And The First Day Of Summer ....

Quotation of the day: John Sebastian -- Hot town, summer in the city / Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty / Been down, isn't it a pity / Doesn't seem to be a shadow in the city

As some of you will know, i (as penance for the sins of my previous life) make my living as a cook.  I always work weekends (today -- Tuesday -- is my only day off) and this past Sunday was Father's Day.  Traditionally, it's a busier-than-usual Sunday, not as crazy as Mother's Day, but very busy.  This year, Sunday -- and Saturday for the matter of that -- were insane.  (There was also a ball tournament in town, and i've written before about how much the restaurants here, hate the ball teams http://spriggsblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/working-for-living.html ....)

I left on Sunday feeling utterly shattered, drenched with sweat and miserable.  How did i ever get into this schtoopid business, moan groan, poor me, etc.  In fact i'm only now starting to feel alive again.

However, Tuesday, the only day i really have to do housework, i'm wasting it with my butt parked in front of the computer....  Oh, i cleaned Cate's litterbox earlier, made breakfast, had a bath, shampooed a rug, but there are so many other things to do and guess what, i ain't doin' nuffink else today.  (I tell a lie, i have to do laundry later.  I have no more clean work uniforms.)

What i intend to do, after i log off here is (a) have some lunch and (b) watch my favourite Marx Brothers movie

















And it's the first day of summer....

Day Off! And A Rave

Quotation Of The Day:  Frank Zappa: Rock journalism is people who can't write, interviewing people who can't talk, in order to provide articles for people who can't read.

Hi, everyone, it's a while since i posted but the last time, i had a rant, now i have a rave. I was bewailing the fact that i couldn't get my paws on a couple of CDs (new albums by Kate Bush and Rory Gallagher).  I could have ordered them through amazon.com or some other corporate elephant, but i prefer to go through my friendly local independent dealer, Video + Books And CDs (http://www.videoplusbooks.ca/)  They do a super job of finding stuff for me, but it must be frustrating for them, too, when an album is advertised for release at a certain date, and then isn't.

But!  I've got them now, hurrah!


And, another victory for the independents:  Graeme Thomson's biography of Kate, "Under The Ivy," came out in England last year.  When i went to my favourite local book shop, Fanfare Books, to order a copy, i was told that its Canadian distributor had gone out of business.  Well, there was much gnashing of what remains of my teeth when i learned that, i can tell ya.

But! again:  Fanfare called me last week.  The book had a new distributor here in the frozen north, and they had a copy for me.  I picked it up on Saturday.

It's been a good week (the trials and tribulations of work notwithstanding).  A little expensive, though (but heck, what the hell else do i have to with my hard-earned?).

But then, now, i have to add, today is a sad day here at Spriggs Towers:  on this day in 1995, Rory died, of complications following a liver transplant, and in 2009 my beloved cat Watson succumbed, to liver disease.  (Amazing, really -- i drink too much and the cat gets liver disease, sigh.)


On a happier note, it's also my sister's birthday today (she'd kill me if i told you how old she is).  Rest assured that, although i am in fact drinking to her health today, that's not the only reason....