it looks like fall, it feels like winter, and I am random.

It's funny, it looks like autumn, the leaves are all lit up like christmas morning and all that, but it's about 20 or so degrees outside.

But I guess, technically, it is still fall.

At least in the sense that the canal is not yet frozen over.
Word on the street is that once it does freeze, everybody skates their way to work.

I wouldn't mind living in that world. I am thinking it looks something like Candy Land. You know, the part towards the end with the snowy queen princess lady. And you'll skate right past the Peppermint Stick Forrest and right on over the Gum Drop Mountains and you'll be the first to reach the Candy Land Castle and you'll win. You'll win at life, just like that. And maybe Ottawa throws in some extra large candy cane pillars for good measure and a hint of color. Canada already has free health care, so a few pieces of candy thrown into the mix for their citizen's enjoyment wouldn't surprise me one bit.

And I am enthralled by the antics of the little black squirrels I see here.

I followed this guy for a while, trying to get a good shot of him. He finally obliged, nut in his mouth and everything.

And contrary to what this picture portrays, this squirrel is not some sort of terrifying demon squirrel.
Well, at least as far as I know. He seemed quite normal.

Except for the red eyes, of course.

But his head didn't do a full rotation, nor did he levitate or vomit all over the park. At least not during the few minutes I followed him around.

And it has occurred to me that a massage might be in order. I have been under some stress lately, and apparently I carry my stress just fine in my shoulders and neck. Because when my friend Amos simply put his hands on my shoulders all parts of me started melting in gratitude. And then he started kneading and it was heaven as he moved my muscles around and then he started pressing and it was hell as he targeted the particularly painful spots.

And then we started chatting and I did a terrible thing. Because right when he asked if we could go on a date at some point, I turned my back to him to say good night to my friends at another table. So it sounded something like this:

(boldly and enthusiastically in tone) Maybe we could go on a (at this point he sees me turn my back, and so his words fade into just a whisper and I barely even hear the word) date sometime...

Luckily my brain did that instant replay thing that allows you to quickly process what just happened a second ago, and I turned right back to him as quickly as any torso has turned since God decided to give torsos the ability to turn and, amid peals of laughter, told him that I would love to go on a date with him and I was so sorry that I turned my back at that most vulnerable of moments.

He understood.

And we laughed.

But don't worry, the date would be far from romantic.

And my roommate must be watching youtube because only a few moments ago I could hear the yip yip yip yip yip yip from those alien puppets from Sesame Street, but that quickly turned into some eighties pop ballad and now?

Single Ladies.

Of course.

today i ate ice cream in canada

I just finished putting the toilet seat back down where it belongs which is about right since I live with three boys at the moment.

Three great boys.

And these three great boys are currently out drinking beer and doing other such manly things, leaving the place to me. So other than righting the toilet seat, what do I do? Only exactly what I want. And I don't mind this at all.

So.

I had ice cream tonight.

Not news worthy, you think? How is this relevant, you might wonder? What does it have to do with boys, or toilet seats, or...Actually yes, let's move on to ice cream because anything, anything is better than toilet seats.

I agree. Which is why I mentioned the ice cream.

But see, this is something. The fact that I ate ice cream, I mean. Since I've been feeling sad I haven't been able to eat anything tasty. Anything as good as dessert. It's a weird thing I have. I guess I associate ice cream and other such treats with celebrations or something, feeling good, so when I feel like I don't have much to celebrate that's the first thing to go.

But tonight, Brandon ordered ice cream and not just any ice cream either. I mean, if he had ordered something having to do with cherries or maybe even something dumb and don't-even-bother like sorbet, than I totally wouldn't have even paused. But he ordered it just the way I like it.

Vanilla ice cream. Peanut butter sauce. Reese's Pieces cups.

And that gave me pause.

So there I was, thinking about it and wondering why I couldn't just have some too. It's not like eating ice cream meant that I was declaring to the whole world that everything was exactly how I wanted it and please, God, don't bother to change a thing cause I am fine, really, just freaking fine.

Maybe eating ice cream could just be more like...I don't know, eating ice cream. With lots of peanut butter involved. So that's what I did. And I didn't go crazy like finish it or anything--I mean, come on, I'm not about to start waving poms-poms in the air as a cheerleader for the state of my life right now, either--but still, I ate some.

And it was good.

Moving on.

To this CASTLE THAT IS DOWN THE STREET FROM ME.
Really, who says that? Other than Queen Elizabeth, I mean. And she doesn't even have to mention the down the street part, since she gets to wake up and enjoy her scones and tea under some pretty hefty turrets, pinnacles, and towers every morning. But now I can say, You want to meet at the mall? Sure. No problem. Let me just walk past the castle real quick and I'll see you in a jiff. Just like that.

And then there's this building in which Parliament holds their sessions.

Because Ottawa is totally the capitol of Canada.

And I actually didn't even have to google that one.

True story.

And I saw this bit of sunlight gracing the top of this tree and felt better.
Not about anything in particular, exactly, but better.

And the good news is that sometimes that happens. Sometimes you just feel better.

And some more good news is that I love Canada. Love it. It is clean, the air is crisp, the leaves are ablaze with color, and I am walking by castles daily. Other than the small nuisance of not having the use of my cell phone, what's not to love about this place?