you wouldn't like me when i'm angry.

Although i haven't slept for 30+ hours at this point, i'm actually pretty happy.


Due to lots of carrying-stuff over the summer and working more physically demanding jobs than i have in years, Mer has Hulk Arms.

I didn't plan for said Hulk Arms, it just sort of happened.

I have more muscle than when I was going to the gym five/six days a week in Toronto and taking the subway everywhere.

My heart rate got up to 200+ yesterday as I got to the top of our stairs carrying 40 pounds worth of groceries from five minutes down the street.

I now walk about 40 minutes total most days.

And for the first time since 2001 or so, I have this thing called "triceps." Weird. I didn't even know they were still back there, and I didn't even try to get 'em. And my back doesn't hurt constantly anymore either.

Now I just need me some Hulk Hands and we're all set here... to see Lou Ferrigno, Leonard Nimoy, Bruce Campbell and more this August!

(Though I do walk by a display with these most days as well... these would be cool too...)

Who knows how long said arms will last, but for now, all the better to.... carry more stuff with, I guess?

other people's pocketses...

for my birthday earlier this month, i got a little bit of money.

and a place near my house, which typically sells rather expensive leather jackets, was selling the last of some styles for $49.99 each. So I picked one up - a nice leather blazer in brown.

With some left over, I contemplated buying a second jacket - but I already have a black one, so it would have been a bit wasteful. Besides, I didn't have quite enough, and I didn't want to spend anything in addition to that birthday money.

Well, two days later, I was at work (painting) and the client was planning for a garage sale, so I picked up a black leather jacket for $3. All it needs is one of the buttons replaced. It seems a bit light for leather, and there's no tags telling me the material - but if it's a fake, it's a good one. And for $3 - how can you go wrong?

Since it's hot as blazes outside, I really have little use for it right now, though. But yesterday I thought I'd go through the pockets. I found

- the missing button (yay!)
- several perfume samples
- a receipt from a restaurant
- some plastic wrap, bunched up
- and two fancy tea bags wrapped in plastic wrap

This tells me a few things and lets me speculate on a few more - fun, if not too serious.

First, it was probably the sister from L.A. who owned the jacket, seeing the tea bags were pricey brands I haven't seen, even in Toronto, and the perfume samples high-end. Second, they're likely a bit frugal - taking your own tea bags with you instead of ordering at Starbucks, and having leftover plastic wrap from a snack or more tea. The receipt tells me they probably don't save their receipts, since it would be tucked in a purse or wallet. The missing button being saved was a good thing. And finally, them not checking the pockets before selling probably indicates the amount of things they have to sell and a tendency not to dig too deep into one's past.

This morning it began to rain, so I wore that jacket to work, but left it there since it was so hot. (I used the umbrella for shade on the way home, and saw a cute little lady doing the same). And not having carried a purse, my jean pockets had a wallet, a shopping list, some keys and a tissue in them.

What would your coat pockets have in them? What about your jeans?

And perhaps most importantly, what would that say about you?

a little church-work humour.

and most probably won't laugh at this, but...

last week at work, i heard Wayne talking about how he held onto all his clericals from years long past, and my ears perked up:

And my request went something like this:


"Heyyy... Wayne, can I borrow a green/"ordinary time" stole? I'm doing a wedding for a nominally religious family and as a favour I said I'd do the robe thing... I already have the both-Catholic-and-Protestant-looking alb, but you know clericals don't normally go with the Pentecostal game plan... green's the right colour right? I looked up this Ordinary Time stuff a while ago" (and i gotta say, we probably lost something by dropping the church seasons and the meanings of the different colours in our tradition)


And of course I could borrow them.

But it's just hilarious that... only when one works at a PAOC church (i typically wear jeans and t-shirts/conducting weddings would generally call for a skirt suit in most settings) with people of all flavours of Christianity can one borrow a Presbyterian stole from her co-worker to go with her Protestant/Catholic alb for a wedding as a favour to the nominally religious but nothing strongly family who wants nothing more than for nobody to be particularly shocked or surprised by the lack or appearance of clericals.

okay, perhaps only i find that little story hilarious, but it was funny at the time.


(for those wondering why i would bother, or that it is somehow dishonest for the jeans-and-t-shirts set to wear clericals, i think it's fair to use and wear these items as a respectful nod to different traditions - also looking at the roots of PAOC and two thousand years of church history

(the alb is a neutral garment used through many centuries and most types of churches. Pairing it with the similarly neutral general stole that doesn't denote any priestly rank is also respectful, historically appropriate, and genuine to my credentials - licensed, not yet ordained - as well)

yesterday, we celebrated Father's Day

so we went to the Harbour Diner on James North, and for the same price or better as most other places, had a phenomenal breakfast.

and then some friends I haven't seen in years (who have moved from South Africa to London to St. Catharines -- and now are moving to Hamilton) came over, which was excellent. They even got to meet another Londoner who just moved here as well. We did dessert at Williams and walked by the waterfront trail. Again, phenomenal.

Ah, but Father's Day wasn't till today. so today, our whole day was free! what to do, we asked ourselves?

First, lunch with some people at La Luna. Good stuff, as always.

And then... it was time to waterproof the tent (and stay outside while it dried!)! Yep, the giant 13-person tent someone kindly donated for our trip to Cornerstone Festival this year.

For those who haven't visited the Broughton castle, our tiny back yard is basically parking, so this is all in our front yard. And in general, it was a perfect, quiet afternoon. There was lots of food and reading involved, and squirrels and macro photographs. I'll let them speak.

Definitely a good afternoon :)

a little baby bat was sleeping on our wall sunday morning

(the picture is clickable to make it much larger)

he must have been separated from the rest during the night and tucked in where he thought was a safe, quiet little corner.

i noticed him while i was coming in early that day
and pointed him out to a few folks

so, through the morning one person was guarding him (so he didn't get squooshed by well-intentioned defenders of their family)

then some parents showed him to their kids

some teenagers came up and looked at him

some seniors commented on how amazing this little guy was

(and most people walked by unawares.)

i've grown to have a deep respect for bats (a great deal of that thanks to Anna) - their amazing adaptations, the amount of insects they eat, the wonder of echolocation. they're incredible little creatures, and as st. francis would call him, "brother bat" does nothing but good for the environment and my surroundings, so i'm very content to let him be.

and just as this little guy was waking up (too busy with all the people going by, I suppose) , we snapped a couple pictures (thanks, Mary!) and left him alone. (someone who received the pictures forwarded me them today at my request, with the sweet message of "you're gross!" Thanks, semi-anonymous Office Manager ;) ).

And he was gone this morning - hopefully back with the Bat Pack.

While reading the ysmarko blog today, found these two pieces of fun

Photo in need of a caption (hilarious!)

(my favorite captions tied between "Michael Stipe’s thinking place," "New Approaches in Grief Counselling," and "Apparently the yellow man group wasn’t as big a hit as the blue man group!." Though the short-but-sweet "Father...?" is the caption that won.

The surviving church as a single scorecard via Jon Acuff @ SCL (awful, but hiliarious. But.. too often terribly true, unfortunately.

e.g. +2 points if "Your church has a singles ministry but it's combined with the college ministry which creates opportunities for conversations like this:

Student: "My roommate bought a microwave for our dorm room. I love being a Freshman!"

Single: "My 401K is underperforming." = +2 points")

again, terrible, but oh-so-often too true.

happy tuesday! i had the FRWYs new muffin+coffee in the morning (because they were OPEN! on my way to work today) and it was excellent! nothin' like fair trade coffee and walnut streusel to launch you into your day!