I grew up with Space Shuttle Columbia. I'm only a few years older than her. Hers was the distinguished career of a heroic Earth-orbitor and the men and women she carried were equally distinguished and all of them a sort of hero. Today, only days after the anniversary of Challenger's tragic ascent in 1986, Columbia disintegrated on re-entry just 15 minutes before she was due to land.

To watch spaceships explode in movies is exciting and cool. When it happens in real life it is horrific and disheartening. These were real lives that were lost, not film effects created on computers. Those that mourn are not actors but family, friends, and others who may not even have known the victims. This was a science mission, one of peace and hope. Let not their deaths be in vain.

Another little while has passed and I haven't gotten around to updating my weblog. I know it's a bad sign when my mother tells me over the phone that she was disappointed that there had been no updates. Sorry !

Anyway, it's a busy time for me. It wasn't supposed to be, but it is, and there's nothing I can do about it except get on with things. I am supposed to be working on Adam's FYI newsletter, but I haven't been able to make the template files work for me, which is a serious problem. I'm supposed to have them done by Sunday, but lord only knows if I'll be able to do it. I guess that's what I'll be doing tomorrow. After a meeting at the Cafe Diplomatico, anyway. Adam's municipal campaign team choose the tastiest places to hold meetings.

On Tuesday, I went to meet with Professor Nagel about getting a reference and that went quite well. Professor Nagel (I get to call him Alex now) was my absolute favourite professor at university. Not only was he well dressed, but he was engaging and encouraged his students to become actively involved in their learning. He pressed us for creative thought, critical thinking, and enjoyment of the subject. Very few professors successfully manage to do one of the above, let alone all three. I also ran into an old school friend, Guita, and she encouraged me to go back to school for a Masters. We'll see about that.

On Wednesday, I went to a job interview. Back in December, Al had told me about a job opening at his work and had asked me for a resume. I forgot about it until Monday when he told me that I had an interview on Wednesday. Not a heck of a lot of time to get prepared, but it was a good interview, regardless. First of all, right off the bat, I asked the interviewer, Don, where he was from. His accent sounded very familiar. "Brooklyn," he answered. "Where in Brooklyn?" I asked. "Sheep's Head Bay," says he. "No kidding !" I exclaim, "I come from Sheep's Head Bay, too !" "No kidding !" he exclaims. Don is a nice guy and the interview went well, but the job is a scary one. High pressure telecommunications sales. The incentives are good, but it's hard work and... well, it's just scary. Anyway, I'll find out if they're offering the job to me either today or Monday. I've spent the better part of yesterday thinking about it.

Well, that is when I wasn't sleeping off my migraines. I woke up with one, which kept me out of work, and when it cleared around 1pm, I decided to do some cleaning of my room. Boy, was that ever some serious work. By supper time, I'd developed a new migraine and spent the majority of my night in bed. Oh well, I got the box in my room delt with, nearly a year after moving in, and my bookshelves are almost completely reorganised, including a display of most of my toys. It's nice to have my old friends out again. When I have a little money, I'm going to buy myself a filing cabinet of some sort, though. I have too many loose papers lying around.

Tonight, I'm taking Rick to the gym. We were supposed to go yesterday, but I couldn't because of my head. I'm going to take it nice and easy, just doing some of the machines, maybe rowing and cycling, or something. I don't know what Rick plans to do. All I know is that afterward, we're going to hace a nice dinner somewhere, or order something in. We'll see. Not quite a date, but it will be fun.

How I spent my weekend, or, Why bother getting dressed? by Maya Hirschman.

I spent all of Saturday in my nightgown. It was wonderful. Okay, perhaps not 'wonderful' in the truest sense, but it sure was enjoyable. Rick seemed a little surprised by my desire to avoid real clothing, but as I explained to both he and my mother, I planned to do nothing, not even get dressed. Also, I spent most of the day in front of the television watching the NDP convention on the CBC. Like I said, my leadership predictions went right out the window, along with those spoken by people much more experienced in such matters. There were a lot of delays in getting the voting closed and ballots counted, which meant a lot of 'fill' from the correspondents.

"And now to Anna-Maria Tremante who is speaking to Nigel Proose, just some guy waiting in line to vote. Anna-Maria?"

"Thanks Bob, I'm here with Nigel Proose who I found snoozing in the voting line-up. Mr. Proose, are you having a good time here at the convention?"

"Well, I was having a pretty good dream until you stuck this microphone in my face, but otherwise, it's been pleasant. Mostly, I've just been waiting here."

"Mr. Proose, do you know what the delay is?"

"I think it's something to do with computers. I don't know. They told me to wait. I'm waiting."

"May I ask you who you're voting for?"

"Oh well sure. That will be Nystrom. Heh, he puts the nice back in 'strom'. Heh, heh."

"Um, yes. Well, Bob, there you have it. Nigel Proose, you can get back to your napping."

However, once the votes were in, it livened up completely ! People were having a good time regardless of the delays, it seemed, waving their banners and calling out chants and cheers devoted to their particular leader-hopeful. Bev Meslo, who really wasn't running but for the opportunity to give her issues some air time, seemed to be having the best time compared to all the other hopefuls. She was dancing and singing and didn't let slack. Ducasse, the little guy from Quebec, was a stand-out, and everyone really likes him. I missed his speech, but apparently, it was the best of the bunch. He's the future of the party, and the NDP's best chance of gaining a seat in Quebec.

Anyway, I'm probably boring you all with this, so, it's time for a change of subject. Sunday, I was supposed to be at a thing for Carrie, a shower, or whatever, but I ended up waking with a splitting headache and after sitting around for 45 minutes to see if the painkiller would do it's job, I decided to go back to bed. I would have called to cancel, but it was a surprise shower and I didn't want to be a wet towel. If anyone was expecting me to be there, they probably assumed I got lost en route, as usual, and ended up in Bobcageon.

I also spent an awful lot of time in the bathtub this weekend. Not because I was so dirty, but because it's a peaceful place where I can relax, be at ease, and generally not be bothered by anyone. I just close my eyes and listen to the radio (sometimes I read). There are few things that I like as much as a scaldingly hot bath with nothing pressing me for time. I'd take baths in the city, except the bathroom is sort of dark and there's this nasty sliding door that blocks what light there is. I'm considering taking it down and putting up an old fashioned curtain. Anyway, it was nice.

So, summing up my weekend: nightgown, sleeping late, bathtub, eating, and watching television.

I wish I were still there. *sigh*

Oh, and another thing: Adam was re-elected. Huzzah !

Well, it's safe to say that no one predicted Jack Layton's decisive and quite incredible first ballot victory. 53.5% on the first ballot. Amazing, surprising and completely terrific ! Go Jack.

More to follow at another point. In the mean time, since people seemed to enjoy the dancing Bush so much, how about a work-out? Or maybe some more dancing?