February 28, 2002
The Olympics are over. Me = sad. However, I was so sick this weekend that I couldn’t even enjoy the last couple of days. I watched the hockey game with my back to the TV and my eyes closed, ’cause it hurt to look at the TV. I’m so glad they won though.
I have actually just got over being sick, which I’m very happy about. I really hate feeling as gross as I did for the last few days. I even took a couple of days off work, which should tell you just how sick I was!
Before leaving the Olympics though, I’d like to add two of my favourite quotes from the Games. First, from Emannuel Sandhu: “I wasn’t at the last Games…this time I’m here…maybe next time I’ll compete!” And then, from Scott Hamilton during Alexei Yagudin’s costume change at the Gala: “If this goes any further, we’re going to have to go to cable!” 🙂
I have rather unexpectedly been handed an opportunity to go to Germany this spring. I am very, very tempted, but also a little reluctant, as I’m really not sure how I could justify *two* trips to Germany in the span of a few months. But we’ll see. This one would just be a couple of days, to Stuttgart, to see Tanz der Vampire, which I *really* want to see. I’ll have to weigh this over a little more.
So I did break down and see Queen of the Damned. I just had to see it for myself, I couldn’t take everybody’s word about how bad it was. But to be honest, it didn’t make me angry for the reasons I thought it would. It was just SO completely removed from the books, both in plot and in characterization, that I didn’t even feel offended, because it was like they just took the same names and then made up a new story. But I *was* offended because it was a bad movie anyway. If you’re gonna change things around that much, at least try to make a decent film out of it. The dialogue was so laughably immature (example: Jessie: “Boo”, Lestat: “Boo back”) and the “climax” didn’t even make any sense. I think there was one line in the entire film that actually made me laugh for the right reason – when Lestat says to Marius “Still wearing the old fashions…how did you get through the ’50s in red velvet?” That sounds like something Lestat would say. Pretty much every other line of the movie doesn’t. David Talbot was not even remotely close to how I pictured David Talbot. Did the director read the repeated references in the book to the “red-haired twins”? Yet Maharet had black hair. Oh wait, that’s right. The fans don’t care about hair colour. That’s why it’s perfectly fine that Lestat’s not blonde. Or French. Whatever. In conclusion – don’t waste your time.
I leave for Australia a month from tonight!
February 21, 2002
My Olympics are not going so well. 🙁
How incredibly depressing was the dance final? I just couldn’t believe it. To start with, I couldn’t believe it when Maurizio fell in their free dance. I had been lying on the couch, rather sedately watching, expecting Shae and Vic to finish 4th, unfairly, and then all of a sudden he fell, and the bronze seemed possible. I sat up, I was so excited I could hardly stand it. Then they skated and they were wonderful and brilliant as always, and I was so happy, and then the end, and they fell. It is such an incredibly freakish thing, something I have never, ever, ever seen them do before. I gasped so loudly that I woke up my roommate, who had fallen asleep on the other couch. Poor Victor looked like he never wanted to get up off that ice. I cried for hours. It is so, so, so, so very, very unfair.
Now that I’ve got that off my chest…
I am considering going to see Queen of the Damned. I know I shouldn’t, because I will just get upset over all the changes they’ve made from the books, and that Tom Cruise isn’t playing Lestat, and that they’ve cut so many major characters, and yet I feel this strange need to go see it anyway. We shall see. I feel sort of justified though, ’cause Karen went to Crossroads, and my mother went to A Walk to Remember, so I figure I’m entitled to a bad movie too. 🙂
Today is my roommate’s birthday. My intention was to order out for Chinese from her favourite restaurant, bake a cake, and watch the ladies free program. However, she is insisting on taking me out for dinner. My attempts to convince her that it is just wrong that *she* should be taking *me* out on *her* birthday have all failed. So I guess that’s the plan.
And speaking of birthdays, my little brother is 15 now. I feel so old!
February 15, 2002 – later
Shirley has just shown me a M. Félix & Mr. Norton cookie shop within walking distance of our new building. This is not good.
February 15, 2002
I just want to say: YAY!!!!
I believe this might be the first time that someone that I really wanted to win the Olympic gold medal in figure skating actually won the Olympic gold medal in figure skating. I am so thrilled for him, what a wonderful skate!!
As for the pairs, I’m just not even going to get into that. I knew after B&S skated that they couldn’t be beat, so I couldn’t even enjoy S&P’s program. Maybe one of these days I’ll watch it again.
So, my life for the past week has consister of working, a lot, and watching the Olympics, a lot. We moved offices over the weekend, so I’m in a new location (check out the website!), which is not bad, but I do miss some aspects of the old office. And I finally, finally got a new contract (I’ve been working 7 weeks without one), so I know what I’ll be doing now come April. And my vacation time has been confirmed, which was my main worry.
I’m also excited because Jörn bought tickets for the Sommernacht concert in July, and he got one for me. 🙂 So now I have to go, right? Right! Actually, I should be able to afford it pretty easily, if I get my bonus from work (which all depends on company performance). If we get it, that should cover my plane trip to Germany, and my trip home in August!
February 5, 2002
Yay for travel plans!! 🙂
I am now the proud owner of an airline ticket from Toronto to Sydney. It just got a whole lot more real to me. I think there was always something in the back of my mind thinking ‘what if you can’t afford it?’, but now that I have the ticket, worries are over! 🙂
I also applied for (and was approved for) my Electronic Travel Authority to enter Australia. This way I don’t need to get a visa – which disappoints me a bit, ’cause I wanted a visa in my passport, but this was waaaay quicker (I was approved in about 30 seconds), and lots cheaper too, so it only made sense.
I have been working a lot of overtime at work this past week, which is a good thing, but it means I haven’t had time to do much of anything else! I didn’t watch any of the Super Bowl, just the anthem and half-time show. TBS was showing great chick flicks, so I watched that instead. 🙂 And then last night Chris and I watched The Cutting Edge – it’s been entirely too long since I saw that movie. It’s so great!
Only 3 more days till the Olympics!!!!
February 1, 2002
I can’t believe it’s February already. The last two weeks just kind of disappeared.
Krista went home Wednesday evening. It was a fun and busy time! We saw Il Viaggio a Rhiems at the Canadian Opera (kinda fun, but not a masterpiece), The Lion King (yes, I suffered through it again), and Mamma Mia! We also met the cast of Queer as Folk, which was interesting for me, since I had no idea who any of them were. So I just smiled a lot. 🙂
I also finally got to see Amélie, which was just as wonderful as I’d been expecting. I love good movies. Krista also brought along the DVDs of Snatch and Blow Dry, so we watched those – I really liked Snatch, actually, and as for Blow Dry, any movie with Alan Rickman can’t be all bad! 🙂 It was weird to see Josh Hartnett doing a British accent though.
I got my Qantas Frequent Flyer card in the mail last week. I just think that’s kind of funny. Like I’m going to be a Qantas frequent flyer. 🙂
I also got the tourism guide for South Dakota, which is really cool. We really only have 3-4 days max of sightseeing time, and I’ve already found more than 3 days worth of stuff to do in South Dakota – and I haven’t even looked at North Dakota yet! The most exciting discovery for me was that De Smet, the town on which Laura Ingalls Wilder based 6 of her novels, is in South Dakota, so we’ll definitely have to check that out!
Work is crazy. I had an interview with the ING claims manager on Wednesday. I guess it went okay – I really have no idea what she was looking for.
Only 55 days till Australia!
