Just some random notes here today. Trying to get caught up, keep posting to the journal, finish my work, do everything I want to do... sheesh.

Went to a Memorial Service yesterday for Mary Phillips. Mary was a close friend of my Grandmother, and I saw her whenever my grandparents came in from the coast. She died last week of cancer.

To be honest, I've only really met the woman a dozen or so times that I can remember, but she's one of those people who you don't ever forget. I never saw her without a big, honest, cheerful smile on her face. She was constantly delighted to see people and to joke with them. Mom and Mary used to trade jigsaw puzzles back and forth a couple times a year. She played a mean hand of cards too.

I'm finding it awfully hard to describe exactly what it was about her that made her stick so hard in my memory. She had an energy to her that was undimmed by age and a losing battle with cancer. And it wasn't just that she was always smiling, it was that she was genuinely happy. She had that twinkle in her eye that you hear about all the time in novels. You couldn't be around her without knowing that this was a person who cared about you.

My grandparents were unable to fly in for the service -- neither one has been well lately -- but they will be glad to hear that the service was packed so full, they had to wedge in extra chairs.

On a brighter note, it's my Cousin Dave's 21st birthday today! Happy Birthday, Dave!

Lisa is going to be picking me up downtown in an hour or so to go to Dave's birthday dinner down at Tony Roma's. Mmm... ribs...

Dave's great. I love all my cousins, but he's the one I have the most fun with. Dave's got Down's Syndrome, but that's no big deal. We share a love of video games, pool, LaserQuest, superhero movies and good food. He's the one who loaned me that copy of Banjo Kazooie that kept me occupied for a month.

He also works as a bag boy at the Safeway where we do most of our shopping. It's a lot of fun to tease him while he's loading bags into my car. Hee hee.

Bugged Dad into helping me fix the lights on my car last night. We had one running light, only the front signal lights, and one headlight. Lucky we hadn't been ticketed. That would have been much more expensive than the $11.74 it took to replace all the bulbs and fix the wiring.

I'm so lazy.

Well, the Olympics are coming, and the company is beginning to ramp up for the media blitz. I've been asked to fly down to Toronto for ten days to help with the story updating on the National Post site.

On the one hand, this is great! A paid week in Toronto, with all expenses covered. Travel, hotel, food, everything. I get to network with the National Post team, which can't hurt my career. Plus I'm getting out of town for a while! Woo hoo!

Downside: No Lisa. It's a work vacation. She could come if we could pay for it, but we don't have the $700 the extra ticket would cost. Sigh. Plus when I'm there, I'm going to be working seven midnight to 8 a.m. shifts in a row. Sydney's half a world away, and we'll be posting stories as they come in. Sheesh.

Okay! Off to dinner.

I want ribs too.

What was that about the cheerleaders?

So what happened?

Take me home, big fella