Just a wee bit? Like, 24 inches?
I’ve got the gear. Now, would it be at all possible to get snow? Just enough to glide on and to earn some turns. I’m dying (dying!) to feel my nostril hairs freeze when I breathe, and to snuggle in a warm sleeping bag while it’s -20 out. Is that too much to ask?
You sexy bitch
If you’re going to humiliate your dog, I say go all the way. (Why do I imagine chewed-up slippers in someone’s future?)
Oooo, extra stuff
Got this from the Neurotic Fishbowl: sign-up for 2004’s Secret Santa to get an extra gift for Christmas. You’ll have to reciprocate, however. I suggest adding new stuff to your wishlist.
It can’t be wrong when it feels so tedious
Could someone please offer me some reassurance? I’ve been indexing a book for the past week and, well, gosh darn it, I love the tedium. To think that I could make good money doing this. Granted, I would probably have no friends, but that would be different how?
Where’s his face?
Taking off this weekend for a wilderness first aid course. I know it’s rather mandatory in regard to common sense, but wow am I ever not looking forward to it. I took the same course about 3-4 years ago, the course is 16 hours long, 8 hours a day. You’re plied with a lot of theoretical info the first day, and they finish it off with a slide-show of what could happen outdoors. Like, well, a wolverine attack (eek!), the effects of frostbite (that used to be a toe?), an exploded finger (never wear a ring when climbing, trust me on this), a guy’s head with all the skin ripped off (never let a bear “lick” the honey off your face), etc. Good times.
When I took this course the last time, all of us were pretty much in shock, which we alleviated with copious amounts of alcohol and karaoke singing in a tavern in some hick Laurentian town. William Hung can’t hold a candle to my rendition of She Bangs.
Speaking of frostbite, PBS is showing Touching the Void, Sunday night at 9. Catch it if you haven’t already.
How to kill ten minutes
You’re bored at work, you’ve surfed the interweb to your heart’s content. What to do, what to do? Here’s something: if you work with engineers or other science folks, check out the colour of their socks. Nine times out of ten, they’re probably wearing white tube socks. Sad but true.
Once you’ve proved my theory to be correct, try this: grab a guy’s bicep. Again, nine time out of ten, the fellow will unconsciously flex. Granted, this works better if you’re a girl/woman doing the touching/grabbing.
The Amazing Voyage
While the milliner and I are gearing up for another session of The Amazing Race, which this time seems replete with more than its usual collection of assholes, two friends of mine are actually travelling to the locations that appeared in the last series, as part of their one-year-long road trip. I don’t know if any oxen have been broken along the way but, then again, I’m sure they haven’t insisted on seeing any country’s president because of a disputed cab fare.
Regardless, they just summited Kilimanjaro. Their trip reports can be found here.
The Tinman's Thoughts 
