The spirit of this happy face will dwell forever on the wall above my bed

Note the new window covering...

4 coats of paint later, and my room looks great!

My new desktop background... Dahlia at night

Oh no...

Cometh the funk…

 

FUCK

Fun in the sun

I had a great couple of days off this week. On Monday night Tara, Samara, Crystal and I went to Thetis Lake to swim and have a picnic dinner. Crystal made AMAZING pad thai (sp?). At least, I assume it was Crystal, I was asleep on the couch. We went for a little swim, and I haven’t been swimming in quite some time, so I was a little rusty. Not as comfortable in the water as I would like to be. Oh well, I guess that is all the more reason to do more swimming this summer until I am comfortable once again. After the lake, we all went back to Tara’s new place, where we all rolled around in the bed and had a jolly old time. Tara made us tea.

On Tuesday, Samara and I lounged around all morning, and then went to Beacon Hill Park and laid in the sun for three hours reading the new Harry Potter book, played Frisbee, and just did very little. It was very relaxing, I really enjoyed it.

Anyways, I have posted pictures below of some of our exploits, so you can all identify. I also have pictures if last week’s trip to Vancouver to visit Lindsay and Ryan, which I will put up soon.

Have a great day everyone!

Sexy look numero uno

Sexy look number two

Samara and me lounging in the sun... We went to Beacon Hill Park and laid in the sun for HOURS!!

A beautiful west coast sunset...

The beautiful scenery at Thetis Lake

Samara's impression of a fish. You can't really tell, but she is blowing bubbles...

New car...

So I have been doing a lot of soul searching lately, and I think the time has come to bid my car farewell and buy a new one.

I poked around on the internet a bit, and I think I found the car for me.

Let me know what you think!

Last ditch attempt...

CHLOE!

 

I am coming to the mainland on Monday night. Either email me or call me (if you have the number,) and we’ll hook up!

 

Check your email!

What Halmark doesn't print...

I found this in my email from a few months ago...

Pretty funny stuff!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

What Hallmark doesn't print…

 

So your daughter's a hooker, and it spoiled your day.

Look at the bright side, it's really good pay.

 

My tire was thumping. I thought it was flat. When I looked at the

Tire... I noticed your cat. Sorry!

 

Heard your wife left you, How upset you must be. But don't fret about

it...  She moved in with me. 

 

Looking back over the years that we've been together, I can't help

but wonder…

What the hell was I thinking?

 

Congratulations on your wedding day!

Too bad no one likes your husband.

 

How could two people as beautiful as you ...

Have such an ugly baby?

 

I've always wanted to have someone to hold, someone to love. After

having met you ...

I've changed my mind.

 

I must admit, you brought Religion into my life ...

I never believed in Hell till I met you.

 

As the days go by, I think of how lucky I am...

That you're not here to ruin it for me.

 

Congratulations on your promotion. Before you go ...

would you like to take this knife out of my back? You'll probably need

it again.

 

Someday I hope to get married ...

but not to you.

 

Happy birthday! You look great for your age ...

Almost Lifelike!

 

When we were together, you always said you'd die for me.

Now that we've broken up, I think it's time you kept your promise.

 

We have been friends for a very long time ...

what say we stop?

 

I'm so miserable without you ...

it's almost like you're here.

 

Congratulations on your new bundle of joy.

Did you ever find out who the father was?

 

Your friends and I wanted to do something special for your birthday.

So we're having you put to sleep.

 

Happy Birthday, Uncle Dad!

(Available only in Tennessee, Kentucky & West Virginia)

 

Door step thoughts...

So I raced up to Nanaimo after work today to help my sister paint her new townhouse…

And neither she nor her husband is home right now.

And they knew I was coming.

I’ve been sitting here for almost half an hour now, and people are looking at the freak using his laptop on someone’s doorstep with strange looks.

I might as well check my email, why not?

I went to the parents last night for dinner, and had a pretty good time. Milton was as lovable as ever, and so cute! But good GOD was he gassy! When a 200 pound dog farts, he can clear a room. Well, I’m surprised that the neighbours weren’t complaining. It was hard to breath!

But I watched Mary Poppins last night, a film I haven’t seen in ages. I forgot how good it was! Especially when you look at the special effects, considering it was 1964.

Anyways, I’m gonna try and raise Liz and Chris on their cell phone.

They better have beer when they get here.

 

Happy Canada Day!

Well, it has come and gone again, one more Canada day behind us.

How did I spend it?

I watched the fireworks from the parking lot at Wal-Mart, on my way home from work. Alone.

And then I went home and blogged.

Maybe next year…

 

Long-due update

I have been having crazy weeks lately. My shifts have been mostly evenings (1:30pm – 10pm) so I never feel like doing very much when I get home, for obvious reasons. And in the mornings, I sleep in. So hence very little blogging has been happening.

Anyways, in regards to my latest post, yes I have been accepted at Uvic, and just registered for my courses earlier this week. It is a very long and complicated story, but I will attempt to describe it here.

You all know that I moved back to Victoria after my one year in Nanaimo for financial and sanity reasons, and that I planned to attend Camosun College while here. Well, I found out that Camosun messed up on my registration and my program filled before I registered. So then I thought “Well, I just get into a different program that will contribute to my overall educational goals and bide my time.”

But that didn’t work either.

Since I never graduated from high school (I am missing Math 11) I can’t get into the programs I need to, and the only program I could get into were mostly continuing-ed based and wouldn’t qualify for student loan support.

So I raced up to UVic and put in a late application, and was accepted. I am really looking forward to going there this fall. Both close friends and family have been burned by the insane beurocracy (sp?) at UVic, but I need a school to go to, and the courses I am registered in look pretty neat. Greek and Roman Studies, Philosophy, History of Technology, a couple of English Courses, and a language (I am registered in Italian, but I might switch to German).

We just had a death in the family this past weekend. My Aunt Louisa in Halifax passed away at the grand age of 92. She is quite possibly the sweetest lady I have ever met, always concerned with the comfort of her guests, not afraid to step on toes to make things right, and always ready to have fun at a moments notice. The world needs more people like her. I last saw her in the summer of 2001, but have kept in touch (sporadically, I’m afraid to say) since via letter, phone and taped messages. By her own admission, she was ready to go. May she rest soundly.

Anyways, I have to go clean my room (still not completely unpacked. Chalk that one up to laziness) Lindsay and Chloe, I’m coming to Van the evening of July 11 – 13, I’ll get in touch with you.

In the meantime, enjoy some pics of my doggie, Milton. ‘Aint he cute?!

Milton, Liz and Chris

Who's there?!

Love me!

What's under the table?

Not much!

Watching the sun set...

news, news, NEWS!!!!

It has been ages since I posted, but I have been busy. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail here, other than...

I HAVE BEEN ADMITTED TO UVic!!!!!!!!


AAAHHHH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

I'm so HAPPY!!!

AHHH!!!!!

More and more of my so-called life...

So I have been slow on the blog again. I guess I have the blog blahs. There really isn’t any other reason as to why I haven’t been blogging lately. I just feel like everyone who reads this (thank you, by the way) already know me well enough to know exactly what is going on in my life. But then there are the randoms, and that is part of the joy of blogging.

Oh, and the INSANE BUSINESS!!!!!

So I have been busy, but things are settling down once more. The Gelateria finally opened at work, to much success, and I am already sick of gelato. Not so much sick of gelato itself, but of people being excited by it. It’s freaking gelato people! Judging by some people’s reactions, you’d think it was from outer space. The Italians have been eating it for centuries! “What’s sorbetto?” Use your freaking brain! Here is a step-by-step guide for you:

What does “sorbetto” sound and look like?

Could it be “sorbet?” or even “sherbert” for the uninitiated? Oh, and “limone” is pronounced just like it looks. lee-moan. Not ley-mawn-ay.

Oh well, you can’t win all the time.

It’s really not that bad, it is just the same thing, day in day out, the same flavours, the same comments, you know the drill. Anyone who has worked in retail or hospitality will understand what I am going through. As for the next time I get asked if we take “dollars,” I am going to respond “Sorry ma’am. We only accept beaver pelts here in Canada.” Our money is called the “Canadian Dollar,” and it isn’t British.

Because up here in Canada we are just a bunch of raging colonials anyways.

But on to greener pastures. In my last post I talked about the Corporate Rowing Challenge. Well, we had our big regatta this past Saturday, and we whooped some serious ass! Namely, we are the city champions for defender quads! We beat out KMPG Management Services with a time of 1:19. Not too shabby. And we got the big-ass trophy! It is about 3 feet tall, biggest I’ve ever seen. The other Butchart team didn’t do too badly either, coming in first in the “B” heat. The beauty of having two teams in the the program is that it increases the companies odds; Butchart has taken a championship for three of the last four years. Once I have some pictures I’ll be sure to post them.

I’ve spent the last two days (first days off in two weeks) up in Nanaimo with Liz. Chris gets back from Quebec soon, and Liz is just about going stir crazy up here on her own. We’ve spent that last two days doing pretty much nothing. We rented two movies “Envy” and “Wilbur (Wants to Kill Himself).” They were both very good. “Envy” was so randomly funny, and “Wilbur” was just a very good movie. Today we went to the mall, went to see “Madagascar” and did some shopping. I got new shoes (which I have needed for quite some time now) and we did a bit of window shopping. We also hit HMV so that I could pick up the Coldplay album. My god, it’s amazing. I’m listening to it right now, and really enjoying it. It is much less whiney than their last two albums, although I am also a fan of them too. I also bought the Keane album, and was sorely disappointed. Maybe it will grow on me, I’ll have to give it time.

I started a new book. “Anil’s Ghost” by Michael Ondaatje. A solid read, and some pretty heavy material, but I need a good book to read right now.

 

Anyways, it’s time for me to jet. I need to get to bed so that I can drive to Victoria early tomorrow for work. Have a great week everyone!

 

 

I don't really know why I do these things, but I saw it on Spencer's blog, and decided to do it for myself. The ides is that you copy it onto your blog and re-do the answers (and comments) to suit your own responses. Here goes...

Have you ever: (check all that apply)

(X) smoked a cigarette?
( ) smoked a cigar?
(X) smoked anything else?
(X) made out with a member of the same sex?
( ) crashed a friend's car?
(X) been in love?
(X) been dumped?
(X) shoplifted?
( ) been fired?
( ) been in a fist fight?
(X) had feelings for someone who didn't have them back?
( ) been arrested?
( ) made out with a stranger?
( ) gone on a blind date?
(X) lied to a friend?
( ) had a crush on a teacher?
(X) skipped school?
(X) slept with a co-worker?
(X) saw someone die (not on TV)?
(X) drank till you puked?
( ) been in an abusive relationship?
( ) been attracted to someone that your friends thought was unattractive?
(X) cheated while playing a game?
(X) been lonely?
( ) used a fake ID?
(X) had deja vu?
(X) felt an earthquake?
(X) been robbed? (twice. Fucking Nanaimo...)
(X) robbed someone? (unfortunately, in a weak moment MANY many years ago)
( ) been suspended from school?
(X) been in a car accident?
( ) witnessed a crime?
(X) had deja vu? (gotcha!)
(X) questioned your heart?
(X) been lost? (rarely, but hey, shit happens, right?)
(X) been to the opposite side of the country? (twice)
(X) swam in the ocean?
(X) cried yourself to sleep?
(X) sung karaoke? (ah, Club Grad)
(X) not had enough money for food? (how about right now?)
( ) paid for a meal with only coins?
(X) made prank phone calls?
(X) laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose?
(X) kissed in the rain?
( ) crashed a party?
(X) have traveled more than 5 days with a car full of people?
( ) had a wish come true?
( ) told a complete stranger you loved them? (I've wished to, but alas my questioning heart)
(X) had sex in a park?
(X) had a dream that you married someone? (and been in other people's dreams getting married)
(X) worn the opposite sex's clothes? (just don't ask)
(X) ever felt the presence of a ghost?
(X) worn a really ugly outfit to school? (I was in school in the 80's. Need you ask?)
(X) gone streaking?
(X) been pushed into a pool/lake with all of your clothes on?
(X) pushed someone into a pool/lake with all of their clothes on?
( ) been told you were hot by a complete stranger? (If only)
( ) broken a bone? (nose doesn't count)
( ) caught a fish then ate it?
( ) made porn?
(X) laughed so hard you cried?
( ) cried so hard you laughed?
(X) mooned/flashed someone?
(X) cheated on a test?
(X) gone skinny dipping?
( ) been kicked out of your house?
( ) cheated on a girlfriend?
(X) had casual sex with a close friend?
( ) had sex with someone and later were ashamed to admit it?
(X) felt crushing defeat?
(X) felt thrilling victory?

+++++

There, now you have all learned more about me!

This one's for you, Rachel...

Rachel, you wanted an update? Here you go!

So I’ve been bustin’ my buns lately, getting settled in my new place (I’ve been here almost a month, but I still am not quite unpacked). I have been working a lot lately. I wrapped up hosting in the Dining Room, and have been “promoted” to a supervisor in the Gelateria, which opens on Wednesday. I was lucky enough to meet my first new hires today and give them a quick low-down on what’s going on down there. There is still a LOT to do, in order to make sure we are ready for our opening, and we are doing a “soft-opening” on Tuesday in order to make sure that we get everything together. I think that it will be great, once we get the kinks ironed out. No one has even order garbage cans yet! AH!

I got my swell uniform the other day, and man, is it something! Charcoal and white pinstriped short-sleeved shirts, with charcoal pants/shorts, and a black apron. The apron is very small. And I mean small. Like I should have a change purse clipped to the edge of my tray as I deliver beverages to gross old-men at bowling alleys. That’s right, the apron is cocktail waitress length. Doesn’t protect much from much of anything. But it does look pretty sharp. My only beef? The pants and shorts are pleated. Who makes pleats still? I thought they were extinct! But I owe a great big thank you to Rachel, for hemming this poor mans pants for him. May she have luck in finding appropriate jeans for Nick.

The Corporate Rowing Challenge is coming to an end. That’s right, inactive, beer belly (alright, it’s small enough to hide under a normal t-shirt) has been rowing. This is the third year in a row that I have been doing this. I’m rowing in an un-coxed quad this year, which is a bit of a change from the coxed eight I have done the past few years. We had our time-trials for the regatta on Thursday night. We tied with KPMG with a time of 1:26, not too shabby, if I may say so myself! The big Regatta is coming on June 4, at the Gorge Rowing Center. It’s gonna be a blast! Lindsay is coming, and I am looking forward to it a great deal!

Anyways, I’m gonna wrap this up, I have to get back to the movie I am watching. “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” with Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russel, one of the best films ever!

Cheers everyone!

More from the capital city...

I’ll update soon, I promise!

Why is everything in Europe so much better?

I just had one of LONGEST days at work. It was really only 6 1/4 hours, but it felt like a lifetime.

But what saved my poor tired legs?

These shoes from Denmark. They are quite possibly the best pair of shoes that I own. I have had them for more than a year now, and I still marvel at their comfort.

If you work in a job where you spend a lot of time on your feet, these are the shoes for you!

Good bye!

For those of you who don't know me, witness the emergence of my supreme nerdiness. If you feel unable to handle this nerdiness, leave now.

If you are a Star Trek: Enterprise fan, do not read this post. It contains spoiler information from the series finale. If you've already seen the finale, I am sure you will agree with me.

Now that the formalities are out of the way, I can get started. Last night on UPN, Star Trek: Enterprise came to its end. One of the shortest-lived Star Trek series, it began to show a lot of promise toward the end, after its cancellation was announced. The final episode had the tantalizing title "These are the voyages..." but was an absolute let down. I spent much of the episode trying to figure out what was going on, in what timeline. We are taken back to the Enterprise-D, with Riker and Troi. But NCC-1701-D was destroyed, and has been replaced with the Enterprise-E. And Riker and Troi look a lot different. Older.

The producers put a lot of work into re-building a lot of the sets from ST:TNG, no small feat since its cancellation 11 years ago. We saw Ten-Forward, crew quarters, hallways, and the observation lounge. But they didn't put enough effort in. All of the sets are different. A smaller observation lounge, hallways that are obviously Voyager set re-dressed (with the smaller, narrower corridors and sharp corners), and the wierdest-looking turbolift I have ever seen!

As we learn part way through the episode, the 1701-D portion is set in the midst of Episode 264, when Riker is battling his personal demons regarding the violation of the Treaty of Algernon. He is viewing the last mission of the NX-01 on the holodeck in the hopes that it will help him make the right decision regarding whether or not to violate orders and reveal the Starfleet phasing cloak to Captain Picard.

All of this, and much more was covered in the series finale. It jumped back and forth through time (in 2369, the year that The Pegasus is set in), as well as jumping six years forward in time for the NX-01 sequences, to 10 years after the vessel was launched.

All in all, quite confusing and a let-down. But it wasn't all bad. The final moments of the episode, with all three Enterprise captains reciting "These are the voyages..." as each of three vessles (1701-D, 1701 {no bloody "A", "B", "C" or "D"} and NX-01) does a flyby, with Captain Archer finishing as the NX-01 sails off toward a gorgeous stellar-phenomenon was a stunning sequence, and a nice nod to the previous series.

It was interesting to note that Archer finshed with "To boldly go, where no man has gone before." On TNG, they had to change it from "no man" to "no one" in order to make it more politically correct. Did the writers of this final episode just forget?


As a final note to the producers and developers of Star Trek, DON'T DO ANOTHER PREQUEL! You almost killed the franchise with this current one. Let's see another series, but let's take a step back (or forward?) and continue the timeline. There are so many good stories left!

Anyways, this concludes my highly-nerdy rant about the series finale of Star Trek: Enterprise. All the best to the cast and crew, and perhaps we shall see you again the next Star Trek Movie.

Update

I feel lately that all I ever write about now is my move and all of its difficulties and obstacles, but I do have more happening in my life than just the move.

Last Tuesday, my dad turned 70 years old! So on Saturday, we had a drop-in cake and tea/wine get together, and my mom invited everyone we've ever known. Some I have only heard of in passing conversation, some I have met and then forgotten, and others I was very happy to see again. It was great seeing the people who used to take care of us kids on professional development days when mom and dad where both teaching. They had the best toys!

Mother's Day was a little hectic, but was very nice as well. I worked all day at the Gardens, doing support for their Mother's Day Brunch (which was an absolute success) and then raced back to the house so that I could help make dinner. Liz had it mostly under control once I got there, but dinner took a million years to cook! A 4 pound roast shouldn't take 2.5 hours, and never has before. The scalloped potatoes took 2.5 hours as well! It was like every food and appliance was defying the laws of physics. But dinner was a success, and we wrapped up the evening watching The Simpsons with the parents. They both thought they were pretty funny.

On a related note, Fox has 'uncancelled' The Family Guy, one of the most hilarious shows ever. And the episode on Sunday night was not dissapointing. Good call Fox! I think the world is ready for Family Guy!

After moving, I finally have most of my clothes unpacked, and I am up in Nanaimo right now getting ready to move the last of it down this afternoon in the rental truck. It feels kinda strange to be moving in such a prolonged fashion, but I'll get there eventually. I thought I might have to buy a chest of drawers, but there is one that has been bequeathed to me, so I can save myself a little money there. It just needs sanding and painting at some point in the summer. I'll cross that bridge later.

I am really enjoying living at my new place. Samara and Crystal are both great people, and I am enjoying the positive energy in the house. All I have to do now is finish unpacking and buy a couple of good books, and I'll be set.

They are ripping up the street in front of Liz and Chris' condo up here, and they always start before seven. Have you ever been woken by a chainsaw outside your bedroom window? It ain't pleasant. Speaking of Liz and Chris, they just bought a new townhouse, so no more renting for them! It's good, cause renting is really a waste of money if you can afford to buy. They move at the end of June. I get to help them because Liz is helping me today...

Anyways, now you all know what is going on right now! Lindsay, I haven't forgotten about you, I just have been SUPER busy, as I am sure you understand. I hope you are doing well, and I will try and call you in the next few days.

Cheers!

Sort of there...

So, I have moved most of my stuff to my new place with Samara and Crystal. Still living out of boxes, but I’ll get there eventually. Hopefully this is the last move for a little while. Spending my life last year running between two cities while working and trying to do school wasn’t really my idea of a fun time. It’s actually pretty stressful. Oh, to have a home!

I went to a play last night with Samara, Tara, Crystal, Oona and one of Tara’s friends, Chris. It was really good, called “Stones in His Pockets.” Two actors portray about 50 different characters, with no wardrobe changes and very little by way of set changes. It was great, and I had a blast.

I also went rowing again yesterday with the rest of the crew from the Corporate Challenge. This practice was a LOT better than the Tuesday practice, and if we get our act together, we might just be the city champions again (maybe)!

Anyways, I gotta go clean up my old room at my parents’ place.

The move, it keeps on movin'

So the moving van (a cargo van) was supposed to be $49.95, including 200 kilometers, then $0.25 per kilometer thereafter. I asked the guy “Will the van fit a queen size bed?” His answer was yes. What he didn’t clarify until my sister made the reservation was that it would only do it one piece at a time. Well, I am not making two trips to Victoria in one day! Yikes!

So now I am renting a 15ft. cube van, which is $64.95, including 200 kms, but extra kms are $0.40 each! OUCH! And then there’s gas (about $45 worth), and the fact that we will need to buy insurance for my sister so that she can drive it, as her car insurance won’t transfer over, so there is another $29.95.

And the result is that I will now be moving next week. Oh well.

Darned scheduled paydays!

Friday can’t come soon enough, or maybe Tuesday can’t come soon enough…

:-D_

Moving soon...

After residing at my parent’s house for a few weeks, I am now only days away from moving to my new digs with Samara and Crystal. I am so happy!

But I have a busy week ahead of me. I have to work, a lot, move all of my things from my parents house to Samara’s, go to rowing practice, then hoof it to Nanaimo, pack up my crap there, pack the next morning. My sister is picking up the rental van in Nanaimo at 1pm, then we have to load my stuff in it, and then race down to Samara’s and unload, race to my parent’s house, pick up Liz and Chris’ spare bed, get back to Nanaimo, unload the bed at their condo, return the van, and I get to drive back to Victoria in my own little car that night. I get to unpack, and then I have to be at work for 12pm the next day, then another rowing practice!

AAHHHH!!!!!

But it is all worthwhile…

Sanity is approaching, rapidly.

Have a great week everyone!

What a way to start a beautiful day...

Fighting with the mom. Again. About moving.

I am sick of having this argument with her. I'm moving, that's final, and I don't have to justify my decision or my life to her.

I explained to her that I can't live at the house, but that I couldn't explain all of it without hurting everyone who lives there. My mother's response?

"How North American!"

What the hell does that mean?! I don't want to live in filth! filth filth FILTH!!!!! How the HELL is that "North American" of me?!

I'm going to tell her that next time she brings it up.

Anyways, I do have some good to look forward to today. I'm going to the Irish Times to have a grand send-off for Lindsay, who is off to Vancouver this week.

So I'll just fixate on that.

Laugh your ass off...

Once  upon a time,

in  a land far  away,

a  beautiful, independent,

self-assured  princess

happened  upon a frog  as she sat,

contemplating  ecological issues

on  the  shores of an unpolluted pond

in a verdant meadow near her  castle.

The  frog hopped into the princess' lap

and  said: Elegant Lady,

I  was once a  handsome prince,

until an evil witch cast a spell upon me.

One  kiss from you,  however,

and  I will turn  back

into  the dapper, young prince that I am

and  then, my sweet,  we can marry

and  set up housekeeping in your castle

with  my mother,

where  you can prepare my meals,

clean  my clothes, bear my  children,

and  forever

feel grateful and happy doing so.

That  night,

as  the princess dined sumptuously

on  a repast of lightly  sautéed frog legs

seasoned  in a white  wine

and  onion cream  sauce,

she  chuckled and thought to herself:

 

…I don't f***ing think  so.

 

Media Studies

I just got my research paper back for Media Studies...

I GOT 93%!!!!!!!!

I have NEVER done that well on a research paper!

Obviously, the moral of the story is to write the paper the night before.

Honestly. I slaved over a research paper for 2 weeks in History last term and got 85%.

Yay!

So this is a pic of my friends...but I don't remember when it was taken. How embarassing.

Milton, my guardian from things that go bump in the night (or the middle of the day for that matter.)

Victoria

Well, I moved back to Victoria.

And the hallway has mess in it again.

Meh.

I was having such a happy day!

until I got here...

OMG!!! YAY!!! AHHHH!!!!

One more exam, and then I am done!! No more school until September!!!

AHHH!!!!!!

So happy!!!

English- Good, I’ll miss my instructor.

Media Studies – Thank CHRIST that one is done! All I can say is never, ever again with that instructor. Ever.

Creative Writing – Best course EVER!!

Oh, I’m done. PHEW!!

Off to VICTORIA!!

KISS MY ASS, NANAIMO!!!!

Tired of birds shitting on your car?

I have the solution!

Click here.

New cell phone number

Okay everyone. I am moving back to Victoria on this coming Thursday , April 7. As such, I will be getting a new cell phone number.

If you want the number, please email me and I’ll let you know.

Cheers!

I HATE REALTORS!!!!

Well, not all realtors. I just hate the ones that are showing our condo up here.

 

It’s been for sale for 3 weeks now, and we keep having people through to look at it. If we can’t be here, the realtor selling the place has a key. I don’t really have an issue with them coming through when we aren’t here, but don’t touch my stuff!!

 

We have one of those collapsible drying racks for cloths set up in the hall outside the bathroom, and one of the realtors that was through today tried to move it, and ended up collapsing it, with clothes on it. Well, they didn’t say anything, despite the fact that they knew that I studying in my room! If it was accident, which I’m sure it was, at least have the decency to say “Oh! I’m so sorry; I knocked over your drying rack.”

 

But no, the realtors just left. I didn’t notice until I left my room to lock the front door behind them.

 

And then, there was another realtor that showed it this afternoon while we were all out, and someone either moved or looked at my film script for creative writing. Chris said that maybe they just knocked off the edge of the desk, but they would have to practically hump my desk to do that. It isn’t exactly a piece of furniture you can just brush past…

 

AGH!

 

On a lighter note, I went to the launch party for Portal 2005, Malaspina’s Literary Journal. It was great, all the readers were really good (including my sister) and we got to see the best performance poet. I have never seen performance poetry before, and she was excellent. Her name was Sheri-D Wilson.

 

She had my practically doubled over with laughter. Especially when she told us what her mother said when she called her about eating meat.

 

“Honey, I don’t want to think about how my meat arrives at my place. Because I love animals! I just think of feedlots as finishing school for cattle.”

 

Wow, she was good.

 

Anyways, I gotta go finish working on a 500 word paper for English.

 

Cheers!

Books

For my english course right now, we have been reading "Marine Life," a collection of short stories by Linda Svendsen. These are the best stories I have ever read, with very powerful writing.

I am amazed at the power of the storyteller...

Things to curse at

I have tried to make this post three times in two days, and it always fails.

Damn blogger!!

Anyway, to make yourself laugh, click here.

It is a stop-motion movie. Pretty funny stuff.

I got it off another blog. Thanks Akiko.

Daylight Savings Time

So after watching our movie last night, all of us totally forgot about Daylight Savings Time beginning this morning. Luckily we remembered before we went to bed, and none of has to work today, so it isn't a huge deal, but still...

Stupid, stupid, stupid...

Movie night...

Tonight we rented The Incredibles.

That is one funny movie. And the animation is amazing.

And we made carrot muffins. But it turned into a carrot loaf instead, as we have no muffin tins in Nanaimo.

But it was good none the less.

Thanks to Tara for the recipe.

And now I am off to my cozy bed.

G'Night!

VIRUS ALERT!!!

There is a new virus.

The code name is WORK. If you receive WORK from your colleagues, your
boss, via e-mail, or from anyone else, do not touch it under any circumstances.
This virus wipes out your private life completely.

If you should happen to come in contact with this virus, take
two friends and go straight to the nearest bar. Order drinks immediately
and after three rounds, you will find that WORK has been completely deleted
from your system.

Pass this virus warning immediately to at least five friends.
Should you realize you do not have five friends, this means you are already
infected by this virus and WORK already controls your life.

If this is the case, go to the bar and stay until you make at least five
friends. Then retry.

I think I have five friends, but am not entirely positive, so
I'm headed for the bar anyway . . it never hurts to be safe.

+++++++++++++

Tee-hee!

Home city?

Daver is back in Nanaimo.

Boo.. most of his friends are in Victoria...

YAY!! His bed is in Nanaimo...

Count to three Dave, just count to three...

"Matthew! Get your shirt out of the hall!"

Dave kicked the shirt off the floor at the top of the stairs back into his brother's room.

"I need to have it there!" said Matthew.

"No you don't."

"I'm just sorting my outfit."

"Sort it in your room."

"I need to put it there"

Dave moved back down the hall to his own room, and noticed two other garments in the hall.

"Matthew, get your laundry out of the hall! You can't keep stuff in the hallway!"

"Yes I can. Leave me alone!"

"You have two bedrooms!! Two huge bedrooms, sort into those!"

"It's only gonna be there for a minute!"

"Well it shouldn't be. Keep your shit in your room."

"You have to understand that I need to sort things into the hall."

Dave closes the door to his room, shutting his brother away. Because his door doesn't quite fit the frame, and doesn't latch, he gives the door a pretty good push, as he has sat down at his desk.

"Don't slam the door in my face" Matthew said as he opens the door to Dave's room.

"I didn't slam the door in your face Matthew. My door doesn't latch! Just go clean up your shit..."

"..You slammed the..."

"...Matthew! Go away!"

After a few minutes of sorting into the hallway, Matthew dissappears downstairs. Dave hears yelling a few minute later. It seems that Matthew is backing out of a church engagement for the evening, in order to attend a party. Dave doesn't really care, he justs wants his brother and mom to be quiet. He goes to the top of stairs, and meets Matthew storming back upstairs.

"I just don't understand. I'm not ready to sing this. I haven't practiced..." Matthre cursed, throwing down his expensive rental sheet music at the top of the stairs.

"Matthew! Don't throw that on the ground! The cathedral rented that music, you know how much music rental is!"

Dave goes downstairs to get himself a cup of coffee. He meets Matthew downstairs again, who is now frantically attempting to get a stain out of his white dress shirt in 25 minutes or less. Dave decided, against his better judgement, to calmly ask Matthew to contain his mess to his room.

"NO! I need to sort things into the hall! I've explained to you, it's the only place I can put things while I look for my white shirt!"

"You should know where your shirt is, sweetheart," said their Mother.

Matthew hisses under his breath in contempt at his surroundings. "Whatever Matthew" said Dave as he went upstairs to continue his assignment for the coming week, only to discover the rental music for the Requiem is still lying on the floor at the top of the stairs.

"Matthew!" Dave bellowed in exasperation. "Your music is still on the floor! Pick it up!"

"I'll get it when I come back upstairs!"

Dave picks up the music and goes to Matthew's main bedroom. For lack of a proper place to put it, he puts in Matthew's hamper.

A few minutes later, Matthew returns to the stairs.

"David! Where the hell is my music?!"

"I put it in your hamper," Dave said calmly.

"Great. That makes a lot of sense!" Matthew said bitterly as he closed his bedroom door.

+++++++

At this point I have to interject, and say that the hamper makes better sense than slippery sheet music at the top of a steep flight of stairs.

This marks the end of the this particular antidote. I know many of my friends put up with constant complaining from me while I am in Victoria staying at my parents' house. So I have decided to start putting anecdotes on my blog so that everyone can see what I have to deal with, understand my complaints, and also know why I do not plan to live here, no matter how cheap, once I return to Victoria in April.

To those of you who need some backgound info, I lived on my own, still live on my independantly with my sister and her husband in Nanaimo, and keep my spaces livable. Sorting laundry into the hall does not make a whole lot of sense to me.

I dunno, let me know what you all think. And stay tuned for pictures of Matthew's two bedrooms!

New music

So, I just discovered a new band that I like.

The Be Good Tanyas.

I heard them in an ad on TV for Zellers. And I like them a LOT!

Linds, you should download them. The album is on iTunes, it's called "Blue Horse." What you should do is download their other album, "Chinatown," also on iTunes, and then just download "The Littlest Birds" from "Blue Horse." I didn't like "Blue Horse" as much as "Chinatown."

Yay!

I've needed some new music for a little while know, and my needs have been fulfilled.

On a side note, I have not been faithful to my blog. And I apologize. I have a lot happening right now, and I will try and keep all of you updated as things progress.

"The littlest birds sing the prettiest songs..."

I hoped this day would never come...

I had wished, from the bottom of my soul, that this day would never arrive. But it has.

I have arrived in Victoria, and spent the ENTIRE day cleaning the upstairs. And I mean the entire day. Washing garbage cans, cleaning the bathroom, digging clumps of short and curlies out of the corners, mopping, dusting, etc.

They need to get a cleaning person. My brother doesn't clean, or simply can't clean, I don't quite know which.

Anyways, I'm freaking exhausted. But you could eat off the floor.

They didn't even own a mop...

Victoria

Hey everyone,

I am down in Victoria until at least next weekend. If you plan on calling my cell phone, please do the following:

1. Dial (250)380-7626 and wait for a dialtone.
2. Punch in my cell phone number, including the area code.

This will save me loads of long distance bills for my cell phone, which were $100 last month.

Of course, you can always email me at daverer@gmail.com

Cheers!

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Research Paper

I really should be working on my research paper. After all, it is due on Wednesday, and I work a lot between now and then, but I just can't be bothered. It is much more interesting to sit here listening to Tegan and Sara, Blondie, Jimmy Soul, Sara Slean, and more!

Music is my relief. It doesn't matter what mood I am in, I can always find music to satisfy. In this case, I am in a don't-know-what-I-want-to-do mood, and so my music fits perfectly. A little bit of everything.

Our dishwasher broke yesterday. I was napping, and this sickly grinding, wailing noise came from the kitchen. The dishwasher has blown a gasket, literally. There are black hunks of rubber and plastic floating around in the bottom of it, and the wail it makes when you turn it on says "turn me off! PLEASE!" But now there is an apartment with three people living in it, and no dishwasher. Back to basics I guess.

I went to a Februween party last weekend. Had a blast, stayed for 30 minutes, and left. You can only squeeze so many people into a two-bedroom apartment. I went with my friend Samara. Click here to see the pics. I was a pajama super-hero!

Anyways, I gotta cracking. Much to do today, before driving to Victoria to pick up my sister at 5:30.

Have a great weekend everyone! And to quote Jimmy Soul: If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life, never make a pretty women your wife!

I know, the lyrics are incredibly inappropriate to women, but the song is so damn catchy!

Updates

So, I have VERY busy lately with much goings-on. The two jobs thing isn't working out for me. So, today I am serving my two weeks notice. I just can't handle it anymore; and besides, the Gardens has plenty of work for me, and pays almost double, so I'm gonna cut my losses.

After my "roadtrip" last Sunday, I didn't do much. Except go to Vancouver. And go to IKEA. Best afternoon ever. That store is crazy! I haven't been there for quite some time, and I had kinda forgotten about it. That store is full of things that people don't really need, but it is so cheap that you can't turn it down. However, I was responsible. I got a duvet cover, dishes (for 6), cutlery, a really cool glass vase, a huge-ass bag of tea lights, and made myself a shopping list for when I go over next. All for $150! Oh, and I saw the best kitchen in their showroom. The whole thing was done up in lusty red-laquer cabinets, with red mottled-glass backsplashes. I would kill for that kitchen. Literally. So look out.

Anyways, I need to go back and stock up on cheap stuff for when I move back to Victoria in a couple months. I suppose I should try and find a place first though, eh?

Anyways, I gotta get going. Shower, errands, etc await!

Then work. At the hotel.

Ugh.

Road trip (and more!)

I went for a road trip today with Lindsay and Claire. Just for the day, but we had a great time nonetheless. We went all the way to Port Alberni, via Cathedral Grove, and then went on to Sproat Lake to finish the day. We got the best donuts (sorry Timmy's, but your donuts just aren't the same anymore) at this little hole in the wall (no pun intended) shop in Port Alberni.

Some times is just really great to go out and relax, without anytime constraints and just shoot the breeze with your best friends.

You know, it has been striking me lately that I am hitting a lot of milestones in the last little while. I have known Lindsay, Claire, Keenan and Cheryl for 5 years now. That is the longest time I have ever had "close friends." Sure, I have had a large number of acquaintances over the years, but one can only have a few close friends over a lifetime. But this leads me to the other close friends I have made. Jen and Dave at work, Chloe, Samara and Tara, Serena, Sue, Rachelle, Donna, Alex, and many others (sorry if I didn't mention you!) I really feel like I am "growing up!" (Mommy, wow!)

AND... I got my Long Time Seasonal Staff ID card at work a couple of weeks ago. That means FIVE YEARS at one employer. The last job I held that long was as a paper carrier.

All I need now is that special someone, and all would be good! Sigh...

Anyways, pictures from the roadtrip are below. And don't forget to place your opinion of the new profile pic!

Should this be my new Blogger profile pic? Lets see what the polls say. Use the comments below to let me know what you think. Frankly, I think I look hawt.

We really are so lucky to have such beauty on Vancouver Island

Not quite the largest tree in the park

Claire can be such a bad ass sometimes...

Claire and her bad-ass boyfriend...

Or not... (aren't her teeth perfect? JEALOUS!)

Linds and I infront of the "LARGEST TREE" at Cathedral Grove...

Pictures while driving are hard to do...

Blog hilarity

So i was just cruising Blogger, and I stumbled across a couple of entries that are just hilarious. Anyone who has ever had bad customer service from tech support or a call center will identify with these entries.

Enjoy a good read!

The Third Circle of Dell (or "hell." Get it? Dell = Hell? Tee hee!)

Gateway Customer Service

Both of these blogs had me howling!

Cheers!

Happy Birthday Sue!

I went bowling last night to celebrate a friends birthday. It was great! I got to see a lot of people haven't seen for awhile and catch up, not to mention the friendly competition between the 12 of us over who could get the best score. I topped at 108. Not too bad, consider I haven't bowled for two years, eh?

Anyways, I am off to do many things! Laundry to fold, plays to workshop, and more!

Cheers!

Chemainus? Why not?!

So today I hung out in the afternoon with Chloe. We hada LOT of time to kill, so we decided to go to Chemainus, the little town that could. See, their economy used to revolve around the pulp mill there. But then the mill closed (surprise!) and the town needed a boost. So they painted a ton of murals all over the buildings downtown about the history of the area in an effort to make tourism their new economy. And it worked, sorta.

Anyways, the real reason for this post is the sign that Chloe and I saw on the side of the road to Chemainus:

Mothers

Approved Travel Agents for Guilt Trips

I don't know why, but I thought it was hilarious at the time.

Anyways, bed beckons.

Later!

Why don't they listen???

So, despite the fact that I have mentioned it several times, my parents have not registered the fact that once I move back to Victoria, I am not going to live at home. So we got into this big argument about it. I just can't live at home.

You all have read enough of my blog to realize this. But try explaining that to your mother. That you can't live at home because the house is a mess.

But my mom, true to form, doesn't get mad. She decided to guilt me.

My mother is the queen of the guilt trip.

Anyways, at least the cat is out of the bag. No more worrying about the day when I have to tell them.

It's already happened.

Favourites

Ok, so the other day I saw the best movie.

"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"

What a fantastic movie! And it ends properly, it's not too long, I really enjoyed it. I would even consider owning it.

And it has the added bonus in that it gave me my new favourite song:

"Light and Day" by The Polyphonic Spree

Yay!

Well, I'm off to replace the speakers that were stolen from my car!

Cheers!

Amendment

So, right after I wrote my post this morning, Janice generously let me go home.

So I was only up until 5am.

Whop-di-doo!

Here I sit...

So here I am. It's 4:15 in the morning, and I am stuck in the middle of an audit shift at the hotel. Well, not exactly stuck, I chose to train tonight. But the audit is done, so I get to sit herre with my colleague Janice until 8:30 this morning.

My mind is really screwed up. I can't recall the last time I stayed up as late as this shift demands. The good news is though that this is my last training day, and I am now on the schedule as an 'independant.' It makes me feel smart.

Anyways, I gotta jet for now, but have a good day, night, morning... what tme is it?

I survived!

I did it! I made it through a night audit shift at the hotel this morning. 12:30-2:45am. It went alot faster than last time, which took until 5:00am. Probably because I was actually contributing, instead of just watching, which made things go much faster. Because I am just that good.

Yes. Yes I am.

I don't know what I think of the night shift thing. On Wednesday I was dead to the world for most of the day from working the night audit, and I ended up skipping about half of my night class outy of exhaustion. But today, I was out of bed at about 10am, and am pretty with it. I will probably have a nap before I drive down to Victoria this afternoon, but all in all I am felling pretty good. We'll see, I'll just have to take it as it comes.

I went out for lunch yesterday with Chloe. Actually, she treated me. What a sweetheart. We had a really great chat, over burgers at White Spot. You know when you have one of those cravings for a big, disgusting, juicy burger? Well, we were both in that mood, and we both left sufficiently satisfied.

I spent WAY to much time at the mall yesterday with Chloe, Liz and Chris. Liz needed glasses, Chloe needed luggage to reduce her gongshow-ness while travelling, and I was looking for bedding for my new bed, which arrives on Monday.

I also have been spending way to much money on music lately. I have discovered iTunes, Apple's answer to Media Player. The built in Music Store is evil, constantly suggesting music for me to purchase, and it turns out that it is exactly something I like. Currently, I am addicted to Franz Ferdinand.

Anyways, I gotta go work on my Media Studies stuff, so I'm out for now.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Dead tired

I know now what it is like to work a Graveyard shift. I just worked 12:30am - 5am this morning, I get to do the same thing tonight, and on Saturday night I get to do it again, except it is 12:30am to 8:30am, and I have to work until 5pm at the Gardens that night.

Ugh.

'Tis the life of a student with multiple jobs.

Nanaimo can...

KISS MY ASS!

Everytime I have something nice happen to me, or do something nice, Nanaimo finds a way to put a damper on things.

My car got broken into last night, again! And this time, they took some stuff. It looks like I am missing some CDs, and they took the speakers for my stereo out of my trunk. They ripped half the carpet up in the front passenger seat, did the same in the trunk, tried to steal the stereo itself, damaged the lock on the driver's door, and then (this is my favourite) they changed their socks in my car! Yes, I really did mean to type "socks."

But at least they didn't break the window. But for fucks sake, stay the fuck away from my car! My sister, her husband and I have been living here since May 2003, and collectively our cars have been broken into 5 times!

Stealing my speakers really bothers me! I have a miserable drive twice a week between here and Victoria, and music is integral to making that drive bearable. And now all I have are the shitty Honda-standard speakers in the front, one of which is blown, so now my music sounds like crap.

So I bought an alarm system, and it stopped working after one try. So now I have to go to all the way to Walmart and return it. And the microwave broke, so I need to buy a new one. And the rent is due, and the cell phone bill is $100, and the $200 charge on my VISA for a product I ordered online still hasn't been returned, even though they received the package back a month ago. AAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

I can't wait to escape this city, it's shitty weather, shitty traffic, shitty roads, shitty smells (the city smelled like ass-rot last week), shitty restaurants, and just its general shittyness.

Kiss my ass Nanaimo!

Thank you for calling...

..the Best Western North Gate Inn.

My NEW job! YAY! I just got hired today, and I have already started training.

How exciting!

Rain!

Man, we are getting a lot of rain up here! I know the Lower Mainland has it worse, but my goodness!

I went to a movie last night with Chloe and Jessica, and had a great time. We went to see "In Good Company" with Dennis Quaid, and the dude from "That 70's Show" (Topher Grace?). The movie was ok, but I couldn't help inserting "DUMBASS!" in a couple of sequences (in my head of course).

Anyways, a great time had by all!

Not much

I feel like I am getting further and further remiss with my blog. It's not that I don't like writing. It's just that pretty much nothing remarkable has happened to me in the last little while.

Well, that isn't completely true.

On Friday, I went out for dinner and rented a movie with my good friend Samara, and had a really good time. Sometimes it is just good to curl up with a funny movie (Shrek 2) with a good friend and laugh yourself silly.

And today, I have a job interview at 1:00pm. It's perfect! I have applied at a Best Western Hotel up here, they are hiring a Front Desk Clerk part-time, which is exactly what I need. It's only 16-24 hours each week, and that is all I need. I just find that since 2 of my three courses are completely online and don't require me to be at the college, I have way too much time. Adding some time pressure will help me keep on track.

And working at a hotel is something that I have always wanted to do. And it also carries some responsibility. So here's to hoping that I have a job at the end of the day.

So there. All I had to was start writing, and I realized that the mundane can be good and just as much fun as the incredibly exciting.

Does that make sense?

And I'm out.

Snow bank thanks

To Chloe, Jessica, and the dude with the Big Truck,

Thanks for helping me get my car out of the snowbank that I "intentionally" drove into.

And yes, a special thanks to Meiko the cat for sacrificing some unused kitty litter to the cause.

Snow, snow slush, and.. oh look! More snow!

Man, what a lot of snow!

I went to work on Friday, which was pretty treacherous and I barely made alive. The drive usually takes 20 minutes, and it took me an hour to get there. Once I got there, I punched in. But then I had to go on a hike to the greenhouses to make sure that a display had not been damaged. Of course I didn't wear my snowboots that day. So I discovered that the soles of my shoes were cracked, so I had cold, wet feet all day.

Then the power went out, and we switched to generators. It was like Star Trek; you know, the lights dimmed, some stuff started beeping, and then the lights were on full power. Well, at that point, the snow was coming down pretty hard so my co-workers decided to leave early. Except we couldn't leave. It turns out that the power failure was caused by a tree falling across the road. The only road out of the Gardens. The tree fell on the power line, then the tree caught fire, and the whole ensemble fell on the road. So there we were, 'trapped' and on backup generators. We finally got to leave, but I had to go downtown to pick up my sister, and of course buy new shoes.

I went to work on Saturday, and I had to conduct a fam tour. And the roads were still shitty. And I left early again.

But my feet were dry!

Have a great week everyone!

"If you see a hill, don't go up it"

That is a direct quote from Sarah Daniels, the Traffic Reporter on Global's Morning News. Apparently the traffic in Vancouver is just stupid this morning because of the snow. But I don't understand.

Growing up on the west coast, I never have had much experience driving in the snow. But I do know one thing; Go cautiously and keep your speed low enough that your steering wheel still works. What I don't understand is the absolute mayhem that snow causes out here. People still trying to push the speed limit. Geez folks, leave a few extra minutes to get where you are going safely.

Now I have to drive down to Victoria this afternoon with my sister, and we will be going very cautiously. But I'm not worried about the roads. I am worried about the other drivers. The Island Highway has a concrete divider almost the entire way there, except on the Malahat, which is by far the most trecherous portion of the drive. Luckily, we can take the Mill Bay Ferry. It costs money, but I would rather do that then have some idiot cross the yellow line and smack into us.

But enough about driving. Here I sit in my apartment, with a cup of coffee, watching the snow fall outside and listening to a mix of Norah Jones/Sarah Harmer. My online courses are down right now, so all I can do is curl up with my novel for English (The Shipping News) and sip my coffee.

Not too bad, eh?

Have a great weekend everyone. I start my new job at the Gardens tomorrow, and I am looking forward to it a lot. Group Services, here I come!

What you doin' tonight, hey boy?

Answer, not much.

Class has begun. Having re-established myself in Nanaimo, I have a busy day ahead of me:

1. Clean room.
2. Do laundry.
3. Check out my web-based courses.
4. Brave the crowds at the Bookstore.
5. Check out the new library.
6. Go to the bank.
7. Buy Kraft Dinner.
8. Hook-up with Chloe.

Which means I can't stay on Blogger too long.

It's a beautiful day, the sun is shining, it's sub-zero outside, and I feel like accomplishing things today!

All the best for the new year

The New Year is here, so Happy New Year everyone! I spent the evening rather quietly; I worked till 10pm, then went home and relaxed by the fire with the dog. The parents came back from dinner, and we all toasted the new year in with a glass of champagne. Pretty quiet, all in all.

But with the new year comes a new semester, and I must go and pack for the trip back up the island.

Here's to a great second semester and a prosperous new year.