Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr

The temperature went for a dip last night and this morning when I was getting ready for work, it was -32C (-25.6F). Not the coldest it's been since I got here, but close enough. I think it was about -38C last month. Thankfully I plugged in my car last night. I'm on call for the next two nights so have an agency car home for those nights and have to leave mine at work, so went out today and bought a very short extension cord for my block heater as the parking lot has plug-ins there. Hopefully no one will steal it. Sure, you jest, but my office is right downtown, near a host of bars, and when I went to get into this agency car today in the parking lot, it hadn't been used since at least Thursday of last week, and right next to the driver's side door was a nice golden hole...someone didn't make it to the bathroom. When I parked my car in the lot to plug in, I drove over two beer cans. Nice.

more Rendezvous Photos

because Blogger wasn't letting me add more to the last post, here are a few more.

Check out the chainsaw in the air in front of the Subway sign. This guy really chucked it!

Sourdough Rendezvous Time

I had full intentions in getting up at a sensible hour and heading into town for the Sourdough Rendezvous activities...I woke at 8:30am and rolled over to doze and wake up slowly, something that should take me about 10 minutes or so...before I knew it, it was 11am. OOOOPS. So I got up then and got ready and went on into town for the festivities. I have to say, I was disappointed that more people didn't come out. For a city of nearly 30,000 people, there might have been just 500 people there in total if that.

However though, the snow sculptures were quite amazing. They were more artistic than I had been used to in Labrador for the annual winter carnival. They made huge ones that people could walk through, and were painted. These are cleverly carved and the ones entered in the competeition are roped off. I voted for the birdcage.

I did have a hot dog and some hot chocolate...my toes were chilled while the rest wasn't too bad. I watched the log saw/split, the chainsaw chuck, and saw the can can girls. I was waiting a bit for some taffy but then realized I value my fillings too much to take the chance.

Rendezvous Begins

in earnest today. I was in the Superstore this morning when the Keystone Cops burst in and arrested one of the managers for impersonating a husky dog...heh heh. Then later in the day when I was in town again, they were at a local bar, plotting another arrest, lol. They even have Keystone Cops painted on their truck, and a little cage they tow behind it, its hilarious. Apparently you can escape arrest if you have a Rendezvous button on or a garter, or are in costume in some way, such as a Sourdough Sam, or a can can dancer.

Now where in the hell is my garter...

Dusk in February and Other "Friday" Ramblings

This is a photo of dusk in my backyard. We now have daylight for at least an hour or so after I get home from work, which is AWESOME! When I pull out of the parking lot at work, I can still see the sun above the clay cliffs.

Today is "Friday" as we have the day off tomorrow to celebrate Heritage Day, although I reckon most people will be celebrating the Sourdough Rendezvous in the liquid fashion. Even the kids get into the whole dress up thing. I was at an elementary school this morning to chat with a child and in the office, the receptionist was wearing a can can showgirl outfit, and I don't even know how many little girls were wearing the same thing, huge skirts, ruffles, feathers on their head, the whole bit! It was cute and disturbing at the same time as can can dancers are generally quite provocative in their style, and they were named can can for their scandalous dancing techniques at the time. It has been a big thing here since back in the Gold Rush days, and they still have the can can dancers in Dawson City at Diamond Tooth Gertie's where I hope to visit this summer. Dawson City is about 530kms from Whitehorse, so a few hours drive.

I finally got my Yukon license plate last week and couldn't get one of the screws out, so took my car to Toyota thinking the would simply help out. I left my car there as it was early and I had to work, just down the street. When I came back later to pick it up, I discovered they charged me $30 just to put my friggin license plate on!!! I was savage. And they acted like they did me a favour because it took their guy 40 minutes to do it and they charged me for 30 minutes...WTF? If I had know how much they were going to jack me for, I would have tried a little harder to do it myself, gotten a good set of pliers or some damn thing...dammit, $30!!!

I got bad news today at work about a little 5 year old who just found out he has cancer. Where is the justice in that? I know I've been surrounded by cancer my whole life, all my grandparents died of it, two SIL's and so on, but to hear about a 5 year old chills me to the bone. All I can think about is that poor mother realizing her little boy has to go through so much pain and suffering in the near future, something little ones should not have to know about in their short little lives so far. It just plain sucks.

My daughter is moving out of her mice-infested-no-heat-working-carbon-monoxide-poison house this weekend, what a relief! She and her significant other are moving into a nice apartment downtown Halifax and I can't wait to see some pics of the place. I am impressed that she has been able to cope with it all without me. She even went to the Tenant's board to complain about her landlord failing to take care of things. I'm so proud...

I am getting to the end of my wood, unless I get out there and start using my axe. I do have a fair bit of that crappy old shit that was here when I moved in, but it doesn't burn well and so now I have to think about ordering another load. She told me it would take me to the end of February and she wasn't off by much!

So there you have it, ramblings from a Thursday night...now it is nearly time for Survivor...

Damn Boxes or Not

Well, I've been moved in nearly 3 months now and the movers still haven't come to pick up the boxes. I don't think they're coming. I'm taking care of them slowly in the woodstove, but there still are a lot of boxes there! Stormy is loving the boxes coming into the house one by one filled with packing paper, I just have to remember to check and see that he isn't in there when I start slicing...I also need to slice a little farther away from my thighs. Two of my pyjama pants already have slices in them, and once I cut my skin...ouch.

Pancakes In The Air

We received a little snow today, maybe about 2-3 inches at best, and so there needs to be a little maintenance on the sidewalks. One would think that for simple snow, you would just shovel it off and that would be it. Oh no, Yukoners like to make it challenging and sprinkle salt over the snow, turning it into slush that becomes very slippery. WTF?

So there I am, already in a pissy mood because Tim Horton's didn't have the muffin I wanted and then gave me coffee instead of cappuchino, leaving me with nothing for breakfast. I went out at break to McDonalds (Yeah, I know, rotten Ronnies) and got myself some pancakes and milk. I was just turning the corner from where I parked and DOWN I went, on my thigh, knee, hands, whatever...flailing about and the pancakes of course, went flying. There's now slush all over my skirt (light color of course so it all shows) and dirty slush all over my milk containers, and my pancake container, and they're slipping out through the end. Great. Just fucking great. This is not the day to enjoy breakfast. So I said fuck it and brought them upstairs anyhow and reheated them in the microwave, wiped off the slush and ate them. This day isn't going to get better so I might as well eat up.

There you have it, yet another fantastic spill in my life, and yet another knock to the knees.

More Murals

The youth from Blue Feather Youth Center have reportedly been the artists for many of these murals that can be found throughout the city of Whitehorse. I have posted the RCMP one in three parts as it is very long and in a wide angle you can't see much of the detail. They are quite beautiful murals and I wish the city had even more to cover up ugly concrete and brick walls.

Newly Licensed!

I did it, I made the change. I now have Yukon license plates ($50/yr - NS is $115/2 yrs) and traded in my NS driver's license for a Yukon one(another $50 - NS is $63.60). I have to say, it looks a little like something I could craft at home with a computer and a laminator. I have heard that they often get rejected outside of the Yukon as proof of ID. They took my NS driver's license, but I still have my NS plate for a souvenir. I also have my Ontario plates from before that. Then I contacted my insurance company, Meloche-Monnex and got my quote...it is nearly half of what I was paying in Nova Scotia, which was a pretty good rate as it was. Whoo hoo!
____________________________________________________________________
editor's note - of course, these are not my actual license plates...JICYI

Frustration Set In...and then left me breathless

So I stayed home this morning and left for work at about 11am, and as I pulled out of the driveway I suddenly thought of one more place to look for my lost government cell phone (oops..your tax dollars at work). So I drove to my next door neighbors to see if she was home to let her know I was going to drive up the little lane to her storehouse where I recently put some things from my storage locker in town, the same night I last remember using the phone. She wasn't home, so I just drove up the lane anyhow, I knew she wouldn't mind. Of course, I also remembered getting stuck up there that night, but figured we hadn't had any fresh snow in a while, and it seems hard enough.

It would appear that I was mistaken. I got stuck as soon as I got to the end of the lane where the storehouse is. And there was only an inch or two of snow. WTF? I drive a standard, so usually can get out by working the gears and rocking the car back and forth, whatever. I spun my damn tires and nearly ripped out the god damn transmission trying to get that fucker out. I sweat buckets, dressed in a damn skirt and blouse. Excuse my language but its a hell of a lot milder than what was hollered in the woods today. The wildlife must have thought I was losing my mind out there. I tried everything under the tires too until I went rooting in my trunk for anything that might help me and spotted the 20kg bag of kitty litter and though, screw it, I'll give that a try, so dumped some kitty litter under each tire and before I knew it, I was out. Still took a bitch and a fart, but it came clear and I drove the hell out of there. I did take a peek in the storehouse before leaving to see if my cell phone was in there, but didn't get a chance to poke in the snow for it...I probably drove over it in trying to get that bitch of a car out anyway.

So that was this morning's frustration. So this afternoon when I was driving home in the daylight, enjoying the scenery and thought I might try my new cd, Abba Gold. Come on, admit it. Everyone secretly loves listening to Abba songs in the car and singing along. Anyhow, I got this nifty little opener for cds and things from my sister. Of course I didn't have it today in the car. I tried for 5 minutes to get that little bastard open and then finally flung it out the damn window on the floor of the passenger seat. And then I was too pissed off to give up, so got it back up again when I stopped for the mail on the way home. I scraped my keys over it and it opened and I got my Abba.

And let's not even mention the lack of Valentines in my mailbox this year. I feel like Charlie Brown.

Time Flies, But Where?

Here it is, Tuesday night and I haven't written since Friday. There wasn't much going on though. It's been mild, and I think it even rained in some neighborhoods in town.

um, my daughter called me on Sunday morning at 4am (8am her time...ugh!) but she was too excited to wait. She feels she has discovered her calling in life with her new job and talked for two and a half hours that morning about how inspired she is, how good she felt about herself, and how her confidence has leapt. I listened because I am her ma, and that's what mas do. It was wonderful!

So having not gotten much sleep on Saturday night, I was looking forward to going to bed early on Sunday night. Unfortunately the power company had other ideas. My power went on and off three times throughout the night. I kept waking up when it went off, because of all the beeps and blips in the house, and that noise the fridge makes when it cuts out. Then I would wait for it to come back on so I could set my alarm clock again or I would sleep in. Only it didn't come back on quickly like it normally does...usually a minute or two and its back on. That night, it was off for over an hour each time. Great. no sleep that night either.

Today I was tired and did NOT want to get out of bed. But I did, and went off to work. Then I went for a long walk over lunch, walking for the whole hours. Then I worked 3.5 hours overtime tonight so was READY to come home when I finally finished up.

The bonus is that I can take that time off tomorrow morning if I choose, and I choose. So tomorrow I don't need to go to work until noon tomorrow. Yippee! I'm getting SLEEP tonight!

I am missing a fish. Have you seen it? It's all black, and answers to Molley. I put four in the tank and now there are three. I lost the two tiger barbs already this week. Three deaths in one week. Bad things happen in threes...I've had mine! snorrtttt, haahahahah. Yeah, right. However, the fish is missing. Not even a coupla bones or fins...maybe he swam away from home...

I bought Stormy a Kong but he doesn't appear to be bright enough to figure out there's a treat inside. He has ignored it since I bought it, and there are still two treats inside. Via has shown no interest either. So I figure they are either stupid or smartasses who expect to always have the treats just GIVEN to them and to hell with my tricks, lol.

I began crocheting my poncho today. There may be a photo in the near future if it turns out. heh heh...

Ok, enough rambling...I am off to la la land and dammit, nothing better get in the way tonight!!!

******edited on Tuesday. Apparently I thought time moved faster than it did. This post was written and posted on Monday, as shown on the timestamp...not on Tuesday like I mentioned above.

Der Now, Luh?

Well, the dialect wasn't as strong as I expected it would be for the play, as Daniel's Harbour was quite remote at the time. The Nurse was excellent though, consistent and steady English accent, for a gal from the rock. And what my friend and I were impressed with so much was the ingenuity of the actors to create every scene from 6 props (ALERT - spoilers ahead!) - a table and set of 4 chairs and a sheet. That's it. They all dressed in white clothing, with some identifiable differences. And the props were so many things...the table was a sled to tow someone on who had just nearly cut their foot off...the chairs were bench for the sled on which he lay, wrapped in a sheet for a blanket.; in another scene, the chairs were a crib, the sheet the bedding; in one scene the table was the ocean beneath them, the chairs and sheet the boat they rowed in; in yet another, Nurse is being fitted for her wedding gown (the sheet) while standing on a chair; in one scene the sheet is her bread dough on the table; the same sheet is also a baby wrapped up, sheets on a line, a tablecloth, a shawl, a tourniquet, a pregnant belly, you name it! The table further acted as a back drop, a bridge (step), a garden, a door, a bed, who knows? And the chairs were transformed into a headboard, a fence, a bed, a crib, an oven, a sink, a bench, and with the sheet, a backpack Nurse carried on her back as she walked from town to town!

If you ever have the opportunity to catch this wonderful performance, I highly recommend it. It wasn't what I was expecting, it was better.

East Coast Humour Up North

I am heading out shortly to attend a performance of Tempting Providence at the Yukon Arts Theatre tonight. It is about an English nurse who was posted on the coast of Newfoundland in Daniel's Harbour in 1921. I heard the radio spots for it already and I feel taken back to the east coast already...I going with my friend and co-worker, J. who is from Saskatchewan and has never been to the east coast. I think we shall have some laughs. I will post later about the show.

My New Office!

My initial supervisor was promoted to Acting Manager for a while, and so her office came open and no one else wanted to move as we had just moved into our new space in December...so I got a grab at a nice window office. This one is quite an improvement on my hollow...windowless hallway is more like it...So now I overlook these mountains from my desk. I just love my new digs!

Poor Little Barb

Well, as agressive as the Tiger Barbs are, I think one of mine met its match...the filter...he got caught in the updraft and ripped off a part of his tail. Luckily I discovered this shortly after it happened and was able to free him, but he is not so very spry anymore. He kind of floats around, and swims upsidown...no, he isn't dead, not yet anyhow and since I freed him, I think he went back looking for his tail and got caught again, this time flat against it, so I just turned it off and he got away. What a moron. It sure slowed him down though!!! I wonder if the other fish will start snacking on him when they realize he can't move as fast. If they want their revenge they will...heh heh...

My Eyes! My Eyes!!!

Did I mention that the school busses all have strobe lights on top of them that flicker constantly? The sand trucks do to except they are blue and yellow and flick from one light to the next in rapid succession. I was driving behind a sand truck today and it damn near blinded me. Thankfully I got paged for work and pulled off and he went off out of sight.

Speaking of being paged, I have not been extremely busy with work, but just enough to make some good cash, and no serious incidents (which is what really matters, of course). Certainly, the tax man shall have his share. Ugh.

I picked up a few more fish today...some barbs and some molleys. Damn those barbs are such bullies. The fish guy told me not to get too many as they can take over a tank but I am watching them now, and they go up to the other fish and nip them, the little bastards. Thankfully I only bought two. We shall see how many survive the first night. I still have one of my initial feeder fish, and the three other ones I can't seem to remember the name of. All I know is they have the coolest little red patch over their eyes.

Sure Cure For Homesickness!

I heard a promo for this play today on my drive home through the mountains. I am sorely missing some of the best things about the east coast...the humour!!! And the dialect...love that and people are always pointing mine out to me...and I wasn't even barn dere.

Tempting Providence opens next week and I am pumped! They have a nice theatre here and I went to the Longest Night concert in December and enjoyed myself well enough with the Yukon humour, so I shall truly enjoy the humour as portrayed by some east coasters! It played in Waterloo in 2004 and is still on the go. It also played in Vancouver, Edinburgh, New Brunswick, and Australia.

So It's Hump Day...What the Deuce?

Some ramblings from a Wednesday night...
- saw a sign today that said "High Collision Intersection Ahead" and nearly had one laughing at the sign. I wanted to stop and take a photo, but figured that would invite a collision.
- the temperature came way up today and is only -6C out now!
- I got paid today. Taxes suck. Over $1000 went to the man for a two week cheque.
- I am not going to buy a Matrix. I am going to look at the new Yaris sedan. I just didn't like the Matrix enough to buy one and missed my Echo and the standard transmission. So I thought I would buy a new Echo and found out they are discontinued and replaced by the Yaris sedan. Stay tuned.
- American Idol auditions are just pure entertainment...both the ones that make it through and those that really suck.
- I am changing offices this week. Our former supervisor is staying on as acting manager for a while and they wanted her to step back over to the "the other side" where the manager's office is, leaving hers open. No one else wanted it, and at first I didn't, but it is an window office and I could use the sunlight to cheer the soul. Enuf said?
- I got a CD yesterday from my sister with tons of pics of my nephews and movie clips! I can't wait until next month when I visit them all!
- I see that someone has made a remake of the horror that was my babysitting experiences of the seventies. When A Stranger Calls...have you checked the children? Yeah, when it came out the first time, I was babysitting several nights a week and the guys in the neighborhood thought it would be cool to do prank calls, and sneak around the houses where we girls were babysitting and bang on the window screens. Nice. thanks for the nightmares fellas...
- I am a third of the way through my wood for the winter. Incidentally, I am also a third of the way through the boxes that damn movers didn't pick up too.
- I got a parcel from my parents last week with two pairs of mukluks in them they bought over 30 years ago in northern Ontario. My dad's fit me and they are soooooo warm and totally stylin. I'll be bringing my mother's to my sister in March for her to wear.
- Survivor starts tomorrow night. I am hyped!
- Tomorrow is also Thursday and the day after that is Thank Frig It's Friday
- oh, and for those who were worried about my impending burnout, things have settled out considerably and I no longer wish to jump from the roof of my office building

Oh The Irony of It All

I was replying to an email from my dad tonight and thought I'd note the current temperature. So off to the dining room I was and looked for the thermometer, but it wasn't there. It must have fallen down below the window. I was dressed in cotton pyjama pants, t-shirt, and a sweatjacket. I had socks and slippers on too. I was only out a couple of minutes, clipping the thermometer back into its bracket. And then WHAM! A cold chill gripped me to the spine. I tore off into the house again and headed for the stove. I shook and shivered and shook and shivered. Holy shit I was cold! I have never been that cold before in all my life. I can only imagine how quickly you could get hypothermia if not warmly dressed. It was only -25C, which is certainly cold enough, but we are up from -38C last week. Here it is, nearly 30 minutes later and I am still chilled. So in going out to fix the thermometer so I can see how cold it is out, I nearly froze to death. Nice.

Where Were You When The Lights Went Out

I was at a friend's house in town and when the power went off, she thought it was because she was a few days late on her power bill. When I left her house to go downtown to return my axe, I discovered all of the city was out. And seeing as how only about half the drivers in any town know that traffic lights that go out convert to a four way stop, I thought it best to get the hell out of town and away from the idiot drivers. I arrived home and the power was out here too! Damn, I wished I had my shower before I went to town...

So I set to work loading up on firewood and tracking down my candles and candle holders, the radio, batteries, flashlight, the usual. I got a call from my other friend who was in town today too who informed me that a major dam broke down this afternoon so we are without power for possibly a day or two, who knows.

Then I heard on the radio that we might get the power back soon, but only on rotating basis for now, and only for 2 hours each at a time. Just as he announced it, on it came. I jumped into the shower and plugged in my laptop for charging! Can't be left without the outside world...lol.

So, here we are with the power back temporarily...then it shall get dark again. I think I'll go to bed early...but somehow keep the fire going.