Baffling

PETA posted these billboards yesterday as part of their campaign to promote vegetarianism. Personally? I think it's crazy rude. Not because they're pointing out a bold truth about the amount of overweight people out there, nor because their language choice is a little harsh (and it is), but because they are implying that vegetarianism is some miracle cure for a case of the fatties. It's selling something that isn't a diet, it's a complete lifestyle change and yet, they are simply stating it on a pretty offensive billboard as if it were some kind of diet pill. AND it's also implying that people who DO eat meat are fat. Which is bullshit.

I'd really like to put up retaliation sign shows a malnourished woman with an eating disorder wearing a shirt that says "I'm a vegetarian" with the caption 'VEGGIES ARE MURDER! Pack on some weight. Eat meat.'

In other news I have a very simple question to ask you, my faithful readers. What is the difference between "a chance of thundershowers" and "a risk of thundershowers"? Because these terms are used interchangeably on the Weather Network's website and I just can't seem to figure it out. They both have the same symbol and everything...so I dunno.

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Honesty

Yet another strange sign, this one in the St. Vincent de Paul on Wellington street. I wanted to go up to the counter with, like, a handful of items and say, "I'd like to put these on hold" and the person would say (properly) "We don't put items on hold for customers" or "we don't hold items for customers" and I would contest that there is no sign stating this and they would point to this sign and I would say, "Ah yes, but I have several ITEMS. Not just one."

Ha! Take THAT you, you, CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION!

ha.ahhhh...

Anywho, when I was leaving St. Vincent de Paul (feeling self-rightous), a young homeless guy stopped me and asked me for a dollar. This is the first homeless person to ask me for money in Ottawa and really? He was in pretty good shape. This is how the conversation went down:

Homeless kid: Do you have a spare dollar?
Me: No, sorry.

(now, I should stop here actually and tell the truth. I didn't actually run into this young man just after I left St. Vincent de Paul, I ran into him after I left the cupcake store right beside St. Vincent de Paul, and so, of course, I had a giant cupcake in my hand while I apologized for not having a dollar for him).

Homeless kid: Don't say you're sorry! Don't lie. My dad used to say he was sorry every time he hit me when I was a kid but he'd turn around and do it again and again (he pauses to see if he's registered a reaction from me).
Me: (eating my cupcake).
Homeless kid: I mean, don't say you're sorry. Just be honest. I don't think you should say sorry if you don't—
Me: (with my mouth full of cupcake) Okay, I'm not sorry.
Homeless kid: Fine. Thank you. I appreciate your honesty.

I wasn't trying to be mean, it's just that he wanted honesty. Plus, he was fully clothed and, well... with it. I've seen some seriously greusome homeless people before. Ones with scabby eyelids and frightening opinions. Anyway, I liked this kid's moxy and so I chatted with him awhile. He's 22 and got into drugs quite young, he's trying to get his high school diploma, he's learning long division with decimal points, he wants to be a welder. He can't find work because he can't get a bank account because he doesn't have his birth certificate or proper ID. I felt bad, but I didn't give him any money. I told him (honestly) I didn't think he needed it. And then I told him that St. Vincent de Paul had a sign that they were looking for clothing sorters. He said he'd check it out, but I don't know.

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Little Things

I've started to fall into a bit of a groove in Ottawa, I've found some coffee/tea shops, met some great people, planted some plants (putting down roots and such). Things are going very well. I've even started exploring the city by bike, something I never had the courage to do in Toronto for fear that I would be run down by a taxi. I am not a confident cyclist. That's all I can say.

But! I've been cycling to the Parkdale market on a weekly basis to get our produce. There are several stalls set-up, but the one with the widest variety and best quality and price is the big stall right in the middle. The only problem is that there is a man there that sort of stares at me when I visit. It's...uncomfortable. I was there yesterday and he was there again and I was all sweaty and crap from my ride over and he said hello and I said hello and he said, "It's hot out today" which, really, I just wanted to ignore but instead just said, "yep" while inspecting a group of beets with intensity and then he passed behind me and said, "but you smell good".

!

I said nothing. I should have said, "I know, my big burly HUSBAND thinks so too" or "Yes. I smell much better than you" but I said nothing and then he sort of picked up on me saying nothing and said, "sorry..." and then I had to shop with this weird comment swirling around in my head.

Men, you DO NOT tell a woman she smells good if you don't even know her name. THAT is just creepy. Otherwise, if you knew the woman, it would be a lovely compliment.

But it's sort of unavoidable, this situation with this man. I mean, Parkdale market is the BEST when it comes to buying my produce so there is no way I'm going to stop coming, and yet I feel like my going there is like I continue to walk into this guys creepy compliment trap.

I must come up with something to say to get him off my back.

In other news...I was eating a bag of M&M's last night and asked Ciaran what he thought the difference was between M&M's and Smarties. I said M&M's are more round-ish and have more chocolate in them and Smarties are more like a disk. Also, you can do this thing with Smarties where you suck on them and then separate the two halfs of the candy coating in your mouth. This can not be done with M&M's. They're too thick. I tried to explain this to Ciaran and he thought I was crazy.

Nothing new there.

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