In here life is beautiful… The girls are beautiful…

I guess I hadn’t done laundry properly in a long, long time. I mean, apart from a load here and there at his house, probably not for a month. Upon my return home, I sorted it all out, and found I had washed a dozen pair of underpants and 16 pair of socks. And I don’t wear socks every day.

Does this sound like a lot to anyone else?

Apart from counting underclothes, I have a doctor’s appointment today, and then I am off to see Miss Em-Lee to play with her new birthday present. I have no idea what we are going to make, but it will be delicious. Then I will go to the land of giant televisions to watch BB8.

I just got home from my best friend’s birthday party. She turns 35 tomorrow, that means we are the same age. She’s pregnant with twins, that means she can’t drink. But it doesn’t mean she can’t eat.

This is what I wore to the party: White FCUK dress, that I have never worn out before, Levi’s denim shorts, grey and white Ked slip on runners, that usually eat my feet, but didn’t tonight. Then I had on my Gap jean jacket with the I <3 COCK pin on it, because it’s true, I do love cock. Some cocks. Well, one in particular.

I am getting much better at the self portrait. This almost looks like me.

For my evening job, I bring along something to eat, so I don’t end up passing out, or worse, getting really grouchy around 8pm. So, on my way there on Thursday, I stopped at a nearby grocery store to get a little snack. First, the sandwiches were ridiculously expensive-$4.99 for tuna on Wonderbread. Eff that. So I picked out a small salad, a bun, a banana, gingerale and some gum, then got in line in the express lane (1-8 items, bag your own). Key word “EXPRESS”.  It’s supposed to mean fast, right?

The lady in front of me had more than 8 items, but really, if the cashier is fast, 2 extra things isn’t the end of the world. The woman first asks the cashier if they take American cash.

Cashier: “Yes, we do, but nothing over $20 bills.”

Blank look.

Lady: “But do you take American?”

Cashier:”Yes, but not 50’s or 100’s, just 20’s and lower.”

Difficult concept, right? This went back and forth a couple more times, until the customer pulled out a twenty dollar bill, and was told that it was fine.

Ok. So her groceries are rung through and the total is $41.67. Lady hands cashier ONE  twenty dollar bill. Yes, American money, in Canada, but still, only twenty dollars.

Cashier:”Your total is $41.67.” And gestures at the screen where the total is prominently displayed.

The lady stares at the screen and shrugs a bit, fishes in her wallet and passes another twenty dollar bill to the cashier. And stops. Again, the cashier (who I have to say was incredibly patient) repeats the total. This is when the lady starts getting a little huffy, and I asked if there wasn’t some form of exchange rate for American money. No, it’s at par. Ok.

Cashier:”You still owe me $1.67.”

Lady, rummaging in her wallet:”I don’t have it.”

Cashier:”Then you will have to pick something from your groceries and I will take it off the bill.”

Lady:”What? Why?”

Cashier:”Because it’s $41.67 and you don’t have enough money.”

So the woman tells her to take the cake off the bill, a $15  cake. Cashier hands her back the $40, takes the cake off the bill, tells her the new total (which I don’t actually remember, but I think was $23 and change).

Lady hands her ONE twenty dollar bill. Cashier repeats total.

Lady:”But I have enough money for the cake now!”

Cashier:”No. You don’t. I took it off the bill, now you have enough to cover the REST of your groceries.”

Lady finally hands over second twenty and we all have to wait for the cashier to get an over ride on her till. Lady gets her change and just…stands there. The cashier rang me through quickly, and I had to excuse myself to get past the woman, who is standing there staring blankly at the cashier, who, finally, tells her she needs to bag her own groceries. I bag mine and rush out of the mall in a bit of a rage.

Now. I don’t really understand what was going on here. This happened at Yonge and Eglinton, a nice area of Toronto. The lady was nicely dressed, had both shoes on, had a decent hair do, was about middle aged. I couldn’t really hear her, but she might have had an accent. The cashier looked South-East Asian and did have an accent, but was perfectly understandable and did her job quickly and efficiently. She was very polite, patient and clear. I couldn’t tell if there was some language barrier thing going on, or if this woman just had NO idea how to use money. I think there may still be some weird aristocratic people left in the world who just never do that sort of thing. But then, she was buying produce, onions and peppers and stuff, so she must have SOME idea on how to cook. So it’s just hard to say. And I admit I was totally pissed off at the time, because the clock was ticking and I didn’t want to be late for work. Now I think it was just bizarre. And I am glad I witnessed it.

The dinner blogging is usually a task I leave to someone else (mostly because he does the cooking and I do the eating, it would be like posting someone else’s art) but today, I am the mistress of the kitchen. My own kitchen! And I never cook at home, never, ever, ever.

Here goes:

1. I wanted veggies of some sort because, living in the Market, I have the pick of the litter. Crop? So I picked up a yellow zucchini, an orange pepper and some mushrooms. Then I got half a pound of cheese. Don’t laugh at such a small amount. I am not much of a cheese eater and the more I get the more likely I am to forget about it and let it turn blue and furry.

2. These I chopped and sauteed in olive oil with salt, minced garlic and dry thyme and basil and chili flakes. Then I added a can of chopped tomatoes, a couple slugs of worcestershire sauce (I am English-half-after all) and a sprinkle of parsley. Then I let it simmer while I talked to Em on the phone.

3. I couldn’t decide on a starch, so I went with whole wheat couscous. Did you know it’s almost exactly the same as the regular one? I mean, it tastes the same, and maybe it’s better for me? Who knows.

4. Slapped it all together and grated cheese on top, with fresh ground black pepper. Everyone knows I like swearing, I mean, I enjoy myself swearing, so I swear, this is fucking good shit. Mmmmmmm.

No, I am not a food stylist. This may come as a surprise. I ate that whole bowl, and now I am going to eat a little more. Just a little. This from the girl who’s been complaining about her personal fatness lately. Well, if it wasn’t so dang good, I wouldn’t have to have seconds, would I?

I dream of the day when I suddenly find myself with an excess of cash. You know, that special time in a girl’s life when she can pay her rent and bills on time AND buy a little something nice.

Do you want to know what I am currently coveting? First, I am dying for a beanbag chair. My ass is sick and tired of sitting on the floor here. The ones at Sumo are very very nice. I’d like a red one with a matching footstool. Auto also has beautiful beanbag chairs, but they are considerably pricier. But prettier. Although, looking closely, I bet I could make something similar, maybe using some denim or toile. Eh, you know how I love to start/finish projects…

I have also been dreaming about rubber boots. At first I thought I needed really fancy ones, but now I am really into the simplest black ones. And they are cheap! I had a pair on at work the other day and they made me super happy. I might even trade in winter boots for a pair of rubber ones with decent insoles for warmth. Do I even have winter boots?? Hm.

I desperately need a new watch. I said I was going to buy a band for my smelly, old, Dickies watch, but fuck it. It’s almost cheaper to get a whole new one. My old Roxy watch is supposed to be fixable, but, yeah, one day. You know, the more you say the word “Dickies” the stupider it sounds.

There are a few shirts that I am interested in. First, everyone knows how much I love fiddling with my mii. This shirt is incredible. How do they do it? They can’t even put pictures on shirts, haha? I also love this one. Pure brilliance. Guitar Hero is another game that I adore, although I haven’t played in a while, and I managed to find a couple shirts dedicated to rocking out. I think I wear a ladies medium. Or a men’s small.

Anything from here would make me happy too. Hey, a girl can dream, right? Barring that, one of these will do. I love, love, love them. This ring is neat too. I’d share it with you.

Ok. Enough greed for one day….I am going back to designing my dream house, constructed with assorted shipping containers, floors and ceilings made of glass, roof top patios and cantilevered second floors. Did I mention that I have been dreaming a lot lately?

It’s been a busy couple days. I no longer am used to working and it takes every bit of energy out of me. Naturally that leads to me consuming more coffee than usual and taking my B vitamins every morning. Then I can’t sleep at night, which forces me to take a little something to help with that…leading to more coffee in the morning. I am beginning to feel a little bit like Judy Garland. Minus the incredible voice.

Today I brought home broccoli, alfalfa and sunflower sprouts, plus a giant bag of mixed beans. I doubt I, personally, will be eating any of them, but I know they’ll be appreciated elsewhere.

Oh, gosh, and we watched the scariest movie last night. It scared me more than The Ring. Which I slept through. The Abandoned is absolutely terrifying. And led to interesting conversations about doppelgangers and what they mean. I guess you can’t kill them without killing yourself. If you ever see me but I have solid white eyes, please just let me be. And don’t tell me, I don’t want to know about it.
My legs hurt.

Because it’s hard to take self portraits (well, for me, at least, decent self portraits) and because it’s hard for me to visualize what a shirt in progress will look like without it being on me, I apologize for the pictures. Lame.

Number one, as per earlier entry, is a black XL shirt with a Russian serial killer print on the front. I changed the original idea I had, and now I have it so the back is loose, drapey, rather than pleated, and the front, the pleats now face in. Seems to work better that way.

And, because this is funny to me, the back view:

Interesting hair-do, I know. It’s hot and I was scrabbling around on the floor, and my braids were getting entangled in pins, fabric and necklaces.

Shirt number 2. It was going to be a skirt, and really, could probably double as one. Just need to tuck in the straps. Oh, it’s not a shirt, it’s a halter. All I did was cut the top part of a XXL shirt off, just below the armpit lines, turn it upside down, throw in a drawstring and some straps, and voila: halter!

Now that I think about it, though, I might turn the sleeves into a bra type thing and attach it at the top, making a longer shirt. And keeping the print right way up, in other words, the opposite way it is now. I just need some notions, like elastic and some proper black thread that works in my machine.

Seems I lied in my last post. I am quite busy, and seemingly, getting busier. Today is the last day of nothing before the dam bursts.

Thursday: Meeting my dad at 11.25 am and spending a few hours with him. Going to a job interview at 3.00 pm, which I really, really hope to ace. Monster VooDoo Machine show at night. Don’t laugh, it will be super fun.

Friday: Working at the sprouts place. Again, don’t laugh. I actually really like working there. Nice people make a huge difference.

Saturday: Training, all day, at the call centre.

Sunday: Sprouts.

Monday: (Potentially) training, again, at the call centre from 5.30 pm to 8.00 pm

Tuesday: Same as Monday.

Phew.  

I am joining the “I alter my giant t shirts into something cool” club, and started working on this. No, I don’t actually own any giant t shirts, I stopped that habit a long, long time ago, so I had to get one from Shannon. This one is a black XL, with a white screen print of some Russian serial killer. It has some holes in it, which I didn’t notice at first, but it doesn’t have any paint or obvious stains.

First, I cut off the sleeves. Right at the seam, but on the sleeve side of the seam. Then I cut straight across the front, arm hole to arm hole, approximating how high I want it to be on my chest. Same on the back, a bit higher. Then I cut the hems off the cut-off sleeves, to be used as bands at the top of the front and back. Then trimmed the sleeves to be shoulder straps. So here I am with a bunch of black stuff that looks like nothing, as most projects do in their initial stages.

Brought it home. I dragged down my good old Judy, who’s body has been clawed by some very naughty cats, and started pinning…It’s hard to pin this stuff. It’s pretty experamental right now, but there are a bunch of pleats in the front, facing out, and one big box pleat in the back. The straps, at first, were going to be neat and flat, but now I think I might just gather them too and they will be wide and sort of loose. I have to get it on the floor and find a measuring tape to make it all even, and a chalk, re-pin, and attempt to sew. I won’t have time today, because I have a job interview at 4.30pm, but seeing as I only work three days a week, currently, I have lots of time…