Photos Photos Photos!!!
I finally uploaded all the photos I took while I was home... there's also some pics from pre-drinking at my place before Beth's birthday. Check 'em out:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ravenswift/sets/72157600063868824/The theme of the weekend was photographs, actually. I pulled out a box full of loose pictures, tonnes of them from when I was a baby, and before that even. So many cute ones of me!! LOL... it was awesome looking through them with the whole family around. It ended up being a nice activity for us all before the Easter pizza arrived!
And I really couldn't believe the weather. We didn't have snow in Windsor for Christmas, but we had some for Easter? How ridiculous is that!
Labels: "weekend update", family, history, photos, weather, windsor
The Answer is Blowing in the Wind
I honestly thought I was going to blow away on the way home from work today. It was insane! Ice pellets in my face, propelled by 60 km/h gusts of wind! Iiieeee!! It was great though... I felt so alive!! LOL
I'm terrified by the weather, but it fascinates me to no end. One of my favourite sites:
I could stare at that site forever.
Labels: cool website, environment, weather
I Think I've Been Fairly Tolerant...
... with the TTC, until now. I'm usually very logical and lenient with the flaws of the TTC, and I normally blame the other TTC riders for how miserable the ride can be now and then. However, this morning, I couldn't believe how bad the service was!
Bex and I arrived at the stop at our normal time, around 8:30am. Just as we were walking to the stop, a car went by. I had a sinking feeling that we should've run to catch the car, but alas. A few minutes later (more minutes than usual), another streetcar came along, but it was out of service.
A couple minutes later, another car came, with another car behind it. The first car was PACKED, but the second car was also out of service, so we tried to squeeze onto the back of the car in front. A tinny voice via intercom said, "Young lady, please step away from the back door of the streetcar." Apparently, I wasn't allowed on! Not sure why- it better have been because the car was already too full, because there are signs clearly posted saying the King car runs on a P.O.P. system- you can mount the car through the rear doors if you've got a valid pass or transfer.
The next car pulled up to the light, and everyone started to de-board. Apparently, this car was out of service as well. I asked the driver why and he pointed to some control panel that was opened up, and said it was too cold for it to operate. What??
Anyways- long story short, Bex and I scrambled around, trying to decide if we should just hop in a cab (except we couldn't find one available), or if we should just hop on one of the SIX streetcars piled up at King and Dufferin now. It was 8:54am by the time we finally got onto a streetcar, and 9:30 by the time we got to Church Street. The car we were on announced they were short turning on Church, too.
So- all in all, I saw FOUR streetcars this morning that were out of service! We live in Canada folks! It gets cold! Why do I pay $100 a month to ride on streetcars that break down as soon as it gets cold? And why were only some of the cars out of order? Don't they have like, a huge block heater or something?!?!?
Anyways- it was frustrating, to say the least. I was a half-hour late for work again today. Good thing no one keeps track!
Labels: bex, rant, streetcar, TTC, weather, work
It All Makes Sense...
The premature cabin fever, the overwhelming winter- or should I say- autumn blues... it's a certified seasonal disorder... well, I'm sure the gloomy weather we've been having isn't helping, anyways. And it's been
unusually dismal these past few months, according to Environment Canada.
Instead of the normal 475 hours of sunlight we normally get in the months of September, October and November, we only got 343 hours. Crazy, eh? And we haven't had a stretch so gray since the year I was born- 1977.
"We were robbed of about 130 hours of sunshine we would normally get in that period, so I can understand why people who suffer seasonal disorders would have been depressed," Environment Canada's senior climatologist Dave Phillips said. "They would have had a miserable season, and the fall really should be a glorious time."
I normally feel the affects of
Seasonal Affective Disorder in February... depression, lethargy, general apathy. But at least then I expect it coming. This fall it took me by surprise. I think I'm past it now though, and knowing the cause makes me feel a lot better!
Update: So I got to wondering, is there a ceremony or ritual I can perform, anything that addresses my dependency on the sun? I looked up "the sun" in my Easy-to-Use Shamanism book (I know it sounds corny, but it's a pretty cool book!), and lo and behold, there's an activity that may be able to help me. Basically, I have to keep a record of energy levels (of mind, body, spirit and emotions) in comparison to the cycles of the sun and moon.
"Knowing how our personal aspects of heart, mind, body and spirit are affected by lunar and solar energies gives us invaluable information, which can help us to manage our energy, suiting our activities and plans to our energy peaks and troughs; this knowledge, and the sense of being in step with the sun and moon also connects us to the land that we share with them."
So I think that's what I'll do.
Labels: weather
