Emmys: Never Again

How about some more anxiety, Chris?

I spent a good part of yesterday up a ladder cleaning my studio roof. A couple of moments were quite scary when I felt like I might fall. I was working over the concrete slab-stone courtyard; at one point I thought I might wear my bicycle helmet. However, I got it done and I didn’t fall.

I’d tried to get the professional roof cleaner to come, but every time I called, there is a message that her message box is full. By chance, Deborah, a neighbour came by in the afternoon and I mentioned my plight. She said that she, too, was after Annie to have her roof and eaves cleaned, but she got the same message. She said that Annie was now the only licensed and insured roof cleaner on the island, and she’s overbooked. She’d called Annie’s friend to find out what was going on.

When my roof was done, I was totally exhausted. So, I had a break and a giant cold drink of Diet Coke before I got my handsaw and took down the dead and dying limbs of the Ocean Spray trees in my yard. That got a sweat up! And lugging them out into forest behind my fence (on my land) was nasty. But that, too, is now done. Lastly, was some watering, and then it was time for a spa (glorious!) before spending some time with Bruno. 

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My friend Beth blogs. She has links on her website, and one of them was Juliette in Paris. Juliet is from the UK (I think), but she’s been working in Paris for a long time. She has written a memoire and she has sent me a copy to read. I’m really enjoying our growing friendship. It’s like some friendships I had as a child. We had pen pals. It was a big thing to do. Many agencies helped link Canadian kids with international peers. When I finish this Bruno novel, I’m going to Paris via her book.

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I have a small wood pile in the front yard that I want to remove. When I went to clean it up a month ago, I found that it was infested with little red ants that bite like a sting—megabazllions of them! So, I blasted the woodpile with my hose, exposing billions and billions of eggs. I’ve never seen so many living things in my life.

Last week I went back to have a look see. There were still ants nesting, but the colony was a small fraction of the large one I’d water bombed. Today, I will try to get the wood into a bin. I have tongs with which to pick it up. I think they’ll flee the wood once it’s in the bin. But if they don’t … death by fire.

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A few more days of sunshine are predicted. I want to spend every minute of them outdoors. Then, when the rains come, I’ll get to clinic work that I need to do. I’m compiling a list of publications where we might be able to post ads, determining their ad rates, deadlines, and publication patterns, I want to have a long and well annotated list of opportunities for the Sept. 22 meeting of the Doctor Search committee.  

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I watched the Emmy’s. last night—well, not all of it because I thought the whole thing was rather tasteless. I used my mute button a lot. 

I can’t stand much of what is available on TV. I watch only 2 channels, so none of the shows and few of the people mean anything to me. The ridiculous scripts and the insane clothes and make-up depressed me. I loved Kenan Thompson’s opening, but then came Oprah. Her speech delivered a string of clichés with the bombast of an important announcement. It was appalling and seemed to serve as a warning of what was to come. I won’t be watching the Emmy’s anymore. SO many people I saw don’t strike me as true actors. They’re merely competent speaking (pretty) models.