you'd think people would have known that i'm not a pushover. ah well, if we can't have a meeting of the minds, we will have a hierarchical structure, with me on top. (thanks, bones.) 

actually, i've gained a new perspective on certain people here ... i had no idea they were so *freaking* incompetent and unreliable. i think that one who was oblivious to my real intentions concerning her position may have actually clued in. i'm, frankly, impressed. she's not what you might call a "two-step thinker." 

it occurred to me today, as i read the real, awful story of an online 'friend' (or maybe just friend) that most of us have given up some vital part of our selves for the sake of someone else or for the sake of a relationship we desperately wanted. 

in particular i was thinking of us screwed up chicks, but i don't want to discriminate against all you screwed up guys. 

does the other person disrespect us because we failed to respect ourselves first? maybe it's the other way around or a little of both happening simultaneously. i don't know for sure, but i've been on both ends of that situation and it just creeps in, it seems.

my friend felt dirty and empty - i know what that's all about. it sucks that these feelings get heaped on top of you when you're already down. i just hope that she knows that a friend, even a virtual one, is here and understands and is sending her all the loving-kindness she can muster. 

we suffering souls have to stick together. it makes things less lonely.

"A hen in a cage is actually not that much different from a traveler in a hotel with room service."

-Trent Loos, spokesperson for agribusiness PR front group Faces of Agriculture, in industry journal Feedstuffs, January 16, 2006; cited in The Abolitionist. 

Click here to see what accommodations these feathered travelers are given.

i've heard people say, "i'm a vegetarian, but i still eat chicken." dammit. if there was ever an animal who's suffering would outweigh whatever measly pleasure some human derived from eating it or its related products, it's a chicken. 

from a newsletter i subscribe to:

From another industry journal, Watt Poultry (Aug. 2006), a study of dead-on-arrival broilers notes that: "The number of broilers that are loaded at the farm but arrive dead at the processing plant ranges from a few dozen per load to a substantial percentage of the flock." The study also found:

• Macroscopic pathological lesions (large, visible injured patches of skin caused by a disease) found in 89.4% of carcasses

• Signs of infectious diseases found in 64.9%

• Heart/circulation disorders found in 42.4%

• Trauma found in 29.5%

yummy. 

i don't mind being the de facto computer person at the office ... i just hate it when someone's too lazy to press F1. i hate it more when my instructions are met with a, "umm ... can you do it?" blank stare. 

emma's answer:   N  O

it's not that hard to change which email address is the default. my *mother* figured it out by herself and she's just this side of luddite status. 

i also don't mind cutting a deal with a tenant under certain circumstances ... i just hate it when someone tries to weasel out of paying rent because they're *just so nice.* 

emma's answer:   N  O

i know, i'm an evil landlord, but here's the way i see things: i'm nice (no really, i am) and i still have to make my mortgage payment. i don't think my banker is an awful person for giving me a loan and i don't think it's appropriate to demonize a landlord for renting out a property at an agreed upon rate.

bah.

speaking of big, bad landlords, i see that my cohorts within the NDP are looking at instituting rent controls. it's not that i think that would be a "bad" thing, per se, but i can see rent controls going wrong ... the way they did in the 80's. that is: no rent increase + rising costs = no maintenance/improvements done.

i wholeheartedly agree with their call for funding for affordable housing, but private landlords aren't the best people to get involved in the problem. i know a fair number of them and despite the perception that landlords make heaps of money, it's simply not true for most buildings - the ones with mortgages in particular. 

i think the average 18-suite, 3-storey walkup with a mortgage will make about 1 or 2 thousand dollars per month beyond regular operating expenses. that doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room for building improvements as it is. if the government is going to cap rents, they'd have to look at capping utility and insurances costs as well if there's any hope of it working.

do i sound like a tory yet?   :P

sorry, ndp. i love you, but, you know ... reality happens.

i just about didn't go to the concert. i had a miserable day at work and the abundance of complete, fucking idiots on *my* road (ellerslie road) made me want to curl up in the fetal position in my bedroom. thankfully, i clenched my teeth, let loose some very foul language (at people who can't bring themselves to use another road to get across the south side and instead idle their cars for hours behind my house in traffic jams) and made my way to rexall place. phew. but, really guys: USE 34th AVE, NOT ELLERSLIE. ellerslie is barely more than a one lane rural/residential road. so, fuck off.  

ahem. we found a great parking spot at rexall and walked to the stadium. i got a sonic fm rub on tattoo. (it's very cool.) there weren't many people around and not a line up in sight, which was kind of strange. i thought, "oh yes! we can just go right to our seats!" of course it was too good to be true.  

either tool or rexall decided to be jackasses about cell phones with cameras. i think most phones have them nowadays. a security person made us walk all the way back to the car to dispose of it. i wasn't about to put my phone in coat check after my last experience with that. (they once "lost" a collar of mine.) heaven forbid someone got a shitty picture or an 8-bit audio recording of the show. bastards.  

there was more patting down and pocket-emptying and getting through a throng of police officers before *finally* arriving at our seats. by the way, rexall: $3.50 for a small bottle of coke?! bastards.  

i'm not really fond of the seats in rexall because i'm taller than 5'5". you see, my femurs are longer than the space between the back of my seat the back of the one in front of me. i like having long legs, except when i'm at rexall, when i'd prefer to have stubby legs. i'm just glad the neighbouring seats weren't filled until a few minutes before tool went on stage. i stretched my legs out and managed to occupy my space, plus what was allocated for the next two seats.  

iris came on stage with little fanfare. the lights went out and they started playing. iris isn't untalented. they're pretty good musicians and the singer has a great voice. there was lots of melody and even synchronized head bobbing. sometimes, the head bobbing turned into synchronized *full-body* bobbing, which looked kind of silly.  

despite all the nice music and a whole pile of talent, they were like a boring version of tool. bleh. maybe they'll get better.  

so between sets, the kat and i went back to looking at the concert set up. i was surprised to see that the floor had assigned seating ... just like the bill clinton thing last winter. i also noticed that one of the security guys in front of the stage turned out to be the same guard who was so annoying at the nine inch nails show ... the one who looks like the manager in Office Space. except now, he has longer hair, so he just looks weird. weirder. "Mmmm, yeah, I'm going to have to ask you to go ahead and not body surf, ok? Yeah."  

the stage crew was busy getting things ready for tool's set. they removed some kind of protective covering from the stage to reveal a pristine white stage and a 5+1/2 foot tall wall along the back of the stage. the equipment was all spread out and everything looked kind of sterile.  

*then* some guy with a bottle of windex and operation room booties comes out and starts cleaning the stage on his hands and knees! he was at it for a good 20 minutes. he and another guy were fixated on some spot that wouldn't come out. me and the kat are like, "what the hell? did the band members become some kind of germaphobic group of divas? whatever."  

finally, tool came out, the show started and we figured out what was going on with the stage. it turned out that the entire stage was like a screen for projected images and (i shit you not) LASERS.  

maynard, as tina surmised, looks like he's been working out. he came out shirtless and sporting a mohawk, oversized belt buckle, sunglasses and a cowboy hat - like a freaky apocalyptic cowboy.  

i'm very glad that i brought earplugs; the concert was *loud.* it was loud enough that i could feel my hair vibrate.  

maynard was positioned on a platform at the back of the stage next to the drum kit. he did his weird alien dance/stomp/wiggle thing along to the music - it looked better than i've made it sound. um. yes - highly entertaining.  

which reminds me, for the amount of security, you'd think there would have been less weed. the two girls next to me, the hick in the wife-beater behind me and the seat-stealers in front of me were *all* smoking up. i felt very left out. *sad*  

tool's set list was phenomenal - new stuff, old stuff - a good mix. i was soo happy to hear aenema ... even with last night's jumbled lyrics. yeah, it was a good time.  

i'm not even that sad that i didn't get to see combichrist. :P  

AND guess what's coming soon? september 25th: Suicide Girls Burlesque Show at the Starlite Room. happy times! hee hee. 

and what does this magazine look like? oooh joy:

i'm going out on a limb here, but i suspect the answer to be found on the inside is a resounding *yes!*  let's take a look ... 

"Young People Ask ... How can I defend my belief in creation?" just look at one of the quotations from a real, live young person:

"When I was about 12, my teacher was a staunch evolutionist. She even had a Darwin sign on her car! That made me reluctant to speak up about my belief in creation. --Tyler, 16" 

that awful woman. i guess the darwin symbol on a car is considered more intimidating than a fish. but, what about one of those christian fish eating the darwin fish? "jesus demands unconditional love & devotion - or else!"    *sigh*   

next page ... look! a game! What is wrong with this picture? Identify the three things that do not match with the Bible account at Genesis 3:1-5:

oook ... well, first, they're wearing fur. they should be living with the animals in peace, not skinning them for their pelts. second, adam appears to be considering eating the fruit of knowledge first and we all know that it's women who ruined everything for everyone. (sorry guys.) third, um. i have no clue. is it that adam and eve are decidedly caucasian?

then there's the bonus magazine that was hidden within the first: the last days. i wonder if the JW's have actually tried predicting the actual last day again. they were wrong, it seems, about 1914, 1915, 1918, 1920, 1925, 1941, 1975 and 1994. i think they're just calling the end of the world 'imminent' now.

i guess she was right. i really did enjoy those magazines.

*oh glory!* tina is in town this weekend. i hope to see her at some point. AND i get to see tool tonight (...although, not combichrist >:| ). this is awesome. 

... ... ... ... ... 

:\ the sister of one of the kat's friends died last night. i feel awful for him. another person i knew died a couple of days ago as well. it's strange how this activity happens all at once. 

plus, both of these women were seemingly fine up until they got sick last week. then, they died. truth be told, i'd prefer to go that way, rather than getting some awful disease that has me in the hospital for years getting surgery or lingering in some half-living state. geh. 

ladies, may you find your way out of samsara...

for those who have been to portland and thought, "wow, what a nice city. i bet the whole state is this cool," i'm sorry to burst your bubble. portland is like seattle: an island of coolness in a sea of rednecks. 

so here's what's going on at Oregon State University and Oregon Health and Science University: doctors edward ray and joseph robertson jr are vivisecting "gay" sheep in order to find some biological reason for homosexuality in the hopes of *curing* homosexual humans.

this is so wrong on so many levels. 

they ought to be focusing on curing deviants born with brown eyes. or maybe the ones with unattached ear lobes. and people who prefer camembert over brie? don't even get me started on cheese preference - it's just unnatural. i read that somewhere in, like, a book. plus, god told me so.

...........

...i got distracted from my tirade about humans and their need to vilify random qualities and behaviours. that was this morning. it's now 2pm and i don't remember anything i did these last few hours. i know i was busy though. stupid job. (stupid scattered manic energy.)

i need some focus... maybe a little meditation would help. 

the new amanda is so hott says:

hi!!

emma ... says:

hello

the new amanda is so hott says:

wats up!

the new amanda is so hott says:

do u have camera at ur house

emma ... says:

no - i'm at work 

the new amanda is so hott says:

u an ur working on homework not a job

the new amanda is so hott says:

emma ... says:

no - i'm working at an office at a job

the new amanda is so hott says:

really

the new amanda is so hott says:

uhhh

the new amanda is so hott says:

aaaaa

the new amanda is so hott says:

oo

the new amanda is so hott says:

uuu

emma ... says:

are you thinking i'm someone else?

the new amanda is so hott says:

no

the new amanda is so hott says:

why

emma ... says:

because you seemed to think i was a student

the new amanda is so hott says:

well ya u are

the new amanda is so hott says:

i am and evry butty else too

emma ... says:

ook

the new amanda is so hott says:

do u do a after school activity

the new amanda is so hott says:

ho is that picture on ur display picture

emma ... says:

i'm not in school, so i don't do any after school activities. and yeah - that's my picture on the display

the new amanda is so hott says:

are u amanda luis

emma ... says:

no

the new amanda is so hott says:

ho are u

emma ... says:

a different amanda

the new amanda is so hott says:

in wat grade

emma ... says:

i graduated from high school 10 years ago

the new amanda is so hott says:

meh. kids.

yes. kids. which reminds me: does anyone else find it amusing that parents are suing myspace because their children were preyed upon by bad men? 

"my child has a computer in his room, access to the internet, a webcam and a lock on his door. myspace has a callous disregard for my child's safety."

yeah...

stupid:  so, like, i want to make a complaint about one of your employees and i want to talk to whoever's the head of the office.

emma:  ok, that would be me.

stupid:  so i applied for a property and i didn't get it and i know who owns it so i called them and i don't know why your employee didn't rent to me and rented to someone else who applied later.

emma:  oh, yes, i heard about that. you weren't approved.

stupid:  but you didn't even call my employer to check on employment or call my references!

emma:  we don't need to if the application has the information we need to make a decision. the other applicant had long term, solid employment and they were a better fit for the property. we get multiple applications on each property and we simply can't satisfy everyone.

stupid:  but me and my son make $23 an hour combined AND we applied before that other person.

emma:  we approve whoever's the best fit for the property. as for who applies first? that's completely irrelevant. 

stupid:  *sputter* YOU better watch the edmonton sun because there's going to be an article about your company in there!

emma:  *thinks: ew - the sun? that paradigm of responsible journalism?*  heh - ok. buh-bye.

i hate people. 

if the sun actually runs a libelous letter to the editor, without calling us first, i'll deal with them. *sharpens knives*  frankly, i wouldn't put it past them. our letter would be right next to a headline like:

NUDE CORPSE FOUND ON TRACKS

Police insider says, "now is the time to panic; NAMBLA member, kiddie porn enthusiast serial killer on the lam!" 

heh - except for that semi-colon. those are for elitist grammar hounds. 

i've been promoted at work. i'm now "office manager extraordinaire." i added the extraordinaire part. the pay raise is slow in coming, but i think that's the downside to nepotism. yes, sometimes your family members want to help you out, but they'll also treat you like poop when it suits them. 

we're thinking of buying a new office. there's a place on saskatchewan drive that we're considering - it's oh so very pretty. it needs some wiring and plumbing upgrades though. we shall see. i'll be happy to be off the highway in the winter.

i've been training army guy this past week. i'm sure i've mentioned him before: the amazing resident manager and handyman who *understands* paperwork and how to manage people. he's a godsend. anyway, he's now working at the office and has systematically gone through every single shred of paper that was sitting around unfiled. everything is either put away or shredded. hooray! he takes his army approach to everything - his old drill sergeant would approve. i want to clone him. 

i'm interviewing another person this afternoon for a property manager position. i was working some of my contacts, trying to find a lead on someone with a little experience. someone who isn't a dolt. preferably. 

i'm not sure how easy it will be to find a new property manager. the edmonton journal had, i think, 5 ads running for similar positions. i don't think i'm going to place an ad there. one of my headhunter friends said she didn't get *any* responses to her journal ad last week. cursed 3% unemployment rate. *sigh* i hate filtering through the dregs of the applicant pool. 

i hope this woman works out. i spoke to her on the phone. she sounds bright, she didn't come off as crass, she's got relevant experience ... hmm. 

i had my vegetarian meetup last night and i think it was a success. 19 people attended (4 cancelled yesterday afternoon) and everyone seemed to have a good time. a couple of people were a little weird ... one girl had *NO* sense of humour when it came to iran's president ahmadinejad:

angry girl: did anyone see mike wallace's interview of mahmoud ahmadinejad?

british guy: oooo! he's a fun guy! *the table laughs ... except for angry girl*

angry girl: who? mike wallace?

british guy: ahh, no. the president of iran. he's a funny guy! *everyone laughs again because we get it*

angry girl: you think ahmadinejad is funny?

british guy: *looks around* ahh ... yes? *everyone looks at the angry girl* 

angry girl: well, i MUST be missing something because i don't see anything funny. *hmpf*

ohhh, fun times. 

the kim jong il discussion didn't go much better. seriously, though. how can you not laugh at a big, jovial british guy who says, "you know he's a clever fellow because of his large glasses!" whilst encircling his eyes with his fingers.  and then another girl derided a guy's interest in studying islam. 

what's going on with people? 

i'm no fan of iran for a lot of reasons, but i have to say, me and mahmoud agree on a number of issues. plus, he's really entertaining. i don't think he's a "hardline" islamist or islamofascist or whatever verbiage w has cooked up.  

bah. whatever. it's my fault the whole conversation started anyway. (naturally.) when someone asks, "what kind of books do you like to read?" don't answer, "oh, i like political stuff. non-fiction for the most part. yay chomsky!" 

politics, religion and sex. they're off limits for a reason. i didn't, however, start the thing about islam. that guy pulled out a copy of the qur'an. i'm annoyed though. i thought hippie chicks were supposed to be open minded and nonjudgmental. 

ok. i've started getting resumes from the ad on our website. i should be more patient, but *FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! A PROPERTY MANAGER IS NOT A RESIDENT MANAGER!* ahem. like this one guy who says in his email, "my resume in response to your ad for a resident property manager." 

nowhere in my ad, is there a suggestion that this is a resident manager position. he's adding his own damned words.

i should go. i've neglected my desk and army guy long enough.

overall, i had a good time, but there were (or course) a few things that pissed me off. particularly that guy who set up camp 5 feet away from us at *two am.* rawr.  

this guy was seemingly unable to shut his fucking mouth. he was either talking down at his mousy little wife or swearing at his kids. and really being mean to his kids: "Don't talk to me! Don't even fucking talk to me, motherfucker!"  

seriously. who talks to kids like that? abusive pricks? yeah. anyway, those were my neighbours. he didn't say anything in the morning about my request for him to shut the hell up. i'm pretty sure he heard me.  

what else? well, there was a young woman there who i remembered from last year. i recall thinking that there was something not quite right about her last year ... this year was much, much worse. oi. actually, there were a couple of people that could have done with some medication - or, perhaps, less.  

i feel really bad about avoiding them all weekend. *sigh* i don't mind crazy people, but the truly ill make me uncomfortable. i suck. i know.  

*sniff* WTF?! i smell combusting electronics ...  

that was interesting. one of the monitors here died in spectacular fashion. thank you BenQ. i didn't have enough to do.  

this is emma, de facto computer person, signing off.  

my letter to the Honourable Ralph Klein:  

I would like to voice my support for a responsible environmental plan for any oil sands expansion projects.  

Premier Klein said, "The Pembina Institute should keep their noses out of anyone's business, especially businesses that want to take risks."  

I wholeheartedly disagree. Businesses that want to take risks with the environment of my province must have a plan in place to mitigate environmental damage and repair any damage that's done.  

Yes, absolutely, please be "an interventionist government." Intervene on behalf of the citizens of this province and wisely govern the use of our resources. Our land belongs to Albertans - not foreign oil companies.  

The oil sands may be out of the sight of most Albertans, but they are certainly not out of everyone's minds.  

Kind Regards, emma [sic]  

*shudder*   so ... hard ... to be ... civil. *gasp*  

if you'd like to partake in your daily dose of ralph klein's ridiculousness, go here.  

i would have said that he just doesn't care anymore because of his impending retirement, but ... he's been doing things like this all along.  

bad bean!  

d'oh... and they're having a dinner afterwards at hotel mac. i like that place - they're really good about making food i can eat.   :(   tasty food.  

meh. it's almost 5. i should go shower. (i've been doing laundry all day) we're supposed to go out for coffee tonight.  

i hope el beano understands that i'll get her a wedding gift later   :\  

oh yeah, kiddies: combichrist is playing at suburbs on august 25! no... wait... crap! nooo! that's the same day as tool! DAMN! *shakes fist at heavens* i hope the universe is taking note of my extreme displeasure because i'm keeping score. rawr.  

on friday we leave for panfest. the weather forecast actually looks pleasant ... except for monday. stupid 28 degrees. i suspect that i'm on kitchen duty again, which is ok. if our head kitchen witch does the same crazy, complicated dishes again, i may lead a revolt. 

little else is sillier than making veggie burgers *from scratch* in a campground's small, cramped kitchen. give me a Yves' Patty and i'm satisfied ... 

oh gods ... i just realized something: if we're making veggie patties from scratch for the vegetarians, we might also make flesh patties for the carnivores! i don't think i can handle that smell. someone else will have to fondle the meat.   :S   i was sufficiently nauseated last year with those trays and trays of chicken thighs...

well, at least now i'm less hungry. 

this should work for anyone with opposable thumbs: 

devil horns =
i love you =

as much as a band wants your love and adulation *sigh* ... for the love of rock and roll, please tuck in your damned thumb.

DAMN! now i have devil bunnies in my head and that's not the kind of song i want to explain to the occupants of neighboring cubes.

...go, go! devil bunnies! go, go!

and rob zombie was cool too. according to him, edmonton is better than casper, wyoming. *sigh* 

and it was john 5's birthday. (yes, that john 5.) to remind him of how much better it is to be in rob's band, they covered the manson cover of sweet dreams. then they played enter sandman. and mr. 5 showed off his skills in a 5 minute, old-school solo. sweeet.

then as we walked back to our car through stabby-town (96 St), we were joined by this guy who was looking for the mount royal hotel (located in the heart of the peep show & bathhouse district). he walked with us, asked if we were at the show and wanted to know all about it. then, in a very expressive, exuberant, meth-head kind of way, told us that anthrax kicks *so much* ass. and, you know, he's right. they do! yay!