New World Record for Ironing Set by Canadian

I guess I was so busy last weekend that I completely missed hearing about this remarkable achievement. ;-)

I actually heard an interview on CBC radio earlier this month when Suresh Joachim set a world record for rocking in a rocking chair. He wants to set the world record for the most world records. He uses these records as an opportunity to raise money for the Universal Fund for Suffering Children. He and his wife set three world records at their wedding: most groomsmen, most bridesmaids, and longest wedding bouquet.

I can't say I feel very inspired to beat him, but a solo dance marathon does sound fun.

25 Things to do for Fun

My friend Tanya and I have been feeling like we haven't been having enough fun lately. She thought it would be a good idea if we each made a list of fun things to do. Here's what I came up with at work today, if you'd like someone else to think of something for you to do:

1. See a movie
2. Make a movie
3. Body painting
4. Draw on a pregnant belly
5. Karaoke
6. Go swimming
7. Try to make a food explode
8. Make up a silly choreography
9. Write a story with someone, alternating sentences/paragraphs/whatever
10. Write a sappy love song
11. Make some food, show up on a friend's doorstep, and invite yourself over for supper
12. Pin someone down and tickle them
13. Use a soundboard and prank call someone
14. Race to see who can take the longest to eat a chocolate bar
15. Invent a martial art
16. Make up a language for you and your friends to use
17. Wear frilly underwear like a little girl would
18. Lie in the grass and watch the clouds/stars/birds/meteors/monsters/etc.
19. Invent a new sandwich
20. Synchronized sunflower seed spitting
21. Makeover or spa night at home
22. Go to a park and watch kids play
23. Pretend to be supermodels and take pictures of each other in model poses
24. Make up names for body parts that don't need names
25. Develop a very silly walk indeed
    

Aaaagh! I Know I Shouldn't ...

but I'm finding myself thinking about NaNoWriMo again this year. I actually bought No Plot, No Problem from Amazon yesterday. Today I thought of a novel idea too: "Imaginary Adventures of my Friends in Other Cities." Pretty much speaks for itself. The way to tie it all together would be if I went to other cities and visited my friends there, and I could witness their adventures or be told of them. 50,000 words though? Can't be too sure....

A Thousand Metres Underground

... is where I was on Saturday evening. I got to go on a tour of a potash mine just a little ways west of town. Jay's dad is one of the head safety guys there, and it was 'family tour and barbecue day' so Jay was able to get me and Brad in for a tour. It was pretty okay. The mill was loud and the tour guide started talking before everyone got to the stops he wanted to show us. Thus I have a pretty poor understanding of the potash processing. The mine tour was more interesting. We took a 3 1/2 minute elevator ride underground, then we sat in Land Cruisers while a mine employee drove us out to where some mining was being done. They had us go out in front of the big mining machine so we could see it operate. Let me just say that breathing in salty dust is not the most pleasant experience. There was a mild burning sensation in my nasal passages, so I decided to mouth breathe. The cloud of dust rushed into my mouth, tasting of salt. I like it more when air has no taste. The smell of the mine reminded me of a really mild version of what an anatomy lab smells like. I thought it might be pretty freaky to think of being underground like that, but it really just felt like you were driving in a really long corridor. I think it would be a pretty creepy place to be all by yourself. It's quite dark in most places, and there's a conveyor belt that extends the entire length of the mine. It makes lots of creaking and thumping noises, and when there aren't any machines operating that's the only noise you hear. All in all it was an interesting tour, but I'm glad I don't have to go to work there everyday.

P.S. Don't take a handful of salt product in your hand when you have a cut on your palm. Ow ow ow ow ow!

Shine Day

As you might notice from my little bio I am a physical therapy student at the University of Saskatchewan. Every September we participate in a fundraising event called Shinerama, where we shine shoes to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis treatment and research. Yesterday was shine day and as a college we raised over $5000 - yay us! There were probably nearly 80 of us who participated.

Anyway, I had a really good time doing it this year. In the morning I was with my partners at a fairly busy mall, largely populated by retired people during the day (Market Mall). I found it to be a good opportunity to get to know some of my classmates a little better. There were also two highlights:

1. When one guy put his money into the slot, he also dropped what appeared to be his grocery list into the box. Examining it later we found that it said "tomatoes, cheese, dinner buns - nice bum!" It was pretty funny....
2. A driver for a seniors residence made several drop offs and pick ups while we were standing at the entrance. I don't recall him donating, but once he came out of the mall with half a dozen doughnuts for the three of us! Very sweet man!

Then in the evening we had free pizza and pop, the same as every year, and I helped roll money. They had a quick draw at the end of the evening and I won some Jelly Bellies and six free games of bowling at Eastview Bowl. Woohoo!

What kind of belly dancer are you? Quiz

You are an American Tribal Style Belly Dancer! So
it's not one hundred percent authentic, but who
cares? It looks really cool, you have a great
time doing it and the costumes are fantastic.
You're not into all the glitz of cabaret but
you can never have too many Kuchi medallions on
your turban. Undulate on, tribal chick!


What Kind of Belly Dancer are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Google Blog Search

So, in the interest of testing out the new blog search service from google, I decided to look up 'Lorianne' to find my blog. Now I'd like to share with you blogs by other Loriannes:

• Dr. Lorianne DiSabato's blogs Hoarded Ordinaries, Dr. D's Domain, and Creative Mindfulness
  
• Lorianne nolastname's blog Minutia
• Lorianne otherdifferentnolastname's blog at X111.com
• LoriAnne yetanothernolastname's blog Women Writers
• Lorianne lastnamenotgiven's blog c'est la vie
• Lorianne nosurname's blog The Straightest Edge
• Lorianne guesswhatnolastname's blog at LiveJournal
• Lorianne nolastnameinFrance's blog Carpe Diem
  

Newness

(I know, I know, finally something new here!)

Now that I'm back at school I'm finding I'm having quite a few new experiences:

• I belong to a new class of students and have had to learn 29 names
• I got a new mattress set for my bed, and have been sleeping quite comfortably for the past week
• I got a new computer - how do you like it? ;-)
• I joined a recreational ultimate disc (i.e. frisbee) team... I haven't been involved in a team sport for 15 years.
• I went to a party with a hottub in a van. Very fun!

I like change, so this has been pretty nice. I just hope things don't get too boring later....

Irony, I guess

Couldn't resist sharing this: Funny Coincidence

Inevitable...

First Katrina Recovery Contracts go to Bush Friends

Go Canada!

Yay for people who go out and do things to help those in need!

Louisiana Senator: Thank you Canada

I'm such a sucker...

I don't know why, but I got the theme song to Earthworm Jim in my mind today. Now I want to get this. Earthworm Jim was one of the funniest cartoons I've ever seen. There was a lot of wordplay in the dialogue, and the evildoers always had great names: Queen Slug-for-a-Butt, Evil the Cat, Henchrat, etc. And Princess What's-Her-Name, daughter of Queen Slug-for-a-Butt if I remember correctly, reminds me of a similar character in Willow. I thought that there had been more than eight episodes, but I guess I was wrong. Do I dare spend my money on this???


Edit (Sept. 13/05):

For some "memorable" quotes from the Earthworm Jim show, check out this.

Back to School

Today was the first day of classes for most students at the U of S. For me it was the first day of class, since I only had one class. Wow, I totally forgot how hard it is to just sit and listen to someone for an hour at a time. I need to start wearing my focus hat... if such a thing only existed!

First day of class and I'm already behind in my reading - or at least I will be tomorrow!

Edit:
Oh! I almost forgot! Today when I was at the Admin building a girl working there recognized me. She said she'd seen me around a lot. The main reason why she recognizes me is that I look pretty much exactly the same as her friend Phaedra (not sure of the spelling). Now, when most people say you look just like so and so there might be a few features in common, but you don't really look that similar. I've actually met Phaedra once. She was in the audience at a dance performance once, and somebody introduced us. She was a little heavier than me, but she looked just like me! Unfortunately I was wearing a turban and had weird dance make-up on, so she couldn't really see it herself.

That's such a weird thing though - knowing there's someone out there who looks just like you. I wonder how old she is? I wonder what her life is like? It's hard to believe that someone who looks so much like me, isn't related to me. She should be my long lost twin. Hmmmmm.

I'm one hot doll!

If I was a paper doll, this is what I'd look like! Cool shoes, hey! (... I have way too much time on my hands.)

American Natural and Unnatural Disasters

American govenment officials have been commenting quite a bit about how the situation in New Orleans was really two back-to-back disasters, and that nothing like that had ever occurred before. Maybe not in their lifetime, but nearly a century ago there was the famous San Francisco earthquake. It was followed by a devastating fire, since extinguishing fires was hampered by water lines that had been broken during the earthquake.

Here are some numbers from back then (taken from a website by U.S. Geological Survey, Earthquake Hazards Program):

Dead - more than 3,000 (including the chief of fire departments - bad news that one)
Homeless - 225,000 from a total population of about 400,000
Buildings destroyed - over 28,000
Monetary loss - more than $400,000,000!!!!!!!

I've also found a first hand report of the earthquake written by Edith Weatherred. One paragraph in particular caught my eye, as it shows interesting similarities and differences to the situation in New Orleans right now:

There was hurrying to get together families and friends. Excitement ran high but people were gently one with the other as they crowded in the middle of the streets, each moment fully expecting the earth to again be set in motion. Faces appeared at windows calling for help. The wounded and dying fell by the way. Thousands crowded the open squares in the heart of the city. The scenes were appalling. Those fortunate enough to get together a few personal effects were piling them in heaps in the square. Beds were made for the wounded, and, before one could realize it, the National Guards, Federal soldiers, Red Cross Society and other good people were setting up tents and tenderly caring for the sick and the dead.

It seems as though people were more cooperative in that crisis, but the horror of death and destruction was equal. Help, according to this account, was also accessible more quickly. My guess is that looting was largely prevented by this.

To learn more about the earthquake, you could also read the official report from 1907. If you would like to look at pictures, I'd suggest this site.