7:20am Monday Sept 4th, 2006
Labour Day (read: DAY OFF)

A phone rings somewhere in the distance as I pry an eye open to scout my bedroom for a phone. The cordless, I realize, is in the other room. Brushing aside the "who? why? what day is it?" questions racing through my mind I dash for the phone ringing in the spare bedroom.

*grumblegrumble*
"Allo?"
"STEVE IRWIN IS DEAD!!!!" exclaims my mother.
(I find myself staring at the ceiling now as I go through the Rolodex of names in my mind and try, in my groggy state, to put a face to the familiar name. My brain fails me as I was asleep not 30 seconds ago and is still warming up.)
"Steve Irwin.......Steve Irwin....."
"STEVE IRWIN THE CROCODILE GUY!!!"
(ah yes, I remember now!! and I find myself instantly saddened)
"Wow, really?? What happened?"
"He was killed by a stingray!!!"
"Oh, not a croc?"
"No."
"Ok, well, while I am truly sad to hear he's gone..... did you really call and wake me up at 7:20am to tell me this?"
"Be happy, I was going to call you at 6:45am"
"I'm thrilled. Can I go back to bed now?"
"Yes, bye!"

And that was how my day started. I'm sure you've all heard the fuss about poor old Steve's death, and as I said, I am truly sorry to hear it. Love him or hate him he meant well and did lots to raise awareness and to educate. My heart goes out to his wife and kids..... his time came too soon.

*sigh* Makes any talk of my life seem so silly now, so I'll just justify my recent absence with the now familiar "I've been working" excuse. Sad part is that it's true. I was on the road for a week and a half putting nearly 2,000 kms on my car in one week (that's about 1,243 miles for you crazy Americans) and now I should be home for the foreseeable future (2-3 weeks). *fingers crossed*

Other than that life is treating me ok, so I can't really complain. If you read my prior post you heard about my friend's dog Gator for whom we were throwing a doggie party. He spent time in the park with all his little dog friends as they played games, ate snacks and peed on my purse. A good time was had by all and a week or so later the sweet pup known as Gator was put to sleep. I got the email from my friend upon returning from my time out on the road and was crushed for her. If you've ever lost a beloved pet, you understand.

Anyway, a new week lays before me and I hope it's a little calmer than last week. I even managed to head to a "Geek Convention" this weekend where my friends and I (and thousands of other comic book and sci fi nerds) crowded into a hall to be among peers and talk in fluent geek-speak. I even saw my childhood hero, Carrie Fisher!

My birthday is next week so I'm trying to come up with a list for people who are hounding me with the "what do you want?" question. *shrug* I dunno! Suggestions are welcome...