I talked to the Friend in Yellowknife today. She said: “YukonJen is slacking.” Pressure. Pressure. So, here is a little update.

My friend Ron from Vancouver called today and asked if I’d heard the latest R3-30 podcast yet. (Go to radio3.cbc.ca and search the site for: The R3-30: Week Ending September 25, 2008.) They were saluting the BANJO! I’d told him earlier this summer that I was collecting new banjo music and he’s been keeping his ear out. (The banjo blog list is yet to come.)

Actually, earlier this year–or maybe even late last year I heard the 2007 Bucky Awards and Indestructible Sam by Buck 65. And ever since then, I’ve been seeking out new, cool banjo music. Somehow–maybe last week or so, we were talking about how I’m looking for new banjo music and he told me about Old Man Luedecke. Then he told me to look up the JOY OF COOKING. And I promptly added it to my Radio 3 playlist and embedded my playlist on my blog. I’ll change it up when I have some time. But right now…don’t you just love it?

Also talked girl talk to the Friend today. SO MUCH girl talk that I can’t possibly publish it on my blog. But it was a fairly interesting conversation. It could have been fodder for a few episodes of Sex and the City. She’s been travelling lately and back in the bush so we just caught up. One thing we talked about was how we’re attracted to people who we admire for things we don’t have. She’s attracted to this one person I think, because he can open a bottle of beer with a screwdriver. (Well–there’s way more to it than that, but the subject of man-li-ness came up and we talked about that for awhile).

And I figured that I was attracted to a guy this summer for his vocabulary in wine (and jazz, and music, and movies, and life). And even though I have a vocabulary in jazz and music and life, I don’t really have a vocabulary in wine–and maybe that was my main attraction. But, honestly, there was chemistry–at least for me (and that’s a pretty rare phenomenon) so–I don’t know what to say about that other than: Next!

And the subject of butts came up. And I just admitted it out loud….I like butts. I’m not fond the look of my butt right now (so I’m working on it), but (pun intended), at least I admitted it out loud (both that I like them and I’m working on mine). I notice butts. I notice people butts. And car butts. And–well. I guess I just like butts . And I told her about one of my most memorable butts (on a former colleague from Turin). And I got lost in the memory for a bit.

[ahem]

Talked to my parents today. My Mum locked herself out of the house last Thursday AND TRIED TO GET BACK IN BY CLIMBING THROUGH A WINDOW!!!!!!!!! My god! My Mum is going to be 69 next week. I asked her: What were you thinking? She replied, “I wasn’t.” And now I know where I get my doing-things-without-thinking trait from (dare I mention my siphoning spiders incident or hand-sanitizer catastrophe).

She got back in, but ended up flat on her back on the floor. She said she laid there for a few minutes, then got up, lay in bed for a bit. Then got up and sat in the chair. Then got up and started hauling buckets out to the greenhouse again. And that’s how my Dad found her…hauling buckets or something out in the greenhouse.

GOOD GOD MOTHER!!! I’m going to have to come up there and …. I don’t know….give you some thinking lessons or something (although, unfortunately, I’m not sure I can help you there).

I’m also tired of being so disorganized all of the time. And being stretched so thin doing too many things. I bought myself a wee white board that I can write some daily priorities on and cross them off when I finish them (I already crossed off two things!)

I also bought myself a fashionable Franklin/Covey-file-o-fax-purse-like-thingie with a starter workshop in organization. And I’m feeling pretty good about that. Planning out the week and planning out my days–so I actually feel like I’m making conscious decisions to prioritize things and get them done–but mainly prioritized.

If I learned anything at all from my cousin Nik (now Dr. Nicole Fox) is plan it and it will happen!. So, I’m off to start planning my week. Good job I got the file-o-fax thingie. I need to take my computer in. It’s slacking and causing me some grief. And I figure before it actually causes me irreversible grief (loosing all of my data) I’d better take it in where it can get some proper lovin’.

Fawn and Michael, I read your updates on Jade and my heart goes out you, and after reading them, to my other friends Ann and Ante too.

As many of you know, this cartoon connotes EXACTLY what life is like today–virtually, physically. It’s pretty funny. Last week, my cousin NIK got engaged…and I saw her Facebook status update AND I immediately wrote to congratulate her.

Talk about instant gratification. One day, I was talking to a friend about the lack of available, date-able men in Healdsburg. She-along with many other friends have been encouraging me to put my profile online–on one of those dating sites.

GOOD GOD! I may be passionate about the internet, but I’m not about finding passion on it. I not about meeting real people online. My theory about why those dating sites are so successful is that everybody who’s on them has one thing in common–they are all looking to get hooked up. And that’s the basis of their meeting–so their rates are successful.

Plus, apparently–the women can shop. Great business model…let the women shop. HA!

I shouldn’t be so guarded. If you read my blog, you know I’m all about being authentic and real on the internet. AND there are a lot of success stories out there about meeting people online. For example, some guests I last week met on LavaLife. Other friends on Match.com. Anyway. A lot of my friends say get online, figure out what you want, and order them up.

But the whole process is a bit freaky to me. You can’t read their body language. You can’t see what’s in their eyes. You can’t hear their voice inflections. There are so many levels at which humans communicate, the internet is just one. Although, somehow, I personally find it easier to be honest in this medium, I know that there are many others who communicate who they want to believe they are.

Also, I’d be freaked out at finding somebody I may already know out there–and I’d dated him. Good grief. I’d also be rating them on how long have they had their profile up? Like an MLS listing or something.

Who wants that?

Here’s one of my favourite quotes from Lewis Carroll:

Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it would appear to others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than what you had been or what you would have appeared to be otherwise. – The Duchess in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter IX

And, believe it or not, I can recite the entire poem: Jabberwocky.

It’s time I think. I’m going to review my theme and my features on this blog. No more just settling because its easy.

I want to use some of the latest WordPress features here. Mainly, I’d like to make my permalinks pretty.

Besides, if there is anything I’ve learned from Madonna–it’s to update yourself every so often. (She reinvents herself every decade, but–you can’t wait that long to update yourself on the internet).

Stay tuned and let me know what you think of the outcome.

Sarah Palin running for VP? Come on. Does this remind anybody in Canada about Kim Campbell?

Remember Brian Mulroney running not only the country but also the Conservative party into the ground? Campbell won the party leadership, but party lost the entire election (two seats in Parliament that election). When was that??? 1993?

It’s not that I’m not for women in positions of power. My great aunt is Irene Parlby (one of the Famous Five Women of Alberta). She’s one of the five historical women who fought for the right for women to hold public office (Person’s case 1928). In 1921, she was appointed a Minister without Portfolio—the first female Cabinet Minister in Alberta history and only the second in the British Empire. In 1935, she also served as Canadian representative to the League of Nations (now the United Nations).

Palin is the first Republican woman to run on her party’s presidential ticket–let alone any presidential ballot in the ENTIRE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES! I OBJECT that it’s the first time a woman is on the presidential ballot and THEY KNOW they’re going to fail.

A joke. The Republican Party is a joke and now they’re making women a joke.

Come on America. Get with the international program.

He was laughing his head off. He and Mum had been traveling in New Brunswick. The went to the Canadian Senior Olympic Games. (Dad won a silver in lawn bowling–Congrats Dad!).

Anyway. He calls. He can barely speak he’s laughing his head off. And I’m expecting another rude joke.

But he says:

“Last night we stayed at a fancy-schmancy hotel by the airport. There was one of those–what do you call it–bidets in the bathroom. Your mother didn’t know what it was and she asked how did it work. So–I stepped in and showed her.

AND I GOT A FACE FULL OF WATER.”

Yuck.

It came, unsolicited, but I think this is the best piece of relationship advice I’ve ever received. Not that I’m in a relationship right now–but I think I’ll use it when I am.

I met a friend in a coffee shop to talk about website requirements–which we did. But we ended up talking about a million things (as girls do). AND she said that she’d just made a new house rule for her husband: If we’re going to fight, we fight naked.

And for the life of me, I think that this one rule might save a few marriages–it might break a few too. But if you think about it, how can you have a legitimate fight with your significant other if you’re both standing there with no clothes on?

I guess it’s a version of that old rule: Don’t go to sleep angry. This rule just deals with it immediately instead of waiting for bedtime.

In the grand scheme of things, wouldn’t you rather bunny sex over arguing?