Janice Hillmer

About Janice Hillmer

Writer, grad student, traveller, accidental humourist and unwitting adventurer.

Posted on October 10, 2007 by Janice Hillmer

Adventures in Bed Bugs…

I was a little chilly last night, so I pulled my duvet up from the foot of the bed. I woke up this morning with 7 bites on my left hand, 2 bites on my right hand, 3 bites on my leg, a bite on my stomach, and a bite on my back. GROSS!!! At present, I’m covered with a bright yellow bug-bite concoction I picked up in Thailand. I smell terrible, but I’m not itching. Of course, I hauled the duvet off the bed and changed my sheets – but now what do I do? Does anyone know if you can dryclean a down comforter? Will that get rid of the bugs? Eeeewwww, it’s now nearly bedtime, and I’m almost tempted to sleep on the sofa!! Any advice would be greatly appreciated, but y’all can keep your “Sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite” comments to yourselves. Eww. Eww. Eww.

Posted on October 8, 2007 by Janice Hillmer

Adventures in Concept Cars…

Perhaps this has been all over the news in North America, but I just saw it for the 1st time tonight. It’s Nissan’s concept car: Pivo. The cab swivels, and each tire has its own motor: no axles! The driver never has to back into a parking space. Just spin the cab and wheels around, and go in forwards, or sideways – whichever direction is preferred. I thought it looked pretty nifty. The fact that it looks like a cartoon bubble makes it a little difficult to take seriously. You could easily make the mistake of thinking it’s made by Mattel, not Nissan. I don’t know how it would handle on a highway, but as a city car, it would certainly have it’s benefits. (I’m envisioning the parking garage at Costco on a Saturday afternoon.) Those of you at home with sprawling parking lots are probably thinking “What’s the big deal?” Those of you here, picturing crowded, screechy parking garages are thinking “Oooh, I could swivel my way into that tiny spot in the corner!” Really, think of all the great things that swivel: office chairs, giant binoculars at scenic tourist spots, Elvis’ hips. I’ve digressed. If you want to check out some Pivo videos, you can find them on both YouTube or Yahoo videos.

Posted on October 6, 2007 by Janice Hillmer

Adventures in Learning New Things…

Today, I learned a few new things. I learned that the by-line on my blog has been misspelled for years. Woolly does not have an ‘e’ in it. I also learned that I used their instead of they’re in yesterday’s post, even though I truly do know the difference. After ruminating on these two things, I subsequently learned that either my readers don’t notice things like that, or that they’re too polite to say anything. Am I really the only person I know who occasionally feels the need to fire off an e-mail gently saying “Ahem, I’m sorry to say you’ve misrepresented either the lexical or grammatical norms of the English language.” ?

I also learned (thanks to Melanie’s blogging savvy) how to add a “What I’m Reading” section on the sidebar. If you glance to your left, you’ll see it. I called it “Next to my sofa”, since that’s where most of my reading material ends up. (Except the Reader’s Digest, but I refuse to add a sidebar detailing what’s in my bathroom.)

Oh, and while I’m thanking Melanie, I should also thank her for the Apple Crisp recipe she posted. Annelie and I made it tonight, and it was delicious.

Now, I’m off to watch the end of the Rugby match. (Maybe eventually I’ll learn what the rules governing that sport are.)