Window of opportunity

Thanks to my friend Todd I am online in the Peg and it's so nice. I really do feel a bit out of sorts not being able to go on my computer whenever I want. It's just habit, like breathing & coffee in the morning. Anyways, it's not painfully cold here, only -10ish, so I'm not freezing to death. It's almost nice with the snow and everything. Very Christmasy. I got to go to the Toronto Zoo when I was in Hamilton. It was AWESOME - except Charles, the male silverback Gorilla, was a little shy and I couldn't get a really good picture of him. I'm hoping my other pictures turned out okay - there were also Orangutans, Gibbons, a Komodo dragon...and I saw the Keeper who I used to see on Zoo Diaries. We also went on a mini wine tour around Niagara (Ravine, Peller Estates, Chateau des Charmes) and I went to see Harry Potter again. I cried even more this time! I went to see Body World (across from the MTS Centre) with Cousin Mikie yesterday. I was not as grossed out as I thought I would be. The way everything is displayed created a much needed distance from all the blood & guts stuff. The most interesting thing was that they were able to display all the blood vessels - there was one whole body of blood vessels as well as an arm, a foot, and some other bits. I just don't get how they were able to get it all out without damaging it. Amazing. Gross, but amazing.

I guess that's it for now. Except that I started cleaning out my Mom's cupboards and found a can of tomatoes so old that it actually ballooned out. Yuck!

Merry Christmas!

Outside

I got my hair cut today and then went or a walk at Crescent Beach, through all the trails there. It was crisp but it wasn't raining and only started to drizzle as we were on our way back to the car. As usual my bird photos were not successful but there are a few decent ones to share! Some day I will be able to take amazing photos of birds. Some day...

Festiveness

So, the bathroom (minus the tub), the living room & kitchen are now clean! Three cheers for me & over a week off. Not AMAZING progress but progress nonetheless. I got a bit side tracked with Recordshop Tycoon & Papa's Burgeria. I kicked a$$ at the Recordshop one - but unfortunately there is not much to add on to so I am played out. The Burgeria one was a bit harder. I did okay but the customers always had to wait way too long or I overcooked the burgers or something. Anyways, I finally decorated for Christmas - last year I didn't at all - and I really like the festiveness of it all. And, of course the Bumble always makes me happy.

By the way Hal keeps eating this plant. It doesn't matter where I put it. But, I guess it's sort of a type of pruning so hopefully it won't die.

Entertainment...

So, I just watched The Road, with Viggo Mortensen. Wow. I had a hard time watching several scenes, I almost turned away but I managed to force myself to keep going. I highly recommend this movie if you can handle it. It's a post-apocalyptic film, but not a Mad Max kind of idealistic kind of thing. It was horrible & gritty & emotional. The characters were dealing with a complete collapse of society, no food, nothing and just trying to survive. I also watched Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World - much less emotional but if you like comics, superheroes, and Indie bands which I do than it's good entertainment. I rented Pretty Bird as well, with Billy Crudup & Paul Giamatti but I'll probably watch that tomorrow.

On Friday I read approximately 500 pages of a 596 page book, the rest was read before I went to the Zoo Saturday morning. It's called In The Woods by Tana French. It's about solving a murder & the main character had also experienced some tragedy when he was a kid & lost his 2 best friends in the same place that the murder happened. It was obviously very absorbing & I couldn't put it down. I have to say that the ending left me very unsatisfied but I respect a story that does not tie up neatly in the end so I still recommend it. I bought more books yesterday, way more than I should have but the latest Wheel of Time novel is out and I bought a couple travel books on Africa to help jump start my travel plans. Work was such a nightmare this past year that I have still not really done any actual planning yet. Luckily I also came across this site thanks to Twitter about volunteer options in Namibia & Botswana, etc. so that was interesting as well. I'm looking at about $1500 U.S. for 2 weeks which is way more than I was hoping for but I should be able to pull it off if I can get a really good deal on my flight & not loose it and quit my job during the summer...I may need to get medicated though to stick it out. It's for the greater good, or at least my greater good.

Things I am doing while I am NOT AT WORK!!!

I went to the Aquarium yesterday and saw some interesting creatures:

A huge Sea Turtle

A toad.

I forget what these were called but apparently they are a delicacy in Mexico & are endangered.

Some fishes.

A snake.

Pygmy Marmoset.

Jellyfish.

Then I ran out of batteries... But it was a great day. I also shopped up a storm, the best purchase by far was the 'side-sleeper' pillow from Ikea. It's the SH&#!!!

Yay!!!

So I am officially on holidays!!!! Yippee, etc! And what have I been doing for the last several hours to celebrate? Well, mucking about on Twitter & playing Jungle Hunt. And, guess what! I finally beat the damn game!!! It's been WEEKS of playing and finally I survived the 50 rounds (on easy mind you). I am ecstatic. I am free of work, I am free of Jungle Hunt. And, tomorrow is a brand new day! Yay!

Crack of dawn

Hal has a habit of knocking crap over for fun or to get my attention. So when he wants me to get up in the morning he will go on my side table and try to knock the picture or ornaments or lamp over... I can't help but wake up which reinforces his behaviour. He also knocks things off the bathroom counter, like my hair products, deodorant, toothpaste, and so on. He does this randomly but he makes a point of being overly noisy when he wants me to turn on the tap for him. It's funny but it also really gets on my nerves. Particularly when I want to sleep in, such as this morning. He's such a frickin' brat. How do you discipline a cat? He's not like Clyde, I can't reason with him and he does not care enough about my opinion to change his ways. He's lucky he's cute and I am a compassionate person, and also a slob. If I were more like my Mom he would be in serious trouble.

Big snow

So the Prairie folk reading this may scoff, BUT we had a big snowfall/storm today. Big meaning a whole lot and all over. I just checked the Weather Network & the forecast was about 5 cm...it looks like a lot more but maybe that's just because it's fluffy. Or maybe it's really 20 cm and they just didn't measure it correctly.

This is my proof.

Anyways, it took about 45 -50 minutes to get to work this morning & then I left early and getting home took about an hour. The drive home was much worse because there was compact ice on the highway. The temperature is going up so I anticipate tomorrow to be horrible conditions, but maybe it will be all roses and rainbows or whatever. It was nice to get home early, I have only 3 more days of work before the big holiday. Woot woot x 1000! THREE MORE DAYS!!!

Cats are Masters of Physics - Animal Planet: Animal Oddities#mkcpgn=twapl1#mkcpgn=twapl1

This is really hilarious - watch the 2 videos:

Cats are Masters of Physics - Animal Planet: Animal Oddities#mkcpgn=twapl1#mkcpgn=twapl1

What cracks me up the most of the tap cat is that he or she keeps doing it over and over and over...and if a person made those sounds when they drank milk it would be considered rude. Cats are awesome!

I love my umbrella

Apparently there is an Umbrella self-defence workshop this Sunday in Van. Hilarious, but perhaps deadly...

http://vancouver.ca/communitypages_wa/index.cfm

Eugene's Axe

The reunion show I went to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH57P1Vtc94

Back in the day (but I can't tell who's who since it's all just long Metal Hair!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCCE2fxHtQU

Photos: Best European Wildlife Pictures Announced

Wow - check out the Kingfisher one. Amazing!

Photos: Best European Wildlife Pictures Announced

Some interesting sites

I just though I would share some interesting sites I've come across via Twitter. Who knew it would be so educational?

A good cause - roar if you love Tigers!
http://wwf.ca/conservation/species/tigers/roar.cfm

Green roof info - my ultimate dream (as well as happiness, and success, world peace & so on)!
http://livingroofs.org/

Treehugger type stuff (so not for Cousin Mikie) but check out the crazy sea creature pictures - amazing!
http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/what-not-to-recycle?src=rss

Missing the dogs but thank goodness for Vitamin D

The post-kennel week was terrible. I got uber lethargic and depressed. Work was torture. But, thanks to Vitamin D and a really fun weekend I am much better. This past weekend I actually did social stuff EVERY DAY! It was crazy. Friday was coffee, Saturday was dinner & a rock show, Sunday was brunch & a movie, and dinner...It's like I have a tonne of friends or something. Yesterday was not even that bad of a day at work, and it was a Monday! I thought I should write about the dogs a bit just for memory sake. My favourite was definitely Morley - he's such a perfect dog! Big, fuzzy, cuddly, and he's not a puller. I actually teared up when I put him away for the night the last time. Some others include Flower & Buddi - Buddi needed medicine & would always try to eat Flower's food. Flower liked playing with her Duck or Gorilla & Buddi was a licker! Cassie was a cutie pie - she is blind but actually gets around really well. When all the other dogs would start barking she always joined in. Wilson & Miller were little nutballs. Miller always growled at me when I put on his leash or tried to pet him but he LOVED playing fetch so I think he kind of liked me by the end. Wilson did circles, and circles, and circles and loved getting cuddled. Chip was a barker & a jumper but he was charming. He just wanted attention. I tried to play fetch with him but he wouldn't let go of the ball! Oreo was really cute - she loved going out & walking & would always crouch down when she wanted me to pet her. A few other dogs that left earlier in the week were Sidney (a shredder) and super high energy, Porto who understood french and was very handsome, Zoey who I had met before & I love her (she's also a jumper).

I guess I should head out for work now. Blah.

No water inside but lots outside...

My first day at the Kennel was a bit rocky so I thought I'd share the tale. Hopefully you won't find it too funny. It took my 3 hours to walk all the dogs so my legs were SORE. After that I went in for lunch and started cleaning the kennels and stuff after that. Unfortunately if you run alot of water and then vacuum the power goes out. Even more unfortunately I had no idea what to do. I tried flipping the breakers in the Kennel but that didn't help so I thought maybe it just needed some time and I went inside & e-mailed the owners (who by the by had not even arrived at their destination yet so I felt horribly guilty). Later on I tried the breaker a few more times, then I had a customer come to pick up their dogs and they couldn't pay because the debit machine was of course not working. Then I realized I needed to at least replenish the water so I brought the 2 outside pails in the house to fill up there and discovered there was no water. So the water/power of the Kennel is connected to the water for the house. This is when I completely broke down and balled like a baby. It's one thing just to not have any light but no water... So, I filled up half a bucket of water from their bottled water machine so I could at least fill up water dishes. After I put all the dogs in for the evening I went home, washed my clothes, had a shower, and gathered a few things (including my camping lantern) for the rest of the week. Then I bought one of those big jugs of water from the store & some dog treats and went back. The lantern worked pretty well so I was able to let all the dogs out for their last pee break. But, my legs were like jello, I was depressed & wallowing in self-pity, and I felt guilty because I thought maybe I ruined the water pump somehow. But, this morning I got a response back from the owners and it's just a little old breaker switch in the house that's the trouble. So all is well. The crap part is that it's raining today, luckily not steady so there were a few breaks during this morning's walk (only 2 & 1/2 today). This time I brought my umbrella though and borrowed their rain gear so I'm not soaked to the bone.

I'm hungry so I'm going to eat.

Not so important

I don't have much to say really but I thought I would try to be more diligent with my blogging. I REALLY wanted pizza today but I hate waiting so I just made sweet potato fries & chicken schnitzel for dinner instead. I will be at the Kennel all next week so in theory I really need to do crap around the house but as usual I haven't gotten much done. I did vacuum and load up the dishwasher but that's about as productive as I got. Tonight is the final 4 performance show for on SYTYCD Canada so that will suck up most of the evening, then I have to edit the Zoo's newsletter before I go to bed. Hopefully I'll get more stuff done tomorrow.

I still have a bit of a cough but it's pretty sporadic so this week has been okay. I finished 2 books - the 3rd book in the No 1 First Ladies Detective Agency series & the last Confessions of Georgia Nicolson 'are these my basoomas i see before me?' (yes, that's the title!). Both were very entertaining. Since it's only Wednesday I'll have to start another book this week. Luckily I got a few books this weekend. That should tide me over till next week.

I just want to give a shout out to Hawaii Five-O - it's been good. I would like the characters to get a bit more developed but overall it's entertaining and Mr. Moonlight (I may never remember his real name so that's what I think of him as) and his partner are pretty hot. I was afraid 'Sharon' (again a previous job reference) may annoy me but she's been alright. And, of course there's Jin. My Mom's into it too.

Oops - SYTYCD has started. Gotta go.

Overdue

It has been a while and I have been feeling a bit more communicative lately so here I am. I am very sick though. I had a sore throat Thursday evening and by end of day Friday it was full on fever, headache, stuffed up, aches & pains. I ditched volunteering, a 4 Tops concert, and a birthday invite on Saturday. I did actually leave the house for Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday, but I was at least over the worst and just starting the coughing stage so I thought it would be good to get some air & food. I was totally exhausted by the time I got home, a whole 2 hours later, and had a nap. The coughing today though has been painful. It's very sporadic, but when it comes on I have to hang onto my bladder with all of my might. I actually gave myself a headache. I was encouraged to take work off tomorrow but I think I'll go. I'm functioning almost normally, I just need to suppress the insane coughing. My biggest worry though is the Dentist appointment - what if I can't control it and start hacking, spitting fluoride all over?

Other than that, I went to Whistler for the first time last week. We joined the last 2 days of the sales conference there. It was interesting. There are a lot of cute scruffy guys in toques, dogs, and people with accents. The drive is really beautiful. Our hotel was right in the village so we walked around on the breaks and went to a bar close by after dinner. I think this was the trigger of my sickness - not enough sleep, too much dancing, and not enough sleep. It was fun though, I'm just not sure if it was completely worth it. I haven't been sick in a LONG time, so I guess it was just overdue.

I broke my awesome new sunglasses. I sat on them. It's really disappointing because they looked great and were all sparkly. I mourn their loss.

Not much else is going on. A couple of more weeks & I'm back at the Kennel. I am looking forward to it but I desperately need new pants. Something waterproof and warm. Last time I got soaked to the bone so I need to try to stay dry. I am hoping it will be sunny, but it's a faint and illogical hope. I'm kind of pooped now so I'll give an update as soon as I can.

Sun

It was supposed to be a rainy weekend but it's sunny right now - which is a good sign. I have to go to the Zoo and anticipating a day of rain is a bit of a downer. W & I are on last season of Battlestar Galactica now - it's so good. It's going to suck when it's over.

I only did maybe 3-4 hours overtime this past week. It was unpleasant, but I only cried a couple of times so things are improving. I am hoping it will be better next week.

Anyways, I really got nothing much to say so I guess that's my very boring update. I am sure something exciting will happen soon - if not I'll start making crap up.

Cute pads?

Check this out:

http://www.ecoactionteams.ca/pub/blog/?p=1012

I really want the monkey one...I am really considering it! The cup thing though is a bit weird, I don't think I'd like that.

Pics of the visit

Stanley Park - shells galore. "Queen of Farts" is in the glittery pink dress. Seth is camouflaged & blends in with the scenery. Q of F ran along the edge of the wall (which freaked me out a bit...) for a while & then when she went in the water later her shoes almost floated away!

Steveston - Seth is grumpy 'cause there's no shells here but I really enjoyed it & Q of F ate Salmon with me for lunch.
Victor holding a Red Tailed Hawk (Frodo I think?) at the Radical Raptor presentation at the Zoo.

The fam & the goats at the Zoo. This was pre-tantrum...

I also got them into Buffy & Supernatural. Does that make me a bad Aunt? I don't think so. Anything but the Hulk which I will never watch again - we watched it at least 20 times.

Children

As some of you may know, the children are visiting. Victor & the kids got here Wednesday and are leaving Saturday I think. There have been some tantrums and irritation, but it's also been good getting to know them and there have been some really awesome moments too. Most notably with Seth it was a search for 'mountain rock'. We headed up the mountain and after climbing cliffs and a 10 + foot rock he was determined to go back home through this bush & I told him there was no way through but he was stubborn & jumped into some blackberry bushes. He yelled for rescue & I had to pull him out. It was HILARIOUS! He swears he did not jump - it was a "booby trap". But, generally bushes don't lay booby traps so I'm thinking he's just a nut. I had to carry him all the way back with all the rocks we collected in my pocket and listen to him complain about all his injuries and get smacked in the head with his shoes. He got home and wrapped up his leg in a tenser bandage like a mummy and I had to pick thorns out of his hand (his Mom did the butt). My favourite Charlotte moment is at Cultus and playing in the shallow water, spinning her around until I was super dizzy. My heart also melts when she runs up to give me a hug.

I am also VERY content to be single and only live with a cat. But, I am really glad they came and if we can avoid a meltdown or tantrum tomorrow I will be thrilled to death. But the weather needs to cool down too, and I'm not sure what the forecast is. Here's hoping for overcast and 25 degrees...

FRIDAY

I left work today at 6:00! And I have been leaving at about 7:30 earlier in the week - versus the usual 9:00/9:30. I have done absolutely nothing useful with that extra time but it's been quite nice. There is still a big pile of stuff to do and 790ish e-mails to sort through by end of day Tuesday but really, who cares? Not you I'm sure. Cousin Victor & offspring will be visiting soon and I made a todo list in preparation - but habits die hard and I am such a procrastinator. It's now FRIDAY and I still need to do everything. But, I will persevere somehow.

On a side note my Amazon.com shipment came - yippee! I have now officially finished the X Files collection, and have the next season of Supernatural, and the full collection of Farscape. Hopefully I won't get too carried away & still get all the cleaning done...

Happy?

I thought I should update you - I am officially NOT completely & utterly miserable. I even feel a bit 'happy', though it's hard to identify the feeling. Maybe more relief, mixed with hope. Doesn't matter I guess.

I may be finished the last of my orders tomorrow - MAY I say, but barring any complications (and there are ALWAYS complications at work!) I would guess Thursday at the latest. What does that mean? Well, it means that I can actually see my desk, there are no looming late orders in the scary pile because the scary pile is 99% taken care of. And, other than helping out elsewhere I may not need to do any more overtime next week. And, what does that mean? I can grocery shop, do dishes, laundry, clean stuff, relax, watch T.V. AND still have several hours to kill every evening. I may even become bored! How exciting! I can't wait!!!

Lazing about

So I took the day off today, from volunteering. Since I can't take a work day off right now I had to do something else. Things have just been too crazy. I need to clean my house, do laundry, get groceries...But, instead I've been mucking around with my blog template, watching Supernatural, and playing video games. It is only 12:30 though so maybe I'll still get crap done today, but I think I'll see what's on T.V. right now.

Retraction/Hope

Okay so I can tell who reads my blog - thanks for the concern. As an update, things are more tolerable. I am not sure if it's just helpful expressing my angst or if it's other stuff too, maybe multiple reasons. But things are definitely less painful and that's a good thing. The bulb still hasn't been fixed, my dishes need to be done, I have to vacuum, my neck is sore, I have a crapload of work to do. But, it's the weekend, I have pizza, the weather's lovely.

No light

So I am at one of the lowest points in my life in years. On a positive note I am not homeless or destitute. But, as I continue to wallow in self pity and bouts of tears I just need things to not go any more wrong. I need things to at the very least stay the same just for a bit longer until I have some time to breathe.

Anyways, this is how I'm feeling mixed in with extreme raging & the occaisional hysterical laugh. And, when I got home from work just now - which is 10 p.m. by the by! - I went to turn on my living room lamp and poof! The light bulb is out. So, I thought I should share this particularly sad and pathetic moment. A symbolic manifestation of my soul, so to dramatically speak. And, really when I am going to be able to get to the store for a new light bulb? I'm also out of cat litter.

Carpal tunnel or bust

I am going crazy, after 13ish hours at work I find myself on my computer at home. What is my f-ing problem?

Anyways, here's some pics from the last bit of the Tourist Challenge!

Vancouver Lookout

BC Hydro Powerhouse (or at least, just outside it!)

Hell's Gate

Yep, a fridge!

Some sculptures just outside of Fort Langley.

Up to

I am exhausted and it's only mid-May. How can I possibly make it till August? Alcohol is the key. Or at least one of the keys. But, enough about my pain. I have been busy, in the few hours I am not working or volunteering, with Battlestar, Buffy, and Touristy stuff. We are on Season 2.5 of Battlestar - and WOW! It's awesome. I am on Season 5 of Buffy, and the Joyce episode made me ball my eyes out again. Joss Whedon is a genius. I have also been getting my stamps for the Tourism Challenge. Last Sunday I took my friends' son to the Aquarium - it was kind of funny because I forgot about the Sun Run and took Main up to the viaduct and got stuck in traffic through downtown for over 45 minutes. By the time we got to the Aquarium it was noon and super busy. The poor boy was so nervous. He really liked the huge aquarium with all the big fish, but I was afraid of losing him in the crowd so I asked him to hold my hand. We walked around a bit and then rode the elevator a few times. He refused to go through the eating area and insisted he wasn't hungry. After a few attempts he had a bit of a tantrum so I had to have a talk with him - the main problem was that he saw another kid climb this rock by the Belugas that clearly has a 'do not climb' sign on it and he wanted to climb on there to and go through the employee gate. I explained he was not allowed to do that and he had to hold my hand and not go near it. He agreed and I took him through another way, far from the eating area, back into inside the main area. I had to try to find a jelly fish species for the questionnaire, but after a bit more walking he had had enough and would not go anywhere else. Luckily the cashier lady was kind enough to give me my stamp anyways. The boy just wanted to go home but finally admitted to being hungry so he ate some pretzels. I offered to take him for ice cream and he agreed, but then passed out on the drive. We stopped for ice cream when we were almost back home and he ate a huge bowl of that (who knew $2.50 would get you that much ice cream, not me!) outside on the bench. He kept saying how far away from home he was. On the ride back he admitted he did not like holding hands so I thanked him for doing it anyways. He also said he missed his Mom. I felt like a bit of a jerk, but hopefully the next day all he remembered was seeing the fish and the dolphins and belugas. Taking a 4 year old out for a fun adventure isn't always fun-filled, it's too bad it takes so long to get there. I think it would have been easier if we hadn't gotten stuck in traffic. I can only hope that he wasn't traumatized and is willing to go out again! This pretty much sums up our day:

Afterwards I went to Minter Gardens by myself before I went home. It was a beautiful walk - I really love it there. I took a crapload of tulip pics for my Mom, since I couldn't spend Mother's Day with her. Here are some nice photos from the walk:

Today I am heading to Steveston and maybe Fort Langley on the way. I have only 2 more weekends to get all 15 stamps so I have to be diligent! At least next weekend I have 2 days to do stuff.

Oh, and yesterday at the Zoo I painted Poison Dart Frog faces - that was a new thing. But, it actually turned out okay. Though the yellow one looked similar to my Cheetah...

An office moment to remember

The most hilarious thing happened at work today. One of the toilets on the second floor overflowed and there was so much water that it ended up leaking through the ceiling. Now I'm not so mean that I thought that this was funny in & of itself. What made it funny was my co-workers reactions. Two people realized the toilet was overflowing so asked who they should tell so I got the receptionist to make a sign for the door and left a message on another co-worker's phone, because they are the one who handles the plumbing issues. But, in the mean time the water had gone through the ceiling and had started dripping onto the floor below. As people started to realize they jumped up and dragged the garbage can below to catch the drops. Everyone got up from their desks and stood around peering up at it, others jumped up and started yelling (or at least speaking LOUDLY) as they realized water was dripping next to them. Others ran upstairs to try to turn off the water to the toilet. Nobody was actually working except for me. My policy is to avoid doing anything other people flock to, like babies & demos as Zellers, and now water damage. So, I was working away and let everyone else deal with it. It was really funny watching from a distance (and avoiding the clean-up), and reminded me of The Office. It would make a really good episode. Moral of the story? Well, use a damn plunger when you plug up.

Another week down

It's Saturday again and I am now on Season 2 of Buffy. I thought I would treat myself to some soothing vampire/slayer hijinks as my busy time at work begins. It's been great. I have also started watching Battlestar Gallactica with my friend Warren. We are now on episode 6 I think. It's been pretty exciting so far. I knew I would like it, and I can't wait to see what happens. I had watched a few episodes when it was still on T.V. but it's the kind of show you really need to watch in sequence. I have also started watching period pieces with my co-worker. We started this Thursday with Wives & Daughters. Next week will be the second half. Then we'll watch Bleak House, a Dickens story.

On top of all that I also saw Kick Ass last weekend and Hot Tub Time Machine the weekend before. Kick Ass was AWESOME!!!!!!! I might even buy it. The little girl in the movie was fantastic, and even Nicholas Cage didn't irritate me. Hot Tub Time Machine wasn't as stupid as I thought, and I laughed alot. I would recommend it if you grew up in the 80's, and especially if you were into the hair bands at all.

I need to do my damn taxes a.s.a.p. so I hope I will be productive in the next few days. But, it's so hard to get crap done, and much easier to just watch and relax. I did restock my coffee though so maybe tomorrow I'll be super keen. Or maybe not so much.

Survival

I have made it through another week. And, I am relatively okay. Work is...busy. Anyways, I don't want to talk about me. I want to talk about people who let their children run around like maniacs on the road. My street is full of children every day when I come home from work. It is making me crazy. When I was a kid my parents would have flipped out if they caught me playing on the street. I feared their wrath. Granted, I did occasionally play on the street but it was always brief and I was always scared of getting run over. The kids on my street drive their bikes across the street from one driveway to another as I am driving towards them. They draw on the street with chalk as I am driving towards them. They run across the street from one side to the other as I drive towards them. And, what makes me really crazy is when they run, play, or ride their bike in circles on the road. They literally go in circles over a 2 - 3 house radius over and over. Then, the cheekier ones actually wave when I drive by and it makes me want to scream! The hilarious thing is they all wear helmets. So, their parents must watch enough T.V. to care about helmet safety. But, what about teaching your kids not to play on the damn road? That's what I want to know.

yep

Today I opened my door to leave for work and saw 2 inches of hail/snow all over the ground. As I walked to my car I got hail/snow down my neck, stuck in my hair. Little Car was covered. And, we were going ~ 50 km/hr on the highway through Abby. Then, on the last stretch to work it's all warm and lovely out. WTF! I would like to point out that it's April 8, and we had no snow at all through the Olympics. No snow AT ALL. WTF x 20. Grrr Argh!

The drive home however was bright and sunny, if a bit crisp out still. I knew we would pay for the unseasonably warm weather this winter!

LONG WEEKEND!!!

I have 3 days off!!! In a row!!! Woot woot!!!

My boss let me off early today but I have wasted the past couple of hours playing Age of Empires 3...and the Aztecs ended up kicking my a$$ anyways. Now I'm going to read some more Harry Potter - I am on Half-blood Prince now. It's like a warm cuddly blanket, but the literary version.

tipsy

It's been fairly stressful at work so I have given in and resorted to drinking. I am on the third cocktail and feeling MUCH BETTER. Cranberry, Dr. Pepper & Vodka works - just an FYI. I am an uber-grump right now and ARGH! etc. Really, get the hell out of my way. It's better for everyone.

On a happier note, hmmm. Yeah, f-that. Happier shmappier. That's crap for those positive thinkers. Shove it. That's what I say.

A week later

So, it's been a whole week now and everything is back to normal - stressful at work, not much to watch on T.V., too much Bloons Tower Defense, avoiding dishes, etc. - and I miss the excitement. The good thing about work is that by Sunday morning I can barely remember my week so all the pain & suffering is forgotten, or at least buried deep. By 9:00 Monday morning I was in a furious rage so it was a rough start. But, since I don't want to live on the street I have to suck it up. Other highlights this week included almost driving into a pole and almost swerving into another car (don't tell my Mom). But, I survived it all and am hoping this week will be a little more relaxed.

Anyways, yesterday I face-painted in the afternoon and other than a crap load of butterflies I also got to paint crocodile, wolf, jaguar, cheetah, lion, tiger, zebra faces. It was really fun. I guess today I should clean and do dishes and stuff, but will I?

CAN 3, US 2: Game winning-goal

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Thursday in Vancouver

People were lined up for the mini-Mint for 2+ hours! Apparently you could view the actual Olympic medals there, but really! They could just go to Winnipeg to see it all...

The best window display ever - glam hockey with high heels and a metal screen veil!

Igloo version of Pacific Centre. I hope they keep it this way!

Video presentation at the Four Nations pavilion. It was essentially in a mini-Planetarium, and I got a little teary. I can't help it.

Yay! Manitoba! I got a squishy polar bear too.

The Canada pavilion was overrun with fans of Quatchi. But before that I got to pose with an official Team Canada bobsled!

I got my butt kicked in the snowboard slalom, but maybe with a bit of practice I can make it into the next Olympics. Though, likely not.

Granville street was full of sculptures and art displays. It was awesome!

Highlights - Men's Curling - Canada vs Norway

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I LOVE KEVIN MARTIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Men's team pursuit Canadians win gold

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Men's Snowboard PGS Anderson wins gold

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Men's 5000m Relay Canada wins gold

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Men's 500m Final Hamelin wins gold

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Women's Hockey Canada Gold Ceremony

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Women's bobsleigh Gold medal

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My Olympic experience

I LOVE KEVIN!!!

McIvor gold run in ladies' ski cross

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Virtue & Moir Gold medal skate

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Montgomery Gold Medal Run

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Ladies' 1000m Nesbitt gold

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Maelle Ricker post-race interview

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Olympics in PJ's

Other than the usual volunteering on Saturday morning I have been watching the Olympics ALL WEEKEND! Yes, as usual, my life revolves around exciting international competitions. And, the best way to watch sports is to do it in my pj's. I have to go out for dinner today and therefore get dressed in actual clothes, but hopefully they'll have the Olympics on during the meal. It will be a very long 2 weeks but I'm looking forward to it. I am off the second week and will actually be going to curling. Yay! Unfortunately I couldn't afford more games but at least I'll get to experience what it's like for one day. It may however take half the day to get to the event and back thanks to all the bloody tourists, street closures, etc. No offense to the Olympic visitors.

Olympic highlights so far:

Ashley MacIsaac was a tapping and fiddling fiend during the opening ceremonies, Anne Murray was one of the flag bearers, and Steve Nash was one of the torch bearers.

Jennifer Heil got a silver medal - I know she wanted Gold but she did have a great run and got Canada on the board.

The Canadian women's hockey team dominated their game against Slovakia with a record setting 18 goals. The Slovakian goalie blocked 49 other shots.

The Canadian women's speed skating relay team qualified for the next round.

Charles Hamelin qualified for the next round of the 1000m on Wednesday. Oh, and I think I have a bit of a crush on Oliver Jean...but don't tell anyone.

More to come.

Typical Sunday Update

This is the first Sunday in several weeks that I haven't had ANY plans, at all, i.e. none. This means I got to sleep in (8:30 + 1/2 hr contemplating getting out of bed), eat cookies for breakfast, completely chill out, do dishes (50% done...), laundry, clean, fill up bird feeders, take out the garbage, play ALOT of Bloons Tower Defense 4, and more. And, it's only 3:55 p.m. That means I still have 6-7 more hours to do stuff, or not. I LOVE SUNDAY!

Among all of the exciting activities listed above I also spent my iTunes gift card and downloaded a crap load of music:

Sonic Youth, Goo, with one of my fav Guitar Hero songs to play 'Kool Thing'
K'Naan, Troubadour, which I am totally digging right now
Great Lake Swimmers, Song Sung Blue, which was only $3.99 - Woot woot!
Up in the Air Soundtrack, because I couldn't get enough of the 'This Land Is Your Land' (the Sharon Jones, & The Dap Kings version)
D'Angelo, Voodoo, due to a friend's recommendation as the musical manifestation of sex, and it is pretty sexy and funky

I paid a bit more than the gift card but I am very excited about all the new tunes. I love the music I have I'm just a bit bored with it so having some stuff to listen to for a while adds to my overall well being, etc. I still have to get a new car stereo, but at least I got to listen to it as I did dishes and chores today. And, I'm updating the old iPod for good measure.

I also spent $70ish of my Starbucks gift card horde on Friday and got a few pounds of coffee and gifts for my secret pal (it's a work thing, and our last gift-giving is Tuesday). I had over $100 bucks in gift cards and my wallet is getting stretched out. I still have quite a few gift cards to use up, not just Starbucks, but I have at least made a respectable dent in the pile. Spending gift cards feels like I'm getting things for free, though technically I am spending someone's money, which I really enjoy.

I guess that's it for now.

Oh so tired

Admittedly, I have spent a fair amount of my spare time over the past couple of weeks playing Bloons Tower Defense 4. There are a few maps I can't beat on Hard, so I keep trying and trying to no avail. I have been learning a fair amount about insects for this display I'm doing at the Zoo, namely that spiders are not insects at all. They are related but not actually insects. Knowledge has made the cockroaches slightly less replusive, at least behind glass, so I even watched the Hissing Cockroaches do their cockroach thing for a few minutes today. The baby cockroaches even made me think 'oh, that's cute...for a cockroach'. I did get the uber heebee geebees (sp?) the other day flipping through this book all about insects and spiders, so I'm not immune to their bugginess completely. I am just growing in my appreciation and understanding for all the world's creatures, in baby steps. I am heading to the annual Snowball ballroom competition tomorrow for the amateur event with some of my co-workers again this year. I am looking forward to it but thinking about being out all day again tomorrow is making me feel even more tired. I need a vacation which is ridiculous since it's ony been a few weeks. Luckily I am off in February for a week when Janet B. is here for the Olympics so I just have to focus and keep it together until then.


Here are some of my new arthropod friends: