our little kitties

i took this picture last night and i love it!

in other news, j's sister loves me SO much she's moving to town in a little while. yay!

new year's plans anyone?

short bus

i am SO glad this is a short week because i am exhausted. i'm not usually this tired. it's bad. and what's worse is that everyone else is still on holidays and out having fun and stuff. i feel like a sack of shit.

christmas - wrap up

christmas is all over. it was a very busy and hectic time, but no more so than past years. j's parents and sister lived with us for a week and a half, but that part wasn't too stressful since they all lived in the house before (much longer than i've been there) so they generally take care of themselves. we spent much time at j's grandparent's house and that was stressful. i feel like i haven't been home much in the past two weeks. yesterday we were finally able to spend some time at home. i cleaned and did laundry. you should have seen all the dirty clothes next to j's side of the bed.

last night was my baseball team's christmas party. i got a one year subscription to in style magazine and i'm pretty excited about that. andi got the present i brought, a girls night out change jar. she seemed to really like it.

i'm gearing up for my french oral test which is this afternoon. i still have to figure out exactly where i'm going and how to get there. work today has been pretty slow, but that was expected since more than half of the people are still on holidays. thank goodness for that. i need more sleep if i'm going to function properly.

oh right, christmas presents. i scored a bunch of movies (cinderella, march of the penguins, pocahontas (i don't know how to spell that one) and madagascar, which i still haven't seen), some super nice work out clothes from lu lu lemon, $50 gift card for chapters, a nice sweater, two frying pans and so much more. plus we were given some money so we're looking into getting a home theatre receiver. i don't know much about it, but j does so he'll be taking care of it. i'll just play the pretty position (where you stand around, don't do anything but look pretty). i'm good at that.

christmas number one

christmas number one was this past weekend since my brother was in town. he's left and gone to florida for the rest of the holidays. we had a good time. two big family dinners and present opening fun. i got my socks, so my feet are once again warm. i've been waiting a whole year for them.

this week feels really weird. j's family is in town and so we are spending a lot of time at his grandparents' place. i'm not complaining. i love the home cooked (and not cooke by me) meals and the company, but it's making me feel strange. i feel like i haven't spent enough time at home or with the cats and things are slipping.

so, maybe tonight i'll sneak out early and just spend some time at home, by myself (well with the kitties of course) and just relax. i think i need it and so does my lip.

burnt out

i don't quite know what to say. i'm feeling a little burnt out with work and being ripped apart mentally. i went to an interview yesterday morning that was really a resume workshop in disguise. and as much as i appreciate the help (lots of constructive criticisms, and plain re-write-the-whole-portion-s) i was not fully mentally prepared to have my life essentially ripped apart and the pieces picked through. it's one thing to sign up for something like that and know it's coming. it's quite another to show up hoping to talk about how i can make more money and still be happy only to be thrown to the bears.

anyways.

we hit a milestone last night. our savings have hit a big round number (in the green too!) and it feels so great. it's nice to know that you can do it. and it's encouraging for the months to come.

this weekend is going to be a busy one. all of our family is pilling into town tomorrow and sunday and we have family christmas parties to attend and houses to clean.

REAL oil crisis

monday i got home from work and thought it was pretty chilly. it was a pretty cold day. turns out we did finally run out of oil. so j gets home and breaks the news (i'm too stupid to realize this on my own) so we get on the phone and go out to pick up some little heaters and a lasagna (use the oven, heat the kitchen). with the three space heaters we had we were very comfortable. i stayed home tuesday morning until the oil guy came so i got to sleep in and eat an actual breakfast - unheard of on a weekday because i suck. so they put in some oil, enough for two or three weeks and that was that.

so i won something today. at work, there was this thing where you went to one of nrcan's sites and found information and sent it in. i did and they came and gave me a water bottle today. it's green and i love it! i love winning. getting free things is the best.

more later. more on jobs and family and stuff.

the day that flew by

i'm happy to tell you that today, much to my pleasure, has flown by and it's almost time to go home. it's sunny out, a little cold, but not windy like usual, i slept enough and feel rested, and work was good, and yeah. good times.

my body is a little sore from my body flow (=pilates, yoga and taichi) class yesterday. i went to the gym to work out like usual but saw people with their yoga mats. so i went and did the class. i didn't have the right kind of clothes on (you need stretchy clothes, and preferably ones that cover you when you stretch) but i went and apparently, the instructor was some super yoga guy because about 8 people stayed after the class to get his autograph. who knew?

after the class we went to j's grandparent's place for our usual sunday dinner. it was great. and i'm not just saying that because his grandparents read my blog. they don't. i wouldn't like that.

couple of shout-outs (i never use that word): happy birthday to frank. yay, you're 24! i hope you had fun after the sluts on saturday night (they said slOts, i heard slUts...). congratulations to matt and julie who just bought a house! i think i'm just as excited as you are (sorry...).

j and i went looking at model homes both saturday and sunday. we went both days because on saturday we found a place we really liked. and i mean really liked. and there was another builder we didn't get to see. so sunday we went and looked at the other model homes, decided we didn't like any of them, and went back to see the one we did like. i'm getting excited now, but i really should be getting more excited about having my own car cause that will happen first. i'm not joking. j's going to be getting a mazda 3 of his own so that will leave our little gray car to me, in nice weather at least. otherwise it's still our family car. move over volvo-station-wagons-with-wood-paneling! we still have to think of names for our cars. we will have twins (a boy and a girl car if you please) and can't think of good names. i want chad and kim, after the characters on 24, but now that i'm in love with michael scoffield from prison break, maybe i'll call mine "fish" (that's michael's nickname in the show). fish. i like that.

christmas season and the oil crisis in our basement

let me tell you about the oil crisis. we are switching from oil to natural gas and so have not received any oil since last winter. we are using up whatever is left in the tank before they come and take it away. so when j gets home yesterday to find the house a chilly 14 degrees, he promptly turns on the oven and opens the over door. to heat the house, you know. when i get home i promptly put on joggers and close all the blinds and curtains. so j's calling the oil company, who will only come after hours (=emergency) if they can give us 500 litres of oil + delivery charge = ~ $600. so, no, thank you. so that gets j thinking. turns out the batteries in the thermostat were dying and the fuse had blown. how both happen together i do not know. i do know, however, that i really appreciate the little oil we have left and that i was toasty in bed last night.

christmas season is upon us - my office christmas party starts in under an hour. this is both good and bad. good because i like most of the people i work with, bad because i don't like all of the people i work with. i think it will be okay. plus i have s&b to help me bow out early. and they're just down the street! no bussing home for me today, not that i mind the bus so much, except they have been sucking pretty huge in the past couple of weeks.

party time!

commitments

so i left work early today. i was all done my work and was tired of playing minesweeper (though i did get a new high score.. guess! i play expert). it was so nice to be on the mostly empty bus which flew past empty stops and got me home remarkably fast AND THE SUN WAS STILL OUT! it would probably be worth working earlier hours, you know, starting at 7 or 7:30 just so i would see more daylight and the bus ride would be shorter and less crowded. hmm, food for though.

so the title of this post is "commitments" and as i was typing it i realized that some announcements are entitled commitments and it's all the couples who got engaged. well that is not what this is about! i have made some commitments and thought i'd share. first is my french test. i got home from work and checked my gmail and there was a message saying i have my oral french test december 22nd. now i just have to prepare. i think i need level c for the job this is for, so i'm only talking french at work from now on. that's the first commitment.

the second is that i'm going to run the 10K race this may in the ottawa race weekend. i ran the 5K this year (remember?). it was my first race (besides cross country in little kids school) and it was exhilirating. honestly. so next spring i'm upping the ante to 10K. i know i can do it and i have all winter to train for it. i've been pushing myself pretty hard at the gym. not hurting myself or anything stupid, but just pushing my body harder than i normally would. and other than the million and five cookies i've eaten since sunday night i think i'm in pretty good shape.

i guess my only other news is that last sunday i finally got some books to read and i plowed through the first one. it was so nice to be reading again. and then this past sunday i got some more books, some very very good ones and i've already finished one. body double by tess gerritsen was just awesome. i read the sinner and the apprentice by her not too long ago and she keeps the same characters so if you decide to read her books, read them in order. it's worth it. and now i'm reading a dean koontz book. he never disappoints. have you ever thought of making a list of all the books you've ever read? what would you ever do with such a list? how about all the movies you've ever seen.

m, i'm going to pull out my 101 things to do in 1001 days one of these days and she how things are going. my guess - not so well considering my goals were so lofty. like 100 ft ceilings instead of the regular 8.

shut up, susan*

i'm at work and so is susan. susan is one of my office mates. as a temp, i get the wonderful pleasure of working in "the swamp". the swamp is a shared office space with no windows and four work spaces crammed in. the coop is pleasant and the new guy is nice. susan is a train wreck! this woman drives me insane. she works two days a week, and not even the regular eight hours a day. she spends all her time here talking on the phone. personal calls. i don't think she actually works. i think they don't know what to give her since she only works part time, but she also is not reliably here the two days a week she's supposed to be. did i mention she has a very annoying voice? it grates on my nerves. thank god for kevin (he's my iPod mini).

last night was my first annual christmas cookie exchange and i'm happy to say that it was a huge success. we had 16 people and 16+ different types of cookies. we played games and tested all the cookies and voted on our favourites. they were prizes and it seemed like everyone was having a good time. i almost made myself sick with the amount of sugar i consumed.

the rest of the weekend was devoted to cleaning the house, and going to the gym, seeing my parents and j's mom and grandparents and hanging out with friends. typical weekend activities.

this week will be.. well, i don't know what it will be. i thought it was a week later than it is. i don't really have anything until the weekend after next. maybe i'll focus on cleaning out sarah's room so when she's here she can actually sleep in her bed and get to it without having to climb over all my shit. sounds like a plan, superman.

*names have been changed

the sun is shining!

last night i had a very productive night. i cleaned, i wrapped presents, i made dinner (tuna helper) and jell-o (which i didn't eat so i have that to look forward to tonight), i went to the gym and pushed myself super hard, and i read lots of my book.

it's so nice to have a good book to read. i never really understood the people who don't read for pleasure (by choice, not because they have so much reading to do for classes and really don't have time to read for pleasure). you know? my brother was like that growing up. he hated reading and as a result he can't spell very well. i'm convinced the two are related.

speaking of my brother, he will be home for christmas two weekends from now so we're having our family christmas a week early. fine by me. like i said, my christmas shopping is mostly done.

i was looking at christmas albums last night on amazon. i think i might be coming around on christmas. i've always not liked the idea that people all of a sudden get nice around this time of year. the whole thing was very superficial for me for the longest time, but i'm finding that i'm surrounding myself more and more with people i like and who mean a lot to me. i guess i'm growing up and learning that i don't have to be around people i don't like so the holidays are more about being around family and friends, though the whole thing is still very commercial and that's another aspect i don't like but find myself buying all sorts of presents anyways. you can only give a scarf to someone so many times....

biggest loser

oooh, i just lost my whole post. my fingers went too fast and somehow deleted all the text. urgh. i don't know if i can be as cunning the second time around.

the biggest loser finale was last night. two hours of tv goodness. it was a great finale. what sucks though is that prison break ended monday night, in that the season isn't over but the show is going on hiatus until may. this is to fit in 24, but if you think about it, every week prison break was on and the hour before was the previous week's episode. that means 24 could have easily fit. i don't get it. i just hope that 24 is a killer season so that i'll forget all about prison break until may. we'll see.

tv is starting to get to me. i watch too much of it. and i lie there when i could be doing other things. granted, my christmas shopping is mostly done and the house is mostly clean, but i just feel like are other things i should be doing. for example, i would really like to go to the gym 5-6 times a week instead of 3. maybe i'm aiming too high. i'll have to think of some realistic goals for myself. it could be that me going to the gym every second day is as good as it gets. who knows.

i don't know if it's the weather or what but i'm crabby lately. and i'd like to think that i'm usually more cheerful than i feel lately. but there are positives in my life. i have the cookie exchange to look forward to and however many christmas parties get thrown at me. so i'm going to go to the gym and push myself extra hard.

oh the post

this past week at work was a long one, but only because it was my first five-day week in a while. i was spoiled and now i'm back to normal. there is so much shit that goes on. i can't believe an office actually functions that this. i have one month left and then it's sionara.. or they extend me and i crawl sheepishly back. at least it's christmas season and that means office parties with spiked punch, at least that's what the magazines i read lead me to believe. i've never been to an office party like they speak of in magazines. have you?

today is the day that we go and look at open houses. there are five in riverside south all open at the same time today. that makes things easier. and i think i'll go out and get some christmas shopping done before j gets out of bed.

i just found out my brother will be home for a weekend for christmas (we weren't expecting him at all so this is great news). he's going to florida with some friends. i'm going to be happy not to be going anywhere this christmas. last year we spent the first half of the break in bc with j's parents and sister and got back to a madhouse. it made the holidays feel short somehow.

we started our "knit for kids" knitting tuesday at S&B. i bought some wool and we get together and make scarves and mitts and tukes (let's be honest, i will only be making scarves because that's all i can make) to give to the salvation army. ideally i will be refunded the cost of the wool when we give everything back. it's a nice little program and i'm glad we're doing it this year.

snap back to reality, oh there goes gravity
oh there goes rabbit, he choked
he's so mad, but he won't give up that
easy, no

harry potter and the too-short movie

so the harry potter movie was good, but honestly, so much is left out. i completely understand why this must be but it's a shame. so the whole story is that matt and julie and me and jon all went out to dinner and a movie. wow, strange now that i think about it. that was the typical double date. i used to DREAD double dates. well, dates in general. dating is awful awful and maybe that's why i was never "dating" long. i regress.. so we trekked out to kanata and ate at jack astor's. we had awesome bread, also known as garlic bread, but if you've ever had the garlic bread there you will agree that, because of all the grease and buttery goodness, it is a heart attack in a pan. BUT it's good and that's why we called it awesome bread. make sense? good.

so we ate dinner. it was good. then we went to amc and stood in line for not-as-long-as-i-thought, but for a while. we even had to go to a later show. so we finally got in and finally got our free popcorn, which i ate, and saw the movie. we got home late and that wasn't a problem for me, but jon worked overtime both days this weekend and was pretty tired.

so the rest of my weekend was me sleeping in, and then doing laundry and other house-y stuff. friday night we went out to greenfields in barrhaven after trying another pub that happened to be bumping with no places to sit. in barrhaven. who'da thought. anyways, we spent lots of money but j made lots of money so it all works out.

knitting!

i'm getting excited for tonight because i get to knit tonight. knitting with two little cats isn't that doable, so i get away once a week with my s&b girls, usually at m's house. we sit around, knit and drink tea, and inevitably laugh so much my stomach hurts.

i want to knit a bear/bunny(/monkey?) but i'm a little scared to move away from my usual scarves. scarves are safe. i'm working on a black scarf. it will go well with the black tuke i got last night.

j and i went out and spent money like we were money-pants-ses. he needed a new bike because he'll be riding all winter (or as long as possible before his appendages start to fall off) and we found a nice one in the close mall and it was on sale and they took another $50 off just for us. and it's blue! he couldn't be happier. we also got a bunch of our christmas shopping done (sad in a way, good in another way) and got me bus tickets so i can get to work and home again. that reminds me, i have to work out whether i should invest in a bus pass for december. my guess would be yes, not that it matters to you.

yesterday, i got so much work done, so today i'm kinda taking it easy. i deserve it. maybe. i've been looking at knitting websites and reading blogs and other stuff that i don't normally do at work. too bad i can't check my email though. gmail wasn't blocked at my last contract. they're smarter here obviously.

we still have to figure out our plans for the weekend. this week has flown by so the weekend isn't full at all. i'll get to work on that.

trip sum-up

thursday morning we left for beautiful thunder bay. we got there only a little late and were greeted at the the airport by j's sister. the following four days were madness. we did so many things. we went out to the campus bar (it's huge!) and to a basketball game. i met up with an old friend from queen's. we did the family thing - i got to meet all but one of j's mom's side. we saw the things that thunder bay has to offer (mills, and water falls, and great lakes).

it was a really nice vacation. relaxing. now all that's left to do is catch up with the laundry, do some groceries and get back to the gym. i ate enough candy to last me the rest of the year!

i will have pictures up soon on my picture site. i will send you an email (put a note in the comments section if you'd like to be sent the link so i don't forget you!)

contract = work = money = ka-CHING!

i got official word today that my contract is extended until december 30th, 2005. i am officially all set for christmas. money money money!

i'm getting super excited about our trip. i don't know when i'll get to pack though because we're going to the gym tonight and then i'm going out with my sitc girls (sharks in the city. we're cool) for pho and then poker or a movie night or something. we're calling it "phoker". fun, eh?

i'm also excited because i found out yesterday that i have a shitload of pc points and i can get free prints with them. this is perfect because now that i'm scrapbooking i'm spending a lot of money on pictures (never used to get them developed). but now i can do it for free!

today is my friday and i have to say that this week has flown by. it sure helps when it's only three days long. i managed to bring a lunch two of three days so that's good. now i just have to get through the next hour and i'm all good.

more contract?

tomorrow i find out if my contract is being extended and for how long. this is a good day.

friday night we waited at home for the rogers guy to come and install our new phone line. we never got it installed though because we couldn't have the alarm put on standby without the password. oops! so after that cuffufle (is that even a word?) we went to the gym and then were picked up and whisked away (granny-style - sorry dick!) to kanata to see jarhead. i thought it was a good movie, but i would much rather have seen it by myself or with some friends so that some loser guy in front of us hadn't laughed through the touching-ending-part. because we're lame we went home and went to bed after the movie. to our defense, the movie didn't start until 10:30pm.

saturday i slept way in, after dropping j off at work. he was asked to do overtime this weekend kind of last minute but said okay so spent yesterday and today in a warehouse. i spent the time either sleeping or reading in bed or doing house-y stuff like laundry and dishes. after dinner at swiss chalet (i had a really good new salad with spinach and strawberries and almonds) we hung out for a bit and then went to grace o'malleys with j's car buddies. i have to admit, i wasn't there the whole time. i dropped him off and walked around shoppers for a while and then went to the bank. but i did end up there for a little while and it wasn't that bad.

today wasn't much of a day. i wasn't feeling great so i stayed in bed late and then went out to get a birthday present (lots of rubik's cubes going around this year). we drove out to riverside south for an open home and were somewhat impressed but somewhat not so impressed. the backyard was about the size of our bathroom. but we found out yesterday that we aren't being kicked out of here for a year and a half (could have been 6 months) so we have plenty of time to look at loads of open houses and save up tons of money. after that we had j's dad's birthday dinner at grammas and the usually sunday night shopping. now it's basically turn-in-for-the-night time.

now that you know all about my life, tell me something about you. anything.

you make me want to lu lu!

it's friday. finally. you know it's going to be a long week when tuesday feels like friday. it can only go downhill from there. but work wasn't so bad this week. i'm really getting the hang of things and fewer things have been going wrong. and i found out, in a backwards way, that i'm getting extended. but because it wasn't a direct way i have no idea how long this extension is. i'm keeping my fingers crossed for this job lasting until christmas.

i got the results of my french test back. they were just what i expected so i'm pleased. i have no idea if i will get a job as a result of those tests though. but at least i've now been tested and i can put that out there when i apply for any government job from now on.

more later.

why? tell me why

this weekend was an eventful one. friday night turned into my stitch & bitch night so it was extra late. we had a good time laughing at b's hotdog halloween costume. then last night was a pumpkin carving party at m's. m's pumpkin turned out to be a very deformed popeye, but we got some marvelous pictures from the whole affair. today was the nicest day since daylight savings time gave us an extra hour of sleep. i was tired most of the day, but still got lots done.

tomorrow is halloween and chocolate binge-ing day plus prison break is on.

oh! i almost forgot! we booked a trip for the november long weekend. my boss held out on okaying my time off so our tickets were more expensive than expected (and if we had booked two days earlier) but we're going and i'm super excited! a trip!

french testing

i had my french-as-a-second-language testing this afternoon. it's for a biology position at health canada for which i applied over a year ago. why they're testing me (aka spending money on me) before they interview me is beyond me. me me me!

funny story. i get home today and go get changed. in my room i notice the little nest where the cats have obviously been asleep for a long time and then i notice two of our pillows are missing. this isn't the first time. so i went for a little look around the house. found one in the kitchen under a chair and the other mostly under another bed. our cats are weird! why they (we think it's just rolo) feel the need to take our pillows for walks we don't know. so i made a documentary. i'm sure it will make you laugh if you ever see it.

i got another scrapbook! julie - i know you don't read this but maybe matt will tell you. i got it because the one i have is full! i have three months of 2004 completed and i'm in july for 2005. i'm playing catch-up and will be for a long long time, but i am getting it done. also (matt tell julie) i think we should have a scrapbooking night where we invite friends that want to scrapbook and let them use our stuff and show them all the tools. what do you think?

pictures

i'm in the process of uploading pictures to a rogers yahoo thingy and eventually will invite you by email to see my pictures. it takes a while, but this way you can see my pictures and download/print them if you would like. i think it's a win-win situation.

julie's wedding was yesterday and i have to say that i had a GREAT time. all the sharks wore something teal or at least blue. it felt like we were part of an exclusive club and we were definitely the life of the party.. eventhough mr. dj was just terrible. julie looked beautiful and the food was great and the speeches were mostly funny. i think everyone had a good time. i'm still pumped from it. definitely the best wedding, other than my own, that i've been to. congratulations julie and rob!

first whole week of work

so here's a little update/bitch-fest from my first week of work:

i was hired to do mostly admin work - fine. that's what i was hired to do and that is what i will do. do i have much experience? do i have any? hardly. is this my fault? how could it be? during my phone interview i was very very upfront about my past experience and my skills. i never said i knew how to do things i couldn't do.

i'm being shared between two groups and this means that i was trained on two different things by two different people. two women. these two women HATE each other and are constantly bad-mouthing each other to me and expecting me to side with them! wow, i can't believe this shit actually happens, but it does, and i'm caught right in the middle.

my office space is lovingly referred to as "the swamp". why? i do no know. no one will tell me.

and that's my rant. i have another 3 weeks (and maybe more!) for more shit to come and me and for me to fling it your way via this blog so head's up!

the tv

the biggest loser was great tonight and i'm really looking forward to the return of prison break. monday.

so i started work and i got my first paper cut today. so far i like what i'm doing. it's government so there's the same shit as everywhere else but this shit is half the distance from my house than the last pile.

that's all.

i got new shampoo!

i got new shampoo and conditioner so i'm back to two things for my hair instead of the 2-in-1s that i normally use. this new stuff is citrus-y. so far me likey.

today i got done everything i wanted to plus more. i went to m's place and we went to my new building to scout things out. turns out there was a science fun fest on and we walked around and got a free canvas bag, some neat magnets, and free lunch. plus i got to see where everything is and not be so frenzied tomorrow morning.

after that, i went to kanata to see my parents. they seemed happy i stopped by. the biggest news from my mom was that my best friend from kindergarden's dad just walked out on her mom, for another woman! a woman he runs with at lunch. oh man, i can't believe it! there are so many reasons that i don't want to get into on here, but wow. that's all i can say.

from there i went to stittsville hoping to catch the carleton team playing. apparently that was not to be. i did see ottawa u beat queen's though and talked to some people, but left soon after i got there cause it was so damn cold.

i went home for a little bit and then to gramma's for dinner. food was excellent as usual and now i'm just sitting here in my quiet little house as everyone else sleeps. all in all i would have to say that was a good weekend.

comments

what can i say to make you feel like you must comment? what has to be in this post? do you need a burning question? a funny tale? an embarassing story? what? WHAT? do i need to comment on our political world? on what the celebs are wearing/dating/eating/not eating?

well i won't! this blog is for me. it's for me to get it all out. and if you don't like that then just keep reading annonymously. that's just fine. fine with me.







did i have you going? do you really think i'm a bitch?

i would like more people to comment but then i realize that i read other peoples blogs and never comment or only sometimes do so i don't hate you for not commenting.

and now the rest of the post. since i start work monday i have some things to do before then. i have to get a bus pass (and if i can't get one on the cheap, i will just get some tickets). i have to get groceries because i can no longer do that during the week during the day (what better time to do groceries? there is none).

i'm lucky that m will be taking me to my new building sometime tomorrow to show me where to go. i don't want to be figuring it out at 8am monday morning. yuck. i just have to say this again - i will be cutting a whole hour off my commute every day! i am SO excited about this.

now let's back it up a little bit. thursday night was our first S&B of the new season (when it's cold it's easier to knit). it was great to see m's new apartment and to see the girls again. only two of us were knitting though and one of those girls was me! i'm back into it. yes, that's right. for the first time since my lumi died i picked up the needles and actually DID something. plus i need a scarf that will match my new coat ("new blue" is to replace "big blue", my old football jacket that someone made me throw away. new blue is leaking little white feathers all over the car. oops!). soon enough i will be knitting for the salvation army. you buy the wool and make the scarf/mitts/tuke and bring it back and they reimburse you for the wool. sounds like a good plan to me!

yesterday was lunch with alan. we had been meaning to get together for months and months, but finally did and i'm very happy about it. we went to a little place called the table. it's a vegetarian restaurant. SO good. i had my first real dose of tofu and i have to say that i was impressed. now i just have to learn to cook it myself. then j and i went to the gym and i worked myself extra hard. why? maybe it's because i don't have hockey this winter and i'm feeling a little strange about that. anyways, then we went to gracies west to meet up with the mazda3 boys. then to the market to meet up with some friends for matt's birthday. we went to a coffee shop/dessert place called oh so good and it was oh, so good. that was it for our night. j is working all weekend overtime, which means big bucks for us. whoowhooo!

new job!

how many times have i used that title for a post? anyways. i start my new job monday at nrcan. it's a short-term admin position, but with the possibility of extensions. i'm excited. it's something new and different and it's close to home. i can't stress this enough. i will not have to travel an hour each way taking three different busses. i will be on the road less than an hour a day total and only on one bus. what could be better? sweet!

and i just heard about a language test i have for another position, but this one is indeterminant, or term at least, with the government. biology something. i'm a biology something!

can you tell i'm feeling better? me too.

hit me baby one more time

will britney spears music ever get old? i'm kidding.

i had a phone interview just now. i think it went well and i should hear back soon. it's for a cr-04 position (admin assistant type) with nrcan. the pros are 1) it's a job and money, and 2) it's only one bus to get there instead of 3.

had anyone seen the RU the Girl show? it's tlc trying to find a new "L". as much as i don't like reality tv, except the biggest loser, i kind of like it. there's so much attitude.

i spent a lot of time this weekend scrapbooking. it feels good to get back into it. i have all the pictures so i just have to put them all together in albums. this weekend was also a lot of eating and seeing family and friends. but it didn't feel much like thanksgiving. maybe it's because we're both done school so there was no travelling back home, or thinking about studying for exams (and not studying of course). weird. i did eat a lot of turkey though. and our second annual friends potluck thanksgiving dinner was a success. a bit shrieky at times due to someone's new girlfriend, but it went well.

the last thing to mention is that i slept in until 1pm today. i am officially unemployed and loving it!

who was the best batman?

the turkey's in the oven. we're having our second annual friends potluck thanksgiving dinner. we have a limited number of chairs so don't fret if you didn't get an invite. and besides, we aren't very good at cooking turkey yet, so you're better off waiting a couple of years.

now that i'm no longer working i don't really care that it's a long weekend for the time off, but i'm glad it is the long weekend because it means jon will be home with me monday, and it means my brother is in town from toronto. i'm sure there are more good things that come this weekend as well, but those are the only two i can think of on the spot.

this week was great weather, but i was stuck inside sick as a dog. i have to thank jess for passing along the disease. she infected most of us at the wedding show. somehow jon came out unscathed. it's been awful. but i'm definitely on the mend.

i just got back a bunch of pictures and have some doubles. i have a huge backlog for scrapbooking and the time's right now that i'm unemployed and it's getting cooler outside. what could be better? i was toying with the idea of selling scrapbooking stuff as a job. then i laughed at myself and moved on. i'll wait for something else to come along. i have some leads that i can follow now that i don't feel like death.

big news

i'm not pregnant i'm unemployed! my contract was terminated and i will be out of work starting monday. i'll write more later, but i can tell you that i'm happy about this.

money

why is money the root of all evil? i'm totally convinced it is. absolutely.

so yesterday i spent the whole day by myself. jon went to somewhere with his car friends and left me alllll alone. i did mundane things like laundry and vacuuming. i'm so fun. i also watched the first four seasons of prison break. now that's a good show.

but now i feel good because i don't have those things to do. nice and relaxing sunday. so i went to the gym and went for a walk and had a nap. like i said - relaxing.

friday night was my year-end baseball party. it was a good time, but i wasn't feeling great so i didn't go out to the bar.

i've got nothing else. there are some plans in the works and if you're important enough you'll hear about them soon.

the shizzit

i didn't give you enough information last post. i want to go back to school. partly as an avoidance strategy, partly as a survival strategy (avoiding work, surviving by not shooting myself in the head due to crappy work). i have been toying with lots of ideas over the past year and a half since i graduated.

back two summers ago i was thinking about going to school to be an occupational therapist. i don't know where that idea went or why, but it's been gone for a while. lately i've wanted to go to college for the veterinary technician program. it's a 2-year full-time program. i emailed my vet to ask her about the people she employs and she said that if i'm serious about it i should attend st- lawrence college in kingston. i looked into that program and it's a three-year full-time program. haven't i spent enough time in kingston? 4 years of undergrad apart from j might have been enough for me.

then finally, i'm looking into going to carleton or ottawa for my masters in biology. this is probably the smartest idea for many reasons, including that it's related to my undergrad so i wouldn't be "wasting" those four years and i could be in ottawa. downsides: my undergrad marks suck and i don't have any research background.

the answer? well i'm not sure yet. i'm going to meet with the chair of the biology department at carleton in two weeks and as flat out about my marks and my experience. i don't want to pay the $75 to apply if there's no way in the world i will be accepted.

so that's my dilemma. i basically do not want to work anymore so school is my way out. is that so bad?

the wash shrinks everything

i'm patting myself on the back for a job well done this weekend. the surprise party for jon and julie and john went well. somehow it remained a surprise for jon and julie even though matt and i had a million and one things to do day of and so many things to organize and so many ways things could have gone wrong. wow. i don't think i'm ever doing that again. and, as an added bonus, i don't think i will ever cheat because sneaking around is definitely nerve racking.

yesterday we went to stittsville for a family get together. it was good times. finally got to talk to cheryl. she recently broke up with her boyfriend and moved out of the appartment they shared and is now on her own. i'm going to bring her out with my social friends soon.

should i go back to school?

happy birthday to you and happy UNbirthday to me

it's everyone's birthdays this week. not me though. no sirree, i'm a january baby.

yes, my favourite reality tv show is the biggest loser. i know i've talked about it before, but i just want to say that i really like it. i like how it teaches people how to eat properly and about exercise and makes life changes instead of showing that they can gather the most amount of flags while hanging 5 kilometers over water (though i have to admit i also like fear factor).

jon's parents bought him a remote-control helichopper for his birthday. oh my. the hours of flying fun! i'm being sarcastic. it's funny though. he has to keep it in one of the spare bedrooms because the cats like to chew on it.

i got this email today forwarded from a friend:

"Subject: ANNUAL BOOTY SHAK HOMECOMING KEGGER

Hey kids!

Last time ever! Next year we're moving on so come celebrate our final
homecoming at the Shak! The party will be friday night at 514 Johnson
(between Johnson and Frontenac), $10 for beer - bring your friends and
family!

Hope to see you there!!!"

that's where i used to live! so i forwarded it to my old housemates. i think they're actually going to go. i would think about it seriously if i didn't already have plans that night. will i be going to kingston at all? i do not know.

reality tv

my favourite reality tv show is back. guess what it is!

back with a brand new rap

i'm sorry for the delay. time flies.

my brother was in town this weekend so i did much family stuff. plus it's my mom's birthday today and my grandparents are back in ottawa so there was lots going on. but let's backtrack a little.

wednesday night was the last car night at place d'orleans for the year. so we went and we walked around and saw all the oldies-but-goodies. then i went inside and shopped while jon talked car stuff for hours. i found a rubik's cube for my mom (did you know it's the most popular puzzle game EVER? and it's been around for 25 years - longer than i have) and some tank tops for me.

thursday was just a regular day.. at least i can't think of anything exciting. friday was fat tuesdays with the ball girls. it was a lot of fun. fat tuesdays is in the market and has three piano guys (they rotate, this night it was mostly one, but the second came on for a bit). we met at andi's first and i finally got to meet her old roommate meghan. meghan's a crazy bitch, in a good way. so we were out and lots of the girls came which was good to see. it was freezing cold so i had a few beer to elevate my body temperature. i love how slamming back two beers gets me so hammered. oh, cheap drunk. this night was also the night my brother got to town.

saturday was a run around and do errands kinda day. we got a new licence plate sticker and saw vik for a bit.. even got a short little cruise in his mini. then it was off to kanata. jon didn't stay long because HE WENT RACING!!! but i stayed and had chicken burgers and went out with my brother, his gf and some friends. we went to honest lawyer. i was dd so just sat back and laughed at them drinking shots and beer like it was their job. i got home close to 4am, reeking of beer and tired.

but jon went racing. that's a bigger story. he went, with some other mazda 3 boys, to the luskville dragway and for $20 you get to go in and you get to race. he raced and won some and lost more, but had a great time and it was all he could talk about all sunday. apparently the tires now need rotating and we need gas about a week earlier than usual, but it was all worth it. too bad he's itching for his new car though, more than before. and i still don't have a solid job. (this is turning into a long post.. keep reading!)

sunday was another errands day and then off to kanata for mom's birthday and scott's send-off. mom was so pleased with her rubik's cube. we got some nice pictures of everybody before everyone scattered.

okay, only another day to cover. yesterday was monday and usually mondays suck. well this one did too, really. except i drove to work - sshhhhh, don't tell my car insurance guy. i had a job interview in hull for an indeterminant position with environment canada. it was a learning process: i wanted to know what a government competition was all about so i wasn't too concerned that i answered all their questions poorly and have no hopes in hell of getting the position. do i really want a government job anyways? not so much. i want to go back to school. will you finance that?

i went to the gym last night and got the village (you get free 2-day rentals from goodlife). it was a good movie. more of a thinker than i thought it was. and now we're here. i'm sitting at work, waiting for a meeting and putting off the work i actually have to do, which is to make some name tags for a workshop later this week. ooh the fun.

what do i know?

do you ever feel like you don't know a thing? like there's so much out there and the things you know are of so little consequence? do you ever feel small?

not me. i'm an egotistical maniac.

green day! green day!

what can i say? green day was awesome, but i was expecting awesome. they always get three people to come on stage to play hte drums, bass, and guitar, and this time it actually worked and they sounded great. in montreal last time we saw them, they never fuond a drummer who could cut it. and i'm not saying i could do better, because i don't play any of those instruments, but it's early green day material, and from what i've heard, anyone could play it. it's amazing how green day went from songs made entirely of three power cords, to the band they are now.

the rest of the weekend was fun too. lots went down. saturday was my baseball coach's 25th anniversary party. complete with meat roasting on the spit, to hypnotist action. it was a very fun time, though i was completely exhausted by the end of it.

sunday i played in a charity 3-pitch tournament with tina and john out in the sticks. it was a lot of fun. we won the tournament and i didn't break my knee. i gave my medal to john's sister and her husband, who just had their first baby. a huge baby boy. after the tournament we showered and then rushed up to shannon's cottage. there were lots of crazy people there and lots of beer and other consumables (i might have made that word up). we made it home pretty late and i slept like a log until 11:30 sunday.

sunday was a nothing day really, well until the concert. we were going to get groceries and do other shopping, but nothing was open so we didn't. honestly, nothing much happened. it was the kind of day i needed to recover from the weekend.

now it's the beginning of a short work week and i couldn't be happier about that. i started off the week by sleeping in a little too long and getting here late. we're supposed to be having a meeting as i type, but no one is there yet, so i'm holding out. only three more months.

goldfish

breaking news: i have an interview on september 12th. it's a government job and that's about all i know. i'm waiting on an email to find out more. am i happy? moderately so.

my parents anniversary went well i think. j and i headed over there two days ago and brought with us three framed pictures, one from both j's and my brother's grad and one from when my uncle was in town. it seemed like they were both happy... but that might have been because my grandparents, who are back in ottawa, had just moved out again. who knows.

barrymore's last night turned into us standing in line and finally ditching the line and heading to a different bar for food. i heard it was fun inside but very very hot. i guess that's what happens when you cram a million dancing teens into a small space. kingston people - barrymore's is ottawa's aj's, but without the plane (which i didn't notice for years).

this weekend is jammed packed with fun activities and i'm sure i'll have lots to tell tuesday. until then.

soggy doggy

it's my parent's anniversary today and all they get to do to celebrate is make dinner for my grandparents. my grandparents are back from holland. if you're keeping track they were there approxximately 3 weeks. a short enough time that their house in manotick has not yet sold and they will be moving back in there shortly. crazy people.

it's really wet outside. all the windows on the bus this morning were fogged up and it was hard to tell where we were. i'm glad i can finally read on the bus. it makes the time go by much faster.

this week seems to be crawling by. i will be glad when the weekend gets here because it's a long weekend with many a party to go to and a sweet concert to end it off.

i'm getting the itch to buy new clothes. why does this always happen? i can't be happy with the clothes i have. is everyone like this?

ahhhhhhhh

that's a calm ahhhhh..... i feel nice after a relaxing day and nice weekend. a quick recap: thursday night i went out to barrymore's with lots of people. some girls from the ball team were there, some guys from my last enviro canada (ec) contract, and my current co-op at ec. it was 90s night and i wasn't too sure about the whole thing, but it turned out to be a great night - good music, lots of funny events. one of the girls, who was really really drunk kept falling.. and then there was the guy who asked me to "go steady" and kept calling me bunny.

friday night was fat tuesdays, again with some girls from the ball team. they had two guys playing the piano and taking requests. they were great. we left after their first set though and met up with a really drunk tina at the whiskey bar. we didn't get home until after 3am and i was drunk for the first time in over a year. it was fun, but i'm glad that i wasn't super drunk, cause i was very iffy with my tummy.

yesterday was the first day in a long time that i got up before jon and made us a huge breakfast of bacon and eggs and hasbrowns. mmmmmmm. so i slept in, but not too late, and managed to have a nap. jon napped too, but a bit later on. then we went and saw the movie 40 year-old virgin. there were tons and tons of "boner" jokes that were well received by the guys and most of the audience. it was the first time in a while that i had seen matt and julie. after that, some of the guys met us at our place, but i didn't last long and went to bed not long after we got home.

today was the biggest sleep-in day in a long time. i cleaned a whole bunch this afternoon and made us a huge lunch. we were going to look at some open houses, but didn't get moving soon enough and only managed to stop in with jon's grandparents (we scored pizza dinner though) and then went to barrhaven to drop off some hockey papers. had to do that because earlier this week we folded the team. so i'm not too sure what i'll be doing when it comes to hockey. maybe this will be my year off and i'll have the time to explore other things, like martial arts or indoor volleyball.

okay, so that's what's been happening. i guess the other news is that due to the identity theft, we've invested in a shredder and i recommend you do as well.

all done!

get your own life!

"get your own life" now has special meaning to us. fraud and identity theft is out there and it could happen to you. thankfully most people/companies are very understanding and helpful.

this week has been a good week. i've been keeping myself busy without baseball. a certain teammate can't get enough of me and keeps getting on my busses. but really, i've watched tv and vacuumed and went to see my parents and had friends over. it's nice to have the time for things like that. the one thing, okay, the two things, that i haven't yet done that i have to do are groceries and going to the gym. groceries are getting desperate. we've eaten out for most meals this week. sad but true.

my agent came by this morning and brought me timbits. it was really nice of her. my job has changed a little bit as we move into the second three-month part of my contract. it's weird to think that i've been here for almost three months already, and that i have another three lined up. i'll be taking a two week vacation at the end of september though, to meet up with some friends in western canada, either somewhere in bc or in yellowknife. either way i'm sure it will be fun.

crazy happenings round this town

baseball is done. bittersweet. we went to the provincials and placed 4th. that means we did realy well but not well enough to get a medal. one of our pitchers got best pitcher of the tournament though. it was double knockout format (so you lose two games and you're out). we lost our first game 5-4. it was back and forth all game. then we mercied the next team and beat the third convincingly. then we lost 4-3 sunday morning. so the two teams we lost to placed top 3. i thought i played well. i slid for the first (and second and third and fourth) time of the season. i was one mucky puppy all weekend. it was great, but now it's recovery time and back to work.

work is changing a little. my contract was extended and the woman i was replacing will be back in two weeks and the guy i will be replacing in the second part of my contract is leaving tomorrow. all these people going to europe. but it means work for me.

i have to jet. i'll post more later.

vegan tales (tails?)

i LOVE this weather. it's cool enough to want to be wearing clothes outside and not dying on the bus and being able to sleep without sticking to the sheets. what more could you ask for? the rest of summer? maybe.

this week is flying by which is nice nice nice. i have tomorrow off which also helps. so what's new? baseball is so close to being done. we had our last playoff game monday night. we won. that puts us in third place and gives us a $60 gift certificate. plus we get some money from kelsey's, but when i'm not sure. tomorrow we're off to st. catherine's for the provincials. i have no idea how they'll go, but anything could happen with double-knockout.

we went out to lunch today for the co-op's last day (supposed to be tomorrow, changed so i could go). i had my first actual veggie burger and i was impressed. i think there was some sort of spice that i didn't notice at the time but is now killing my mouth, but i'm not going to let that tarnish my experience. no siree.

holy crap birthdays

it seems that birthday season is upon us. does anyone else have a birthday end-of-august-early-to-mid-september that i should know about? i wonder if statscan has any idea of what the most popular birthday is. can they even know that? like only in canada or something.

so i'm back in ottawa. back back back. back in black. we had a great time in toronto and managed to catch up on sleep even though our days and nights were generally packed full. i have tons and tons of pictures, but only the lucky few of you who see me in person will get to see them. we got to see all the animals at the toronto zoo, we got to see my brother and his new place, we got to see the yorkdale mall (holy hUGE!), we got to see heather and dan (heather was the photographer at our wedding) and most importantly we got to see all the family. we had a huge and very very nice catered dinner on saturday night. lots of good food and alcohol and toasts with tears and laughing.

it's humbling to think that jon's grandparents have been married for more than twice the number of years i've been alive, and that jon and i have only KNOWN each other for one-tenth as long as they've been married. how do they do it? i think the answer may lie in the time apart. time apart makes the heart grow fonder, or so i've been told. maybe separate vacations?

we talked a lot about money and about houses and about cars and about being out of debt... all these things i want. more short-term goals include finishing my ball season (without any more injuries would be a bonus) and getting back into the habit of going to the gym and running. but this week will not be my week to get all that started. i have much more important things to do.

baseball oh no

we had our second playoff game last night. we lost. we lost good. this means we play early wednesday night and we can zoom up to the cottage afterwards.

i am so glad this is a short week because i still haven't recovered from last week and the weekend. i can't believe how exhausted i am. and when i'm tired i get cranky. not a good combination.

congratulations go out to jon and sarah who just bought a house. you're all grown up now, and ready to move out of your parent's basement. here's to you.

clevah gurrrrrlll

holy crap i've been busy this past week. i spent more time at the ball diamond than anywhere else, well not work but you get the idea. and i haven't yet recovered so i'm a little apathetic.

i get to leave work early today because we're dropping the saturn off so i can get shipped to thunder bay for jon's sister. byebye saturn! and after that i have my second playoff game. it should be a good one.

we had our ball party saturday night. it started off with a game - girls vs. boys. we lost. not too badly, but we lost. then it was bbq and a bonfire. some of the girls got real drunk. i think everyone had a good time, though the next day was a little rough.

i'm sure there's more. there always is. i will depart with this: happy birthday, richard. we'll get you some cake yet!

baseball yes!

we had our first playoff game last night and it was my first game back since my little injury week there. i had two weeks off total. we won in extra innings and it was a great game. my team really pulled it together and played awesome. it felt so nice to play again. i've been watching lots of ball at the nationals and it really inspired me, knowing that i used to play at that level and seeing all the good plays and solid hits. i had some solid plays on d but really nothing at bat. i have to work on that evidently.

as a result of spending so much time at the ball diamond though i'm exhausted and work is dragging on and on. i had some stuff dumped on me and i have to get it done. at least i have a deadline. without one i don't work half as well.

i'm already half way through the 6th harry potter book (the one just out). why are they so addicting? i wonder if i would feel the same if i was reading them instead of listening to them. i think i would get through them faster.. well maybe. there's the tradeoff that i can't read in a moving vehicle so i do spend two hours a day listening and not doing anything else. it definitely makes the bus rides more pleasant. i'm not sure exactly what i'm going to do when i'm done though. i'll have to find more books on tape.

baseball craze

i wish i was a year younger and then i could be participating in the junior nationals, hosted by my old team. the nationals are going on all this week in manotick. i have a feeling i will be spending a lot of my free time out there. i will either be watching or volunteering, though the man organizing the volunteers hasn't gotten back to me yet. his loss.

upcoming kars games: tonight @ 6pm, tomorrow at 9am and 6pm.

this weekend was so great. friday i left work a little early and we were off to the cottage in good time. it was nice. we went to bed early, slept lots, gots lots of sun and just relaxed most of the day. mmmmmm.

then it was home time and that meant laundry and lots of it. not so fun. but i was able to get to bed early again so monday morning, while most people are at home sleeping/relaxing i'm at work. and the worst part about having a holiday in ontario and not in quebec is that the busses are on the sunday schedule meaning there was no way i was getting to work quickly so i drove. i love getting to work in only 30 minutes, plus there was hardly any traffic, even on this side of the river. the only downside: i have to go move my car in a couple of minutes, and every two hours. yuck.

okay, i do have some work to do today. i slacked off last week on some pretty big things that are coming up. oops!

more new quickly: we will soon be a one-car family, but not too long after we will be a two-mazda3-car family. his and hers. how cute!

at the end of the day

much has happened recently. the league i play in has decided to suspend the girl who hit me for a game and she is not allowed to pitch against us when we face them in the playoffs. this is great news. i was out of ideas of how to pursue this when i thought the league wasn't going to punish her at all. i even went to the police station to talk to somebody about possibly laying assault charges, but they wouldn't even hear my case saying that there's no way i could convince a judge it wasn't just part of the game because "foul balls happen all the time". this guy obviously doesn't understand baseball. but i'm relieved that there was resolution.

last night we had our first s&b since m left. b actually finished her blanket and it took her 3.5 years less than it took me to do mine. hers is smaller but much more complicated. i guess that's really still no excuse on my part. bah!

work has been long this week. i'm not sure what it is but i'm really tired this week. and i have a feeling that next week probably won't be much better because we're going up to the cottage this weekend and that means sunday will be a mad rush to get things done before monday, which is a civic holiday in ontario but not quebec so i get to work while everyone is enjoying a long weekend. well suckers, i'll have my long weekend while you toil away in your cubicle, but not for another two weeks.

i just finished the 5th harry potter book yesterday and to my delight the 6th has already been made into an audiobook so i got my hands on it and started it today. i'm addicted. it's official.

oh the pain, take two

i wish i didn't have this to tell you: last night at my ball game, which i sat out because my arm is still bothering me i got hit by a foul ball on the leg. i can still walk and everything i just have a nice shiny new bruise to add to my collection. erg.

i also wish i could tell you all sorts of stories from my weekend but i really didn't do anything. that's kinda what i needed, but definitely not good material for the blog.

we're trying to figure out some plans for a long weekend in toronto for family stuff. i have no idea what's happening and just hope that the bosses let me not come into work. so far so good. maybe i'll ask today so i can confirm everything. mayyybeeeee.

oh the pain

last night i was intentionally hit by a pitch. it's a long story, but i'm not calling it intentional without reason. two innings before the girl threatened to hit me and then she did. right on the elbow. wow it hurt. i spent 4 hours in the hospital, 3 of those were just waiting and an hour was actually talking to the doctors and getting x-rayed and talking to the doctors again.

good thing is that nothing's broken and i'm not too too sore.

i am writing a letter though. i don't think that girl should be allowed to play anymore, but i doubt she'll get anything that tough. but still, i will write a letter to her coach and the umps and the league officials.

this weekend is a weekend off so we might head up to the cottage. we haven't been yet this summer and i'm looking forward to really doing nothing, even if we don't make it out there and just sit around here all weekend. that would be fine too.

how come?

i'm really liking the crossword puzzles in dose and metro. they aren't so .. i don't know how to say this.. they aren't so hard because the clues draw more on popular culture that i was alive for. does that make sense? i like the dose crossword especially because a lot of the clues fit in backwards. how fun is that?

it's a really nice day today. i went across the street during my lunch break and found that it wasn't deathly hot and muggy out there and the sky is so blue. it makes me love the summer that i'm usually complaining about. plus i'm wearing a skirt. maybe i'll get some crazy staring at me on the bus again.

i slept much better and longer last night than i have in a while so i'm not completely useless today. i was thinking of a way of revolutionizing the work day. you get paid the same but only work for 6 hours. employees would have to be monitored very closely, but if you actually worked for 6 hours a day i'm sure a lot more would get done. and i'm talking about solid working, not what i'm doing now. i think we're so comfortable with things taking so long to do that we take longer to do them. why not just suck it up and get it done? i don't like the pace of things around here. well i don't like a lot of things around here. yesterday i was talking to a guy who started with me back in september and kept getting extended and is here until at least december. i feel sorry for him. i wouldn't be sane doing that for this long. blah!

i had a night off last night. all i had to do was drive out to pick up the cats from the vet. rolo went in for his scope. we'll find out by the end of the week the results. we took sandy in so that they wouldn't hate each other when he got home but apparently as soon as rolo came to after surgery they had to be separated. i even had to take them home in two separate carriers, but i think that they recovered (ie are not still hissing at each other) much sooner than if she didn't go too.

anyways, time for work. workaworka. ball game tonight but nothing else.

i've got your heart in my back pocket

the title is from a mandy moore song. i can't say that i know any of her music (this song just came up on iceberg radio), but i did see her in saved! and liked her. m. culkin redeemed himself in my opinion as well in that movie.

okay baseball. this tournament we were in was complete shit. it was the most unorganized piece of crap tournament with no rules written down so they kept changing and we used WHITE balls! that hasn't happened in a decade (i'm making myself sound old). but really, only boys use white balls. basically we went, we weren't totally happy campers, we were rained on, we were delayed, and we didn't win any money. we got home last night almost two hours later than expected, hungry and cranky. not fun. i ate some food, watched some tv and passed out. i was exhausted.

friday night we went to a mazda 3 car party. everyone met at our place and then rolled in together (i'm not joking). i got to talk to a girl i went to highschool with so that was nice. i hadn't seen her in at least 4 years. she's dating one of the mazda 3 guys.

i'm sure i have more to say but i'm really useless right now i'm so exhausted.

road rash and sk8er boi

for me it's been a while. this week has flown by, thankfully, i'm getting tired. i don't get enough sleep all week and by the end i just want to crash. maybe i will after work. mmm sleep.

my biggest piece of news is that i went to the avril lavigne concert last night. it was a last minute decision and i'm not even sure if there was an opening act - it said so on the ticket, but we got there about 45 minutes after the "start" of the show and there were tons of people outside and running around (and when i say people i mean little girls). if you don't like her don't tell me and don't bother reading this post. i like her and i thought she was really good live. she belted out all her songs and ran around on stage. it was nice to finally see her. but come to think of it i don't think we really needed to buy tickets. getting in wasn't a big deal and no one checked our tickets at all. that would have saved some money for sure.

this weekend is a ball tournament that was so poorly organized and we just found out that another team dropped out so i have no idea when we're playing. all i know is that it's in quebec and i have to drive sunday. i don't get to sleep in tomorrow and i might just be a little crabby.

when you work high

i work on the 19th floor and there's lots you can see from this high up. over the weekend they painted the lines in the parking lot in the zellers mall across the street. the new yellow lines are blinding from up here. i also have a good view of the casino and lots of gatineau. it's nice except for the fog/smog these days.

our party was a success. i feel kinda bad because i stayed in the kitchen mostly and didn't get to see some of the people who stayed in the living room. but i had a good time and none of my stories got out.. it's dangerous having vik around.

yesterday was our actual anniversary so we slept in and i skipped practice and we went to kanata to see my parents, went out for dinner at the outback, went and saw jon's grandparents who are just back from victoria and rented a movie. i can finally say that i've seen hitch. i've been waiting a long time for it and it didn't disappoint.

this week is supposed to be a hot one so i wore a skirt today. it's a little chilly in the office, but on and off since the airconditioner seems wonky. time for food.

my first time

this post is not about sex. i went to my first indian party last night with real people from india who made real indian food. i'm happy to report that i tried almost all the food and liked it. it wasn't too spicy. maybe i'm maturing. maybe not. this party was at vik's house and it was for a couple who were just married last weekend. most of the people were indian and were all dressed up, lots of flowing fabric and sparkles. i was wearing jeans and a button-up shirt.

i heard some bad news this morning. they voted and softball will not be in the 2012 olympics. i think this is a shame. the sport was really starting to take off, not only in the us but all over the world. the olympics were giving the sport good coverage and a good name. i don't think many people knew what softball actually was until they started seeing it on tv. i think most people assume it's under hand pitching a lot like slow pitch when in reality, due to the distance (the pitching mound is only 43 feet from the plate) the pitches come in at the equivalent of 100mph in baseball. the women playing at the olympic level are true athletes and some even pioneers for the sport. 1996-2008 is not a long enough run for the sport at the olympic level. i think it's a shame.

onto other things. i finished reading the third harry potter book. i couldn't put it down yesterday and i just started the 4th and am already in chapter 4. they really hold the attention.

my mom had eye surgery, something similar to lasik but not lasik. they took one of her eyes and made it be the distance eye and the other will be in charge of near seeing. i don't know a lot about the technology but it sounds amazing that our brains can adapt to something like that, though after seeing the crazy experiments they did in the 60s and 70s in my first year psych class i guess anything's possible.

whooo whooooooot!

whew my stomach is growling! (in you belly!) i've been pretty busy at work this week, doing random things here and there. nothing that i was really hired to do, but that doesn't seem to matter.

baseball - i don't want to talk about it. i had the worst game of the season two nights ago and i don't know what's going to happen tonight. i guess i'll tell you later.

party: this saturday night, in celebration of my one yearaversary (i've shortened the saying). it's a byob with the possibility of door prizes. i'm hoping enough people can come and that everyone has fun. it's really just an excuse to have people over and to take full advantage of my weekends now that i'm working. oh weekends.

i've gone to the gym three times in the past 4 or 5 days (okay, maybe even 6 days). i had a step class last night with a crazy asian guy. this guy can move! i've had him once before but that was for a bodyflow class which is a mixture of tai chi, yoga and pilates. a much different atmosphere than step. and i've decided that he's crazy and guys shouldn't be able to move like that. the other times i went to the gym i ran a bit and biked a bit and did abs and arms. i want to get my stamina up on the bike so i can do the rpm (spinning) class. jon loves the spinning class. i can't do it (well i did once but it hurt my knees, and the second time i only lasted about 15 minutes - ouch!) so i'm going to work my way up to a whole hour. why was biking so much easier when i was young? what happened? oh, right, beer happened.

turn your back away

canada day. came and went. good times, sexy times were had by all, except maybe one guy who was shooting the worst game possible. there were definitely some highlights from the night, and poor matt, who wasn't there, had to hear all about them multiple times as more and more people showed up last night. here's the condensed story: vik had a bbq at his house. there were some sorority girls there, most notably the one with entirely not enough clothing on (very very low-cut tank top and very very short skirt). some good memories: vik pushing arlen into sarah with everyone hitting the ground except vik and dave trying to open a beer some way and managing to punch himself in the chin enough to make himself bleed. after that we went to janderson's house. memories from there: all the drunked naked boys with no shame, arlen's good game, and vlatko dialing seven-three-seven-eleven-nineteen for pizza pizza.

that brings us to yesterday. yesterday i slept in and went to the gym and lay outside in the backyard and finished my french book. i was going to scrapbook but scrapped that (pun intended) when i ran out of time. we went to janderson's for dinner (holy spicy!) and poker (poker? i didn't even know her!). it was my first for-real poker with money, and only my second time playing. needless to say i was out first, but jon won it all so we didn't lose our $20, but made $20. that's the royal we obviously. i have much to learn about playing poker.

now today. i have lots of things i want to do and i probably won't get to all of them, but i'm not worried. worrying's for suckers.

there can only be one

we won our ball game last night. i don't know what the score was but we have runs (multiple runs) and they had none. so there! that team was above us in the standings too. good stuff.

i got the third, fourth and fifth harry potter books to listen to on kevin (my iPod mini for those of you not in the know.. or who just can't remember my crazy names for everything) and i started the prisoner of azkaban this morning. the first two chapters were already so much better than the movie, which we rented (for free from goodlife) a while ago.

speaking of goodlife, jon had rented the village and forgotten to bring it back so i dropped it off on my way to kelsey's last night. it was 2 and a half hours late but they waved the $5 late fee. sweet deal. though i do owe 50 cents on a library book that i forgot to renew. at least it's under a dollar. but i'm keeping my french up using the library so i really can't complain.

yesterday, remember? i had all that work to do. well i scrambled around all morning trying to get everything done and i fired off the last of my summary reports and then was reminded that i had a meeting to attend. half way through the meeting i had to make a bolt for the bathroom cause i thought i was going to throw up. thankfully i didn't but i felt like ass for the rest of the day. i stuck it out and got the rest of my work done and was feeling fine in time for my game.

after the game a lot of us went to kelsey's. now, i really appreciate them sponsoring us, but i have to say that the service there was just awful. the food was good though. i recommend the club house wrap, but make sure your waitress isn't a bimbo and brings you a fork for your salad. good thing our table of 7 got 2 forks.

i read dose for the first time two days ago. even though all the stories are short and to the point, i still end up skipping some of them. i just don't care. that's the extent of my attention and that's really sad.

i will leave you with this: go online and find a game of soduko. i made it easy so just click on the link. holy it's addictive.

party!

last night was nice. we had one of our last S&B's. we're down to three members and probably will keep getting together but our rock, m, is leaving on her trip tomorrow. so we went out for DQ and i have to say that my slushie (arctic rush or whatever it was called) was so sweet that it was kinda sick. apparently i'm not a kid anymore. but the night was fun. i got home much much later than i was expecting, but it was worth it.

in other news, i got new sliding shorts. these are padded spandex shorts that we wear under our ball shorts. my old pair had a really annoying tag that i ripped out years ago and they finally unraveled enough so that my bum was hanging out. we all had a good laugh about that and now i have a new pair. the nice thing about getting new sliding shorts is that they're really white. i'll look sharp!

i got the word yesterday: my grandparents are moving back to holland. those two are moving machines! i was kinda hoping they would just give their house in manotick to my parents but i doubt that's going to happen. so they'll pack up and ship everything back over the ocean in a couple of weeks and come back in a couple of months. thinking back, i think i called june for their departure month, but i'm not positive. my friends seem to remember this though. so maybe i was right.

i need more shirts for work. the bad thing about bussing is that you have to sit there and sweat with tons of people around but then you have to get up and walk home. gross. i need shirts that mask the sweat. today i'm wearing my blue long-sleeved running shirt. every day is casual friday!

okay, i really have a ton of work to do. apparently when i get dumped on i get dumped on good. i was given tons of stuff yesterday, all for today. can i do it? i'll have to stop posting and get to it!

i'm glad

i'm glad i didn't post yesterday from work. i was a little pissed off about the bussing situation. but now that i'm calm (it's a new day afterall and i got 3 air conditioned busses in my last 5!) i won't be going on a rant at all.

instead i will tell you about my ball game last night. we were playing a really shitty team that we've managed to lose to once before and we were up 4-0 and managed to tie 5-5. our coach was pretty mad.. and frustrated.. and whatever else. fair. i'm not mad or frustrated though. i mean, we could have lost, AGAIN, to that stupid team. and besides, i batted .750 and made no errors. i can't complain.

and we found out last night that we are going into a tournament in mid-july. that's lots of warning. i would rather know about tournaments well in advance. maybe that's just me (uh oh is this a rant starting?).

so we're in the process of trying to figure out this family thing in august but i'm pretty busy at work and don't want to ask my boss about time off. i'm only a little contractor you know. i'm going to have to suck it up.

and last but not least, i'm proud to introduce sylvia and her blog. hopefully she keeps writing in english so that i can follow. either that or i'll have to learn dutch (not a bad thing).

i'm off to see the wizard....

the weekend

friday night i went out and saw some friends that i hadn't seen in a long time, even though they are usually my go-to friends. we went downtown and walked a lot and ate food. i just now finished my pizza.

saturday morning i was up (and i realized why i can't sleep in - the sun comes in the window and on the bed exactly where i lie so it's way too hot) and i went to the gym for a step class. they changed the schedule for the group classes and now don't have the yoga/pilates/tai chi class after the step class so boo to that. but it felt really nice to get back at it. the backs of my legs are a little sore. so after that and after a couple more hours we went off to my family cottage party. that was a lot of fun and i actually found myself in the lake at one point. i got to try out my new bikinis. i definitely like them.

today was a sleeping day strange enough. i was up super early again and stayed up for a while. i had a shower and lay outside in the backyard reading for a while but then i came inside and slept for another 4 hours. i couldn't believe it. so i'm awake now and i've eaten and am about ready for ball practice.

i have to say that i think i made the best out of my first real weekend (ie. i'm working during the week and can't do whatever i want then).

working and running

i decided that i'm going to go another race at the end of the summer. i'm looking to do a 10K and i'm looking into doing a prep clinic at the running room, but it has already started so we'll see.

wow, i've been sneezing up a storm today because i forgot to take my reactine this morning. BIG mistake. damn allergies.

so i'm just about done my first week of work. having this friday and next friday off is a nice way to start off a new contract. plus we have a bbq this afternoon and all of my work is done so i can go and feel good about things.

i don't know what this weekend holds for me. but i'm hoping to scrapbook friday night, definitely going to a family cottage party this weekend, and sunday is baseball practice. i would really like to fill that up more though. now that weekends are precious. oh weekends.

and now that i'm being paid i can go and spend more money.. that's how it works, right? it does actually work that way for the most part. the more money you have the more money you spend. and along the same lines: the more people you know the more people you know who die. a somber thought for a friday [technically thursday] afternoon.

chow!

workin girl

i'm posting from work. i think this might become a trend since i'm on the computer all the time here and not so much from home anymore. i'm getting to know all the acronyms (and believe me, there are many) and the people. i even bussed in today. kevin is back in my hands (my mini iPod). i didn't need him much when i was home all the time. and jon just got one of his own for graduation from his parents. we were joking that they got him a barbeque because that's what his sister got for her grad so i want to call his iPod barbeque. he doesn't seem to like this idea. i'm vetoeing (is there an 'e' in that word?) him. kevin and barbeque.

so baseball. we actually won last night. it was a fun game. i don't think i've ever laughed that much at a game. one of the other outfielders went to tell us that one of their players usually pulls the ball but she said 'porks' instead. you should have heard us laughing over that. it was nice to have fun and to win. one of the girls took a ball in the mouth though. no broken teeth but her lip is hugely swollen. she's still cute though. there's also some drama going on with the team and a guy who was kinda coaching.

hmm, i don't really have much else to say. i want to get back into going to the gym and now that i don't have french two nights a week i think i can handle getting there at least those days. i guess we will see.

baseball blues

i'm home from frankford now and i'm sorry to report that we lost 4/5 games, but am happy to report that i played well. lots of good times were had.

i am very very glad to be home. i start work tomorrow for real. they sorted out my contract and i officially start a 13-week contract tomorrow. i think it's going to be a long day. at least i have no more french classes for the rest of the summer and only one baseball game this week. not too shabby!

canada day plans anyone?

explaining

okay, so i'm done day two of work. i've been doing lots and lots of reading and i know more what the group i'm in does but i'm still not sure what i'll be doing. i do know that it's a 6-month contract and i will be doing two separate jobs, one in the first 3 months and the other in the last three months. i'm with the same agency as before and am getting the same pay as before so i'm happy. i still have to figure out transportation, either parking or bus stuff.

i'm still sick, but think i'm getting better. i've been taking lots of drugs (tylenol daytime/nighttime works wonders).

jon's grad was tuesday. it was fun. i stood up and made a fool of myself.. really could have used my brother and his yelling skills. that should be the last grad we have to go to in a long time. good thing, they're pretty boring.

jon's parents both left yesterday so we're back to normal in the house. i think the cats miss me though now that i'm working. they were spoiled and have always had at least one of us home all the time. but making money is more important.

new job and new cold

so i had my interview and was actually called back and offered the position before i left the building. i was talking. so i start tomorrow. this is rather quick turnaround. i'm sick so i'm really not sure how my body's going to handle going to work for three days and then to belleville for a tournament. i guess we'll see.

i'll report more later. now it's bedtime.

the in-laws

the in-laws are coming to town tomorrow so some major cleaning must be done today. i'm all decked out for the job. i got home from practice (lots of sweating cause it's so damn muggy out) and threw on my running shoes and here i am. but i won't bore you with anymore cleaning details.

my interview yesterday got postponed until monday. something came up. shit happens. i'm not worried though. it'll happen. i might not get the position but i will get a job eventually. 1-800-subway? do you have a job for me?

one of the worst things about getting up early in the morning is how hungry i am and how i can't go back to sleep until i've showered and eaten. but both are being delayed due to cleaning. why can't i be martha stewart.. in the she-probably-has-a-very-clean-house kinda way. i wouldn't want whatever she has stuck up her ass up mine. no way. my ass is free from foreign objects, especially butter beans (see the monkey for that one!).

i have a question for all you commenters: what is your take on air conditioning? do you like it, need it, despise it...? i want to know.

how do you sell a knife with no knife?

so my fishy job interview. i have a link to the post so you can see for yourself what i so foolishly got myself into. it's a company that does marketing for other companies. doesn't sound terrible. but what i realized during the interview was that it was like the pyramid scheme that is vector marketing (aka knife selling the summer after first year university) so you get paid commission and the higher up guys get a huge cut from every customer you bring on for the company's customer. still with me?

AND they asked me back for a second interview.
"how does tomorrow sound?"
me: yeah, i could do tomorrow.
"how about 9:15am - 6pm?" [with a straight face]
me: what? [pause] i can't stay until 6pm. i have class.
"that's okay. we only say 6pm to cover the whole day. there's testing at the end that we can squeeze in before, say, 5:15?"
me: what?

and on and on it went. i agreed to come in. on the way home i realized that this day was basically a non-paid training for a shit job that i already decided i didn't want. so i called and said i couldn't make it.

and then i hear back from a contact about an actual job opening with environment canada and i call the woman i was told to contact and i have an interview tomorrow morning. hopefully it works out and i won't feel bad anymore about not making money. i'm even becoming a crappy housewife and flooding the basement. who does that? this girl.

crazy? i think so

so i have an interview in the morning. i applied for a position posted on monster.ca and i went to find out more about the company and can't really. they don't have a website and it seems like there are tons and tons of postings, all the same, from tons and tons of different companies. this is getting fishy. so i really don't know what to expect but i'm guessing it won't be a good job for me.

i also got a call yesterday from this guy who wants to sell me life insurance. i keep telling him no because i don't have a job. so he asks if i've ever considered being a financial planner. i definitely have not i tell him. so he gives my name to some manager guy who calls me and asks me to fill out a questionnaire online. i do it and he calls me saying i wouldn't be happy as a financial planner. i could have told you that, buddy. but don't listen to me. listen to your questionnaire. right.

oh, one more thing about jobs, i was looking on the jobs.gc.ca website and saw a position posted from my old group (where i spent 5 months). so i applied but then realized that they probably wrote the competition for the guy who's still there (8 months and counting!). so i emailed him to ask him if the position was for him. i'm sure he'll give me a straight answer. this is a no-bullshit kind of guy.

i'm glad french is almost done. we have one more class this week and then only one next week since the last class is always dinner out. then i'm taking a break. i've been doing this for the past siz months. it's time for a break. i have my books though, so i'll be working on my french at home. when the timing's right.

i'm done.

peterborough done

we went to peterborough and yelled and screamed at my brother's grad. it was outside (wish we'd known that beforehand) and really really hot and sunny. we stayed in a little motel where jon was afraid to have his feet touch the ground. but it was cheap.

on the way home we went to the reptile zoo. something i've been wanting to do for the last 4 years. it did not disappoint. there were tons of snakes and lizards and some turtles, tortoises and even an alligator and a crocodile! it was worth the stop. we took pictures.

i went scrapbooking friday night with julie. i started working on my travel book and am finding it harder than the chronological book. and i found out about scrapbooking stuff on ebay. bad news. i bid on a bunch of things.

today we went and looked at a house. it was only a block or two from here and is the same model only sideways. it was really nice though, and most likely out of our price-range, but i was really curious to see what the sideways model looked like. and now we have an idea of what this place will go for. but thinking about houses makes me a little down, since houses equal mortgages equals money equals i don't have a job. so the push is on. i have until the end of the summer to find a job and start making money. i'm going to try and get myself in somewhere on a volunteer basis so i can get a position in september. i think that's the way to go.

peterborough!

we're heading out to peterborough this afternoon for my brother's grad tomorrow morning. must remember to put the garbage out before we leave.

i'm trying to figure out rogers/yahoo pictures and as soon as i do i'll have online albums for you all to see. i'll keep you posted.

speaking of exciting...

i got my name in the paper! click here and do a ctrl F for my name. looks like i came in the first quarter of all the women and the first half of my group (women 20-24). it's weird how they place you according to the gun time (your absolute time - the time it took for you to get to the start line and then to the finish line) and not the time you took to get from start to finish. so those 5 minutes i spent waiting to get to the starting line cost me about seven hundred and fifty places. weird.

today was a weird day because jon was home sick. it was nice talking to a human instead of cats all day.

does today feel like friday to you too?

volunteering and recovering

i volunteered at the marathon yesterday morning. i was picked up well before 6am and we made our way downtown. luckily our station was not so much downtown and didn't take long to find. we were just before the 38th KM and worked the gatorade stands so we were giving out cups of gatorade to runners for hours and hours. the best part was when the runners thanked us for being there. i would have to say that the worst part was my not being able to fall asleep saturday night and waking up early and being on my feet for such a long time. would i do it again? likely. who wouldn't when they give you a sexy hat and bright orange t-shirt?

i slept like a baby last night. for a long time too. and today i've been busy doing laundry and other such things. i'm so exciting.

the big race

well the big race has come and gone and i'm happy to report that i finished and i finished much faster than i thought i would. my time was just under 30 minutes (so there everyone who laughed at me!). and i realized why i was taking so long to do the run at the gym. the treadmills are in miles so i was running 5 miles (= 8K) in 60 minutes. now that i know i don't think my training will be the same.




some things i noticed: there were tons of people. so many that i had to walk at some parts. i like the whole timing chip part so you're racing against the clock, not the people around you.. well sorta.

there was a company on site who was engraving medals (everyone who finished got one) and i had mine engraved and i'm glad i did. now i can say that i've run a 5K race and i can start looking forward to more, and maybe longer races.

tomorrow i'm volunteering at the marathon. my ride will be here well before 6am and we're to have 3000 cups of gatorade poured by 8am. it's going to be a long morning, but very rewarding as we're the last of the water stations, at 35K (of 42.2K) so i'm really excited.

tomorrow will also consist of a nap possibly, a family barbeque, and baseball practice unless it pours. i'll tell you more about stuff later. and not so much about running next post, promise.

ahhh!

race in an hour and a half! ahhh!

i'm getting nervous

i'm getting nervous for my race saturday. i'm not really sure why since i'm just doing this for myself and will be happy if i finish, which i expect to do. i don't care about my time or place, but i want to cross the starting line and the finish line (the last cross finishes the horsing line.. or something like that).

i'm not sure why i'm nervous though because i used to run cross country in high school, granted that was before i started drinking beer and before my metabolism slowed down and before a lot of other crap, and the longest i ever ran then was just over 4K. but the good thing is that i don't drink beer anymore and i've lost all the extra weight that came when i went away to school. i guess i'm just saying that i've come a long way and i just want to finish. i already have my heart set on doing a 10K later on this summer.

the other thing that's neat, and forgive me for going on and on about running stuff, is there's a club of people who run marathons. well, i'm sure there are lots of clubs like this, but the one i want to mention is one where it's a goal of the club to have all the members run a marathon on each of the 7 continents. or the run-a-marathon-in-all-the-states clubs. wouldn't that be neat?

my long-term goal, and i'm going to tell you because i know that i'm going to reach it someday, is to run a half-marathon and eventually a full marathon. and i'm going to do it for me and no one else.

weird blogger

blogger was being weird yesterday and said that it couldn't find my blog on its server. oh well.

so who knew that 24 this week was 2 hours long and that it started at 8?? they didn't advertise that much and we were left not watching it since we missed the first hour and now we have to watch them both tomorrow night. so no one tell me anything that happens.

i've been on a scrapbooking kick. i scrapbooked three times by myself. i guess now that i have everything i need there's nothing stopping me. i also have all the pictures i want from this year printed and i started backwards in 2004 and already in april so not many more until i have all those too. i'm thinking i'm going to make a separate book for our trips to bc since we took so many pictures.

my race is this saturday. i think before i run another race i'm going to read up on how to train for races because i don't feel like i've done enough, but i don't know what else to do. so i'm kinda screwed. but there's another race on canada day that i'm hoping to do.

oh! our green day tickets came in the mail today! we're going to see green day! and yesterday i heard that kelly clarkson is coming to town in august. this is my second hint. *hint hint*.

we had one of our last S&Bs last night. it was fun. i found a good pattern for a yoga mat bag, but still can't figure out what they want me to do. stupid patterns. but i will knit something from a pattern so i have to learn! next week we're having S&B here and we're ordering pizza and watching a movie. knitting or not.

it's finally nice out today, but i slept in like it was my job and want to go to the gym and have other running around to do so i won't be outside tanning like i would like. i still have three months left of summer and no work so i'm sure i can get a good tan this year.