The evidence

Vacation and post-vacation my style

I'm home. Sweet, wonderful, slightly musty smelling home. Hal was so lonely that he actually let me pick up up (purring yet) and cuddle him for several minutes. This has never happened before. It's apparently below zero but really after minus 28 or whatever it was in the Peg this weather is like a warm spring day. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, the mountains look amazing today (especially on the descent into Van). I have rotting veggies in the fridge (don't tell my Mom because I said I had food & milk, etc. - lies!), cat hair all over everything, things tipped over but nothing visibly broken so overall not too bad. I've already partially dusted and lint brushed things, the sheets are even in the washing machine. I had a shower because I was quite smelly already (why will come later) and the plants are watered too. I still need to unpack the rest of my stuff but I wanted to go online as soon as possible and get all this sh$% down before I forget anything.

So, first of all, THE TRIP. I kind of feel like I've been away a few months but it's only been 2 1/2 weeks. The Toronto/Hamilton trip was nice. It was pleasant, fun, a bit on the cool side downstairs due to the 1920s windows I think, but tolerable. There were Zoo animals, wine drinking, Harry Potter, recycling, sleeping in, relaxing, Carcassonne - so a good solid mini-vac with my dear friends Tracey & Andy. So Monday I head to Winnipeg and I've already been a bit antsy to get going and just be 'home' so I was relieved to get there and all is well. My Mom's ecstatic to see me, I get chili and there's Gailies in the fridge so I am content. But, then why my Mom and I cannot live together starts to manifest. It was about 10:00 or 11:00 on Tuesday (so almost 1 full day there) and my Mom starting nagging me about reading too much. I'm not doing crack or beating up kids, I'm reading but somehow this is a major issue. Everything goes in the garbage including cardboard and drink cans. It makes me frickin' crazy. Anyways, after some friend-time and much deep breathing I manage to control my anger and not act like I'm 14. Though really I feel 14 there - zitty, red and blotchy, fat, ugly, a bad daughter, no boyfriend. The only thing that's really changed is that I have stretch marks and my hair is much more manageable thanks to curly/frizzy friendly hair products. It really kind of sucks. I guess the other thing is that my Mom & I don't yell at each other anymore either. We're both too mature so it just does not escalate to that point, but the tension is sure still there.

So I make it till all the holiday events are through and get some more friend-time in. There are some difficulties with not having Internet access though so I am not able to fully plan things & miss out on seeing certain people. It's also difficult after spending about 4 months on Twitter to suddenly go cold-turkey. Very very difficult, though I think I'm stronger for it. So, there's the traditional Dim Sum, breakfasts, lunches, dogs (lots actually, and lots of cats too - Milo, Zach, Zoya, Max, another Max, Tabitha, Marley & Bella), etc., and it's really fun and I feel happy to catch up and spend time with people I care about. I have a few more days to cram everything I can in and then I get some wacky flu. The frickin' flu. Like I have time for sickness. It was total garbage. Basically I woke up feeling unwell and I managed about half a piece of toast and then there was diarrhea and I almost puked while I was on the toilet. Now, I don't remember if I've ever gone on about how much I despise puking but I honestly would rather die than voluntarily puke. I absolutely despise everything about puking and I will not allow myself to puke. There are times when I cannot stop myself and that's maybe why I hate it so much but really it's the most revolting thing. So as I'm gagging and fighting to keep it down the plan for the next couple of days sort of unravels and I slowly come to the realization that I am not going to be able to do all this stuff. I had to cancel a few things and leave my mother's basement in disarray. I did go out for a beer that afternoon since there were previous plans just to meet my friend Warren (from Abby) downtown and I couldn't just bail. However, I could barely sit up and almost fell asleep (in the Kings Head) and I couldn't make it through even half the beer. I got a cab back home and slept the rest of the day.

By Friday afternoon I just had a headache mostly so thanks to the bully that is Cousin Mikie I drank up a storm on New Years Eve and actually pulled a 'nighter'. After the snacking, PS3 connect games, laughing, and very unpleasant shooter development project (though apparently I'm the only one that had any issues with the taste, just to be fair) I thought there may be a chance for a nap but then there were Cousin Mikie's neighbours. So from about 3:40 till 5:20 I met the cute male neighbour. Really, Mikie went on and on about how cute his neighbour was, which was unsettling in and of itself since he's usually only like that about tits & other bimbo parts. But, really his neighbour or neighbours, since there was an almost twin or maybe actually twin brother, are cute. I entered and did a jagger bomb and met more dogs (Rudy? I think, and Bella or Candy? these are the most recent names, yes, but, I have also had a long day as you can see!) and then we tried to counsel their drunk friend about drunk texting his girlfriend. This somehow took almost 2 hours. Then we went back to Cousin Mikie just in time for the car to pull up so I grabbed all my stuff and went out. I realized half-way to the Airport that I left my pillow, my wonderful amazing side-sleeper pillow, at Mikie's which depressed me and really should have been a sign.

There was a huge line-up at the Airport so I ducked into the washroom, changed my shirt & undies in the stall, and headed to the check-in thing. Luckily I got pulled into the shorter line and made it through security relatively okay (though there was a very thorough search through the carry-on - we found the other energy drink Mikie but nothing else luckily!). Here's the clincher. So, the plan was to meet up with Warren and his girl-friend on their way home since we were on the same flight. But, they were not on my flight. In fact as it turned out there were 2 separate 7:00 flights leaving from Winnipeg to Vancouver. I happened to be on the Air Canada one and they were on the Westjet one. So, I was about 20-30 minutes later than them, and therefore missed them at the Vancouver end since they could not find me on the flight they thought I would be on.

I had realized this possibility but had this visual of us all meeting up at the baggage area happy & laughing and then me going home...So, as the reality hit and all the people from their flight were leaving from the baggage area I calmly got my luggage and went and asked an Info person to direct me to some info about the Greyhound bus or West Coast Express since those had been my other options. But, it turns out the West Coast Express never runs on a Saturday (I guess that was just for the Olympics) and she wasn't sure about the Greyhound schedule. Since I'm not so great with travel issues I proceeded to tear-up and start crying like a big baby. So I tried to calm myself and went to use the phone to try to see if my White Rock friend was home. If she didn't answer then I would just find my way to the sky-train station and try not to fall over at the bus station due to the excess Christmas chocolate and cabbage buns in my luggage. Luckily she answered and she picked me up. I have to say I cried the entire time I waited though. I occasionally broke out of my self-pity and would think about funny or pleasant times from the trip but my mind always ended up back at the here & now & how lame I am. This has sealed the deal on owning a cell phone. With a cell phone none of that would have happened - at the very least there would have been contact, perhaps actual confirmation of airlines maybe and less crying at the very least. The highlight is I got Borscht (good Ukrainian borscht - not weird Menno-borscht which is really just soup with beets in it, no offense but it should just be called 'soup' then, that's all I'm saying) and I was able to totally bitch and have a pity party on the drive back which was therapeutic.

On the home front, I have discovered that Hal now goes on top of the kitchen cabinets. This is what will happen with approximately 2 weeks of boredom. Pics of my adventures to follow!

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&#!!!