Blog problems

Hi all.
This site may be experiencing some weirdness over the coming 48 hours. Your patience is appreciated. xox

I am a sap

I pulled the attachments; sorry the second was a little wonky - I seem to have trouble posting attachments. If I can figure it out, I will repost...as for the girl, simply youTube Connie Talbot and listen to her - she has the voice of a little angel. I cried both times...x

Updated to add: Please make certain to read the comments to this entry. Thanks.

A test with the code

Will this one show up?

Closing the Comments Section

I've just closed the Comments section at On Forgiveness and Apology, because although they're greatly appreciated, they're a little too much for me to digest in a couple of days. All of the comments are there for your reading, but no one can post any new ones.

I expected the regular 10 or so, but no more. Not one of my other entries has ever generated 31 comments plus all of the additional emails. The honesty and the volume are a little overwhelming and greatly unexpected and it really is just a little too much for me right now...

Understand that I do appreciate that anyone gives a shit about anything I write, and all of the comments and feedback are cherished. But, due to the subject matter itself, not any of the comments, I need things to slow down a bit. I've realised that with every additional comment and email is created another moment where I am forced to remember, and the entry itself was supposed to be that final memory.

Please feel free to continue sending me emails, but I'll ask that you place in the Subject line, something like: forgiveness / apology. I'll read it a later time, and I will get back to you at that later time...just not now.

I hope you understand. Thank you.

Comments here are also closed.

Comments

Hi everyone. A quickie to remind you that I've never been able to access my blog from work (they blocked the site), and so that's why it takes me so long to respond to the comments you make. I have to do it in the evenings and my evenings are pretty psychotically booked up.

Soon, I will get back to all of the comments on all of the entries of the past month.

Comments here are closed.

To be changed momentarily

Hi Blogger!

1 announcement & 2 updates

(1) I fly out tomorrow.

Even though I will have access to the internet, I don't plan on responding to email unless it's some crazy emergency.

However, I will be blogging to keep you up-to-date on the fun I'm having, Inshallah. Also, I'll be posting all photos here, so keep this link bookmarked if you'd like to take the - at least - pictorial journey with me.

(2) I see that many of you have already noted this, but for those who've not yet taken a peek: I've updated the Most Popular Posts based on the amount of emails I receive, and the amount of page hits these babies get. The new list is (insert drum roll, please):

Every Girl Should Have 'One'
A Childhood Photograph
Marvin Under Glass
Belief vs. Proof
The PIGS! Are Everywhere
A Home Can Not Be Built on the Table of an Architect
Sailing with Seedo
Tunnels Aren't Fun
The Honour of Being A Daughter
Montreal Lovers
Maha's 35 Things To Do In London
Why I Don't Grocery Shop
Gerry Butler's Secret
The IKEA Matrix
Baba (or: Pappy)

(3) I've finally updated all of my Categories and the links to them (take a peek to the right column...)

**********
Please think of me tomorrow as I fly up above. I'll wave and hope someone is nice enough to wave back at the little blur in the sky. Be safe, everyone and don't worry...you're all coming with me in one way or another. Mmmmmmwah.

You might see the posts slowing down

Even though I continue to write a lot, it's taking me much longer to place the pieces on line. I'm finding that my writing's changing and the stories are demanding a little more structure, attention and patience. A thicker thread, a slightly clearer story line, a more obvious grouping of ideas...

I'm currently working on seven pieces and I'm trying to make each one a little more of a story and a little less of a sharing of information. Several of them may end up being much too personal for this little interWeb home of mine, but we'll see. In fact, one of them is looking like it may be the first chapter of a book, but again: we'll see. (I may post this particular one on here and get a taste of what you think before I move forward with it.)

FYI: Crack at an Embassy Dinner was in fact originally blogged in the summer of 2006. I accidentally pulled it up when trying to do a fix and I've left it up front because many of you seem to still enjoy it.

P.S.: The first post to benefit from this new direction was Every Girl Should Have 'One', and I think it's safe to say there's a difference between that entry and most of the ones before.

2006 Blog Fix - We tried to archive by year

But it doesn't seem to want to work, unfortunately. We tried to manage an archive by year, but we think it's something that's gotta be done by the Blogger folks themselves.

Pooling the Weirdness of the Manual Fix

The following is a compilation of the entries I had to make (and then delete) over the last 48 hours, in an effort to fix something manually. The bolded text denotes the title of each entry.

I've always been intrigued by Zodiac signs
...and the alignment of the planets. I don't understand any of it, and I usually laugh at it - unlike the fortune cookie, which I take very seriously - but deep down inside, I'm always a little bit curious.

Another thing I'm curious about
Is the infinite stupidity of wo/man. I'm usually left agog - is that the correct spelling? - by it. I am the first to suffer from it, too.

I am about to head out for dinner with some friends
Late dinners are the best, n'est pas?

How many of you watch television?
I usually watch shows online.

I don't know if this one will make it through!
Did it?

1969
Was a good year...

So was 1846
Or so I hear.

1456
Was a boring year.

But 1948 most definitely was not
Jog your political memories, kids.

Dinner this weekend
Was a lot of fun and I managed to get some excellent pictures.

And I will post them soon
As soon as I get my BabyMac back from her Doctor's. It's on her I have Bluetooth.

And then I can simply sit back and enjoy you enjoying them
Because as much as I think I need time away from here, here is really where I belong.

A big hello to Yasmine
because she's watching the show =)

No one told me what they thought of Fox Mulder
No one finds him interesting?

This is not a hack
It's me making some changes to this blog, and this is the only way to do it.

I think I have at least 30 more of these sessions
But at least everything'll be ready for next week without problems.

Remember: This isn't a hack
It's me making some manual changes to my interWeb Home. Things will be messy for at least another 24 hours. xox

This has been a lengthy process but necessary
Thanks to Fiery for the concerned call about my Blog =)

And to all of the emails asking
'Yo WHAT'S UP? with your space? It's filled with numbers and it looks weird and when are you coming to NY?'

I have enough travel plans to take me through to
the end of the year but I'll tell you all about that soon enough once I get this blog fix under control.

Fingers crossed that this will be the second of last
Because I think things are finally working themselves out backstage on this blog. I don't want to jinx myself, just in case things go all wonky again and I have to spend near 4 hours fixing =)

If any of you like Sci Fi / Fantasy lit
Then I recommend you pick up The Stormcaller series. I'm reading the second installment, the name of which escapes me, but it's brilliant. Beautiful writing, if you like that sort of thing.

I love chicken noodle soup
And I'm looking forward to life. In general, I'm really looking forward to all of it.

I guess I may as well list the upcoming trips
Montreal (R & R, I won't be seeing you this time, as I have to see E - next time it'll be Roor, then full circle to Ranoon again. Sorry, it has to be this way or else I feel like I'm cheating at least one of you)

Toronto

NYC

Cairo

Dubai

Oman

I am keeping my fingers crossed that these last entries
Will be the only ones I have to complete, because this has been a real b*tch to work through. I'm happy that you've been entertained by the weirdness of the entries.

I like pink
But I've recently discovered that I'd much rather red.

It looks like this isn't over for at least another day
So you'll have to be a little more patient. Sorry about this.

By the way, all of your emails
Are keeping me entertained as I have to do this.

Nothing is ever as easy as it seems, is it?
Most definitely not in the world of technology.

Hmm, I wonder if any of you are planning any really interesting outings in the next little while
Because if you are, please let me know.

So thank you for at least providing me
Some semblance of normalcy over these last 24 hours.

For the past week
I've been watching a lot of Gilmore Girls. The first season of that show was such an absolute treat.

And Alexis Bledel
Is quite possibly one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. Milo really screwed that one up, didn't he?

I had a lovely lunch today
With an old friend who is a real treat. It's been a while that we've been trying to see one another for lunch, even though we work in the same building, and so we finally managed that today.

I may have already mentioned this
But just in case I've not had a moment to, my mac is sick - and I am working from alternate computers (this is a very bad thing) - I dropped it off two Sundays past and I won't receive it until, at least, next Thursday. That's not saying much for the work flow at the place I've left it.

I was contemplating buying a new one
But they don't make them the BabyMac size anymore. Apparently, there's rumours that they'll release a new 12" model in January, so I'm going to hold off and see what magic Apple springs on us.

I'm running out of things to say at this point
And I just wish this would all be over. Stupid manual fix =(

But I want to write a few more of these
Before watching one episode and then coming back for more.

With another late evening dinner planned
Which is always a great thing. It helps you get to sleep faster.

So does drinking warm milk
And adding a little bit of honey in to that mix.

I'm officially out of debt
I had a pretty strong few months past where I promised to really cut back, and I managed to do just that. My obligations are taking care of themselves and I can look forward to having a little money to play with for the next while - that's why I'll be using it to travel, Inshallah.

My cousins are coming into town this weekend
My two gorgeous cousins are coming here for one week. They arrive late on Saturday night and I'm really looking forward to seeing them and spending time with them - one of them has had one h*ll of a year and he's taken some time to recover, so seeing a healthy him in particular will lighten my heart.

This is not a hack but rather a manual fix
I thought I could do it in 24 hours, but it looks more like a 48 hour process.

It is finally working
All of these manual fixes.

And I may in fact have my blog back
By tomorrow morning, which I didn't anticipate, but I'm thankful for.

I had a fantastic, long overdue, and lengthy conversation
With T last night which felt great. A smart one, that one =)

And I am now contemplating visiting Mo & Yasmine
And blogger just ate this awesome entry about me hauling things out to The O.C. Yasmine - can we visit Zaytouna? I'd like to have a conversation with Yusuf and maybe get some pointers...and mint tea ;)

Mo, I'd like to visit that strong silent one - not Seth, but his best friend whose name escapes me at the moment.

The catalyst for the East Coast Trip
A death threat from Yasmine in the form of a lovely email shaking her fists at me and at the list of upcoming trips - the closest to The O.C. being NYC. She's a nice one, that Yasmine, even through all of her threats. She's...definitely persuasive.

Otherwise, I've discovered The World's Greatest Hair Dresser
His name is Bruno
He works at St-Laurent
In the basement
(It's really much more appealing than that sounds)
At Tony & Elio Hair Centre
He will turn your hair into chocolate honey

And I've purchased the world's most beautiful and perfect little black dress
It's a little tarty and I can dig that completely.

It's strapless and made out of 'Hi I'm her second skin because she deserves it' material.

I also purchased Crack that wraps around the ankle...which is, really, the best form of Crack.

I have a art show opening to attend in Toronto and I'll be wearing the above; I'm excited.

I've decided that I'm going to take all of these weird entries
Once the manual blog fix is complete and pool them into one, so that they're here for always; A little homage to 48 hours of virtual manual labour.

This is in fact why I'm trying to make them a little more readable now
Rather than boring you with random numbers and letters, I figure that snipets of this is more entertaining on some level.

My week has been good
It's been filled with introspection and growth and a lot of - figuratively - looking in the mirror. On one night I went out and purchased a cr*p load of donuts and coffee and walked around downtown Ottawa and handed them out to people asking for money. It felt good to remember that I'm blessed, no matter what. I figure that so long as I can do something that simple, I'm okay.

Unfortunately, though
I've lost - as of yesterday - 8 pounds this last week. I don't know where they went and I want them back because I was happy with my body. I like the way I looked and now I'm shrinking and I don't want to shrink anymore. I just can't eat yet...and so it will take me time to find this lost weight and glue it back on.

I'm also having my first cup of coffee this morning
I've not had once since last week and I'm starting off slow. It's a small cup, with a lot of milk, and hardly any sugar. This is unusual for me, as I usually take the King Kong size and fill it with cream and tons of sugar. I like my coffee much like a dessert.

Update on the BabyMac
I spoke with The Mac Group folks yesteday and they told me that my hard drive (one word or two?) is busted and must be replaced. BabyMac should come home by next Thursday, Inshallah. And then pictures!! That'll make it almost three weeks that I'll have gone without BabyMac, and it's been quite a bit of a trauma. He's been missed =(

I am eating at least one banana a day
And I went and had a one hour massage, and have booked myself in for one weekly for the next month. It does the body good, though not necessarily the pocket book - but like I said, I'm Out Of Debt (OOD) and so can pamper myself and those around me.

This evening, I'm heading out for dinner with J
We worked together on the Beirut Crisis Line centre and fell in love. She is one of the most amazing women I've ever met and this evening should be unadulterated hilarity. Just what the Doctor ordered, actually.

Friends
I have a friend named D. D and I met in University while both taking an Existentialism course. I showed up for the first one and came back only for the papers and exams. He never understood how I got good grades, but a few of us in the Philosophy group would always get together and discuss, at length, who we agreed with and who was a moron - because as university students, we believed we had the brain capacity to do just that. Needless to say, once Uni was over, I would receive a random call from D once a year for a little 'touching base' scenario. Two years back, that call came from the Department where I work. He's worked here since and the friendship has blossomed. He's a pretty special guy, really - he leaves with his girlfriend for Australia in a couple of weeks and it'll be weird not having coffee with him daily.

A few more of these today and then Inshallah
...simply a compilation and a moving on without any more crazy manual blog fixes. I'm going to start compiling all of them immediately! I'm excited about it.

Did I mention that I'm eating a lot of bananas?
Like a little monkey, I've been carrying a lot of bananas with me. They're good for the soul.

That's it for the manual blog fixes. Normal scheduling now resumes. Thank you for your patience.

Comments Field

I tried to change things on here a while back and I’ve had to delete a few comments and repost them when possible. This is why some of your comments show an odd time stamp, some links were broken (now all should be fixed) or there was confusion in the names. I deleted some, and fixed others. I’m still working on making everything 100% but it’ll take me a few days still. Should any of you notice any further mistakes, please e-mail to let me know.

Yasmine and Maria, you two were most affected by this, so please review your comments - I had to delete the ones where I mixed things up. I can't repost comments "retroactively", so in some places you'll have to actually repost at today's date if you still want to (I've emailed you a little note to indicate this). I'm sorry! (You'd just have to go back around one month...)

Three-Column Page

If anyone knows how to make a smooth transition over to a three-column face for this place, please contact me; it’s what I’ve been trying to do and failing to figure out. Unlike TypePad, there seems no proper and simple way to set up Blogger in this manner and I think I'm really screwing with my Template. Should you see 'static' here over the next little while, please know it's just me playing (and failing!).

testing for archive

backdate dec1 2006
can we archive by year and then by month
testing

am i working properly?

I see me on the Dashboard...

hm.

See explanation here, please...

Will be back later to see if all is well >> would you please confirm you can see this post via email or comment. Thx.

We're Live! Update your links & bookmarks, please

John. John. John.

48 hours ago, I didn't know John. We "met" (virtually) and he has since been the one responsible for building this new place and ensuring that everything run smoothly.

He won't let me pay him and has labeled this a learning experience, a challenge that he's enjoyed (a lie this addition: "immensely", heh). My emails to him may not have been as enjoyable, and perhaps a little incoherent because, honestly, I don't know what I'm talking about when discussing technology. At one point, he very diplomatically sent me a photo of a bunny with a pancake on its head. The caption read: I have no idea what you're talking about...so here's a bunny with a pancake on its head.

So, all I can do is ask all of you to please buy an air conditioner from John.

Look. If you can’t buy that air conditioner, then please:
.1. Bookmark his site and send it to your friends (it's summer and the ideal time to purchase such an item); and then,
.2. Help me thank John for his amazing work and kindness (leave your comments...in the comments section).

John gets 25 gold stars. No one'll top him in that respect at this blog because if it weren't for John at this point, none of us would be here and neither would your comments, kittys.

Later this evening, I will finally write about the damn Gerry Butler saga.

UPDATE YOUR BOOKMARKS! (pretty please)
& p.s. For those of you who were previously linked to from my front page, you're still here, only I was told the less links on my front page, the better. So, click on 'Interesting Places' in my right column and locate yourselves...

I'm moving my blog

hi everyone.

In the next 48 hours, I'm moving to
http://www.onefemalecanuck.com/

...I am keeping my fingers crossed that all of your comments will still show up!!
xo
m

Comments...

I was wondering if you’d all forsaken me…since no one was posting comments any more.

And then, I was told by M, thank you love, that she’d been posting comments, only blogger was telling her that they had to be approved before they could be posted.

Which means I accidentally turned something on and so forgive me for I did it behind my own back. (On your behalf, am shaking my own fist at myself.)

I just tried to show all of the comments, and so if yours is missing, please do repost. I think I changed the settings again to allow y’all to comment without moderation.

Can someone test this, please…

Comments to remain off completely

I have already deleted no less than 25 posts from Bob, Viagra Spammer. Refuse to continue this and so must delete / shut off comments section. Have something to say? E-mail me, please.