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Saturday, July 29, 2006

life and art

I was sorting and packing and I found my life drawing efforts in a drawer. I had been looking for those a while back.
I should be doing more sorting and packing of course but I had to take pictures of the drawings because the paper is in ruff shape.
Here a a few examples of what I can do if I apply myself.


Unlike how I am applying myself to packing.


Ok back to work now

be good

Barbara

Friday, July 28, 2006


Engrish seems to be up and running fine now.
Just thought I would let you know not to worry...
be sex!
Barbara

Less blogging more packing

I got home last night all ready to get working on move preparations.
I did a little work on sorting stuff, then took a little break to blog. That's my mistake!
I found a message on the ABC message board that said The One was cancelled. I did not believe it. I had to dig farther. I looked all over the net for official word. I emailed a few people, I went back to that message board a few times. Each time I went back the evidence was adding up.
I feel so bad for George and for everyone involved in the production of the show. I got Austin Carrolls myspace address before the message board for The One closed it's doors. Last night's research on this news was like watching a house of cards fall. I had to put the sad news on the Stroumboulopouli . But even after that I could not look away from the net. Tonight after work that's it, no blogging just preparation for my move and I will mind my own business for a change.

Barbara

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Packing up my things.

Packing... What can I do to put that off? Oh yes, blog about it!
I was putting my fav. videos in to a box : Galaxy Quest, The Frighteners, The Man Who Knew Too Little, My Fellow Americans, How To Clean Practically Anything, ... wait that's not a video! How did that get into the box?
I better get back to work...

be busy
Barbara

Am I crazy? Don't answer that!




Why am I moving to Toronto?
Lots of reasons...But I only want to talk about a few of them.
I have been thinking about moving to the center of the universe (Toronto) for a long time.
I have blogged about it on here a few times. You can almost watch the progress of my decision.
Well, I just needed an excuse. I was asked what my summer plans were a few months back...
I had not planned to move this summer. It was not on my radar. My vague idea of moving to Toronto one day needed a catalyst. The catalyst is The Hour. What?

When I was little I wanted to be a camera operator. What?

I took Creative Arts in CEGEP (College) with that goal in mind until I saw that CFCF was using robotic cameras for the news... I thought, that's the future , no more camera operators... :-(

LOL.
...20 years later, in the studio of The Hour, I see people operating the studio cameras as much as they did when I was little.
I guess the robots are out of work.
Thank God for the CBC unions!

I no longer have a big desire to be a camera operator, but I had enjoyed the television, and film, and radio courses I took in CEGEP. We produced a show about Ste Anne de Bellevue on a cable access channel. I got Camera Operator credit!
I have always loved the creative brainstorming and teamwork that television or film production classes allowed.

I wish I had gone on to University at that time, but love, got in the way... That's a whole other story.

My hobby is blogging. My hobby within a hobby is promoting my favourite show on my favourite network. It's almost political. Politicians have supporters who do all they can to get the get message out. It's kinda like that for me... Vote for George and The Hour! Vote for the CBC!

That is my catalyst for moving to Toronto. I want to work for them. I am not counting on this, but I have to give it a try. I know there are lots of jobs I can do in Toronto. I registered with Staffworks the last time I was in Toronto (to watch the season finale of The Hour).
See, my plans to move to TO were underway back then... The final click had not clicked yet.
All I was planning to do in the fall for The Hour was to come back for a visit with the other Stroumboulopouli, just to sit in the audience and enjoy the show.

In season three they will have a live studio audience for each show.
Now I want to meet the audiences. I want to bring them in to see the show. I want to be a part of the promotional team for The Hour. I could learn so much from the pros, and meet so many of the fans.
Wow, now that is my dream!


being brave
Barbara W.

Monday, July 24, 2006

How to make a woman happy

hot off the email
How to Make a Woman Happy
It's not difficult to make a woman happy. A man only needs to be:
1. a friend
2. a companion
3. a lover
4. a brother
5. a father
6. a master
7. a chef
8. an electrician
9. a carpenter
10. a plumber
11. a mechanic
12. a decorator
13. a stylist
14. a sexologist
15. a gynecologist
16. a psychologist
17. a pest exterminator
18. a psychiatrist
19. a healer
20. a good listener
21. an organizer
22. a good father
23. very clean
24. sympathetic
25. athletic
26. warm
27. attentive
28. gallant
29. intelligent
30. funny
31. creative
32. tender
33. strong
34. understanding
35. tolerant
36. prudent
37. ambitious
38. capable
39. courageous
40. determined
41. true
42. dependable
43. passionate
44. compassionate
WITHOUT FORGETTING TO:
45. give her compliments regularly
46. love shopping
47. be honest
48. be very rich
49. not stress her out
50. not look at other girls
AND AT THE SAME TIME, YOU MUST ALSO:
51. give her lots of attention, but expect little yourself
52. give her lots of time, especially time for herself
53. give her lots of space, never worrying about where she goes
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT:
54. Never to forget:
* birthdays
* anniversaries
* arrangements she makes
HOW TO MAKE A MAN HAPPY
1. Show up naked
2. Bring food
It must be more complicated than that... what about drinks?

OK don't panic!


My link to engrish is not working anymore. It's been a few days now... Maybe they got censored! Ooh please I hope not. Maybe it's just a temporary power outage. Here is one pic I saved.

Sunday, July 23, 2006

If you had told me a year ago...

If you had told me a year ago:
1)That I would have a blog called 'trying to be...'
2)That I would have a second blog with 6 other women aross the country called 'The Stroumboulopouli'
3)That, that blog would be a fan blog dedicated to George Stroumboulopoulos and The Hour
4)That I would be moving to Toronto just before my 41st birthday.

I would have said to you...
What is a blog? What would I mean by "trying to be..."?
Who is George Stroumboulopoulos? What is The Hour?
Why would I have a fan blogamthingy with people I never met about someone I have never heard of?
The only thing I would think was likely was the moving to Toronto part.

be brave
Barbara

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Should I stay or should I go now?





I may need to get into full throttle if I move to Toronto this year.
I will need the extra energy just to fill out all the paperwork.
So many things to decide...


If I go,
what will I bring,
myself,
my car,
my thing(s)?

If this happens,
how much I'll miss,
your hug,
your company,
your kiss!

Montreal is my Island
she has been my cradle,
my school,
my park,
Beautiful and safe,
in daylight and in dark.

My future is possibilities ,
it's opened with no fear,
Lessons learned,
and love that has strengthened,
will serve me in this year.

Monday, July 17, 2006

Last night....

Last night was the highlight of my summer! My best friend and I went to see a just for laughs show at the Centaur Theatre in Old Montreal. I had booked a couple of tickets for it when I heard that some very funny and talented women were coming to Montreal.
Check out Women Fully Clothed
The show stars Robin Duke from Saturday Night Live/SCTV, Jayne Eastwood from My Big Fat Greek Wedding/Chicago and This is Wonderland, Kathryn Greenwood from Whose Line Is It Anyway?/This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Debra McGrath from Getting Along Famously, and Teresa Pavlinek from History Bites/The Jane Show.

Those women were very very entertaining. We laughed so much that night. They did skits on everything from PTA committee meeting to a song and dance about mamograms (which reminds me that's coming up next week). *sigh*

My original plan was to get a date for this gig but I guess I ain't ready...

Back up plan was to ask my best friend on this date. She was a perfect 'date' being a married mother of three. ;-)

I have a long story about a weird thing that happened on the way to the theatre but I may just save that for emails...


Live, love, and laugh out loud!
Barbara

Friday, July 14, 2006

Working my butt off

One good thing about my job is that working my butt off is really working my butt off.
Doing my job now entails running from one end of the store to the other when anyone calls for my help ('cause I got the keys). I could be loading a cart full of boxes in the basement when I get a call to be at the front cash to get something, or do something, for the customer or the cashier. When I have done that I then jog back to the cart, load more boxes bring them up to the floor, and unload 'em onto the shelves. This job has helped me go down from a size 14 to a size 8. I just received my new uniform pants that fit and I don't have to hold them up with a belt.
See no gym is needed when you get your workout while you work.
I try hard to find the positive side.

Here is a joke for you from the email department:
Three statisticians went hunting and soon spotted a rabbit. The first statistician aimed, fired, but overshot it. The second statistician aimed, fired, but undershot it. The third statistician shouted, "We got him!"

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

One of my fav links for a laugh.


How would you like your Dork?
for a hundred more gems like this click on Engrish

Monday, July 10, 2006

From a mans perspective (ty J.C. for the email)

more jokes from my email

My wife and I have the secret to making a marriage last. Twice a week we go to a nice restaurant, have some good food, a little wine and companionship. She goes Tuesday and I go Friday.

We sleep in separate beds, hers in Sydney mine in Melbourne.

I take my wife everywhere, but she keeps finding her way back.

I asked her where she wanted to go for our anniversary, "Somewhere I haven't been for a long time" she said. So I suggested the kitchen.

We always hold hands. If I let go, she shops.

She has an electric blender, an electric toaster and an electric breadmaker. When she said that she had too many gadgets, but nowhere to sit down, I bought her an electric chair.

Remember that marriage is the number one cause of divorce. Statistically 100% of all divorces started with marriage.

I married Miss Right, I just didn't know that her first name was Always.

I haven't spoken to her for eighteen months - I don't like to interrupt her.

The last time we had a fight, it was my fault. She asked "What's on the TV? " I said "Dust".

In the beginning; God created the earth and rested. Then, God created man and rested. Then God created a woman. And since then, neither God nor man has rested.

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Montreal Jazz Fest.




Play it with all your heart.

Dance like nobody is watching or like you are high on folk music . (no that's not me)

Sitting all mellow at the Jazz Fest. Best part is my friends smile!

Drum beats part 1

Drum beats part 2

Drum beats part 3

Drum beats part 4

Enjoy the music!

WorldCup France VS Portugal (in Montreal)

On July 5th I went downtown to see the Jazz fest.
As luck would have it, I was in the middle of the soccer action on Prince Arthur Street .



France won, and the fans fly the French flag in the streets.

Next post will have jazz fest scenes I promise.

Monday, July 03, 2006

Does love have an expiration date?

I don't have answers to this, I only have more questions.

Does it last longer depending on what the cooks put into it?

Does it depend on the ingredience put into the mix?

Does love get affected by the conditions of the enviroment? For example, if it's left out in the cold, or if the heat is turned up too high...

Maybe it depends on the if the love is a pure source to begin with....

Sunday, July 02, 2006

Sunday Funnies (from email sent by J.W.)

I know you heard 'em before but they are just as funny this time round too.

DEEP OBSERVATIONS ON LIFE

1) When I die, I want to die like my grandfather--who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car."
--Author Unknown

2) Advice for the day: If you have a lot of tension and you get a headache, do what it says on the aspirin bottle:"Take two aspirin" and "Keep away from children."
--Author Unknown

3) "Oh, you hate your job? Why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called EVERYBODY, and they meet at the bar."
--Drew Carey

4) "The problem with the designated driver program, it's not a desirable job, but if you ever get sucked into doing it, have fun with it. At the end of the night, drop them off at the wrong house." --Jeff Foxworthy

5) "If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there is a man on base."
--Dave Barry

6) "Relationships are hard. It's like a full time job, and we should treat it like one. If your boyfriend or girlfriend wants to leave you, they should give you two weeks' notice.There should be severance pay, the day before they leave you, they should have to find you a temp."
--Bob Ettinger

7) "My Mom said she learned how to swim when someone took her out in the lake and threw her off the boat. I said, 'Mom, they weren't trying to teach you how to swim.'"
--Paula Poundstone

8) "A study in the Washington Post says that women have better verbal skills than men. I just want to say to the authors of that study: "Duh."
--Conan O'Brien

9) "Why does Sea World have a seafood restaurant?? I'm halfway through my fish burger and I realize, Oh my God....I could be eating a slow learner."
--Lynda Montgomery

10) "I think that's how Chicago got started. Bunch of people in New York said, 'Gee, I'm enjoying the crime and the poverty, but it just isn't cold enough. Let's go west.'"
--Richard Jeni

11) "If life were fair, Elvis would be alive and all the impersonators would be dead."
--Johnny Carson

12) "Sometimes I think war is God's way of teaching us geography."
--Paul Rodriguez

13) "My parents didn't want to move to Florida, but they turned sixty and that's the law."
--Jerry Seinfeld

14) "Remember in elementary school, you were told that in case of fire you have to line up quietly in a single file line from smallest to tallest. What is the logic in that? What, do tall people burn slower?"
--Warren Hutcherson

15) "Bigamy is having one wife/husband too many. Monogamy is the same."
--Oscar Wilde

16) "Suppose you were an idiot ... And suppose you were a member of Congress... But I repeat myself."
--Mark Twain

17) "Our bombs are smarter than the average high school student. At least they can find Afghanistan."
--A. Whitney Brown

18) "You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says, 'My God, you're right!I never would've thought of that!'"
--Dave Barry

19) Do you know why they call it "PMS"? Because "Mad Cow Disease" was taken.
--Unknown, presumed deceased

Saturday, July 01, 2006

Why I hate/need MySpace

I was reluctant to join MySpace because I knew it would suck up my online time.
There is also the annoyance of logging into it each time I get an email telling me someone sent me a message, or left a comment, or that someone, (usually a band, or a fan of Georges {Good}) (or some woman/man/other trying to show me pic of them in underwear{bad}) who all want to be my friend etc. With Blogger I don't have to keep doing that.
The only reason I joined MySpace was for research for my other blog The Stroumboulopouli . Only three other Stroumboulopouli joined MySpace for essentially the same reason.
George Stroumboulopoulos has a 'space' there. The other three 'Stroumbi' have thier own reasons not to join MySpace.
Look up http://myspace.com/georgestroumboulopoulos if you want to see Georges space.
The convenience of messaging George is maybe good, maybe bad. I could be in a good mood, or a strange mood, and it's too tempting to send off a message to him in either mood. Not that the man has time to read all his messages. But he did reply to me once there. That was good. I told him that MySpace is like a redlight district. He said: "i like how you call myspace the redlight district... funny... not entirely wrong either... Although a little redlight district can't be all bad... :-)"
The reason I need MySpace now is to promote the other blog and well... I am getting addicted to listening to all this music available there. Very time sucking wonderful new bands or favourite old bands. Darn you George for getting me sucked into that MySpace! I am enjoying talking with your fans and listening to great new bands! Next time I am on, I am going to give your picture on there the look. The angry, you did this to me, got me all involved in this whole MySpace thing, look!