Met the Non-Fiction Meetup group at the Pilot. (We're going to read Planet of Slums.) Afterward I visited the Carlu and the Rosar-Morrison Funeral Home for Open Doors Toronto.
Finished Travels With Charley. Very enjoyable.
Dinner was roast chicken.
Saw the DVD of the Mystery Science Theatre 3000 version of the Japanese sci-fi adventure Prince of Space.
Baked raisin bread.
Went to several Doors Open Toronto places with a combined Meetin-Meetup-Linkup group of about fifteen people. We started at the Masonic Temple's concert hall and went on to the old and new city halls, Osgoode Hall, the CBC building and the Design Exchange.
Dinner was more turkey pie.
Saw the DVD of the Mystery Science Theatre 3000 version of Hercules Unchained, from the Italian B-movie series with Steve Reeves.
"Beyond my failings as a racist, I knew I was not wanted in the South. When people are engaged in something they are not proud of, they do not welcome witnesses. In fact, they come to believe the witnesses cause the trouble"--Travels With Charley
Got five DVDs from zoom.ca in one day!
Marj was worrying that I was mad at her, so I told her that she was just about a perfect supervisor and that I had no reason for anger. (She thought that because I'd seemed distant lately, but that was really because I'm thinking about what I'll be doing after my six months are up.) I cleared files out of four cabinets so we can replace them with the new ones, and sent out some 30 more first aid certificates.
I went to the store and bought Shredded Wheat, not realizing that Father had bought some the other day.
Dinner was very fresh halibut.
Wonder Video is selling off their videocassettes at $5 apiece, and I bought ten!
Went to the Low-Key Singles Meetup at the Artful Dodger. On the way back I bought six more videos.
"Once you are in Texas it seems to take forever to get out, and some people never make it"--Travels With Charley
Dreamed of a woman like Anais Nin; leaving something important on a bus; someone's hair that had fallen out in large quantities.
At work I started amalgamating our two groups of terminated files.
Afternoon nap.
Moira and I joined our friends Puitak and Gordon for a buffet dinner at the Hot House Cafe.
Only four people showed up for the last taijiquan class.
Not much to do at work. (I spent a bit of time on the computer reading The Huffington Post--I don't usually shirk.) Toward noon the Facilities people brought in the new cabinets, so I'll have plenty of work tomorrow.
Went to the Geneva Centre and left a message that I couldn't make bowling on Thursday (because of choir practice). Then I went to Dragon Lady and picked up some Ebay Mandrake the Magician Sundays.
Dinner was spaghetti.
Harper's had a remarkably succinct essay about how American hawks have repeatedly fostered the "stabbed in the back" myth to explain all reverses.
Saw Tibet: A Buddhist Trilogy at the Bloor. (There was a big crowd coming out from a skateboarding video.) It's a wonderfully serene documentary about Lamaist Buddhism.
Dreamed of visiting the pyramids in Egypt; riding in a car with someone who drove it into an elevator so he could drive up to his office; a Laurel & Hardy movie in which Laurel lost a leg(!).
At work we made the final list of boxes to be shipped out. It's a total of 77.
We got the sets planted in the garden just a little while before a big rainstorm. (Father did the planting and I suggested where to put them. Well, I'd done all that digging...)
It turns out that I already had all those On Stage comic strips that I'd just bought on Ebay. (How careless of me!)
Dinner was KFC.
Only five people showed up at the taijiquan class.
"I've lived in good climate, and it bores the hell out of me. I like weather rather than climate"--Travels With Charley
Dreamed of travelling west from my hometown of Sackville, N.B. to Montreal with Father.
At work we went through seveal old boxes, including one that had water damage because the janitor put his mop next to it.
Afternoon nap. (I dreamed of bicycling from Sackville, to Amherst, N.S.)
It was Moira's birthday and Donald, John, Kathrine and the girls came over. We ate out at the nearby Thai restaurant Vanipha Lanna. Spicy!
Got some Terry and the Pirates and On Stage comic strips from Ebay.
Dreamed of the song "Jim Dandy to the Rescue" (but with a different melody, in a minor key).
At work I sorted through a mess of Workplace Safety Insurance Board files and created several new boxes.
Went to the Maria Shchuka libray and picked up John Steinbeck's Travels With Charley, about his driving around America in a camper prototype with his poodle. [Someone says he holed up in a motel and made up the whole story, which would make it even more impressive!]
At choir practice we did a chorus from Verdi's Nabucco, accompanying a prophecy by Zacarias.
Fleur (on being told about poor people in Spain): "Well, at least they have the sun"--The Forsyte Saga
Visited Casa Loma for the second time (the first being 15 years ago) with a Meetin group. There was a big crowd because they were serving Mother's Day brunch. In its lavishness it seems somehow un-Canadian.
Dinner was roast chicken.
Baked rye bread overnight.
Dreamed of a non-existent episode of Miami Vice with lots of gunfights and a cameo by Ozzy Osbourne at the climax; Michael Gore's musical theme from Terms of Endearment.
Went to the Book Club Meetup at Rhino. It was over an hour before we got around to talking about The Time Machine and the other books!
Finished Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time. In a broad way, I think I understood most of it.
Dinner was takeout Chinese food.
Saw three episodes of The Forsyte Saga.
At work I did so much shredding that I finally got sick of it. Sandra brought some more marble cake, since I'd mentioned that I liked her last batch, and encouraged me to take some home with me.
Father and I went to the Canadian Tire near St. Clair & Keele and bought plant sets for the garden.
Dinner was steak.
Went to the Revue and met some guys from the Arthouse Meetup to see the chopsocky hodgepodge Fire Dragon. (The actual Chinese title means "fire cloud.") Directed by the great fight choreographer Yuen Wo-ping, it was confusing but rousing entertainment. Afterward we discussed the movie at the hangout next door.
At work I shifted stuff around and made lots of room. I also did a lot of shredding. Those boxes will be moved to an archival place in the same library.
Dinner was linguini with shrimp.
At the Geneva Centre we watched Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven remake, from the videos I own. (I'd never seen it before.) Way cool.
Clipped my toenails.
Dreamed of walking along the street, finding a big, smelly turd at my feet (apparently out of me) and carrying it with me in tissue paper; reading about a famous personality in the Dark Ages; reading the introduction to Charles Dickens' A Child's History of England (which I've never read) and finding rare Latin-based words whose meanings I didn't know.
At work I finally figured out the right way to fit the address printout onto the sticker sheet, and mailed the first aid certificates out. Later I cleared most of the stuff from the top of the empty cabinets on the far wall. (One big box turned out to contain nothing but bookends!)
Went shopping.
Hoed the garden.
Dinner was McDonald's.
At the taijiquan class we did the final steps. I'm starting to get pretty good at it!
Dreamed of discussing The Sopranos with Rosemarie; observing that Adrianna was sympathetic but not very smart; riding the Hampstead bus in London; putting a pear core in the receptacle for used tickets to spite the conductor; reading a non-existent romance written by 84 Charing Cross Rd. author Helene Hanff; a memoir by a former English schoolboy who recalled sitting next to a classmate called Stuffy Hern who later became famous.
At work I made copies of recently awarded first aid certificates and filed them away. Then I printed out 30 copies of a letter to be mailed out with them, except that the printer had some bug I had to get around. And I tried to print out address stickers but we had the wrong size sticker sheet. (And I got a deep paper cut on one fingertip!)
Finished forking the garden.
Dinner was fish.
We did the March and April accounts for our used book business. In March we had a profit of about $250, but our April profit was completely negated by the purchase of a new bookcase.
Woke up before 06:00! So it was easy for me to get to work on time. I finished shelving one group of performance assessments, then finished entering the other group in the database. I also copied some stuff for Elaine.
Father bought some yeast, so I finally got to bake multigrain bread.
Afternoon nap.
Dinner was steak.
At choir practice we did "Zitti, Zitti" from Verdi's Rigoletto and a few choruses we'd done before.
Stayed indoors all weekend. (I didn't even get dressed today!)
Dinner was pork chops.
Saw the DVD of two silent Lon Chaney melodramas: Nomads of the North (set in the Canadian wilderness) and The Shock (a tale about a lame safecraker's redemption with an earthquake climax).
I was going to bake bread, but couldn't find the yeast.
Dinner was spaghetti.
Because I'd been feeling sleepy, I went to bed right after supper and slept for a couple of hours before getting up again. [A habit I've developed in recent years!]
Dreamed of the 1950s MGM movie Knights of the Round Table (which I've never seen); a "making of" newsreel that showed the cast being driven to the place where they put on their costumes.
I was lucky to make work on time! I woke up early, then lay there for an hour like in a trance. Fortunately, Father gave me a lift.
When I got there I was low on energy. (That's what comes from missing my afternoon nap this week.) I entered data like Lai Sim showed me, then filed performance appraisals for people in management.
In the afternoon I went to Catherine Cashore's funeral at Holy Rosary Church. (The previous month I'd mentioned to Marj that I'd never attended a funeral. If I were superstitious...) I met Barbara Thompson from the Toronto City Opera at the reception afterward.
Then I met Barry King at Dragon Lady and we exchanged comics.
Dinner was pizza.
Went to the Karaoke Meetup. (A dozen people came.) I sang Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It."
Dreamed of visiting the Mt. Allison University library in my hometown of Sackville, N.B.; sending out a copy of my Ph.D. thesis; feeling ashamed because it seemed "paltry." (It wasn't really.)
Busy day! First I taped the last of the boxes shut. (Went through a whole reel of tape...) Later I cleared out two storage cabinets so they could replace them with new ones, and put the contents of one in the other's replacement. I also emptied a whole group of file drawers next to the far wall so they can replace them with new ones. I did a lot more shredding. And late in the day Lai Sim showed me how to enter performance assessment results on the computer.
Dinner was lasagna.
Went to see Werner Herzog's Woyzeck at the Cinematheque. It was effective, but watching it made me tired and I left halfway through. (Wagner sometimes gives me the same feeling.)
At today's singing lesson we took it slow because my throat is still rather sore. [The dust in my workplace had something to do with it.]
Dinner was fish.
Another taijiquan class. I still haven't quite figured out going from the right brush-knee to the left one.
Started looking at a Mystery Science Theatre 3000 DVD of short films. I saw "Mr. B. Natural" (a Peter Pan-style crossdresser promoting school bands, in a film produced by an instrument company), "X Marks the Spot" (dangerous driving in wartime New Jersey) and "Hired" (a training film for Chevrolet salesmen).
Had a checkup with my dentist.
The weather is warm, and I finally started spading the garden. Sore hands already!
Dinner was roast chicken.
Baked cheese bread.
Emailed Barry King in Korea. We agreed to a discount on the items he's bringing me in exchange for my Sunday strips, so I'll only pay $85 instead of about $200! I also emailed a correspondent about trading her some 30 Jane Arden Sundays for a group of The Star Weekly and other comics sections.
Dreamed of seeing a guy on TV singing a song "My Tailor"; looking out from our old Sackville house and for the first time noticing a (non-existent) mountain ridge on the western horizon with people walking along it.
At work I labelled ten more boxes. We'll soon have almost seventy ready to go.
Went shopping.
Dinner was spaghetti.
The choir learned the second half of the Pilgrim's Chorus. Sandra brought us some cake. Giuseppe told us that choir member Catherine Cashore died! (I never did take up her invitation to visit her.)
Dreamed of walking through a cemetery; visiting our old Sackville house near the end of the summer; being about to return home and noticing I hadn't got around to doing the garden work I planned.
Saw Werner Herzog's Aguirre, the Wrath of God at the Cinematheque (for the second time). What a crazy classic!
The New York Times Sunday crossword was unusually clever this week. It had a rebus that sometimes stood for "on" with across clues and "off" with down clues, other times "on" with down and "off" with across!
Dinner was vegan lasagna because we were expecting John, but he didn't come. (I later sneaked out to KFC.)
Barry King from Korea is in Toronto. I've been sorting through Sunday strips of Big Ben Bolt, Rusty Riley, Prince Valiant and The Heart of Juliet Jones to find those on a list he's looking for. So far I've found over a hundred to trade with him!
Moira recorded a new accompaniment of the Don Giovanni serenade for me. I also tried singing Donizetti's "Bella Siccome un Angelo" for the first time. (I'm finally getting back to singing after a week's rest.)
Dinner was salmon. We invited Donald, but he arrived late.
Saw the Russian horror movie Night Watch with George's Meetup group at the Royal. (He was hoping for a dozen people, but only four showed up.) It was kinda cool
"How was Switzerland?"
"Mountainous."
--The Forsyte Saga
At work I sorted through a big bunch of collective agreement brochures, removing the duplicates and creating a lot of new room.
Karen't quitting as organizer of the Book Club Meetup, and I've offered to take over. (Repent at leisure...)
Went to Mind Games and got Anthony a book of mind-teasing puzzles. (I've also got him an application for Sunday library work.)
Hartley and I joined some others to meet Anthony at the Downsview station so we could go bowling and celebrate his birthday. Unfortunately, a couple of people didn't show up and he told us to go ahead while he waited for them. (One showed up at the Wilson station, but we didn't have his cell-phone number.) We were waiting for him at the bowling alley but the noise got to me so I had to leave early. I ate at McDonald's afterward.
I've started doing my full workday on Thursdays. (Tuesday's a better day for an afternoon nap.) There wasn't much to do today. I did a lot of shredding, and boxed some attendance reports and complements. I also did another big pile of resumes.
Started reading Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time. So far it's more accessible than I expected. [My father was a physicist, and he told me there were parts that were over his head!]
Dinner was roast chicken.
Saw Terence Malick's The New World at the Paradise. Handsome production, silly movie. Would it have been any better if Colin Farrell (John Smith) and Christian Bale (John Rolfe) had traded roles? [In one scene a colonist calls Smith the only "professional soldier" in Jamestown. Now that sounds like exposition; "true soldier" would have sounded more authentic.]
Baked whole wheat bread overnight.
Dreamed of being a newlywed and honeymooning in an RV court with my bride and her parents(!); "waking up" and being concerned about the time.
At work I finally boxed the last of the grievance files.
Finished The Time Machine. As the narrator says, "The story was so fantastic and incredible, the telling so credible and sober."
Dinner was pork steak.
Picked up some more Ebay comics at Dragon Lady on my way to the taijiquan class.
Irene: "Does everyone have to want something?"
"In my experience, they usually do."
--The Forsyte Saga
Monty: "Did you hear the one about--"
Forsyte elder: "Yes. Forty years ago."
At work I boxed some health & safety reports, but it turns out that we can shred them instead. I also copied application forms.
My afternoon nap was pretty short because the hard hats outside were making a lot of noise.
Saw "Tale of the Goat," a voodoo-themed episode of Miami Vice. Some cool voodoo music.
Dinner was pork roast.
