I phoned the Canadian Consulate in Dallas a few days ago about renewing my Canadian passport in the US. Specifically, I require certain papers because I do not have a 'guarantor' that has known me for 2yrs in the US. Anyway, the woman rushed me through and when it came to my name I spelled it out for her -- as I always do as people always get my given name wrong. Over the phone she had problems with my last name, which is a very common surname in North America. When I received the papers today my surname was spelled correctly, but my given name was spelled incorrectly. In fact, I've never seen it spelled that way...it's not even the common way of spelling it. Guess I was blown away because the most common/accepted first letter of my name is 'C', and the person put a 'K' instead. Plus she got the last three letters wrong, which is a common mistake. I'm just ticked off because I spelled my name for her and asked if I should repeat it, and she said "no, I've got it." Just had to vent about it.

PS: Those crazy barristas at Starbuck's always spell my name in wacky ways. The most bizarre spelling was in San Francisco...they spelled my name as a mountain range and inserted a 'K' at the beginning...

I can't believe I'm going to admit this, but Hubby and I went to see Kenny Rogers perform with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra last night at the Myerson...and we weren't the youngest people in attendance. Kenny put on a wonderful show and he really interacts well with the audience; he is quite the entertainer. We went early and had a buffet dinner at Allegro. When we received the bill we realized we had the 'early bird special'...guess that's why we felt like we were the youngest there, but we did see more people our age in the audience. Perhaps they grew up with Kenny Rogers songs as kids, much like Hubby and I did. I can remember elementary school trips where we would be singing The Gambler and Coward of the County on the school bus. Guess I am aging myself. Just wish that Kenny hadn't had the plastic surgery.

Bloomingdale's in Dallas?

Just heard the news that Bloomingdale's may expand to Dallas. Apparently the store was in Dallas at Valley View Mall in the 80s, but closed in 1990. Here's hoping with fingers crossed.

Last Saturday night, as Hubby and I sat on the beach at Carmel to watch the sun set, we saw four dolphins in the water. They put on quite the show for us. Everyone at the beach congregated to the water's edge to watch them swim around. One or two dolphins did a couple of 'jumps'. It was really special to see them frolic in the twilight.

To Big Sur, With Love

Hubby and I returned to Dallas late last Sunday evening from California. Had a wonderful time in San Francisco. Love that city. I climbed one of the big hills, California Street up to Nob Hill, and found more admiration for early settlers of the city after I made it to the top. The reason for the mad dash up the gigantic hill was to visit Grace Cathedral, an absolutely stunning church. I was hoping to walk the labyrinth, but they were working on it that day. Another discovery on this trip was Bloomingdale's...and Bloomingdale's sales. New favorite restaurant(since Hawthorne Lane is now closed is Jeanty at Jack's . We also took in a San Francisco Giants game. What a great ballpark!! Love how it opens to the water.

After Hubby was finished and packed up at the trade show/conference we visited the California Palace of the Legion of Honor to take in some culture. What a gorgeous museum of art set on a hill overlooking the Golden Gate bridge and San Francisco. Highly recommend their cafe for lunch.

The last three days of our trip were spent in Carmel. Ahhhh, Carmel. Of course, no trip to Carmel is complete without a drive down Hwy 1 to Big Sur and lunch at Nepenthe. Highly recommend the ambrosia burger and triple berry pie. There's something about Big Sur that soothes me and stirs my soul. I feel at home although I've never lived there. I love Big Sur. If I had all the money in the world I would live in Carmel/Big Sur.

Owen Needs to Unearth His Inner Beatnik

Was shocked this morning to hear that funnyman Owen Wilson supposedly attempted suicide this past weekend. He must be going through some major dark stuff to try to end it all. Who knows what inner demons must be eating away at his soul. He needs to drop the acting gig, move far from Hollywood and focus on writing, perhaps unearth his inner beatnik. Can't you see Owen Wilson as an eccentric English Lit prof at a small liberal arts college? Okay, perhaps that is a bit far-fetched since he is a couple credits short of a degree...but, writing screenplays and the odd novel may just save his soul.

Hubby just phoned and he's surprised that I haven't packed for the trip on Sunday...Oh my, better start thinking about it.

Just saw an Allied moving truck take a sharp right turn and mow down a stop sign. Yikes! This is what is written on the truck: "Allied, The Careful Movers."

It's Friday and we're leaving for San Francisco Sunday morning. Guess I should start thinking about packing. Have started laundry...that's a start, right? Very excited about trip to the cool coast of central California. Will be happy to escape this hot city. Have I mentioned how much I love Sweet Leaf tea? Yummy. It's helping me through the heatwave.

Three days until San Francisco trip!! Very excited...guess I should start thinking about packing...

The Fashionista Diaries

I started watching The Fashionista Diaries last week and now I'm hooked. Okay, I have a weak spot for reality tv, so it really shouldn't be a surprise. The show follows six young assistants, straight out of college, finding their way in the fashion world of NYC with Jane magazine, Flirt! cosmetics, and 7th House PR. I was rooting for the girl from Queens, Nicole, as she tried to make it in PR, but she really was a fish out of water. Bridget's incessant whining is annoying and I so want to slap her and tell her to quit whining. Remember, no one likes a whiner. Ughhhh. There's some chemistry with Rachel and Andrew at Jane magazine, but Bridget may have her whiney claws hooked into him as they are now flatmates. Janjay is really mature for her age. Hate that Nicole resigned this week, but not before she told them how shallow they are. Bravo Nicole!!! As she put it: "I'm from Queens and as real as they come." What's with this snotty PR company? Something is wrong if you favour a well-dressed, stuck-up chick who speaks in an annoying voice. Oh, wait, it's okay because the boss also speaks with the whine...Ughhhh....get thee to a voice/dialect coach asap!!! How can your clients stand to listen to you?

Baby, It's Hot Outside

Fifth-straight day of triple digit temperatures in Dallas. Baby, it's hot outside . How am I surviving? Barely. Visited my 'hair god' at Baca Salon yesterday for some highlights and a 'do'. I'm trying to 'work' the whole 'Posh Spice' cut as it's great to get the hair off one's neck when it's so bloody hot here. I love how he styled it...here's hoping I can make it look as good as when he does it. It's also wonderful to have some 'hair-therapy' as I usually chat up a storm when I'm in the chair. The worst part was walking to and from the salon yesterday. When the mercury is hovering around 105F I walk verrrrry slowwwwly.

Chase Bank Loses Information

What is Chase Bank doing? Hubby and I opened an account with them in January 2006 and we gave them our signatures as verification. Now I received a phone call from someone -- who could barely speak English -- stating that they do not have our signatures on file because 'they've lost them'. Dear God, who are these inept people that Chase Bank is hiring to work at their banks? Bank of America is looking more attractive...

Trying to stay cool, but it's difficult when it's 104F. I'm not even going to leave the house today because it's that hot. With the 'heat index' it feels like 110F. Where's my sweet-tea?

Just phoned Revenue Canada and it was scary. Perhaps it was because the fellow could barely speak English, or maybe it was because he coughed into the phone without saying pardon (how rude), or maybe it was because I received a GST refund and I'm currently living in the United States (since January 7, 2006). Perhaps it was because the phone call took 17 minutes...and all I discovered was that the GST refund was for 2004.?????? (I haven't received/been eligible for a GST refund in five years) I'm too tired to argue with them. Whatever. Oh, and they still have yet to process my return for the one week that I lived in Canada for 2006, which was sent April 2007...God help us all if this is how the Government of Canada is performing. Perhaps I should take it easy on them since it is summer holidays. All I ask is that they hire people that can communicate in English because I could not understand what the guy was saying, and he could not understand me. God help us.

Hubby is happy now that we finally saw The Simpsons Movie this past weekend. Very funny, although not all characters are given much screen time. Love the little pokes at Fox. "Spider-pig, spider-pig..."

American Idol is in town today and all the crazy kids are trying out. Fox 4 was covering it live this morning from Texas Stadium and there were thousands lined up outside the studio. One guy from Ohio had his hair done up a la Sanjaya mowhawk -- obviously he just wants his 15 minutes of fame on national television. One North Texas man was in Canada for a wedding on Saturday and drove 24hrs to get to the auditions but missed the deadline for signing in this morning. I would hate to be hanging out at Texas Stadium today as it is supposed to go up to 97F this afternoon, and that's excluding the humidex. Whew! I love the ac.

Went for a walk to Walgreen's and Borders at West Village. Love hanging out at Borders and reading the new mags while sipping on a caramel latte from Seattle's Best. Of course, I did end up spending money...but, most of the items are part of Hubby's Christmas-gift-package. When one is on a budget, it is best to spread the Christmas gift purchasing over a number of months. This is my tip-of-the-day. It's so hot outside that I thought I was going to melt into the sidewalk as I made my way home. I've been home for over an hour but I'm still zonked -- the heat really drains one's energy. Maybe I need to have lunch...

Just back from the dentist and I'm officially swearing off soft drinks...or soda, as my dentist calls it. Apparently my love of Pepsi, Coke, Sprite, ginger-ale, and rootbeer has taken its toll on the enamel of my teeth. Yikes!! Also, bottled-water does not contain fluoride and since I drink it I am not receiving enough fluoride. The dentist actually gave me a prescription for a toothpaste with super-strength amounts of it. If only I'd known about this when I was 15.