Love Actually is my favorite ever holiday film because it evokes so many emotions with its multiple stories of lives intertwined by relationships. I have so many favorite moments in this film. Why did I never take screencaps to make LJ icons from it? I really ought to.
Today I am having a rare Saturday off. Mathieu complained to me that he has to work today while I get to stay at home, to which I smartly replied, "Well, you made the schedule." He was even a little surprised that I have off, which surprised me since he's been making the schedules for quite some time now. He works until nine, which is great because it gives me that much more time to do stuff around the apartment. So often, I'm off and he works until five or six, so I wake at noon or one and I feel like I have hardly any time to do anything. But today I am watching a movie and drinking coffee and having peanut butter on toast, and after that I still have around five hours for dishes and picking up.
Last year for my birthday or for Christmas (I can never recall, and they're only six weeks apart), Carole Anne bought me a gift card to Renaud Bray, which is a bookstore. I bought
Et si c'était vrai, a good novel which was made into a bad film (Just Like Heaven), and a black notebook with a placemarking ribbon and a green elastic band to hold it shut. At some point, I decided to use it as a character journal for a paranoid man who lives in a world where obscure rules change constantly and the key to survival is to keep up with the changes. I recently tore those pages out (and kept them for later use) and started using the notebook to write random thoughts. There's nothing extremely personal in there, and no important events, just musings and impressions, stuff that I might use in writing a story sometime.
I'm watching Love Actually now, in fact, and it's at the part with the Christmas party and Kelly Clarkson's "The Trouble With Love Is", which even has a Christmassy sound, though I'm sure I always think of Christmas when I hear this song is because of this film. I love sentimental music, even when it's sad. I often think that sadder songs are more soulful. I have this idea that the best singers, the ones that can move people with naught but their voices, can do so because they know how to pour their soul into their voices and make it come out beautiful. Sometimes when I sing, it's to let my soul ring out. I don't think it's exactly beautiful, but it's such a wonderful feeling.
We bought a new kitten last weekend. Mat and I had to go to the bank because we recently switched checking accounts (we finally have a joint account after over a year) but the rent still comes out of his old account. He doesn't want to send the landlord new checks in case he forgets to tear up the old ones and accidentally cashes both checks for a month. Near the bank is a petstore, the same one where we bought Bree about a year ago. Mathieu had been reading up on introducing a new cat to an older one, so we had a look at the kittens, picked the female who was less vocal, and walked home with her in a carrier we bought.
Mathieu wanted a cat pun name (Bree is Bree Van De Cat) and he had put Josie and the Pussycats on recently, so I suggested Josie and he liked it. At first, there was a lot of hissing and growling from Bree, but we kept Josie in the bathroom when they weren't having supervised visits. The visits have become more frequent, with Bree acting less hostile. They play together now, though we're waiting for the elusive moment when Bree decides to give Josie and tongue bath. Right now, they're both sleeping on the couch near me, less than a foot from one another. We still don't leave them alone together, it's always back into the bathroom for Josie when it's sleepytime or we're both out of the apartment.
Last weekend (or perhaps the weekend before), I had written down what I was eating in an effort to eat less and be more aware of what I put into my mouth. I also played DDR twice and worked up a good sweat. However, I did not manage to play any more than that. I wish I could get into a routine where I did exercise regularly, because I'm sure I would feel great. I've toyed with the idea of getting a membership at the school gym because it's only 60$ per term, but then I'd have to shower there. I think the real deterrent is getting on an exercise machine in a room full of people. But the problem with DDR is that I have to select songs and there's a pause in the exercise while that's happening. It takes me 45 minutes to do 30 minutes of exercise. But at a gym, there are stationary bikes and stuff where I can just keep going while listening to music. If only the gym across the street was 60$ for four months, I could shower at home.
I made my peanut butter pie again. We ate it in two days. I'm sure that's five thousand calories apiece. I want to cook, though. I'm sure we would eat healthier if at least one of us cooked, and then we could have more variety in our dining without paying to go out. Anyway, we always go out to Benny's and have chicken and poutine, or we get McDonald's or pizza from the place nearby. For special occasions, it's generally Boston Pizza, where I plan to have my birthday dinner.
We ought to do more things together, Mat and I. Like going out for dinner to a place that isn't Benny's, or seeing shows, or going to museums. There's loads of stuff to do and see in Montréal, but I always end up going alone and usually only for school. Though this isn't really doing something together in a romantic kind of way, I want Mathieu to meet my friends from school. That'd be nice.
annoyed
demotivated
artistic
optimistic
chipper
exhausted
determined
sentimental
good
content
hungry
angry