Laughed Out Loud

----- from Facebook

"I would rather cuddle then have sex. If you're good at grammar, you'll get it."

A Year In Review

I looked at what Facebook said were important events in my life this past year. I was glad to see Jason in there and Steph and Dave's wedding featured prominently. Those are two of the biggest and most exciting things to happen to me in 2012 - good job Facebook! This was the opening page for my 'Year In Review'. I think the wedding is a little over emphasized in the photos but a lot of photos are taken at those things.

Box O Wine

I am home, at The Cottage, for Christmas. I can't help laughing at my parents who have, on the corner of their kitchen counter, a huge box of red wine. It is 16 liters. The best part is the 'Flavour Profile' where they describe the wine as being "for wine lovers who enjoy easy drinking, casual-style wines... fun, food friendly and pair easily with a wide variety of foods and cuisines." This essentially says nothing about the taste of the wine, or maybe it does and it suggests it isn't very good. I can't really judge since I don't like beer or wine so it isn't anything I really understand. I guess it is a good thing that they chose "The perfect, everyday choice."

They Are Everywhere!

 I can't even take credit for finding this on the internet - one of Jason's friends told me about it. Funny because it is true and I know this because, in Toronto, Hipsters are everywhere!

Not True

------- from Facebook

"You text him, he doesn't text back. He was obviously so excited that you texted him that he fainted."

The True Story of Rudolph

-------- from Facebook

A man name Bob May, depressed and brokenhearted, stared out his drafty apartment window into the chilling December night. His 4-year-old daughter Barbara sat on his lap quietly sobbing. Bob's wife, Evelyn, was dying of cancer. Little Barbara couldn't understand why her mommy could never come home. Barbara looked up into her dad's eyes and asked, "Why isn't Mommy just like everybody else's Mommy?" Bob's jaw tightened and his eyes welled with tears. Her question brought waves of grief, but also of anger. It had been the story of Bob's life.

Life always had to be different for Bob. Small when he was a kid, Bob was often bullied by other boys. He was too little at the time to compete in sports. He was often called names he'd rather not remember. From childhood, Bob was different and never seemed to fit in. Bob did complete college, married his loving wife and was grateful to get his job as a copywriter at Montgomery Ward during the Great Depression. Then he was blessed with his little girl. But it was all short-lived. Evelyn's bout with cancer stripped them of all their savings and now Bob and his daughter were forced to live in a two-room apartment in the Chicago slums. Evelyn died just days before Christmas in 1938.

Bob struggled to give hope to his child, for whom he couldn't even afford to buy a Christmas gift.But if he couldn't buy a gift, he was determined to make one - a storybook! Bob had created an animal character in his own mind and told the animal's story to little Barbara to give her comfort and hope. Again and again Bob told the story, embellishing it more with each telling. Who was the character? What was the story all about? The story Bob May created was his own autobiography in fable form. The character he created was a misfit outcast like he was. The name of the character? A little reindeer named Rudolph, with a big shiny nose. Bob finished the book just in time to give it to his little girl on Christmas Day.

But the story doesn't end there…

The general manager of Montgomery Ward caught wind of the little storybook and offered Bob May a nominal fee to purchase the rights to print the book. Wards went on to print, “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and distribute it to children visiting Santa Claus in their stores. By 1946 Wards had printed and distributed more than six million copies of Rudolph. That same year, a major publisher wanted to purchase the rights from Wards to print an updated version of the book. In an unprecedented gesture of kindness, the CEO of Wards returned all rights back to Bob May. The book became a best seller. Many toy and marketing deals followed and Bob May, now remarried with a growing family, became wealthy from the story he created to comfort his grieving daughter.

But the story doesn't end there either…

Bob's brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, made a song adaptation to Rudolph. Though the song was turned down by such popular vocalists as Bing Crosby and Dinah Shore , it was recorded by the singing cowboy, Gene Autry. "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was released in 1949 and became a phenomenal success, selling more records than any other Christmas song, with the exception of "White Christmas."

The gift of love that Bob May created for his daughter so long ago kept on returning back to bless him again and again. And Bob May learned the lesson, just like his dear friend Rudolph, that being different isn't so bad. In fact, being different can be a blessing. MERRY CHRISTMAS

The Office Puppy

One of the questions in the interview for my current job was how I felt about dogs. This is because there is an Office Dog. Gracie is the sweetest thing and I am so happy when she comes in. When I started last December she was just a puppy and now she is over a year old. (She is a Portuguese Waterdog and I am totally in love with the breed.) Check out her Christmas portraits!

Gracie Puppy - Christmas 2011

Portrait taken last year at a veterinarian's office

as part of a Toronto Animal Services fundraiser

Gracie Puppy - Christmas 2012

Portrait taken this year at a veterinarian's office

as part of a Toronto Animal Services fundraiser

Great Monarchy Metaphor

---- from The Walrus, magazine Postscript, "Survivors: Revisiting the wedding of the love rat and the adulteress"

"I'm not a revolutionary, and I like the Queen. She seems just the sort of person one would elect as queen if one were given the chance. Canada is a constitutional monarchy. I accept that. It's like wallpaper I wouldn't have chosen in a room with a lot of bookshelves, in a house with a lot of history, and I've adjusted my tastes accordingly. After all, the bookshelves block most of it, Lord knows what you'd find behind them, and moving them would be too much work."  

By Tabatha Southey

An Expensive Day, Everyday

The benefits I was getting as a Ryerson student ran out in October. Even though I was only a student until December 2012, the benefit package runs from October to October so I have been covered for a while. It is a tough bit of reality to have to pay full price for all of my medications - literally hundreds of dollars. Here is a normal day for me:

Birth Control -Cyclen - $0.90
ADHD Meds - Adderall - $3.18
Morning Anti-Depressant - Effexor - $1.49
Evening Anti-Depressant - Wellbutrin - $1.75

That is a total of $7.32 everyday, and $219.60 every month!!
So it costs me almost 10% of my income to just to stay sane, functional, not pregnant, and making sense.

The good news is that my current work is arranging for me to have a benefit package, which they will pay for, in 2013. I am going to look at packages next week to discuss which one would be best; I know that I would like dental and obviously I need prescription drugs covered!

Good Advice

"Don't argue with idiots. First they will bring you down to their level, then they will beat you with experience."
--- Sunjay Nath, Motivational Speaker

It Is Harder In Spanish

I have had a personal Twitter account for almost a year now (@SweetonChris) and set up a Twitter Feed for Always Standing right away. Well, a couple of months ago it went away and I have been trying off and on for a few weeks to get it back or set up a new one. It is hard to figure out - just like Twitter was at the start, but I am (literally) a professional at that now. Now I have a strange version of the widget that seems to be Spanish, and I'm not even sure it works correctly. The one that Steph has working for Stephanie Beach Photography's Blog is so nice and I need to find time to talk to her about helping me fix mine, though she uses WordPress now and not Blogger. Keep your eye on the left side of Always Standing to see if my Twitter Feed situation improves, hopefully I will get it all sorted out soon.

Armaweddin

I met Halley years ago when I went to visit Anna in Paris. She had quickly became Anna's best friend in France and they have remained close over the years. Halley is originally from Tacoma (near Seattle) but I don't exactly know where in The States she is now. The main thing I always connect with her is social media - she has always been way ahead of the times when it comes in media and the internet. Other things would be that she is smart, funny, fun, interesting, and beautiful. I am glad that Anna has stayed friends with her and from that, and Facebook, she has stayed on the edge of my radar.

She is getting married later in this month and it is going to be a very unique wedding. I had been following along on it a bit, but recently she wrote an article for The Huffington Post that explains it all in more detail - Read it here. Congratulations and best wishes!

Bond, Jason Bond

Jason In His New Suit

(Has Perfected The 'Hate That My Girlfriend Is Taking My Picture' Glare)

By Me, Using his phone, which takes terrible quality photos

Christmas List 2012

Big Dreams
-Warm but stylish/fashion winter boots (7) or GC to get a pair
-Android Tablet, 9in style, not 7in
-Flat screen TV
-A nice/fancy but subtle watch
-Road bike, light and good for Toronto
-$ to help payoff student debt

And As Always - BOOKS
-Any! Used is great, hard cover preferred
-Classics
-Science Fiction, William Gibson
-Chick Lit
-Easy book to learn Bridge, basics

Fun Times
-Taboo
-Scatigories
-Eye shadow primer, Urban Decay
-Tickets to local dance, theater, and comedy
-Medium size globe
-Mix to make Chai lattes
-Picture frames
-GC for photo printing
-GC for Caryl Baker Visage (beauty store, in most malls)

For Two, Who Is Still Evil
-Cat litter deodorizer, Arm & Hammer
-Cat nip
-Ball/feather thing on sting attached to stick (Dollerama)
-Medium size scratching post with perch

For Rrunuv Bayit, My Apartment
-Spatulas for frying pans
-Biodegradable bags for kitchen compost bin
-Oven Mitts
-Candles
-Flashlights
-Air purifier that can remove pet dander
-Ikea tub style cheese grater
-Good knives to cut vegetables
-Ikea GC for closet organizer 
-Sears GC for a Wingback-Chair Cover

Renovations To My Rental
-Screwdriver with all the ends
-Nails and such to hang things
-White toilet seat
-Adjustable wrench
-Ceiling Light for hallway, and help installing it
-Tool box
-Home Hardware GC for paint

I Am A Birder 
(First Step Is Admitting The Problem)
-Small set of binoculars
-Small umbrella
-Bird book
-Photoshop for my laptop
-Small bills and change, Euros and American

Daily Necessities
-Lunch-size Pyrex
-Gin
-Thin black socks for work (7)
-PJs (M/L)

Years Of Christmas Lists

I am prepping this year's Christmas List and will have it posted tomorrow. However, I was wondering what my previous lists looked like. The first two years of Always Standing I didn't post my list online, but since 2008 my list has gone up publicly onto the internet each year.

Take a look back at previous years (they are surprisingly similar):

2008 Christmas List
This marks the first public appearance of 'Cordless Drill'. Last year Taylor got me one!

2009 Christmas List
The Christmas before I went on my big 'around the world' trip. Asked for a lot of travel stuff.

2010 Christmas List
I didn't want enough apparently, and I had a late post for list additions.

2011 Christmas List
Last year was a bit focused on the car, that sadly I then crashed a few weeks later.