You have enormous value to me...

Just woke up from a dream involving a lottery that was a lot more like a treasure hunt through a haunted house... one that involved Tina Fey, a chainsaw and wait, is that Conan O'Brien or Anderson Cooper? Stop shapeshifing, dammit!

And now I have to go to work. Boo to Wednesday.

Once, just ONCE I would like there to exist a "romantic comedy" that's funny like so many of them are but that doesn't devolve into some lame and shoddily-concocted "conflict" in the last twenty minutes of the film. I really like those types of movies... for the first hour and ten minutes. Then I lose interest and sometimes actually turn them off because I KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN SO WHY BOTHER WATCHING? Why kill the funny just to have them do the stupid break-up-make-up dance?

I swear, I need to devote more time to watching movies like Aliens and Full Metal Jacket where this shit just doesn't happen.

/rant

I've been very bored with my old layout but I'm in no mood to fiddle around with a custom one or to try to get my own header and colour scheme to work, so I'm going the cardboard cutout way for now. I do like it... though it's certainly thinner than the layouts I've had before and the mood theme at the top of the post will take some getting used to.

Today, both the husband and I are off work, so we braved the world in search of an egg poacher (I'm having insane cravings for Eggs Benedict and for dinner, I shall have it!) which we found easily enough. I was in a cranky mood, though, so P brought me to Chapters which is guaranteed to raise my spirits but is also like taking an alcoholic to Beerfest. I got two books even though I've joined that book club and will soon have to be buying whichever book is chosen for our first round. But who cares; it cheered me up. After that, a quick bite to eat followed by a stop at the grocery for the rest of tonight's dinner ingredients and now we're home for a quiet afternoon in. A pretty good day off work, when all's said and done.

Now, I'm off to decide which book to read first...

I've been watching a lot of TNG lately, since it's on every day at 4 and I am still unemployed (mostly due to ill health of late but I'm feeling better so things might be turning around). It's amazing how quickly, even years after the show ended, I can identify episodes. It usually only takes a few lines of dialogue before I can figure out what's going to happen. Right now, I'm watching the one where Troi, Data and O'Brian get all possessed and then take over Ten-Forward. Bad-ass Troi is funny.

Yes, I admit it - I watch this show. I have all the available seasons on DVD (though, in my defense, my husband bought me the last two of his own free will; I didn't ask for them). I think it was pretty good at the start but has jumped the shark since season 3 when ( spoilers )

I'm stuck at home, without a car or any real access to the outside world. Okay, I could walk somewhere but as I'm still being blindsided by random bouts of sickness, this doesn't seem wise. Outside, it's lovely and sunny and breezy and in here it's muggy and yucky. I've turned on the fan in the air conditioner for a bit to get the air moving, which I hope will help.

I'm finally, finally tackling the laundry after deciding to give up on the idea of being well for a long enough stretch of time that going to the laundromat might be plausible. This means that I have to use the facilites at my apartment, where there are exactly two sad washers and two sad dryers, so it's going to take me all afternoon to get through the five loads I've got, instead of the hour and a half that it'd be a the laundromat. It'll likely cost me more this way, too, but at least my apartment and bathroom are close at hand.

What else? Oh, I'm hungry. Except I have no desire to eat anything. It's obviously really fun. There's a bunch of stuff I could be eating: yogurt, left-over pizza, rice and veggies, cereal, soup... but none of it is appetizing. In fact, I can't quite think of anything that's appetizing.

And my grandmother has gone incommunicado. This woman is the busiest unemployed elderly woman EVER. She is never home. She travels a lot but as far as we know, isn't doing that currently. She just goes to the senior's centre every day and participates in or organizes events. I keep missing her when she's home and she never checks her answering machine. At least I don't have to worry that something's happened, though, since two of my uncles live downstairs from her and eat dinner with her most nights.

With the wedding just over a week away, I've been insanely busy. Rest assured, I haven't disappeared. I've been lurking a little but most of my time is spoken for. I really only came on to post and say hello and also to rec a book I just finished. Everyone should go out and get Still Alice by Lisa Genova. I couldn't put it down.

Hope everyone is having a more mellow week than I am!

Other than fifteen minutes to eat a yogurt and grab my laptop around 10:30, I haven`t been home since 7am. And I`ve got another hour and a half to go. Kill me now. Actually, I`m already dying... of ennui.

On the bright side, we`ve finally settled on a first dance song. And only four and a half weeks before the wedding! Plenty of time... Anyway, we`re going with Something by The Beatles. It`s short, it`s pretty and we both know it. So, that`s one more thing down. A million other things are still up in the air but I`m trying not to stress.

Title: The Seconds Between
Author: Leli
Rating: PG
Characters: Toby, mention of Josh, Donna, Andy
Spoilers: Up to the end of Season 5
Disclaimer: I own nothing. I profit from nothing. All characters are the creation and/or property of Aaron Sorkin, John Wells, NBC and/or Warner Bros.
A/N: Thanks, as always, to caz963 for the beta.

( The Seconds Between )

I've downloaded the season finale of Leverage. Somebody please tell me why I can watch Survivor, American Idol and every other silly prime-time nightmare on Canadian affilates but when something decent comes around, nobody picks it up. It's as though whether or not to air something new depends on whetherthe name is followed with NBC, ABC or FOX... and that's obviously working brilliantly. Hopefully, by the time they start airing season 2 later this year, someone will have taken notice.

*runs off to watch*

I'm in bed and have realized that I've left all my contact stuff downstairs but I just can't be bothered to go and get it. This will make the second consecutive night that I'll be sleeping with my contacts in. As they are "Day and Night" contacts, they won't turn hard and sharp and damage my corneas but they will feel dry and sticky and generally ucky when I wake up.

Basically, I shall regret this but can't quite summon the ability to care just now.

Association Meme: Comment to this post and I will give you 5 subjects/things I associate you with. Then post this in your LJ and elaborate on the subjects given.

( My associations... )

I've finally figured out why I know the name Beth Riesgraf! She's the ex-fiancee of Jason Lee (of Mallrats and My Name is Earl fame), which makes her the mother of his infamously named son, Pilot Inspektor Riesgraf-Lee. I knew I'd heard of her before Leverage.

I have to admit... I laughed pretty hard.

Last night, P and I went out to see Kevin Smith at Roy Thompson Hall. P had purchased these tickets as my Christmas gift (and a great one it was), so I'd been looking forward to it for months. For those of you who don't know who Kevin Smith is, he's an American film writer/director/occasional actor whose works include Dogma, Mallrats and most recently, Zack and Miri Make a Porno. He tours the US and Canada doing speaking engagements (often at universities) between filming and writing. Last night's "Evening with Kevin Smith" was three hours because RTH has a hard closing time of 10pm but he's been known to go on for five and six hours at a time. Basically, a roomfull of fans sit and listen while he answers questions from the audience - often times in long, rambling story-telling fashion. Last night, for example, he talked a lot about his love of Wayne and Walter Gretzky and how that father/son relationship makes him emotional. He proposed that you could build a religion around Wayne and his teachings (for example "You don't go where the puck was, you go where the puck is gonna be).

Kevin is absolutely fabulous to listen to and known for telling it as it happened (so you'd better not bring your kids!). He's very funny and engaging and comes across as "one of the guys". Not at all elitist or snobbish; in fact, he's very, very self-deprecating. Anyway, we both really enjoyed ourselves.

After the show, we walked over to Spadina and had dinner at Brassaii, one of the restaurants currently taking part in Toronto's Winterlicious festival (a three-course, fixed price dinner - a great deal). The food was delicious and the service was excellent. So, all in all, a great night. We're thinking we should get down there more often.

I've been terribly absent from LJ lately and I feel kind of bad about it. If I've missed anything epic, do let me know!

It's not just my generally crappy mood lately - I've been insanely busy. Between work, wedding stuff and Superbowl, it feels like every minute is accounted for. Last weekend, I had my first bridal shower, which was fun. They did not fool me; I saw it coming a mile away. But I got lots of lovely pressies and I have some thank-you cards all stamped and ready for the mailbox tomorrow morning, so I think I've done well.

In other news, P brought home a huge tv on Monday night. He's been wanting one for quite a while and we've been putting off spending the money. Apparently, people who came over for the game on Sunday felt that the fact that one of the guests supplied a tv to watch for the night was terribly pathetic. In fairness, our old tv really is crap; it turns off randomly and is missing a coaxial connection, so you have to run it through an old VCR. It is not digital or HD or anything other than old and run down. Anyway, I guess there was a deal available and one of P's close friend paid for a good chunk of the thing as a wedding present (YAY!), so I now officially have a tv worth more than my car. But I watched a few episodes of The West Wing on it last night and I have to say, it's much nicer than the alternative.

Title: Sleepless
Author: Leli
Rating: PG
Characters: Helen Santos, Josh Lyman
Spoilers: Late Season Six; before 2162 Votes
Disclaimer: All the usual stuff applies - not mine; never were; never will be.
A/N: This is my version of a ficlet; I'd intended this to be quite short but apparently brevity is not my strong suit. Regardless, I still felt that it was too short (not to mention written quickly on a whim) to bother sending to my lovely beta, so all mistakes herein are mine and mine alone.


( Sleepless )

Dear Lungs and Bronchi,

I already know that we are sick. It is unnecessary to constanly remind me with this unwelcome burning and pressure. Nobody poured acid down there, so stop behaving as if they did. In return, I promise to suppress the urge to cough whenever possible, seeing as how you seem particularly adverse to that action when it occurs.

Painfully yours,
Me

Title: Do The Collapse

Author: Leli
Rating: PG-13 to R, depending on the chapter. This one is PG-13.
Warning: Angst. Also, spoilers up to Faith Based Initiative.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. I profit from nothing. All characters are the creation and/or property of Aaron Sorkin, John Wells, NBC and/or Warner Bros.
A/N: Thanks, once again, to caz963 for the beta and the encouragement.
A/N2: Link to the other chapters here.

( Session Six )

I think that you guys have the Inauguration commentary covered, so I'm just going to skip that part other than to say I got up from my post-dropping-the-kids-off-nap in time to watch all the important bits.

I've caught a friend's cold. With my superior immune system (the upside of having a body so on alert it thinks that apples are dangerous), I'm missing out on most of her symptoms (no head/muscle aches or fever as of yet) but it hurts to breathe and I feel like I constantly need to cough. I know I'll probably kick it fast but for today, it sucks. P convinced me to go to the gym to "sweat it out". As it turns out, that's not so much an effective strategy as it is a direct route to burning, burning pain in my throat and lungs, even though I barely did anything. But it is his b-day today, so I will forgive him. Of course, I'm now at home alone while he's out to celebrate because I'm too tired/grouchy to be much fun.

Oh well... I'm going to go force-feed myself to keep my strength up and kick this cold's ass by Saturday because I'm going to see Dirty Dancing with my sisters and mom.