and can attest to us being a couple for as long as we have, can you do me a favour and drop me your full name and contact information in a comment here? I'll screen them so they aren't advertised to the free world, of course.

This is for my fiancee visa - we're compiling 'evidence' that, y'know, we're all but married. The US doesn't recognize common-law marriages, y'see. :)

Thanks very much!

Move complete.

I'm starting to be able to see the floor - I'm still cleaning out my stuffs; I've already filled four bags + one box full of stuff to give away, plus I gave James a bunch of stuff from the kitchen/living room as well.

I may have my phone back as early as tonight at 11 pm, or tomorrow. I'm excited to get that, believe me. It'll make me a lot more comfortable.

Plus I'll get unlimited calling in North America because of the deal I took. So hey, I may have to bug some of you guys. ;p

Gotta get back to work - I'm impromptu boss tonight since there was a scheduling snafu. Figures!

I still can't feel my arms from yesterday's lugfest, though (instead of having an SUV and a van to help, the folks with the van couldn't make it up). I love Carl's parents. They're amazing, sweet, dear people.

More moving junk on Saturday with my parents - dump trips and storage in Toronto. Oy.

Hugs all around, guys, and thanks for putting up with me. Soon I'll be able to get back to my knitting, snarking and other such knobbery.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

PACKING I HATE PACKING!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

WHERE IS ALL THIS STUFF GOING TO GO?! THE APARTMENT IS TINY! TOO MUCH STUFF!

AAAAAAAAH AAAAAAAH AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

There is a Carl in my bed.

He showed up last night as a surprise - I walked in, turned on a light and for some reason the CD player started up. I was confused for about thirty seconds when I started calling 'hello?' Then I listened to the song that was playing.

It was Blues Traveller's 'Canadian Rose'.

And then there's his sweet little smiling face over the top of the stairs, looking down at me in the hall.

'This is Christmas', he told me.

I'm inclined to believe him.

DT, only /you/ would be locked in your garage from the outside by your dad while working out, and manage to have an internet-capable computer there to send me a GMail chat to ask me to /call your house/ and have your mom let you out.

That was the funniest conversation ever. Me in Guelph, him in Uxbridge and I get a hopeful GMail chat of 'Are you there? I need some help'. Cue phone call which I present thusly in abridged format.

Me: Um, hi, Mrs [name], my name's Amanda and I'm one of Dan's friends. He's sent me a message and asked me to let you know that he's locked in the weight room from the outside, and he'd like to be let out now.
His mom: ... oh my God, he's what?
Me: Yeah.
(it's at this point she starts laughing, and I'm kind of laughing too because it's so fucking silly it's hard not to)
His mom: Are you calling from Guelph?
Me: ... yeeeeah.
His mom: *cracks up*
Me: *snickering*
His mom: Merry Christmas!
Me: You too.

Well, I needed something to make me laugh. He doesn't read my LJ, of course, but it's too random to not share because some of you folks know him. ;)

I also kept thinking 'THE CALL IS COMING FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE', but I'm kind of dorky like that.

oh internet.

back to packing. I think I need a drink.

ho ho fucking ho
what a crock of shit
we all work for santa claus
we've had enough
we quit

'cuz we do all the fuckin' work
while he stars in the show
stick yer christmas up yer ass
ho ho fucking ho

Is the fucking season over yet?

edit for workplace funneh:



I'm such a tard.