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A Week of Daily Dramas

Also known as trying to catching you up on what I was up to the week around the launch.

Sunday's Drama - Honk, Honk, I'm Driving a Big-Assed Vehicle!

• We booked a mid-sized car at a great rate of $161 for a whole week, but somehow ended up with a big-assed vehicle (or "cross-over vehicle" in the current vernacular). 
• Cool part? We got a vehicle with all the bells and whistles - seat warmers, Sirius radio, seating for 6 and plenty of room to move our entire office to Ottawa... and we did.

Monday's Drama - Early Mornings and Gay Cook

• We stayed overnight at mom's house, which was lovely and let us get some work done, but it also meant we had to move the Big-Assed Vehicle before mom could go to work.
• Mom is a high school teacher. She leaves home sometime around when the sun hits the snooze button... and so did we.
• Cool part? We got to see the sun come up, had plenty of time to grab a sandwich at DiRienzo's for lunch in Ottawa and still drop a review copy of CEOT at Gay Cook's house.  Which turned into a lovely tour of the oldest house in Ottawa and a great chat with Gay.

Tuesday's Drama - Is That a Brick Wall?

What Is It About Ottawa In The Fall?

That makes me want to fall in love?

Perhaps it's the nip in the air that has me reaching for warmer, cuddlier clothing.  I'm not talking the immobilized-in-a-parka clothes, but the ones that just cover you up enough so that your skin occasionally gets kissed by the crisp air and pulling them closer feels like you're pulling into a hug.

Perhaps it's the rush of newness. Change is in the air here in fall. New politics rolling on the hill.  New students rushing into all the universities, hormones rippling in the air.  The thrill of the unknown, new trouble to get into, new adventures everywhere.

Perhaps it's the tickling of senses. Crisp apples in the air of the market. Every tree a bouquet as their leaves slip or snap into their fall colours. The bright blue of a cool fall sky. The rustle and crunch of leaves underfoot. The warm glow that engulfs your entire body after you come inside from a surprise fall rain.

Perhaps it's the nights. Evening walks along the canal as the sun sets and the wind whips the trees about. The stars popping out in the night sky. A warm hand slipping in to warm my cold fingers. The shooting stars. The the Northern Lights igniting the sky. The perfect setting for romance.

Perhaps it's that every time I've fallen in love, it's been in Ottawa in the fall.

Family Bus Trip

It seems like August is the month to run into family unexpectedly in Ottawa.  (Remember last year's surprise encounter with my Aunt from Holland  at a play in the park? )

This time, I surprised my cousin Kath & her husband by getting on the bus they were riding. 

"What are you doing here?" Kath demanded, treating me as if I hadn't been in Ottawa for months. I was off to meet one of the CEOT team for a drink (which I desperately needed after this pizza-oven-of-a-week).

 I guess Kath didn't get my email entitled "Lex is in town". We got to catch up for all of 2 bus stops before they had to rush off for an appointment. 

Me?  I went two more stops. Met Robyn for drinks, a brief camera swap and much over-sharing. Then to the ESD for dinner. Followed by more drinks with Rockr & Junkii. Then we remembered the new offering at House of Georgie's - Gravy Pizza...more on THAT later.

So remember, if it's August and you're in Ottawa, keep an eye out.  You never know what relative you'll run into.  You can always go for drinks afterwards.

I Won't Post About My Pants

I wrote a full, lengthy and ranty post about my pants, OCTranspo and rain.  But after revisiting it, I have come to the conclusion you guys don't really want to read about me in the Glebe with my bum hanging out.  Photos that allow you to point and laugh, perhaps.  Descriptive text that runs on and on... not so much.

So, I offer instead a photo essay of my last couple of days, up to what we will now refer to as "the pants incident".

Catching up on my 4-ways

I'm behind in my 4-ways, (boy am I glad I didn't decide to post 3 photos a day.)  

So I'm going to do a mad dash of photos  - no explanations.  You want info, you have to ask. So there!

Saturday

Max; Bean Pots; Chelsea Muffin; Crappy Saturday Night;  Feves Au Lard indeed!

Sunday

 

Rusty Barb; Lunch; Cardinals; Mini Melons;

Monday

 

myPod!; Yre's; Dinner w/ The Boys; Plantains; Congratulations;

Do Me A Favour: Lay OFF The Cologne!!

For all the allergy-prone people out there, I ask you one small favour on this hottest of hot days: please please please lay off the cologne & perfume.  

I know, I know, us pesky people with allergies complain All The Time.  But sometimes, say when we are taking medication with "very serious, possibly fatal, interactions" with antihistamines, your cologne can really knock us out. 
Literally.
So, just for me.  Just for today (or even tomorrow), please don't smell so damned pretty.

Tags: irksome, favour, cologne, allergies

Care Package

Care Package
Photo courtesy of LexnGer.

I am a lucky lucky woman.

Not only do I have a wide and diverse group of friends who all seem happy to hear from me when I contact them after years of nothing but being CCed on group emails filled with whining and kvetching...

Not only do I have friends who open their homes to me, offer me rides to my meetings, enthuse at their friends about my projects, take me to cool and interesting lunch spots, recruit people for my projects and ask about my day when what they are doing is way more interesting and important...

Not only do I have a handsome man, who I still am stupidly-giggly in love with after 16 years...

But I get care packages.

They Call The OTrain Robert. [Day 5]

They Call The OTrain Robert.
Photo courtesy of LexnGer.

LexnGer: "I got to ride the OTrain for the first time yesterday with my friend Amanda. She told me this great story of kids she met while riding the train one day who called the OTrain "Robert." When it pulled away they waved and said "bye Robert bye.""

Is it Already Day 4?!?!

Yup, I'm in Ottawa on Day 4 of my whirlwind CheapEats Ottawa startup sesson.

My trip has been cut short by an evening because of the lack of a Thifty Rental location in K'ton (see previous post), so I'm booked solid between now and the time I crawl onto a bus at 5:20pm tomorrow and collapse.  My bus ticket, which saved me $12, cost me flexibility and I can't travel on Fridays. argh.

So far I've met with 3 contributors, eaten at 2 cheapeats, found a good'n'cheap print shop, rewrote the research books, quarked up CEOT'04, learned how to use Adobe Distiller (thank you MO), printed and bound 11 research books (2 pending for MM & JC who haven't gotten back to me).

Now I'm waiting @ R&Ms for GO to arrive to sweep me off to lunch at the Coconut Lagoon - one of his potentials.  Of course, photos and details on that later. 

From there I'm off to meet my cousin, the professor, for a long healthy and hopefully dry walk along the canal, in weather that I simply did not pack for.  20degrees in April - come ON! I don't even have time to hit Giant Tiger to pick up something cooler to wear on my feet than my black 9-hole docs. 

Okay, from my likely way too sweaty stroll down the byways of Ottawa, I scoot over to Pub Italia  (pg?? CEOT'04) to meet with 5 more contributors (including 2 newbies) for a group briefing on what's happening for CEOT'07

Oh and I have a hangover for no good reason.  I mean, really!  Who gets a hangover from 1 red stripe and a cup of chamomile tea??? 

Whoops- there's my ride

Day 35 - Saturday - Don't quote me on this...

All of 4 hours sleep last night.  I was itching and scratching all night.  My skin was swollen to the point where I couldn't see the veins on my wrist.  I was unbearably uncomfortable all night and even when I was able to control my scratching... I was still barely coping with discomfort.  Whine whine whine... thank god I was able to stay at Dr.E's... I could watch TV, have a shower at 3am and move around complaining without bothering anyone.

Breakfast in the back room at the Mayflower… itching.  Okay I really had lunch... but it was good.  Got an Elgin Street Burger. Perhaps my itch was showing because the service wasn't all that friendly, but the room is wonderfully comfy in the old boys pub style and good was good.

Then to the Elgin St. Clinic - diagnosed with acute… itchiness. Essentially I had an allergic reaction to something unidentifiable, which will likely stay unidentified. Given Reactine for morning and  told to take 50mg of Benydryl every evening.

Went home an rested... cause I'm feeling really crappy and like someone beat me up... oh ya... it was me. argh!

I treated myself to dinner @ Cocina Latina where I had Chicken Rollito & a limonada for dinner - it was great! Not just because I got my favourite sodipop... but the Rollito was very good with large moist chunks of chicken, the rice & beans were excellent - black beans cooked perfectly to blend with the rice.  To top it off the "hot sauce" was great, a lovely salsa verde... slightly creamy and so very flavourful!

Dr.C's roommate Kine invited me over to play Quotes with a couple of her friends… it's damned hard!  It took us a good 4 hours to play to completion, and that was even with us jumping over the sports questions.  The funniest part was that I had read one of the quotes on a Celestial Season's tea box this afternoon… that certainly didn't help me, I couldn't guess even with 3 options.

Headed back to Dr.E's rather than going all the way back to Barrhaven.  I was simply too beat to manage it.