o/~ just like a waving flag! o/~

Finally managed to locate and order the parts for my dishwasher! BOOYA! An achievement!!!!! Better go to bed while I'm ahead... o/~ and then it goes back, and then it goes back, and then it goes back o/~

o/~ Out of the darkness, I came the farthest, something something, waving flag! o/~

Dear Brain: stop singing that song and I'll read you an Economist article. Please?

o/~ and then it goes back, and then it goes back, and then it goes back o/~

o/~ When I get older, I will be stronger, they'll call me freedom, just like a waving flag. o/~

I wonder how much you get paid to stock shelves in Manitoba. Cause I sure don't mind it.

Moving to Winnipeg, D - 63 ± 29: Seriously, I'm supposed to be moving in NINE weeks? I should probably start packing. Or something.

I hate to say this but I'm starting to think the dictatorship of the proletariat is quite impossible.

On my 7th floor balcony in -12C, breaking up a pile of frozen soil with an axe and a broom. My life is so kafkaesque, dressing up would be anticlimactic.

Got out of bed in a timely way. Discovered I have no milk for my coffee, no Economist, still no ibuprofen, and a pile of aggravation ahead of me. And this is exactly why I don't get out of bed in a timely way on a regular basis.

Moving to Winnipeg, D - 140 ± 29: the dog is sick. Because the dog ALWAYS gets sick when we're trying to save money. And the soil that wasn't removed from my balcony by the last bunch of people is now frozen solid. Fuuuuuuuuuuh!

I do not "clear my mind" in yoga class, I just spend the whole class thinking how bored I am. I only like yoga my way.

I've come to the disappointing conclusion that when it comes to atlases, you get what you pay for. So am I gonna pay $56 for the latest Oxford atlas, which came out October 18, or just keep storing library atlases at my house until they refuse to renew them again? The plot thickens!

Ça fait trois jours que j'ai "Seul sur le sable" dans la tête. La haine! Fuck off, Rock Voisine!

Moving to Winnipeg, D - 141 ± 29: My friend Chicken has been by several times today, terrorizing the other ravens and bashing the balcony railing with his beak to demand I feed him. Come to Manitoba with me, Chicken. I hate to leave you.

I got shizz done today. Not sure what, but I'm quite positive I got shizz done. Bring on tomorrow! I feel manic!

Moving to Winnipeg, D - 142 ± 29: I'm starting to realize that my monstrously tacky Arctic Cat coat that I bought from the Thrift Store for $5 (retail price: $289) is not the right attire for a civilized place like Winnipeg. Sigh... How can I leave you behind, hideous tacky coat? You were only $5! You mean more to me than... several things! But whatever happens, we have this one last winter together.

I had a lot of fun at work, actually. Including scarring a horny 21-year-old male for life with some utterly tasteless comments about my hunting strategy. Not bad, for a day shift.

Moving to Winnipeg, D - 143 ± 29: someone on Facebook is claiming that Hay River has had more snow in the last week than in all of last winter. Environment Canada garbled the data for this week, but given that they recorded over 210 cm of snow last winter, I'm gonna say, not bloody likely. Everyone listens to local ignorami: another reason to get out of here.

I was right. I should have gone back to bed while I was ahead.

I got everything done that had to be done before work. I better go back to bed while I'm ahead.

Moving to Winnipeg, D - 144 ± 29: two words: "ATV bylaw".

It's snowing AGAIN!! AAAAAAUGH! Stop snowing, you ugly mofo, I just washed my car!!! >8(

I am pleased with my new music acquisition. It's so utterly vicious, I don't anticipate being able to sing some of those piece, EVER. Finally, a goal I can sink my teeth into? (So to speak. Hard to sing with clenched teeth.)

Moving to Winnipeg, D - 145 ± 29: went to wash the snow off my car, again. Epic power failure while I'm in the car wash. Car wash guy had to open the 12' overhead door with a ratchet. I hope it's less humid in Winnipeg, or colder, or something.

Moving to Winnipeg, D - 146 ± 29: finally received some music in the mail that looks like I won't be able to sing through it on the first try. First song in the book: l'Air des Bijoux. Can't wait to start voice lessons!

I cannot believe the filthy mess that passes for snow removal in the Highrise parking lot. If it had a slope, we could call it a bad mogul run. Good grief... Put your bucket down and make the machine work if you're gonna call yourself a snow remover. :(

I totally forgot me and my dog's 50-dog-year anniversary on Monday. Good thing dogs don't care.

I saw that my handsome neighbour got an assigned parking stall for winter, so I went around and read his apartment number on his stall. But I needn't have bothered because it turned out I had already guessed it correctly from his summer parking habits. There is a fine line between "observant" and "creepy", and I don't think I'm on the right side of it.

I do not approve of Canada Post's habit of delivering mail only when it suits them. I want my Economist, you lazy trolls!

Moving to Winnipeg, D - 147 ± 29: 21 weeks left! Ran into an acquaintance on the street and he says "so, I hear you're moving?" WTF? Who told him that? I'm so not gonna miss this local habit of talking ABOUT me instead of TO me.

Moving to Winnipeg, D - 148 ± 29: Arc en Ciel is not working. People don't know how to drive. People who don't know physics shouldn't argue with those who do. But what I was really gonna say is, after weeks of thinking I was imagining that humid smell in my apartment, I discovered that there is indeed a leak, to all appearance under my bed. Hmmmmmm.... Well, good thing I'm leaving then.

Moving to Winnipeg, D - 149 ± 29: got the Big Book of Birds from the library, made list of all the birds alleged to be found in Manitoba. Holy crap, Manitoba has a lot of birds! That oughtta keep me busy for a bit.

I hit a high A so perfectly, it set off the harmonics in my guitar five feet away. Coolest physics phenomenon I've experience since the Tape arc. And this is actually, for real, one of the reasons that have been pushing me to leave for a long time: I need to go back where singing a high A perfectly counts for something. And I'm not even being sarcastic. I've been gnawing on that for months.

Moving to Winnipeg, D - 150 ± 29: thought about The Handsome One, realized this means I'm never gonna hit that. Hmmmmmm... Oh well. At least it will totally screw with his Slimey brother's head. Maybe I can stick my car magnets to the back of my handsome neighbour's truck when I leave. Hehehehehe... (Speaking of which, I'm starting to think my handsome neighbour really is stalking me.)

Moving to Winnipeg, D - 151 ± 29: the fact that Winnipeg is 15 hours closer to Charles de Gaulle was not lost on me... or on my relatives. Two of them immediately mentioned it. Also, about 30% cheaper. Also, there are jobs over there to pay for plane tickets. Awright!!!

I discovered that "Hay River" is in my new dictionary. WTF??? Is THAT how they came up with 300,000 words?? I've been robbed! On the other hand, I've also learned from my new dictionary that Hay River is governed by a nugatory council of plutocrats who haver over the irrelevant for lack of knowledge of realpolitik. Some of them are even milquetoasts. And in my dictionary, "realpolitik" is followed by "real presence." Baaaaahaha! That's hilarious! Man, life is so much more fun when you have a good dictionary.

Moving to Winnipeg, D - 152 ± 29: SO looking forward to not getting a Facebook feed full of the same old Adam Hill photos every day anymore. I think I might even join a photography club down there...

I received my 6 October Economist, and preparations for moving to Winnipeg are proceeding energetically. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! I feel... manic!

Moving to Winnipeg, D - 153 ± 29: I found someone to remove the massive amounts of soil I've hauled up to my balcony in the last four years. They're coming at 5. So I had to uproot all my favourite perennials (lilies, peonies, windflowers, rose) and hope that I can keep at least the J.P. Connell alive until we reach Winnipeg. And the dog is horrified by the mess I've made of her lawn. Sigh... Well, the garden is the hardest thing to leave, so once it's gone there will be no check on my enthusiasm. Or something.

I received my new best friend in the mail today. I mean, my dictionary. It's suspiciously light, for 300,000 words. I didn't need even one yak to carry it home. Hmmmmmm... I'm disappointed. But it does contain "milquetoast" and "irredentist." As long as I don't find a word that's not in it, it will do.

I received my Economist late today. I assumed it was the one from this week and the previous one is missing, but no: it's the one from September 29, and this week's is still extant. Given that the Economist prints on Thursdays, that means it took 20 days to get here. WTF?

I have something like 75 cu. ft. of cargo space behind the middle bench in the Fnord. Wow. I can actually move my stuff to Winnipeg instead of abandoning it again! Thank you, Fnord.

According to Statistics Canada, there are 663,617 people in Winnipeg, of whom 116,800 are single men. Hehehehehe...

I am getting tons of compliments on losing the election, while the winners are already being ragged on before they've even done anything. (Can't say I disagree, mind you. Dohey? Seriously?) Somehow I don't think this is a positive aspect of Hay River politics.

I got a message of condolences from a handsome dude I've been watching for 6 years. Political defeat gets me attention from handsome dudes??? When's the next election? Ah, handsome Hay River men. I'm gonna miss stalking y'all...

Moving to Winnipeg, step 1: find a dog park. Step 2: find a Lutheran church. Because my dog is way more fussy than God.

I would like to thank the people who helped with my electoral project: Diana Smith, Joseph Robertson, Charles Changizi, and Micayla Gammon. And the 118 people who voted for me. And if I had a hat, I'd tip it to Sandra Lester. She's got balls - so to speak.

I wake up the first morning after my first electoral defeat and there is new grass sprouting in my garden. How apt.

I thought I'd sleep better after the election. Guess not... too busy thinking about how I'm gonna pack. But hey, it's nice getting all these supportive messages from people who didn't support me when it mattered. maybe I should move tomorrow.

I did not get elected. Now I just have to find some money and I'm off to my next adventure. Booya!