Mountain climbing

Ok, so I did not go mountain climbing exactly - no shirpas, ropes, boots, or other gear - BUT I did walk up Sumas Mountain yesterday via the sidewalk in my Keen sandals. This was involuntary and was not for fitness purposes like all the other people who do it daily. I locked my keys in my car when I got to Georgia's for her dinner visit. This is now the 3rd time that I locked my keys in my car in the past couple of months. Time # 1 was in my driveway so I was able to get back into my house to get my spare right away. Time # 2 was at the office but my friend was just leaving and offered to drive me home to get my spare and then drove me back. This time I also left my purse in my car. I did have my phone, but no money. Luckily I had the key to Georgia's home in my pocket and was able to walk her and feed her. Then I walked home which took about an hour. I had dinner, then walked back with my spare key in my pocket. The walk back took a bit longer for some reason so I got back there at 10 pm, walked Georgia, etc., then I drove home. Surprisingly, despite my poor attitude about it, it was not that bad. My legs were a bit wobbly by the end, and my feet were a bit sore, but I was not overly winded going up the mountain and I was still able to walk Georgia at a decent pace after all that without falling over. I was fine this morning, though very conscious of keeping my keys in my hand when I got out of the car. Another walk up the mountain and back first thing in the morning may have done me in. The locking my keys in the car phenomenon must end, but I am not sure if I can do it. A client had mentioned they always lock their car from the outside with their key so that they never lock them in their car. This seems genius to me, however my habit is to always lock the lock as I exit. A 20+ year old habit is hard to break. My other alternatives are to put the spare key somewhere on the vehicle with one of those magnetic things or to invest in CAA finally. Technically I am suppose to have some sort of service through this Road Star thing but last time I tried to call the number didn't work so I am not sure if it's in effect anymore. I could write it off as a business expense I suppose. Ideally I will just never do it again. Hopefully.

On a more news worthy note I was laid off from the office job. Technically I have to sign off on the severance package which involves confidentiality stuff. However, I think I am safe since I don't think I ever named my employer so defaming them is not possible since no one necessarily knows who I am defaming. Right? Just in case...WOW they are so super awesome I would recommend them to anyone on the planet. I am being laid off only because I suck, I mean 'my position is eliminated', and not because they are dicks at all. Yay company, etc.. Despite the fact that I had wanted to quit (for 2 years), and I was unhappy and so on I still got a little choked up and started to cry when the HR lady and manager met with me. I couldn't help myself. When I saw the HR lady come in I thought 'This is it!' so I packed up my stuff, and was all ready to go. An hour or so later I was called in and I still got upset. I am an emotional wreck when it comes to that place. That's all there is to it. It's not rational, but hopefully I can get over it some day. The severance should help a bit. It will at least facilitate getting a new rain coat, shoes, and visiting my Mom. A for real 'yay' now.

Soda crackers

I bought a few mail sorting/storage things and organized my business papers, a little. I didn't really do any bookkeeping updates, but at least everything has a spot and is sorted out, ready to go. It made me feel accomplished. Maybe I will actually get some work done now. Or maybe not... But, at least my office corner is much better looking and I know where my todo list actually is, should I choose to look at it. Yay me.

Everything else is basically the same but I did have another super funny sex spam e-mail to share. I wonder if these people are just really very stupid or if it's a translation issue - enjoy!


Howdy, dirty sweetheart. Do you have any wish to leisure?

I feel so sick and tire of everything today.
I am fed up with stupid chores and desire to do something stunning and flamboyant on the web.
You resemble my hottest love that is why I wish to arrange a virtual date with you.
See my account and you will like me, I am certain!
I have heaps of brend new kinky photos there
counting my incredible birthday party on a nudist beach.
Feel free to comment on them and call me. I am online!

Oh, yeah, I was eating soda crackers and salad while writing this post.

Feeling communicative

I have been having the urge to post so here I am.

I wanted to mention two things today that came with my Canadian Living magazine:
1 - There was a picture of red velvet cupcakes baked in ice cream cones in the Robin Hood recipe/coupon booklet. This is pure genius. I wanted to eat them instantly, but I will need to go grocery shopping first.
2 - Another 'no!no!' ad with the heading 'Go weeks without shaving!'. I also go weeks (or months) without shaving, and I do so by not bothering to shave. It's free, and does not require any sort of payment in installments. Just another option if you're broke like me and don't mind being a bit furry.

When is Fall getting here exactly? I am actually tired of the summer heat. I do enjoy not wearing socks, mostly, but I sweat like a pig every afternoon during my dog walks. It's worse on newspaper delivery days. I can't wait for cool weather. The problem with that is that may bring rain which will make delivering the papers significantly more awkward. The good part of the paper delivery thing is that I am getting into better shape since I have the hilliest route in town, or so it seems. Hot weather is great if you're on holidays and can spend days at the lake swimming. Otherwise, it can really be annoying. I tolerated it in Africa, but somehow I can't seem to cope with it here anymore.

I officially have a pet booking for Christmas holidays (+ 1 tentative) so I will for sure have to eventually tell my Mother. I am hoping the fact that I will be making money will appease her slightly. I am not sure exactly how I am going to swing a fall trip home, it will be a financial disaster but that's what the credit card is for I guess. Hopefully I will get a bit more busy business wise and make up for it.

I almost got laid off at the office, I say almost because all of the part-time people were let go due to cut backs. The dumb part is that they let experienced employees go who really liked working there and kept inexperienced seasonal staff instead. It's also less money to pay p.t. people, since they don't qualify for benefits and are obviously working less. But, maybe the big wigs know something I don't and it's really a smart idea. More likely though it's just another evil corporate scheme with little regard for human beings. Anyways, only me & another p.t. girl are still un-laid off and we don't know why. It would have been such a blessing, since I could legitimately claim unemployment insurance and my Mom could be nothing but sympathetic. What I don't know is if they will lay us off this week, next week, the week after, or maybe never. I am hoping this week or next, but it seems likely that I will be screwed over once more and be forced to quit.

On a positive note, I thought my suite was flooding due to this crazy weird leak on the hallway. It was just a wet spot in the middle of the carpet but there were no obvious leaks on the ceiling or wall. I was afraid something was leaking through the concrete, maybe a burst pipe or something, but it turns out it was a leak from the washing machine that was fixed a couple of weeks ago. For whatever reason it was just not showing up along the wall so the source wasn't obvious at first. All is well, everything is dry, and I can still do laundry. So yay!

Sexy emails?

So it's been a while - busy with office work, pet work, Olympics, general laziness, and so on. Same old same old stress and procrastination.

I have been meaning to post for a while now and since I am officially on a mini-holiday I finally seem to have a moment to do so. And, low and behold here is a funny e-mail from this morning to share for your entertainment. I keep getting these e-mails with links to photos or whatever and continue to block the senders along with all the Viagara and watch e-mails. There is always more though and this one is kind of a good summary of what it's all about. What is a 'triost'? I am pretty sure that's wrong, but maybe it's some french slang for 'hot sex'?

Email copy without the links:

Hi, women's man! When my campus friend started dating with a new boyfriend
I was certain he was a stallion the second I saw him.
Yesterday I saw I was right after we had an awesome l'amour de triost!
The guy is a real addict of carnal pleasures!
I uploaded several crazy pics, so...

I am sooooooooooooooo NOT in. F$&@ off!!!

I have to return stuff to the Library asap so I thought I would make note of what I read now because they were awesome. Read if you have a chance!

Everything was good-bye, Gurjinder Basran

The tenderness of wolves, Stef Penney

Crazy hoarder in the making

It's that time of year again and things are out of control. I had so desperately hoped to be office-free, but couldn't pull it off. The business is going well, but due to limited funds and time I have not been able to advertise and promote the business as much as I had hoped to originally. I have some very good customers, but need more inquiries and future bookings coming in. If I can have more jobs scheduled I could more comfortably call it quits at the office. It would be crazy to quit outright, though I have been fantasizing...a fist shake, then "Screw you", and walk out slamming the door never to return. But, that won't happen, and the worst case is that I will hang onto it through the fall. That's one of my worst fears, other than homelessness. In lieu of quitting I have indulged in cheezies, chocolate bars, fast food. My two coffee limit is out the window.

The crazy hoarder is in reference to the result of this crazy time at home. I would be horrified to have someone stop by! I did however make a To Do list - which is extensive. So far I have not checked off anything...

The positive stuff is that I am officially debt free so I will try to bank some savings. My urge is to go shopping, but I will be smart. Maybe just a haircut as the 80s frizz is frustrating me.

Other than that it's all about Soccer and So You Think You Can Dance right now. And, of course I have started watching the new Dallas. How could I not? How about a Fantasy Island remake?

How much I love long weekends

Yesterday was my first complete, 100% day off from everything in months. It was AWESOME. I stayed in pjs, I cleaned my house (no longer hoarder-esque), I played video games, watched T.V., did laundry, made dinner...I feel so productive but yet relaxed. And, it's really nice to have a tidier, cleanish home. I also got 7 more stamps for the Tourism Challenge on Sunday, after an off-leash workshop I attended. The lame thing about Sunday though was being outside in pouring rain. I love my umbrella but it can only do so much and I was soaked. It was worth it though because now I still have a full week to just get 2 more stamps to qualify for the free pass again which is easy to do. There were also some amazing displays at the Vancouver Art Gallery and Bill Reid Gallery. At VAG, on the 2nd floor, is a show on hip-hop and First Nations culture. It was really interesting, lots of music stations and video installations. I hope I can get back there to see it again in more depth before it's over. The Bill Reid Gallery had a portrait display of Haida elders. It was really quite moving. There is less than 40(?) elders left that are fluent in their language, which is really sad. However, many of them are teaching the younger people so hopefully they won't be the last.

I do have to go back to office work today though, but I feel like I can almost handle it. Off tomorrow, but it will be a full dog-day so still busy. I guess I should leave soon...But, not much motivation to work with. Oh well.