casting call

I took the bus downtown to go to a casting call this afternoon. On the way there, I spotted one loan eagle flying high above near Hastings and Clark. On the way home, at the bus loop, I saw 3 more soaring together. The trip itself was eventful and there were a whole bunch of little signs - of duplicates. For example, there were some girls waiting to board the bus to Robson St. I heard them talking about going down to Staples. Well, the bus showed up and the driver picked up some people and answered questions about which bus to take where...and then he ended up going down Granville St. This has happened to me before, but it's been my fault for getting on the wrong bus. This time, the driver had to apologize and we had to make a big fat loop to get back to Robson; we were in those trolley buses so we couldn't backtrack very easily and had to find wires to take us back. The bus ended up looping around to... Staples! This normally wouldn't have happened had we gone the correct route the first time through. Those girls of course got off there. Thank goodness I hadn't booked a time for the casting call or I would have been extremely late. Then, one of the people interviewing me asked what I did and she told me she used to work at a law firm also! How strange...

There was no one else at the casting call. My guess is that the eager ones showed up smack at 8am. I didn't make it there til 2:30pm so didn't have to wait. But I did have a long bus ride going there and back so I guess you could say I paid my dues in terms of waiting then! The upcoming project is cars and girls - sex appeal and all that. The guys asked if I would be willing to do one of the parts as a girl in a bikini...I said 'ok' sort of, but the woman picked it up as me being a bit uncomforatable with it so she said I could go and watch them do the shoot. That would be a great opportunity in itself so I said thanks. Shooting is in March...so I guess I'll call if I don't hear from them by then.

little blue box

Yesterday at lunchtime, I went shopping. I got those Tiffany and Co. earrings that I've been eyeing. It was partially subsidized from my work's perfect attendance so it was less painful than forking over the whole amount. These were sterling silver open heart Elsa Peretti earrings that match my ring. They had sold out for Valentine's and now that there was a pair, I decided to get it right away. The next shipment isn't until the end of March and by then, who knows if the price will have gone up. (Pre-Valentine's Day, the earrings were cheaper, now they've gone up to $165.) Yes, a lot for a pair of tiny earrings especially when you factor in the taxes. Of course, while I was looking at them on Tuesday, contemplating, I had no idea they were the last pair. When I went back on Wednesday, there was a lady looking at the exact pair and talking about how her mother-in-law had a pair for her birthday but lost a backing. The saleslady was talking to her about it and I thought she was going to take this pair. That was definitely enough of a sign to me that I should get them. I looked at a variety of rings while waiting to see if she would take them. In the end, she didn't, so I got the other saleslady to box them up as they were the last pair! It wasn't the most ideal day to buy them since it was Ash Wednesday and we're supposed to be making some sort of sacrifice. So I tried them on at home and have put them away in their blue pouch, to wait out Lent. Maybe I'll pull them out near my birthday so if my boss asks if they are new, I can say they were a birthday present. I just won't say that they were from myself...

krispy kreme

They finally did it. They opened a Krispy Kreme shop in BC. 30 hardy souls lined up overnight to be the first to try the sweet treats. I'm not THAT crazy about them (though I did have 3 of them while I was in Las Vegas...) to line up in the cold and damp. Ironic, or perhaps not so, that they opened on Fat Tuesday/ Mardi Gras. They didn't plan it that way but there is no such thing as coincidence so take it as you will. 6 more shops are due for opening here but it's a matter of where and when, which is still kept hush-hush. If they open one close to my place, I think I'd go by every once in a while. They're 79 cents for the original, 89 cents for flavoured.

self-imposed famine

Why is it that when we are deprived of things, we crave them? I have had to severely reduce my diet in the last few days and I am just dying to eat some chocolate or a veggie burger. All I want to do is eat...what I cannot have. On the upside, it is definitely nice to be able to breathe without coughing so much. I spent much of both Sat. and Sun. lying around. The days were gorgeous - reminding me SO much of summer, but I'm sure it was pretty cold outside. Now that it's the work week, we are back to cloudy periods with showers forecast.

housebound

I gave in and picked up the antibiotics on Friday at lunch. I went to see my doctor on Wednesday and she couldn't tell if it was bacterial or viral, but it was bronchitis. I hacked my way through work on Thursday - almost falling asleep at my keyboard. You know how some babies look like they are about to go to sleep but keep fighting it? Well, that was exactly how I felt; I was SO tired I just wanted to call it quits and go home. I stuck it out and went to bed early on Thursday night so that yesterday, although painful to be at work, was much improved in comparison. The added bonus was that it was extra sunny (and cold) but I can't complain when Atlantic Canada was buried in 97 cm of snow. Even snowplows there weren't moving!

Yesterday after work, I had arranged for a gathering, similar to last year's Valentine's Day dinner but one week later. This year, Jasmine joined Alisia and Lorrainne so it was the four of us, a la Sex and the City, going out for dinner at a chic but tres expensive Italian restaurant Cafe Il Nido. Alisia had been there before and recalled it being nice, but then, she hadn't had to foot the bill last time. The restaurant was quaint and tiny and we practically had the whole place to ourselves. It was nice in that way. We agreed to have another girls' night out in a couple of months time, in time for my birthday. (It was Alisia's on the 19th).

Today was spent sleeping in as much as humanly possible, waking up to wish my mother happy birthday, and lounging aronud the house watching tv and not doing a whole lot of anything. It was another gorgeous day but I wasn't exactly brimming with energy to go running around. Tomorrow will be much of the same...just laying low and trying to recover from this cough.

froggie in my throat

I have not been feeling well. My cough has worsened and sometimes I have coughing fits. I have been croaking my way through the day at times. It has not been too good at work; yesterday, a co-worker told me bluntly that I should go home because I was 'contagious.' Well, I wasn't dying! I just stared at her and told her I was fine. I guess she was more concerned about me giving it to her than my resting up at home but I don't need another mother and it wasn't like I couldn't function at work. Besides, I know better than to go hacking around the office without covering my mouth!

And speaking of frogs, interesting to note that Disney is now trying to buy the Muppets, including Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy from Jim Henderson Productions. This after a hostile attempt for takeover of Disney by a huge cable company. And it's another rainy day.

all roads lead to boston

I can't help but think that I am getting signage everywhere. I spotted 3 eagles for certain on the trainride in, with 2 other birds flying - they could have been ospreys, or young eagles. That would have made it 5. Then on the trainride home, I was speaking with a coworker who is going to Las Vegas in a few weeks. I asked where he was staying and he said the Venetian. And while we were chatting, I looked past his shoulder and saw the back of a magazine another passenger was reading - and the word venetian was there, along with other words. I'm not sure if it was venetian blinds or what but it was clear as day. I have no idea what the message is though, except maybe that I am on the right track.

I was having quite a difficult time deciding to go to Quebec City or to Boston. But my boss is no longer going to anything so I have a choice, and more money to go with it. My instincts tell me Boston is a better choice as it is definitely more expensive and I don't always have the money to go with it. Additionally, in the future, I may end up only attending the Canadian conferences so this is the opportunity to grab. I wrote my mentor who helped in settling me into my first American conference 3 years ago and asked whether she'd be attending. Ironically, she wrote back that she was IN Boston at the moment helping to organize her firm's library before they moved. She is based in the NY office but was in Boston for the move. I think it's a pretty clear sign there. If only other signs were just as clear!

for the love of family

It's Valentine's Day and what do I do? Spend it with family. The word dysfunctional comes to mind. We had a family lunch today with my cousin who has just returned from HK with her 9 month old baby. I don't even want to get into it, but it's like this bloody mess. I just want to scream.

sightings everywhere

On the train yesterday, I saw this guy I had to keep staring at because he reminded me a lot like Tim. Then when we got to the final station he put on his glasses. Nope...took away the lookalikeness. I walked around Canada Place in the morning yesterday and as I walked along the western side, a huge bird swooped by. I think it was an osprey. Nevertheless, it was a huge bird of prey. A sign of what?? It's driving me nuts.

Today, I saw an osprey (or young eagle) flying close by the train windows on the way in to work. Today's major event: a really good partner of the firm resigned...I will miss him. And my boss is letting me have a choice as to which conference to attend this spring/summer! So it's either Quebec City or Boston. She's not attending so I think I may have to go to Boston to fully maximize the opportunity and funds...it may be the last chance to do so.

buzzing in the air

For the last hour or so, there has been a helicopter flying quite low to our building and going in wild circles. I think it's for a film but it's been noisy and definitely not the usual trip to Victoria and back. I see movie trucks parked across in Stanley Park. Don't know what film it is for - maybe one with Ice Cube or something.

As I was looking out and up the office window, what do I spot but an eagle with its wings outstretched. I swear it looked like 2 metres from where I was standing. I keep seeing eagles...but what changes are happening? I keep waiting...

catching up is hard to do

People say you can't ever really catch up on missed sleep. Well I got a good 12 hours in last night and could have gone for more except the sun was shining brightly into my room! Of course by the time I got up, the clouds had moved in. Such luck of mine.

Yesterday, I had lunch with Jay. It's been several months since I last saw him so we had tons to catch up on. We talked about his upcoming wedding (how it had moved from April to May), and about honeymoon options (Alaska v. Caribbean cruises), work, and he asked me if I'd play at his wedding! :) So I said I'd love to but he needed to tell me when it was!

Today I went out with the blind date guy for a brunch and movie. We went to the SandBar at Granville Island and then to Tinseltown to watch The Corporation which I thought was an excellent (if long!!) documentary. A must-see for everyone. It was a sunny day for once and beautiful. We ate on the patio under heat lamps. He's a really nice guy but you know, I just don't see it going anywhere else. A few more signs: Mom gave me an article to read yesterday about Montsano, a company suing a poor Saskatchewan farmer and the movie today talked about it, along with the company GoodYear, as well as a shot of an eagle soaring in the air. All signs...

another god wink

I just had a rush request looking for an article supposedly in the last 6 months to a year on another firm. Supposed to be on the cover of the magazine. I found one, but it wasn't the right article. So the partner came to look for it himself since he knew what the cover was but could not tell me what the article was called. Well, we looked through 2 years' worth, with some issues missing. Then I realized that some from 2002 were misfiled...and the one he wanted was the first one staring out at us from the filing stand. Typical, eh?

Oh yeah, I saw the cutest Hello Kitty charms at lunch yesterday. They can hang from your charm bracelets. The Italian bracelet is out of style already - the new 'in' thing is the old style, chain-linked bracelet. Well, there are a million cute Hello Kitty's including the zodiac. They are relatively inexpensive, about $10 a pop, but once you add a few to your bracelet, you're looking at close to a $100 if you get the chain and maybe 7 charms. *sigh* The charms are so cute I'm thinking of getting it just for the sake of the charm itself. There's one of Hello Kitty as a ballerina, but it's not as cute as Hello Kitty wearing goggles, ready to spend some time on the beach! I am going to have to dream about this a while longer. I still haven't grown out of Hello Kitty stuff yet...

a time and place for everything

I finished reading to the kindergarten kids a short while back. The sun has come out finally so it's been nice but still a bit chilly. The kids were cute. I guess it probably is a good thing I didn't get my hair done today. I don't think it would have been too good to have taken a half day off; things are a bit wonky at work with national stuff going on. In fact, my boss requested that I come in early tomorrow - at 8am instead - for a meeting. Of course, this is to fit the east coast time schedule. As I was sending a note with "merci" to Montreal, a lawyer here sent me a note with "merci" to me for getting him a case he wanted. We BOTH sent it at the same time so that I received his the moment I sent mine out. And the fact that they both had "merci" as the full content for the body...a god wink. A definite sign. Of what I'm not sure, but perhaps that I'm still on the right track.

02-03-04

It isn't a lack of work to keep me from being occupied. But my brain is swirling from the boredom of it all. I received a congratulations card yesterday at work for having perfect attendance last year, along with a gift certificate of $75 to spend at the local mall. Normally, this would perk me right up but with the expenses of fixing the camera and having got a new one, the gift certificates are just a small way of balancing out the money that has fallen out of the holes in my pockets. (My mother tried to console me by saying, "What's money for if it's not to spend?" True, but it doesn't help. It still hurts. And I suppose you can't take it with you but that does not help me at the moment.)

doldrums

It has been one heck of a vacation - most memorable in an unfavourable way. I don't even like to think about it as my poor brand new digital camera got smashed when it bounced on the pavement...while being passed for a photo with me in it. Apart from that, I also ended up being passed over for another L'Oreal thing because she only gave one day as an option and didn't phone back soon enough. I could have rearranged my schedule but I'm volunteering reading to some kindergarten children the same day. In the long run, this will be more important than some superficial vanity thing but alas...it doesn't help in the moment when I am drowning in my work and in the wet weather we are getting/about to have. She's said she will call again for other work but I don't know how soon that will be. It's often long dry periods. This will have already been 4 months and I guess the next 'big' thing will be May. I'm hoping there will be something before then...