In which Naria is presenting her duct-tape self.

Here is the dress form I nearly got a fatal concussion for! XD
The stuffing was about two dozens of those newspapers that are given out for free on the metro and that nobody reads, but they're all over the place anyway... I figured that stuff needed to be put to good use! XD


I like to hug myself... you should seriously try it sometime! XD


Happy that I was victorious over the dress form!

Speaking of dress forms and sewing... I was working on shortening the straps of a dress for my mum today. I hate store clothing! Professional stitched are a bitch to work with when you are trying to un-stitch the stuff! So I had to bullshit my way through it. I am a little disappointed in myself. I thought it would turn out better. But, then again, it is not my fault that I could not find the bloody seam that needed un-stitching.

Oh well...

Oh, and I take back what I said about my schedule with Air Canada! I now have my official schedule for the summer! It looks much (much, much, much, much!) better!! No more 3 a.m. shifts!!! Yay! (Though that is still subject to change - fingers crossed that is does not!)

And I have a few hilarious stories to tell of Air Canada. Yesterday, we were discussing PETC (pets in cabin) and AVIH (live animals in hold). We got a couple of yummy anecdotes out of it.

Story 1: Apparently, a few years ago, a woman tried to travel with her boa constrictor as her pet in cabin. Now, there are many regulations with regards to PETCs, one of which is that only cats and dogs are accepted for this. Also, the animals must be caged and the cage must not exceed size regulations. Also, the animal must be able to stand and to turn inside the cage. So a snake? I think not. Anyways, the woman showed up at the airport, with the huge snake wrapped around her neck. She was refused on the flight. She was making a fuss that she had paid for the ticket and all, but she was clearly told that she was not traveling with the snake. It took 5 days (and 5 times of her showing up at the airport) for her to be convinced that she would not be traveling with the snake any day soon. So the REAL Snakes On a Plane was avoided... XD

Story 2: There are many regulations with regards to AVIHs. Animals in hold have to be in the appropriate cages, quarantied at the airport for a bit, etc. Now, there is a reason for all these rules: we do not want any trouble with these animals (or the owners of the animals if they are dissatisfied with Air Canada's treatment of the creatures). One "container" which is completely unacceptable now is a cardboard box. Here is why:
A scientist travelling on a flight had checked in a box filled with live laboratory rats as AVIHs. For some reason, the box of rats was accepted, despite the rats being contained by no more than cardboard. Now, these were not dirty sewer rats, but the rats did chew their way out of the box... and came out in the Executive Business Class! You can imagine the freak out some passengers must have had. Even if they were "clean" rats, I would not enjoy having a rodent suddenly brush my legs while being on a quiet flight. Also, the aircraft had to undergo repairs as the rats nawed on the wiring and fusselage.

Story 3: There are also specific regulations on where and how the animals should be stored in the hull of the aircraft, so that no accidents can happen. Indeed, there is a story of a cage that was not properly strapped into the aircraft. If I remember correctly, the aircraft somehow skidded off the runway and into the field beside it. Nothing bad, no one was hurt, but the luggage (and animals) that were not strapped in properly all skidded to one side of the aircraft. The consequence of this was that, when the poor baggage handlers opened the hull of the steel bird, they were confronted with a very disgruntled loose tiger! Yes, the tiger's cage had popped open when the cage had hit some other cargo. I can just imagine the baggage guys going "nice kitty..." at the thing. The moral of this story: always make sure your cargo is held safely! XD

Story 4: As the AVIHs are being unloaded from the aircraft, the baggage handlers find a cage with a cat inside it. The cat was frozen to death. The manager got very freaked out by this, as Air Canada accepts responsibility for the animal that we put in the hold. So this is really bad news for us if the animal died in the course of the flight (we are responsible for feeding it and all... so we really do not want them to die). So the manager went out and bought a cat that was as similar as possible to the dead one and replaced the one in the cage with it. When the passenger picked up his cage, he was puzzled. "What happened? I had checked in a dead frozen cat?!" he wondered!! It seems Air Canada has the power to resurrect the dead. Please feel free to send us the bodies of your loved ones (as long as they are frozen) lol. No, but, seriously, who checks in a DEAD CAT as a "live animal"?? And why did the passenger put it in a cage? No wonder the manager freaked out!

I will stop the anecdotes there, as I am writing waaaay to much again. Seriously, I could replace Shakespeare (well - no, for obvious reasons, I cannot replace him. He is unreplaceable... but I can write as much as he could, because I do write a lot... just not nearly as well.)

And, before I forget, Bonne Saint-Jean Baptiste everyone!! Enjoy!