I didn't want to do it, but I had no choice: today I had to write some hate mail to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Those idiots have a link on their website to order an "NHL Apparel" catalog. But here's the kicker... they will only send it out to USA addresses. What's up with that? I wrote them and told them that I couldn't believe that they'd do that. A Canadian team and they won't ship a catalog within Canada. What a joke! (And as a side note, the word is actually supposed to be spelled "catalogue" if you are using proper Canadian English.)

Yesterday in the lunch room (at work), a girl asked me if I'd like to finish her bag of chips. Of course I accepted the offer, since I've never been known to refuse free food. This particular bag of chips happened to be the Hostess "Munchies Snack Mix", which is a tasty combination mix of Doritos, Sun Chips, Cheetos and pretzels. However, when I started eating them I noticed that there were no Doritos or Pretzels left in the bag, only the Sun Chips and Cheetos remained. The girl explained that she doesn't actually like Cheetos or Sun Chips. Well, in that case, I couldn't help but ask her why she wouldn't just have bought a bag of Doritos. She told me that if she did that, then she would be missing out on the pretzels and that just wouldn't do. I laughed and said, "so you mean to tell me that you buy this mix, knowing full well that you will only eat half of the contents?" Apparently, that is exactly what she does. I have some weird co-workers.

Congratulations to my neighbours from across the street. This evening, they managed to set a new record, as three RCMP cruisers and an ambulance surrounded their house. (This betters their previous mark from a month ago, when there were "only" two RCMP cars on their driveway.) I couldn't tell exactly what was going on, but they did carry somebody out on a stretcher. I must say, there sure is a lot of commotion at that house. Actually, I usually find it quite entertaining. You never know exactly what's going to happen next. For example: this past weekend I happened to notice four guys leave the house and get into a car that was parked on their driveway. The car backed out of the driveway, and pulled onto the parking lot of an elementary school that is literally right beside their house. Then they proceeded to do a series of brake stands and donuts on the icy parking lot, before driving the 15 metres back onto their driveway where they climbed back out of the car and went back into the house. Yup. I have some very, uh... entertaining neighbours.

Funny (but true) city law: In Montréal, it is illegal to make or store nuclear weapons within the borders of the city. Violation of the 1996 law (statute number A-5), calls for a $300 fine for first-time offenders. Ironically, this is exactly the same fine that Montréal homeowners face for letting weeds grow in their yards.

Politicians are so hypocritical. Françoise Ducros, the communications director for our Canadian Prime Minister, referred to U.S. President Bush as being "a moron" during a private conversation this past Wednesday. A couple of reporters overheard the comment, and suddenly this non-story has been blown up into a major controversy. (In fact, I just heard about it yet again on CNN a few minutes ago!) Here in Canada, all the other politicians are "outraged" and "shocked" at Ms. Ducros comment, and are DEMANDING that she resign from her position. Give me a break!! Resign from her job for a meaningless comment? No wonder most people have no respect for politicians, and I'm not talking about Ms. Ducros. I'm talking about all the jerks who act like they are so surprised that someone would actually refer to President Bush as "a moron" during a personal conversation. Really... who HASN'T been guilty of this very thing? Okay, if not President Bush, how about Bill Clinton? Al Gore? Or maybe, if you live in Canada, how about Allan Rock, Stockwell Day, Brian Mulroney, or Pierre Trudeau...take your pick, the list goes on and on. If I got raked over the coals for everytime I called someone "a moron", I'd have been unemployed long ago. Politicians. What a bunch of morons! (See... there I go again.)

Michael Jackson is a freak, and that's all I've got to say about that!

I can't believe it. Well actually I do believe it. A number of special interest groups are actually protesting the Victoria's Secrets fashion show set to air on CBS-TV on Wednesday night. One group went so far as to refer to the show as a "soft-core porn infomercial." Uh, excuse me? Do these people even watch TV nowadays? There are so many shows with a mature theme that are being shown on TV nowadays (Treasure Island anyone?), I wonder why they bother to single out a simple fashion show that basically features a little music and a few women walking down the runway? I guess they just don't have enough to do. And don't even get me started about the idiots from PETA. They actually raided the stage during the taping of the show, waving their stupid protest signs to promote their loser cause (as if anyone actually takes them seriously anyway.) Luckily the network was able to edit that segment so as to remove the PETA freaks from the telecast. Way to go CBS! Hopefully they will be able to press charges against these clueless trespassers. It would serve them right. Now excuse me while I go set my VCR for the big show!

Nashville? Nashville?!? There is no way that I am Nashville! Whoever invented this test didn't know what they were doing. So what US city are you? To find out, take the quiz by Girlwithagun.


Congratulations, you're Nashville, the country music capitol of the world.

Very interesting news: my favourite web cartoon, Chilly Beach, may become a real television show! Apparently they are working together with the Canadian network, CBC TV, who will be turning Chilly Beach into a weekly television series that will premiere in the fall of 2003. This is great news for all the poor shnooks that can't watch Chilly Beach online, because they don't have access to high-speed internet. (The Chilly Beach website is rather graphic intensive and requires a high-speed connection for proper viewing.) Lucky for me, I am no longer a poor shnook, because I have had my very own high-speed internet connection for two whole days now! But I am looking forward to watching Chilly Beach on television. That is going to be one hella-cool show!

Today was a very happy day here at Casa del Pablo. I had an appointment with my "friendly neighborhood internet service provider", who was finally able to come to install my high-speed DSL internet connection. I am using it at this very moment, and right now I'm finding it difficult to wipe the huge grin off of my ugly mug. Yet another benefit of moving out of the sticks and into a civilized environment. Yes, I can do some serious computing now, as I am able to download bikini girl photos, MP3's, and bootleg software way faster than I ever could before!

On Tuesday afternoon I received my official geek license: namely, a library card. Yes indeed. I am now a certified card-carrying member of the local public library. It's merely a block away from my new house, so I thought why not sign up? After all, it is a free membership now that I live in the city. I felt like a total nerd as I was looking around. I decided to look for a book about typography (or anything else relating to graphic arts or layout.) It was about this time that I realized that I didn't have the foggiest idea on how to find a particular book. Back in the day (uh... it's been awhile since I've been in a library) there used to be files with index cards, in alphabetical order, that you could look up and they'd tell you where something was located. So I looked all around the stupid library, trying to find their stupid index cards, when finally I had to admit defeat. I sheepishly approached the librarian, and explained that I didn't actually know how to look for a book. Well, apparently they have everything on computers now! (Duh... I did see the computers there, but I thought that they were there for public internet access or something.) She gave me a few pointers on how to do a search through their database, and I was on my way. Minutes later, I found what I wanted and I then proceded to check out my first set of library books. Yes, I'm so very proud of myself right now!