Monthly Archives: February 2007
St Patrick’s Day Cards!
| February 23, 2007 | Posted by thatgrrl under Uncategorized |
St. Patrick’s Day is one of my favourite, under appreciated holidays. My Grandmother was Irish. She and my Aunt Alice and the other sisters were born in County Cork. I’ve never been there. The holiday is always a special time for me, to think about family and all the stories I heard about Ireland and the old traditions. I always find something green to wear.
I was out grocery hunting today and noticed St. Patrick’s Day cards in the store. Not many, it’s a small store in a small neighbourhood, but nice to see them out there.
What Kind of Writer Should you Be?
| February 23, 2007 | Posted by thatgrrl under Uncategorized |
| You Should Be a Science Fiction Writer |
 Your ideas are very strange, and people often wonder what planet you’re from. And while you may have some problems being “normal,” you’ll have no problems writing sci-fi. Whether it’s epic films, important novels, or vivid comics… Your own little universe could leave an important mark on the world! |
To Dream… of Pickles…
| February 23, 2007 | Posted by thatgrrl under Uncategorized |
It’s going to be another exciting day of grocery shopping tomorrow. I am looking at the current financial situation and I might be able to do the going out for breakfast thing too. I love that, all the great breakfast aroma and none of the dishes to wash after. What could be better than that? Well, a lot of things, but lets not get all complicated. There is a good breakfast place which gives me a pretty good walk to get to, down on Queen Street. You get a good breakfast for your bucks and you don’t leave there thinking about food for a long time. Unless you see one of those annoying, nagging commercials for fast food on TV.
It’s going to be Friday tomorrow. The most popular day for people who work Monday – Friday jobs. Otherwise Friday loses it’s prestige. It doesn’t rank as special when you know you’ve got the weekend ahead of you, to work. Of course, when you’re not working all the days kind of blend together and none of them are all that special. Not that each day isn’t special just for existing and the fact that I’m existing too. But, so few days really stand out. I am sick of thinking about money too, budgeting and planning ahead.
There are so many things I’d like to buy. I could go on such a good shopping spree. Once I get that second pay cheque I will be hitting a few stores. Some of it isn’t just fluff either. Some of it is of course. For instance, I’d like to get a big poster of some kind to stick on the wall that I face as I sit here on the computer. The bland wall just isn’t that inspiring. Maybe that’s a good thing for the times I should be writing but it doesn’t matter what is there once I get writing. My brain wouldn’t see anything except whatever is happening on the inside, under my skull inside all that mushy grey matter.
I’m also looking forward to buying at least one jar of baby dill pickles. Most likely the Bick’s brand cause I like how they crunch and yet they aren’t sweet tasting. I have a story about my first apartment when I was 16 and the Bick’s pickles plant in Scarborough. On my very first night there, after my room mate left to pick up more men and bring them back to her lair or whatever she did with them that night, I was alone during a black out. That was kind of freaky. All my stuff was half packed up still, my family were gone back to the family homestead and I didn’t know anyone for kilometres around. All the outside lights were out, the streetlights too. I sat on the floor inside, by the outside balcony and the only light I could see anywhere at all was the sign at the Bick’s pickles plant. It was nice, friendly. I’ve always remembered that and I almost always buy Bick’s pickles when I’m into pickle buying mode. Luckily, I really do like pickles.
Coffee is cold and I skimped on the cream tonight so it didn’t taste all that great anyway. I’m off to bed early. To read.
I Like Postcards
| February 21, 2007 | Posted by thatgrrl under Uncategorized |
I’m writing a post for Lockergnome about postcards. It has evolved to include mail art and letter writing. I found a two good sites for mail art: The Postman Always Rings Twice and Kiyotei’s Den.
I found a Journals and Letters group on Flickr that I joined. Another called Letters Lives that I added to the Lockergnome article.
The Postman Always Rings Twice
| February 21, 2007 | Posted by ThatGrrl at StumbleUpon under Writing |
http://snaillymail.blogspot.com/
Mail art blog. Fun to see what people are creating.
Time for New Things
| February 20, 2007 | Posted by thatgrrl under Uncategorized |
I was downtown again today. Just a trip out for coffee and a stroll around. No photos this time. It’s funny how you can get intimidated and not take photos at times. I saw a few things and I thought about how I would take the picture but there were several people around and I let the chance pass by. I don’t know why I cared that anyone was there. After all, what would anyone do, stop me from taking a picture. Not like it’s illegal or immoral. I’m going to try to work on that.
Yesterday I read a good article in another blog about writers who have blogs. She said most of us just write blogs about writing. I guess that is what we think we know and have thougths about most often. I think anything to do with blog publishing and SEO (search engine optimization for sites) comes a close second if not first even. But it is true that writers tend to make their blogs pretty predictable, topical blogs. I’m not counting this as a topical blog it doesn’t have any real focus.
She said we should write about something else, a personal interest, hobby or cause. I think that is really a good plan. For myself especially as I really do like having a project on the go and I really do need to have a plan and keep myself stuck to it. So, I am coming up with ideas. I do have plenty to choose from, lots of things I am interested in. Too many and some which turn out to be short term or abandoned along the way. I am thinking most about a blog with photos of old things in Toronto. I really do like taking the photos of old buildings and there isn’t any shortage of places and bits of places to choose from. I could have a backlog of photos on hand and just post one a day for a very long time. So that does seem like the idea with the most potential.
Makes me think about Skye and her blog for the town she is in. I check on her now and then. I would be lucky cause Toronto is massively big and a centre for a lot of events and traffic of people in general. I think she is finding that a problem for her smaller area.
Other topics I could write about are Pagan or women’s issues/ culture/ something or other. I think the Pagan would be good for drawing traffic BUT I don’t think I really have enough I want to say to make that a weekly column let alone a daily thing. Unless I added a wider focus for it, including some history and culture which would be borderline on focus for the Wicca/ Pagan topic. Still, it is something I am not passing off on. The women’s thing I am passing on. I really don’t want to blab on and on about online dating, periods, being a grrl or whatever else that direction would take me. I don’t see that being a direction I want to go in. Besides, I see a ton of sites like that which are submitted to Dmoz and most of them are pretty trashy with spam and light/ lame on content.
I am still going to put thought into the Pagan thing. Even though I can’t see it as a weekly column I wonder if it wouldn’t be a good idea. It’s important to have someone out there talking about Paganism from a real prespective, not all about quick fixes with spells and worshipping gods. I don’t believe in any gods and I am anti-spellcraft. Both seem really phony to me. You can’t say you are for life and free choice and such and then try to force things to your will with ‘spells’ and blame it all on ‘gods or goddesses’. Of course it is more complicated than that. I might try it and see how it goes. If I get into it or get wound out and have nothing left to say after a month.
I think I will keep the writing blog going. I renamed it Word Grrls this past week. So far it just has all my old articles with another dozen or so still in drafts to be stuck out there. I’ve been updating it each Monday. I’m not doing anything else cause I don’t feel right to really grow it till I’m out of old content. For now it is fine. As with the Pagan plan, it gives me time to decide if I want to keep it going as a weekly thing. To see what committment I really have to it all.
I do think the Something Old in Toronto idea is good, good for me as well as something I could turn into a popular site. People do seem to enjoy the photos I have done of old buildings. Although most are still the farmhouses from outside of Toronto. Anyway, it seems like a good plan.
Wedding Ring Zilla Grrl
| February 20, 2007 | Posted by thatgrrl under Uncategorized |
I don’t exactly know why but I wore my old wedding ring when I went out today. I just went out for coffee, a Tim Horton’s pit stop to get away from cabin fever. But I picked it out of the jumble of things I have strung up hanging from my computer. It was on a string which had another ring my Mom and I found in a purse at GoodWill, also a rock (red jasper) which I bought at a Pagan shop in Newmarket. I had to cut the string to get the ring off. I don’t remember tying so many knots in it but I did use a slippery, silky string – the kind that come undone easily. I wouldn’t like to lose the ring and yet I didn’t think I’d wear it again. Still here we are… both of us lonely… blab blah… I know there’s a song like that.
So I wore the ring. Maybe I was feeling lonely. I know I’m not missing my ex and I don’t want to get back together with him. I haven’t lived a life where I want to go back and try much of anything again. Once is enough. If I can’t make it work the first time I don’t see the need to give it a second chance to blow up on me. I guess that doesn’t include everything, but a lot of things.
Anyway, I wore the ring. I think I’m just missing being married, having someone to come home to, someone to listen to when things are too silent and someone to bug when I feel like bugging someone. It’s not fair being alone all the time. I like it, some of the time. I couldn’t stand being one of those attached twins though I guess if that was all you knew you wouldn’t know anything else you only know what you’ve been living. Maybe that’s why I like being alone sometimes cause I’ve been alone a lot.
This is becoming pretty wimpy and pittiful. I just thought it was interesting about the ring. It feels really clunky on my finger. Yet I liked having it there. I haven’t taken it off yet, just for a moment or two to slide it around and take another look at that hunk of gold looking metal. My ring is a gold band with 4 itty bitty diamond chips across the front. They are so small they could be glass and I wouldn’t know. I leave it and just assume they are diamonds cause that’s what they are supposed to be.
What did you do with your ring, if you are divorced? Did you keep it, lose it or chuck it out somewhere? Maybe you had kids to give it to. I just have me. Maybe the ring was just bored tied up to my monitor for all these years. I would get bored if it had been me. Luckily I have legs to wander off.
Happy Tuesday, it’s coming. Garbage day here. I think this time I will actually bestir myself early and get the bag out in lots of time. I can’t really go out for breakfast but I could go out for coffee and just smell other people having breakfast out. That’s almost as good. Graham says the insurance money should be here before the end of the month. I will treat myself to a breakfast out then or maybe Swiss Chalet for dinner. I love the smell of that chicken though I don’t actually order it when I’m there. 
Queen Street and Carlaw
| February 19, 2007 | Posted by thatgrrl under Uncategorized |
Took these today at the Queen Street East and Carlaw intersection. The smaller building was once the offices for Playing with Time, the people who created the Degrassi TV show. Last thing seemed to be a Youth Hostel Training Centre. Now it’s for sale, or was. Looked like the sign was different today. I would have taken more photos but the camera battery was unhappy and kept shutting me down.
The Idea is to Type Faster
| February 19, 2007 | Posted by thatgrrl under Uncategorized |
Bertrand Russell – “I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong.”
Victor Hugo – “One can resist the invasion of an army but one cannot resist the invasion of ideas.”
“If the doctor told me I had six minutes to live, I’d type a little faster.” -Isaac Asimov
