Random Physical Search?!

I flew from Edmonton to Calgary to Saskatoon two weeks ago. Very unobtrusive flight plan. I was going to Prince Albert. I made sure I wore no unecessary metal objects, even took off my watch through the security screening. But, I expected to ring as usual, regardless of what I wear. Up go my arms as I head towards the beeper crew, but what's this? I get the "you're okay, move along" wave!! Hurray!!

My elation was short lived however, as another crew member siddled up beside me, asked to see my boarding pass then informed me that if it was alright with me I'd been randomly selected for a physical search... HUH?!?!... my heart stopped, my butt clenched, and I'm sure all my capilaries shrunk two sizes, while my legs trid to decide their plan of action. What exactly am I supposed to say, "no thanks, it's not alright, I don't want to be searched. Hey wait, give me back my boarding pass, I have a plane to catch!" As she walks away to get security. Instead, I mumbled, "oh," and she waited with me to get my bags.

We retrieved my bags and headed over to a clearing by a table. We put my stuff on the table, secured my boarding pass so it wouldn't get lost. She had me face the table so I could watch my things; I suppose I'm still responsible for preventing my belongings from being tampered with by a corrupt security crew member. So she tells me that she's going to pat me down, and if anything hurts let her know... should I really tell her? Or will it arouse suspicion and cause her to do an extra thorough search? I say, "My left breast hurts can you be careful?" Then she turns left and right obviously trying to figure out which is my left. Thankfully she was gentle, however, very thorough... My concern is that she did not wear gloves and she touched my shoes. I tried to tell her that I just came from a bottle depot, but she didn't seem to understand. I didn't see any sink.

Well, as a princess, my dream of being the centre of attention was fulfilled, though not as expected, as everyone passing through security had to stop and stare, smile, shake their heads, collect their belongings-children-spouses and redress themselves while quickly, yet unobtrusively, scurrying away from the security centre, lest they be subjected to the same treatment as I.

=)

Skeletons in Your Closet?

So I was highly motivated or perhaps driven by an insatiable urge to organize this past weekend. (As you can see, even at 18 months I had a keen sense of organization; me with science fiction, sewing notions and some unidentifiable objects all grouped into one suitcase.)

I'm in the process of incorporating another person into the house and we need storage space. So off to the farm I went to pick up this closet organizer I had when I moved off-campus for my one semester of independence.

I arrived at my sister's mowed her lawn, played a game with Miki on the deck, dropped part of the game between the deck boards, took the deck board off, retrieved the card, killed the battery on her drill, got my mom to get my dad's drill, finished putting the deck back together, and had a picnic. Very productive day, but no where close to getting the closet. Next I went shopping with my mom and sister, by which I mean I fell asleep in the backseat of the car while my mom and sister went shopping. =)

Finally we arrived at the farm, where my mom and I had to negotiate who should decide what we were to do, both of us insisting the other should make the decision. Finally we compromised and decided I could decide Saturday and my mom would decide Sunday. =)

We found the closet, washed it and loaded it into my car... minus the hardware... we knew this to be a potential risk. Who separates the hardware from the boards?!? Who!?! We prayed it would turn up in the search, but alas, no hardware. =( And thus I am left to guess what type of harware I need... on to the mission to find hardware. First stop Walmart. (success... now when I get back to Edmonton I'll see if I acquired the right stuff; it's a bit like a treasure hunt)

Anyways, back to the skeletons. After loading up the closet I felt compelled to go through some of the boxes in the shed. My friend Kathryn, and my new roommate Sarah, inspired me to depackratify. =)

So opened up 8 boxes in total I think. To my displeasure, however, I encountered some unpleasant, but not unexpected surprises. Unfortunately someone left the shed door open and farm mice seem to have a keen sense for detecting open doors. Needless to say, many of the boxes showed signs of mouse habitation, thankfully many of the boxes were also free of these signs. =)

I found my wonderful polyester dress that I wore in college, my mom wore before me, and her aunt wore before her, and so on and so forth. I was heartbroken a couple of years ago when I thought I had inadvertently donated it to goodwill. Our joyous reunion was much appreciated by my mom, though my dad seemed somewhat confounded.

In another box, I was happy to see my missing Mountain View Water Treatment Plant vest that I had misplaced. Only to be horrified seconds later by the gigantuous holes eaten from it by those pesky mice. =( Needless to say, that garment was burned. We had a wonderful bonfire that night.

Now what do you suppose the next box held in surprise? You're right! Curled up under a fold of blanket was the skeleton of a long ago perished mouse. =( Of course I called my mom over to inspect it and we spent many a second discussing the effectiveness of mouse poison and how doors should just be kept shut in the first place. =)

Safety

Great news!! The police patrol my neighbourhood with dogs, helicopters and cruisers with flashing lights! =) In fact they spent an hour on the corner of my block tonight. I saw the flashing lights outside my window, but couldn't see them immediately. Then my roommate Jen came home and we all rushed outside! It was a like a personal community light show. We didn't get to pet the dog, but we did get to see it race.

Oh the brilliance of leaving our homes wide open while some hunted man, fleeing certain punishment, is roaming, seeking shelter. Where's my shotgun? ... =) Oh right, under my pillow (Just joking - it was too uncomfortable. I mean I can't handle a pea under my mattress, how can I handle a shotgun?)

I'm relieved to remember that our back door was left open today unattended... wait, my address isn't visible is it? Oh wait, my place looks identical to all the other suburbs in the city =)

On the brighter side, my second roommate is great! Her name is Sarah and she quite effectively evicted my office/craft room, which has since been relegated to boxes in my bedroom and basement. =) This weekend, I am heading to the farm in search of a solution. I remember in my early university life, I lived off-campus for 3.5 months - that's right, one semester. =) Anyways, I had a storage closet and I know that the boards are at the farm... well hopefully the hardware is too. We're putting it in the basement to help turn it from storage to recroom. Wish us luck.

The picture at the top is Liatris punctata. Beautiful flower photo taken north of Pincher Creek, Alberta, 2002.