What Are You Watching This Fall?

First day of Fall to the First day of Winter offers some celluloid treats. I'm looking at the the following offerings if you ever want to join me...

September
22 - Flyboys ... bring on the big screen visuals and cute boy smiles
29 - The Guardian ... cause Costner & Kutcher cheesiness can be OK

October
6 - The Departed ... Scorcese, Nicholson, Dicaprio, Damon - do I need to say more?
13 - The Queen ... an interesting tour de force potential
20 - The Prestige ... Jackman, Johansson & Bale in the hands of Christopher Nolan must be magic
27 - Marie Antoinette ... pop music and powdered wigs

November
3 - Babel ... hopefully this year's Constant Gardener
10 - Stanger than Fiction - Will Ferrell's Truman Show
17 - Casion Royale ... a new brand of 007 is unveiled
22 - The Fountain ... this looks just TOO cool to ignore

December
1 - The Nativity Story ... could be a wonderfully beautiful experience
8 - The Holiday ... cause sometimes a good chick flick is necessary
15 - The Pursuit of Happyness ... and sometimes you want a sappy tear-jerker
22 - The Good Shepherd ... Damon, Jolie and De Niro rock the CIA

Hi fromYHZ

I am writing from the Halifax Airport via free WI-FI in the terminal. Being only mildly computer literate this experience is, admittedly, kind of cool! It is also a wonderful environment to express my frustration with my trip to Montreal this week. I think "the Fates" may actually be trying to keep me away and force me to deal with the pile of unfinished tasks on my desk at work. But I have triumphed (fingers crossed, knock on wood, hope nothing happens to a "falange" on the plane!) and I am on my way.

The story began yesterday morning when a combination of sleepiness and old-car syndrome conspired to cause my lateness at the terminal. After I was forced to wait in the line for the self-service ticket (a waste of 7.5 minutes behind an entire entourage of flying seniors getting private tutorials) I was rebuffed by the machine and sent to the ticket counter. By now I had 30 minutes before my flight so I was obviously stressed. And then I was informed that I would not be permitted to board my flight. Especially since I had to check my 1 bag (full of liquid personal care products) and I did not have time. So I broke into tears. Seriously. Not as an attempt to appeal to the ticketman's sensibilities. I was actually, really upset. I could not miss my flight. I had a meeting! It was my first visit to my organization's head office! I had ruined my first impression! What should I do! Well, compose myself would be the thing to do first but that didn't happen for a bit. I did arrange for a new flight and slunk back to the office to work. Sad and feeling stupid - two things I hate most.

Interestingly, it turned out to be a good thing I was in the office for the last two days as there were a number of things that I needed to address and I do feel better leaving with more accomplished. Sometimes it works out. And with that positive vibe I entered the airport tonight to get on my rescheduled flight. I was 90 minutes early. I confidently punched my booking number into the kiosk. And, what's this? - My request could not be processed and I had to see someone at the counter. And as the woman at the desk tried to find my "new" reservation in her computer she got more and more flustered. And then she had to leave and get some more information. And then she came back only to make a phone call while clearly hiding her conversation from me. I refused to get stressed. I hummed to myself. As it turns out, my booking number had already been used. My seat had already been assigned. Apparently, somehow, I had already checked in for this flight! Ummmm ... no. But a full 15 minutes later I had a boarding pass in hand and I was off.

So now I sit in the departure lounge waiting for the boarding call. It is late. The flights west are always late and I am going to be even more of an inconvenience to my bestest friend by arriving behind schedule. But I am getting on this plane! And I am getting to Montreal. And I am getting to my meeting. Fate be damned.

Beautiful Boy

It has be AGES since I got to post a picture of my rapidly-growing nephew extraordinaire. Well, here he is! Isn't he just gorgeous! Total heart-breaker in the making I think. I will be going back to Ontario for the Thanksgiving weekend so I will get to see him again. It has been 5 months since I saw him last and he has changed so much. But that is the way of children. He is also talking (and singing) so I look forward to having my first conversation with him. I am always amazed at the emotions I have about the little guy since I don't see him much. I am always reminded about the unconditional and uncontrollable love for family when I see pictures or hear stories about him. So I am naturally proud of his development and awed by his happy smile. So I just have to share.

Island Wedding

I made my FIRST EVER trip to Prince Edward Island today to attend the beautiful marriage of this lovely gal. She was "fresh off the the island" when I met her 10 years ago so I feel it is only fitting that she be the reason that brings to that special place. Did you know PEI is only a quicki 4-hr jaunt (and $40 bridge toll) from Halifax?

Well, me and some of the other ladies (see below) took the road trip and made sure to enjoy ourselves. I know that people always talk about the red island soil (and it is red!) but I was more amazed by the glowing grass. The sun was beating down through puffy Simpsons-esque clouds and the grass was electric emerald in the light. We were on our way to Charlottetown and the road meandered through one big giant farm of land to get there.

We stopped in a the tiny town of Victory (by the sea) for lunch and what a magical detour it turned out to be. We had lunch at a small, eccentric cafe that served thyme pork roast with baked potato just like at home. And then we visited the chocolate shop for handmade sweets and delicious tea. I had to buy a tin of the house blend that is a soft mix of 3 black teas infused with peach and apricot. Needless to say, we arrived at our cabin much later than anticipated and had to prepare at a quick pace for the ceremony.

So the wedding? The wedding was wonderful. It was traditional and beautiful. I cried cause I am a total softie. The reception was a fun cocktail party that definately had some "scandalous" moments and expensive wine. But I got to do some dancing - including a twirl around the dancefloor with the groom himself. Then it was back to the cabin for more drinks (soooooo many drinks) and conversation. Thanks to my wonderful work family for the fantastic time. Must catch up on my sleep now!

Autumn Arrives

OK ... so I am not ANY closer to sorting out my life. But as we welcome the first day of fall here are two little diversions on the themes (the future and fall) of that instructive horoscope. Don't you just love quizzes?!

What Your Soul Really Looks Like

You are a wanderer. You constantly long for a new adventure, challenge, or eve a completely different life. You are a very grounded, responsible, and realistic person. People may not want to hear the truth from you, but they're going to get it. You see yourself with pretty objective eyes. How you view yourself is almost exactly how other people view you. Your near future is still unknown, and a little scary. You'll get through wild times - and you'll textually enjoy it. For you, falling in love is all about the adventure and uncertainty. You can only fall in love with someone who keeps you guessing.

Inside the Room of Your Soul

You Are Apple Cider

Smooth and comforting. But downright nasty when cold.

What Part of Fall Are You?

Fit

The notion of "fit" has been in my thoughts lately. Not in that physcial fitness way. Nor in the fit of my jeans way. Not even in the British slang for hotness way. I have been thinking of fit in the way that you think of people in your life and how they connect together to turn the pieces of your life into a full picture. And how some people just FIT. Currently I have something new in my life that consistently amazes me with its easy fit. Its good fit. Its fulfilling fit. And I am calmly awed by my luck at finding another element that feels right for the puzzle of my life.

Last May I used the puzzle piece metaphor to talk about compatibility and how important it was that the pieces match in shape and colour. Now I understand that the pieces must be somewhat different to fit. Not so different that they come from completely different puzzles but the colour cannot be the same because the image emerging will never be uniform. And if the shapes match perfectly they may lay beside each other but they will never fit together. AHA! So I must express my modified metaphor. This one is infused with the thoughts that are circling in my brain as I challenge myself to continually find the best pieces for my puzzle. Oh, and relish the addition of a particularly nice one.

A Sunset in NB

More pictures from a work trip. This week took me up to the Baie des Chaleurs in New Brunswick to do some training with the field staff. After a full day of information overload we went out to sit on the shore and watch the sunset. We plopped down on the grass and dangled our feet over the edge of a sandy cliff above the water. And watched as the sun fell in blazing glory behind the horizon. It was one of the clearest and most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. Check out the evidence below.

Sometimes I have to be really happy about where my life takes me.

Do You Remember Where You Were?

I was shopping for furniture in Kitchener, ON to supply a project house. We ended up seeing the images on a TV in a Value Village of all places - surrounded by the gaudy (and early) racks of Halloween costumes. I remember hearing the news on the radio prior to any visuals and the impact it had to NOT be able to SEE it. To not be able to visualize it and it made me think about all those people listening to wars before television made everything feel like entertainment. And although I have my own (admittedly strong) conspiracy ideas about the whole incident I will cop to feeling a weird shudder of something everytime the phrase 9-11 is mentioned. It has definately become an iconic date.