Newfoundland Newbie - Well, we're here. Conception Bay, Newfoundland, a small island—how small, Diary? You can walk across it in a few hours—off the coast of Canada. (Where, contrary to popular belief, not everyone is nice, okay?)
Well…the Eagle has landed. And by "Eagle," I mean "renowned" marine biologist Addison Clarke and his pathologically cheerful clan: "artist and children's book illustrator" Marina Clarke (love her!) and their two catalogue-cute toddlers Harvey and Malcolm.
A Terrible Accident - The worst, the absolute worst thing has happened. A terrible accident. Remember I told you I was going to go sailing with Addison and his family but that maybe I wasn't because I needed a day to myself and there were rumblings of poor weather? Well, I didn't go, but Addison, Marina, Dora (Marina's sister, who was visiting them, to help them get settled), and Harvey and Malcolm did, and…
Poor all of us - What do they say about tragedy, Diary? That it brings out either the best in people or the worst? Well, it's been a little over a week since Malcolm died and Harvey lost the ability to speak, and Addison and Marina…
Pity Party for me!! - I'm sick. I have a cold. And not just a common cold, thank you very much, the mother of all colds. I've been sneezing and sniffling and coughing all week, and since Addison's so germ-phobic (as you know), he's quarantined me until I recover. So here I am, in my studio apartment, miserable and bereft, watching the one television channel my rabbit-ears can actually pick up—a local, "Newfie" station that apparently doesn't believe in syndication.....
Houston, we've got a problem... - Okay, not to hit the panic button, but FIRE IN THE HOLE! We're in total crisis-mode here, walking around on egg-shells, 'cause Werner's been on a veritable rampage lately. You know Werner, right?
Bah, humbug! - I can't believe I'm about to type these words, but: I miss my family. My loving older brother, my cheery, younger sister, my supportive mom and dad. Singing carols around the piano, discussing our New Year's resolutions over some yummy honey-baked ham, stuffing each other's stockings with "treats" from "Santa"…
[January 1] Desperately Seeking Squid - This is probably the saddest-slash-most controversial-slash-shortest ('cause I don't want to dwell) entry you'll read from me, but here goes nothing: I'm quitting my job and moving back to the States.....
About this site
My name is Gilbert Messenger (I know, weird last name, but it's always a good conversation starter). I'm a marine biologist (well, "in training," I guess I'm more of a graduate student, studying to be a marine biologist, I'm still working on my dissertation). I have an older brother who's a lawyer, a younger sister who's in politics, and parents are more of less retired. I consider myself to be a pretty hard-working person, loyal to my family and friends, I try not to take things too seriously... (And by "things," I mean Life.) I'm often referred to as "nerdy cute," which I have come to accept as a compliment. I love reading and classical music, long, romantic walks on the beach, and...oh, uhm...maybe that's enough for right now.
I don't really have a lot of time off these days, it's pretty much a two-man operation Addison and I are running here, but I do read every night before going to bed (boring, but that's how it is), I'm addicted to the Food Network (which is on pretty much 24-7, even though I'm not much a cook myself), and whenever it's not, you know, snowing, I like riding my bike around the island. my boss is obsessed with Architeuthis (Giant Squid, for those of you who aren't science geeks), but I'm into jelly fish, smaller kinds of squid (the Humboldt, for instance, and Vampire squid), and various and sundry octopi.
Music The Scissor Sisters, The Killers Movies Jurassic Park, The Thing (the original, black-and-white one), The Thing (the remake), and...uh...West Side Story (I know, I know)...
Television You mean other than cooking shows? I like Veronica Mars, The X-Files, Lost, In Search Of..., The Twilight Zone, The Amazing Race (I know), Survivor (I know), and...uh...Ugly Betty.
Books The Great Gatsby, anything by Gore Vidal, anything by Ian McEwan, but especially Atonement, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Running with Scissors, anything by Stephen King and Clive Barker, anything ocean-related. I'll read pretty much any comic book I can get my hands on, which is hard because there isn't a comic book store in town, so I have to get my friends to buy me my comic books and then ship them to me... But, like I said, if it's a comic book, I'll read it.
Heroes Aquaman. The Submariner. The Invisible Woman. Wonder Woman. You know, the obvious ones...
