You Make Kitty Scared

I went downhill skiing last night. Aside from overly cold fingers and toes, I had a great time. I only fell down the once, but it was a doozy. It happened while going up the pony lift on the bunny hill, of all things. The grab bar got caught behind my knee, and I was dragged up the hill. I was laughing so hard I was helpless. Finally, I extricated myself by holding the offending leg up straight above me. I provided entertainment for all.

Also skiing were Lev (Ukrainian/Russian), Oleg (Russian), Star (Chinese), Alex (Russian/Israeli/Scott), Dmitri (Russian), Muhammed (Moroccan, I think), and f00dave (Canadian/German). I swear, I hang out with the foreign legion. I'm often the only Canadian-born person in a group. Being around people from such diverse backgrounds gives me the opportunity to hear numerous interesting stories. For instance, Alex lived through some pretty surreal experiences.

On the trip home, I started singing "99 Red Balloons." This made Alex remember the last time he had heard the song: he was working at a dairy farm as a cow milker during the Gulf War. As missiles flew overhead, he listened to Nena and milked 280 cows while wearing a gas mask.

( And now for a few links before I go and do today's errands: )

Walk With Shan

There are two kinds of people out walking: those who step to the side, and those who storm straight ahead, no matter who's in front of them. I'm one of those people who always steps to the side, even if the side is deep snow or a puddle of unknown depth. When I meet another of my sort, both of us have plenty of room on the sidewalk. But when I meet people who insist on taking the centre of the walkway, or worse, a group of three or four abreast who refuse to move, collisions happen. Today, I met two beautiful teenaged girls walking alongside one another. The one closest to me smashed into my purse, sending it spinning around me. They didn't even pause to apologize.

I don't understand this lack of common courtesy. Would it really hurt them to walk in single file for the second or two it takes to pass someone on the sidewalk?

My day was spent walking all over town. I walked up the hill for a doctor's appointment (which proceded in a timely manner for the first time in years), and then back down the hill again on a quest for brown Basmati rice, glycerine soap, and a jump rope. Although I could find the first two items on my list, I couldn't find an appropriately-sized jump rope. They're either made for people six and a half feet tall, or for little kids. I couldn't find anything in between, and the long ones weren't adjustable. I also checked on the price of floormounted heavy bags, but they're prohibitively expensive. I can't afford three hundred and some odd dollars for the pleasure of beating the crap out of an inanimate object in the privacy of my own living room.

I'll take my salbutamol prescription to a new pharmacist tomorrow. I've had terrible luck with the Shoppers Drug Marts here. They keep losing my prescriptions and then saying I've never had a prescription there since 1999. This is bollocks, and has caused me problems in the past. For example, a couple of years ago I was in Moncton for a week and accidentally left my inhaler at home. I got sick and had very bad asthma attacks. I called the pharmacy, but they had no record of my prescription despite my just having had it filled a couple of weeks beforehand. I made it through the week by borrowing the inhaler of an acquaintance, but almost ended up in the emergency room. It was touch and go for a while. I don't understand why meds like salbutamol aren't available over the counter, anyhow. It's not like you get high or become a better athlete by taking the stuff. It just makes it possible to breathe. Should that really be the sort of substance that's controlled?

That reminds me. While I was at the Bulk Barn, I browsed idly through the vitamin section and saw a bottle of RNA/DNA. I picked up the bottle and read the ingredients: ribonucleic acid and deoxyribonucleic acid. Contains no gluten or sugar. What on earth would someone want with this shit? Is it supposed to make you smarter, faster, leaner, meaner, or sexier? I am baffled. I also saw stress squeezy balls--you know, the kind made out of balloons and filled with fine sand. These ones were special, though. They contained six magnets for enhanced magnetic therapy. What the fuck ever, man.

And now for a few more links, because the internet just doesn't shut down.

First Grader Punished for Bag of Dirt: A little girl gives a bag full of dirt and flower petals to a friend and winds up in detention.

Parents challenge weekly Bible classes: Elementary kids get Christian religious training on school hours. "'I asked them whether Jesus was a Christian and they said 'yes.' When I said, 'Jesus was a Jew,' one girl said, 'But Jesus was a good person.'" (thanks, Kat).

SF Reading Habits Questionnaire If you're a science fiction fan, won't you be a dear and help out?

In other news, I watched What About Bob? last night. What a terrible movie.