Wok N Roll

Mass exodus from the RSO. The oil patch and Alberta Finance are stealing people away. More next time.

Found on the way to Catherine's:

Made her stop so I could take a picture. At least I was laughing.

Easily Amused

"Under your prim exterior, I'm sure there beats the heart of a lusty animal." Inspite of herself, Hannah felt flattered, and then he added, "Perhaps a gerbil."

~ Curtis Sittenfeld, The Man of My Dreams

The Little Redhead Girl talked to me today. She was so excited about going skiing, and just had to tell someone about it. This was in a slightly out of breath voice from running for the bus. And before you knew it, she was also telling me she has to run because she has to finish watching her favourite show Kim Possible before leaving the house. Her enthusiasm made me smile.

Mad Cow Mystery talk last night was so much fun! Nikki insisted on having a hamburger for dinner - it only seemed right. And when I met her at Earl's I was introduced to her "Sister-in-law-ish", Wendy. I also got to stare at Jay Ingram (two tables away) from the corner of my eye - he drinks red wine! At the Timms Centre, meet up with Jeff, and the whole lot of us sit down to an hour plus about prions. With his description of Kuru (one of the 6 prion diseases he discussed), I immediately thought of the X-files episode, and Jeff referenced Anne Rice. I was at the edge of my seat... it was as though he was talking about a spy / thriller movie... with cells! And he showed pictures of cells, and there were graphs, and a computer animated peptide chain that folded into a protein. Like, soooo cooool! I'm tempted to even say "awesome"! Wizard! But this could be because I am as, Scott Adams writes, "Easily Amused" I think cell diagrams would show up on my slideshow. The ride home was a lot of fun too. Wendy talked about her anthropology class. We planned to go to future lectures that will also "not have a test at the end".

Christiana's card showed up in the mail this week. (Thank you, Christiana.) An adorable hedgehog holds a flower on the cover. It makes me smile, so I've added it to my wall. From the doorway, Lorena asks me why I have a card with a potato on it. That makes me smile, too.

I take apart my keyboard as I talk to Darren on the phone. Chunks of toast fall out when I shake the husk. So where does my shift key go? Or this little one with the document on it? Darren tells me the relative locations, completely unphased. He suggests that other people take the keys out in order. Well, where would the fun be in that? This is like a puzzle. Oh, and just think of the security possibilities (*evil laugh against those who look at the keys to type...*)

Little black cloud

Maybe day four is the day for arguments. I guess was lulled into a notion that family gatherings can be peaceful, enjoyable affairs and thus not dreaded events, from the successes of the last several days. But not so.

Got home last night and saw immediately that tension was high. Was I late? What was going on? No one confirmed. But we were soon eating dinner as though Dad had eaten gunpowder, where any comment was taken as critism. Dad really out did himself again by doing up a wonderful feast (even including fried cloves of garlic, and a dish with sea cucumber). But the serving chopsticks and spoons were being passed around in an agitated manner. Celina and Kevin as usual refused the more exotic fare, finished eating and started to draw, and all this seemed to immensely annoy my brother-in-law.

I bring up Daisy's engagement which I thought would bring the table to a happy celebratory mood, and found out that people weren't happy about that either! Argh! What the heck?! I hate this negativity. And then Carl was yelling at the kids again.

At some point they leave, and we clean up. Dad does all the while grumbling. And I'm glad to be done that, and retreat to my room.

Was rather escapist in jumping into Melissa Bank's "The Wonder Spot" (so far so good). The details were beautiful. Just like "The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing. But even that made me sad.

Day three of the lunar new year, which traditionally means a day of staying at home, and lots of tiptoeing. It is afterall considered the Day of Arguments. And after some thought, it does sound like a good idea. After a whole week of preparation before the New Year, followed by two days of too much noise, good behaviour, the possibility of guests dropping in at any possible hour... and changes in natural behaviour and routine to avoid bad luck... tempers are probably strained. If we didn't take a day off in the celebrations, people might just end up being cranky and arguing for no reason at all. So superstition aside - probably a good idea. Of course this doesn't mean I can avoid going to work :) And though I should probably save this post until another day (for similar reasons) there's just so much that happened over the weekend, that I don't want to forget... and it's a good way to procrastinate from studying.

So where to begin? Left off last time Friday with a special agenda right after work - Salsa class! Last minute invite, last minute "yes", and I'm off to meet up with Matt for the class another math grad, Hugo, was teaching. The class was fairly large with more people I recognised than not. Soon we were warming up to some fun Latin beats. Hugo did a neat little exercise to have the men practice their leads: dance, and their partners were to close their eyes! Dancing with eyes closed - this is great! And I'm tempted again to "cross the floor" and learn how to lead.

After the class, went back to the student offices and chatted with Matt and Ben. We ate vitamin C tablets, and the two of them demonstrated stick figure drawing (sleepy Lana the subject), pushups, and how to hang from door frames. They had some interesting additions to the "how to handle a creepy person" talk continued from Malcolm's tea (a slapstick amusing one involving a swift kick, or pretending to gouge out one's own eye, ew!). Perhaps it was the Fates way of testing me: I make it down to the LRT station (en route to Rem & Steph's for Friday Feast), and there was the creepy person I had in mind (from the encounter just the day before). But I didn't use any of the suggestions, and instead called Catherine. She in the middle of playing FFXII, and procrastinating from packing, helped dispel my wild imagination. And as I sat in next to people who I did not know, but I was paying emense attention to, did not make eye contact with said creepy person, and breathed a sigh of relief when he left the train. Over reacting? Um... perhaps.

Made it to Rem & Steph's without further incident and got to enjoy homemade pizza, cake (Happy Birthday again Michael), along with a mini fashion show. Got home safely and greeted with a "You Smell!" from Mom (who with her sinus problems cannot smell most things)... just the right amount of garlic, Rem.

Next day, with most of the garlic smell brushed and scrubbed off, picked up Chris and headed to Andrew and Sherry's wedding. It was a suprisingly fun ceremony. The pastor gave a very thoughtful sermon and even cracked a few jokes. Andrew looked so incredibly happy. Not long after, Darren and I taught a short little dance workshop for the wedding guests at the Derrick Club. Which was then followed by a fantanstic dinner. And yes - then to more dancing! (Thank you Chris for being patient with me!) Returned home past midnight to find Mom and Dad lighting incense, and praying to the ancestors. Ah, yes, the Year of the Pig is now here!

Very happy that there was whole extra day to recover from all the festivities. But instead of real rest, met up with Dave for lunch, and then met Celina and Kevin for Family Day activities. Now the four of us caught the play "Jeremy Fisher" by Concrete Theatre, and went running around the Art Gallery for their scavenger hunt. I was reminded again why I shouldn't take the kids out by myself! Minutes into seeing them, and they were fighting. But Kevin was still in the pick-up-and-movable stage, and Dave acted as barrier of sorts. Ended our outting at Second Cup at the library, when they plunked down with hot chocolate, a "Captain Underpants" adventure, and a book on mummies. Theresa came to pick them up. And I was off to dinner with more family. And then the surprise news: Daisy is engaged! Kathy is pregnant! Wow, maybe the Year of the Pig will bring good news.

O.k. enough of this procrastinating. STUDY!

The Bicycle Moves!

In my dream there were was a tiny windup toy (the black and blue cube on red legs that that would walk, and hop) and it was kept in a little hamster cage. It tried to climb up the sides, and I thought it was talking to me. A tiny orange and white cat slept nearby. A green dog comes to me, and lays its head onto my lap.

Celina and Kevin invited me last minute to their school's Family Dance. I figured, what the heck? It could be fun. *rubbing hands together* Another chance for me to mold them. So after the family dinner (the first of many for the Chinese New Year), I let Celina pick my outfit. She was so happy. She always feigns disinterest when she visits and says I have too much junk in my room - but I know she secretly wants to go through everything. And this was her chance to sift through my assessories... my makeup... In the end we were late for the dance, but she was sure that her auntie was pretty: A big purple flower for my hair, red lipstick, dangly earrings, red dress, and pearls. *re-reading passage* Um... very 80's.

The dance was a lot of fun. And would you know it? Brenda from Dance Club is a substitute teacher at the school. She brought 2 dance partners, and shared them with me for a couple of ballroom numbers. And it was truly a family dance: Little toddlers bopped around chasing the lights; The kids from the school running around madly and rolling on the floor; Some much taller kids (I hope were junior high siblings), and parents and teachers. Celina does a mean air-guitar, and I spin them both around until they're dizzy on the floor. And after some more jumping up and down with Celina, Kevin, and Theresa - it was time to go. Good work out.

Despite still having trouble sleeping, mood has greatly improved. Catherine made me laugh yesterday by quoting one of her customers from V-Day: Happy Singletons Awareness Day!

And today while I was frustrated at my computer:

Lidia: Kick it!
Lana: Um… I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.
Lidia: Look how well you treat it, and it does this to you?! Kick it!

Which may also be an applicable lesson for my love life :P


The snow is falling like bits of cotton from the sky, and I was surprised to show up at work finding that the bicycle has moved! Perhaps someone has taken pity on its rusting, fallen form... or maybe someone really still rides it? (*laugh* Here's the bicycle in classic glamour pose).

Looking forward to the long weekend. And Prion lecture "Mad Cow Mysteries" held by Alberta Ingenuity next Thursday. Free! Jay Ingram! Sign up on the site register.

Only a couple more days until Chinese New Year. As Christiana says: Here's to new beginnings!

On Valentine's Day

"So for accountants February 14 is a very special day. It's the last day that employees can reimburse operating costs to their employers." ~ Dennis

After going through the importance of "relationships" in taxes, Dennis added that a spousal RRSP is the most romantic gift for your sweetheart. Uh... o.k. Dennis. I can guess that's one thing I can look forward to when the day comes. In the meantime I'll just listen to you talk about the final. It's only 3 weeks away. Yet, my brain hasn't gotten into panic mode yet. And he's teaching us strategies for the exam... um... is that allowed? I shouldn't complain. A pep talk now and then is nice.

The whole day has gone by pretty fast. Starting with a "Happy St.Patrick's Day!" greeting from Wendy... I guess my special outfit (fedora with red rose) was a little confusing? Went on to help out with part of the OGRES (the group formerly known Well Being Committee) project for the season by distributing "Valentine's Warm Fuzzies". And though it was tempting to create a little kleenex mail box, I resisted the urge ;) It was nice to get a note. Lorena brought us each a bunch of tulips, and Wendy came by with chocolates. And so... it was pleasant. The whole "Hallmark Holiday" discussion came up again. Neither Helen of tax class (from China) or Lidia (from Poland) really knew about the holiday until they came to Canada.

I think about the moments of tenderness I've experienced in the last couple of days. Really this is another day for appreciation, non?

Anyway, will write more later. (I have updated: more on my Christmas break.)

Off to accupuncture. And then... I have my ITA to keep me warm :P

There are no photos from the epic Friday Feast held at Erik's. There may have been "scantily clad dancing boys and foot massages". And there also may have been a fight between Batman and Godzilla, and a piece of toast with olympic diving aspirations. And hot chocolate with marshmallows! But you had to be there to know. Good thing Wendy came with me.

Malcolm's birthday tea was the other event of the weekend. I managed to pull myself out of my stupor to attend. And was very glad I did. As Malcolm had said, "tea will cure all your ails." I'm sure the social contact and the goodies helped too. Warmed my toes at the fireplace and while taking pictures of all these lovely people in their version of informal wear. Stephanie wore her purple feathered hat and was fit to meet the Queen. Anne with her pearls. Pinstripe suits with bright pink and purple ties, along with blue jeans, and little black dresses. We sang "Happy Birthday" after the cake was cut. And at some point discussed what to do when confronted with (persistent) creepy people. Especially in public spaces. Malcolm unwrapped iron monkeys that linked at the arms. Malcolm's mom (I have forgotten her name again), told me her Margaret Atwood story and asked me a question that required my brain. Unfortunately, I could not answer: What is Margaret Atwood's appeal? What makes her a good writer? Beyond being disturbing, and that itself having some sort of merit, I could not say anything else. And again I wish I could capture the glow of candlelight, steam from tea cups, reflections off wineglasses, surprise, and cold feet being warmed.

A light dusting of snow covers the ground today. I missed the bus again, but not all for bad. While waiting I practice some tango, some rumba, even a bit of waltz. Traced on the ground are my steps. Something I romantically think of as being lovely. No TA class tonight. But a little excited still - I might be able to compete in the In-House... let's see how that turns out.

"And then Easter bunny would do rhythm gynmastics..." ~ Charlotte, speculation on what would be the natural progression of a CA graduation parade

Thursday's dance class went surprisingly well. My faith in the system somewhat restored.

Headed off to Friday Feast after some massive filing. And came in on Rem's French themed dinner at the 3rd course. Lovely salad, soup, baked brie, and duck! Unfortunately Simony did not show up to taste his duck, what was later coined as "Quackers III". It tasted great. And provided wonderful entertainment for Lana, who took the knife and started dissecting. Micah (resident vegetarian) got interested, and offered her bike light to the arrangement. Not quite sure if it was a liver or a lung that we recovered. And it didn't take long for us to be distracted by Rem's dessert - crepes with lemon butter and vanilla ice cream. Anyway, a pretty low key night otherwise highlighted by the chorus (us) singing "I am cow..."

Congratulations again to Shauna for acheiving her CA designation!

Saturday: The TC Girls (sans Jazzy due to some frustrating audit schedules) met up at Three Bananas for late brunch and then headed into the Winspear to watch her walk the stage. The next 2 and a half hours we saw new CAs introduced and welcomed to the profession. And we found out many things that may or may not be true about these new members. A large gentleman was an accomplished rhythm gymnast... another found "double entry" accounting extremely interesting... and another's special war cry of "Bring back SOXY!" One introducer reminded us that "Things are not always as they seem", and his inductee that happened to have Easter Bunny / trendy fashion sensibilities (pastel pink shirts, baby blue shoes) was in fact just a boring uncool accountant, like the rest of us.

Attention started to drift by the first hour of the proceedings. And Char, Catherine and I started noticing some strange things... were the inductors and inductees clones? The same hair, the same black suits, blue shirts, and striped ties? O.k. a handful were related to each other (accounting families) but couldn't account for all the similarities. Another hypothesis - these people were robots! How else to explain the seemingly disproportionate number of people who got married, and bought houses, and raised children, and ran marathons all the while finishing the designation requirements? Superhuman? O.k. I'm a little envious. Maybe, if I worked harder...

Another check on my cell for the time, to find that Jeff sent me a text message! Wow, this doesn't happen often. He too was falling asleep. But for him it was in Financial Accounting class (FA4). So nice of him to think of his aunt when he was utterly, completely bored *smile* And I attempt to write back to tell him I was falling asleep too. But couldn't. The word recognition software that Chris had mentioned on his phone, was obviously different from mine - and I could barely get "Hello" typed out before giving up. Maybe one day Celina will teach me how to text properly.

Headed out after the ceremony after more hugs, photos, and congratulations, and headed to Value Village to meet up with Anne and Steph. Went home and read something completely unuseful :)

Sunday went to bridal show with Amber, Grace, and Maria. And despite mixed ideas on what the show would be like, came out fairly indifferent. The most popular dresses still looked too much like cakes. But people gave me lots of free chocolate :) Amber's date is coming soon!

On the work front: Lidia is back! She brought me a CD with some fun Latin rhythms, and showed me lots of lovely pictures. Her comment: a very happy people. She right away noticed the 11X14 free desk space that was once occupied by files. (Ahem, when I pointed it out to her.)

From the Pen of Babes

Celina drew these for me. Her latest thing is sketching real people along with her princesses in elaborate dresses. I like the addition. Though I'm hoping these ones are not commentaries.

That's not clutter... THAT's clutter

Nikki's review of my office lead to some mad scrambling this afternoon. Inspired by her words, and her reading out loud the "Clutterbuster Checklist" (tacked on my wall) I started the strategy of hiding away some of my files in the cabinet. And found mass colonies of dust bunnies... which were probably living, growing, on all my toast crumbs.

I had really wanted to surprised Lidia with a transformed office. Starting small, I was going to bring in a mirror, maybe some thing for the wall, and do all the filing! Um... yes... she's coming back on Monday, I have no clue where all the three weeks went (right... work...). So, I guess the only reasonable dent I can make is by having another power filing session tomorrow. Wow, the idea of deskspace... *swoon* this could be good.

Ugh, but have to balance that with the crazy schedule of work. It's amazing how some people can still sign "Cheers" at the end of an email, when throughout the text they were indicating how "terse" they were going to get if something wasn't done NOW. Startled a couple of times by seeing "Lana" on legal documents... is that me?

Found out Tuesday night that studying works! Got my mark back from the exam and was completely surprised. Even more surprised when we reviewed the solution, to find how many marks he gave me (I wouldn't given myself those marks). I guess by the grace of Dennis, I will do well in the class. Final is only weeks away!

Yikes! To class! Tango in the Level II. Wore red dress... it makes sense. Distract from the feet.