I’m not sure if it’s the wintry weather and the slow death of autumn or the recent passing of WFC2009 (which I did not attend, regrettably), but I’ve been missing my friends from abroad lately. Well, more than usual anyway. I’ve countered this somewhat by confirming I will be at Wiscon 24 in May–which I’m very excited about since I’ve never been able to make it before.

I’ve also countered this sudden malaise by uploading a quick little video I shot while out in old town Montreal during Worldcon 2009. We were needing a break from the chaos of the con and decided to go cupcakery hunting and sightseeing.

We found cupcakes:

We found a place to eat them:

And we found a place to make a quick video:

Also, we were actually quick sober during the making of this film–unless you count being high on sugary cupcake goodness.

It wasn’t until later that we hit the tequila.

Ah yes, June 1st marks the start of summer to me. May is just a tease with the odd nice day, but June, yes June is when the real summery weather comes. Well, it is supposed to anyway. It is bloody frigid out today, and raining. But usually, today is the day. Don’t let me down June.

And with summer weather comes summer diets. Earlier this year–January I think–I gave up fast food for a month before I went on a cruise. I was able to do it–and I survived. It helps I am not a fast food addict, and I don’t crave it all the time or very regularly for that matter. Sure, I like the odd item here and there like most people, but I’m not going to go all Big Mac Attack or antything.

So to spice things up as I get ready for the beach and making public appearances at Worldcon in August, I am going to stop eating fast food again with one exception. If the fast food restaurant offers a “healthy choice” menu, meaning whole grains, grilled items, etc., then I may cautiously indulge. If not, then no can do. No Big Macs for me, no chicken nuggets or deep-fried fishy sandwiches.

Which brings me to the “upping the ante” part: I am also going to stop eating deep-fried food. At least until September–just to see if I can do it. This one will be slightly harder than the fast food avoidance measure, as dining out at decent restaurants could be affected. Lots of sides and appetizers have deep-friend components. But I must remain steadfast. I think I can do it, and I will report back September 1st so you can see how I made out. If I fail, then I will post about it too. But don’t count on it.

All this bad food avoidance, coupled with the gym, and I should be well on my way to–well, I don’t know. Somewhere good I guess.

And no, I will not stop drinking alcohol. Nice try.