It's Song Time!

Here are a few tunes I am loving right now:

You Can't Hear Me, But I'm Squealing Happily

Like omigawd he's like totally following me on Twitter you guyyyyyys! I like can't belieeeeve he took the time out to friend me personally!

I'm sorry, George makes me revert into a starstruck little girl. I was practically tongue-tied when I met him in person. I never get tongue-tied by famous people. He's such an awesome person too. I'd even go as far to say he's a national treasure. Respect the man, my fellow Canucks. And watch The Hour! Go to the shows if you live in Toronto! Trust me, it's so worth it.

Oh, by the way? I cracked 80,000 words today for GWYO.

81,085 / 200,000 words. 40% done!

My Eyeballs Are On Fire

This is a story about my annoying neighbours.

Technically, they aren't my real neighbours. I live in a townhouse style building, so my neighbours are the family who live in the unit next to me. But my building faces an alleyway, bordered by a chain link fence. And on the other side of this chain link fence is another residential building with loft style apartments, the sort of place you find tattoo artists, mechanics, and freelance photographers living in. Cheap but functional.

In the summer, everyone from the building comes out to the alleyway, on their side of the chain link fence, to smoke and drink and talk and listen to music. Loudly. As frequently as possible. Late into the night. When the weather is warm enough, it happens every Friday and Saturday night, sometimes even on Thursdays and on Sundays if there's a long weekend involved.

When this happens, when they decide to party, I can't. sleep. at. all. Their shouts and music start at 10 PM and go well into the night, ending around 3 AM.

Last night, being a warm Friday night, was one of their louder parties. While annoying, these parties didn't bother me too much, as long as I had the ability to sleep in the next morning and make up for the fact that I wouldn't go to sleep until three in the morning. But now that I work Saturdays, it's become really fucking annoying. Like I said, last night they partied. Until 2:45 AM. And I had to wake up at 6 AM the next morning for training. Even my earplugs are not enough to block out the insane amount of noise they put out. Out here, where everything is concrete and brick and asphalt, sound just carries and echoes and amplifies to a horrible degree. It doesn't help that a couple people bring their belligerent dogs outside with them. Nothing punctures silence worse than a yappy mutt.

There is nothing, nothing, in the entire world that infuriates me more than my sleep being disturbed. It used to drive me to crazy tears when I was in undergrad, if someone else in the dorm or house was being noisy when I wanted to go to bed. Last night I was honestly considering calling the police and reporting that my lovely neighbours were disturbing the peace. Unfortunately, I'm a tragically light sleeper; I often think that what constitutes as unbearably noisy to me is a mere passing hum to most other people.

So anyway, it's Saturday night. It's warm. They're even louder than last night. I'm exhausted from only sleeping three (broken) hours last night. But there's no way in hell I could ever fall asleep with this kind of noise right outside my window. Urge to call the cops... rising.

*wearily puts in earplugs*

THIS IS NOT COOL

U.S. journalists in North Korea sentenced to 12 years hard labor

North Korea's sham court convicted Laura Ling and Euna Lee, American journalists for Al Gore's Current TV, for "grave crimes" against the Hermit Kingdom.

I heard the news this morning on the radio while driving to work and my heart totally dropped into my stomach. I don't know why, but Ling and Lee being captured in N. Korea really scares and bothers me. I remember watching Laura's reports on TV and worrying not only about the profound poverty and lies the N. Korean people face, but also for Ling's safety.

Obama and the UN better step things up.

I've Held Out On This Topic For Long Enough

Suspect in abortion doctor death warns of violence

The man charged with murdering a high-profile abortion doctor claimed from his jail cell Sunday that similar violence was planned around the nation for as long as the procedure remained legal, a threat that comes days after a federal investigation launched into his possible accomplices.

A Justice Department spokesman said the threat was being taken seriously and additional protection had been ordered for abortion clinics last week. But a leader of the anti-abortion movement derided the accused shooter as "a fruit and a lunatic."

Nancy Keenan president of NARAL-Pro-Choice America, said Roeder's comments "continue to escalate that kind of activity, that kind of violence. Quite honestly, I think it's imperative for anti-choice groups to tone down that rhetoric and keep the more extreme elements in their movement form copying Scott Roeder."

*eyetwitch*

I swear to god, some people will just not be satisfied until women are ball-and-chained with no personal freedom. Or basic rights, for that matter.

And yes to what was said by NARAL; anti-abortionists need to work a hell of a lot harder in making sure they're delivering their message in a way that's not inflammatory and confrontational. Granted, I think their message is full of shit. :P

(Note: there's a difference between being pro-life and anti-abortion. I find pro-life people to be much more sane about a woman's rights.)

Allow Me To Yammer On Before Bedtime

Tonight I am full of orange juice and mellowness. *nods*

74,766 / 200,000 words. 37% done!

Thanks to my trip to Vegas and my new job (HELL YAH) I am now 9,000 behind in GYWO. I have no idea how people manage to write with full time jobs at the same time. It's impossible! I'm thinking I may have to give up GYWO and just write at my own pace for a while. Which sucks, because "my pace" tends to mean "not at all" most of the time. :P