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| Friday, July 10th, 2009 | | 4:36 pm |
The 17 states I have visited
For a Canadian, I've made it to quite a few states apparently. I'm also indicating why I've visited these areas. --------- Put an X by the states you have visited. The average is 8; how do you match up? Should you choose to play, here's what you do: Copy my note. Delete my Xs and add your own. Just for fun, put an O beside the states where you have lived. Change the number at the top, and add your title. Once you've saved, don't forget to tag friends (including me) on the right. Tag the same # of people as the # of states you've visited. PS: Airports don't count. ( states! ) Current Mood:  cheerfulCurrent Music: Jonathan Coulton - Baby Got Back | Powered by Last.fm | | Wednesday, July 8th, 2009 | | 9:03 pm |
| | Sunday, July 5th, 2009 | | 10:04 pm |
The return of the birthday wish list
Every year I tend to post a listing of things that I wish for for my birthday. Some items are reasonable physical objects, others more intangible. Regardless, partially because people ask for such things, and partially because it becomes a decent record of my headspace I'll do the same here. Don't feel obligated to get me anything of course, but there are things in life I would appreciate. And for the most part I am listing wishes: things I'm unlikely to get for myself, but will definitely appreciate. In no particular order: Nice Girls Don't Explode (1987) -- It's only available on VHS in this area of the world, but I would rather like a DVD copy made. Regardless I rather do want it. A Wii with a Wii Fit -- okay, so I'm normally technologically backward. I'll admit that. But it's high time I have a gaming console, and the Wii is my favorite out there right now. I realize I have a tiny TV, but honestly at this point I don't care. I really want the Wii Fit because I've learned that it is something that I would ACTUALLY use. I love the gym and all but the travel time taken to get to and from the gym (usually walking, so exercise too...) often means I don't go often enough, particularly in the winter time (or times of adverse weather), especially since Jackie and I stopped going together, and this will help me be less couch potato-ish. To put it frankly, I REALLY want this, but have failed to mention it up to this point. Heck I think it would help me this school year a lot. I just can't possibly afford to purchase it right now, given all the known expenses (eg. tuition, summer travel, wisdom teeth removal etc.) in the coming months. A short stool to rest my feet on while sitting at my computer. About 4-5 inches off the ground I think would be perfect. My feet dangle if I want my chair at the right height to be ergonomically comfortable, which often results in my legs going numb which rather concerns me because it takes a rather long time for them to regain normal sensation. Particularly given the fact that an increase in school work will likely result in more time at the computer, I think I definitely need a such footstool. Time spent with friends. I feel I often neglect to spend quality time with people who mean a lot to me. I really want to reconnect with people with whom I have lost touch, and have better relationships with those with whom I do spend time. Yes, I realize I don't yet have a cell phone (still looking for the perfect cell phone, though Beth from Florida had one I rather liked) but that shouldn't mean that I shouldn't be social. That '70s Show Season 8. This is the last remaining season that I have not yet seen. I really want to own it, and complete my collection. Movies: Quebecois ones, Angels in America, Johnny Depp, Topher Grace or Natalie Portman ones. Book of Enchantments by Patricia C. Wrede. Stories set in the world of The Enchanted Forest Chronicles! Music: The Fugitives. Band out of Vancouver from whom I'd like to hear more. True love! ;) One cannot help but dream, of course! Great experiences. I love to spend time with friends and others travelling, trying new food, seeing theatre, etc. Honestly, experiences are worth so much to me. Board Games. While I do have a rather lot of them, my tendancy to have board game nights (and want to have more of them) means that the more excellent ones, the better! Ones that have caught my eye lately include: Bananagrams, Settlers of Catan, Puerto Rico, Thebes, expansions for Munchkin (I have Need for Steed), expansions for Killer Bunnies, etc. Help with my Kiwanis club. In order to do more service to the community of course, help is always needed. And we're so new to Edmonton that there remains so much to be done... but this is difficult with so few of us. Hugs. Laughter. An ear to listen. A person to talk to. Someone to walk with. Friendship. Smiles. Moments. Emails. Facebook messages. LJ posts. etc. Sometimes I do not feel well enough connected. Sometimes I get lonely. Sometimes I just want company. I oscillate between being too busy and the opposite. And my outlet for stress tends to be in being somehow active. Current Mood: calmCurrent Music: Greenwheel - The End | Powered by Last.fm | | 9:08 pm |
Nashville in a nutshell...
So a week ago, I got home from Nashville. Since then, I've been so busy that I haven't had the chance to properly put my experience in perspective. Photos are, however available here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2160613&id=120402019&l=625edd19dc and here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2160621&id=120402019&l=315d07afbcI think I will number Nashville among my favorite American cities to visit. There is just so much to do and see by way of live music, sightseeing, amenities, and yet, like Edmonton the city has a smaller town feel to it. I highly recommend visiting (in particular I recommend people who really like music [of ANY type, not just country], like my father to go!). Convention itself was one excellent time, overall. I enjoyed running into familiar faces nearly everywhere I went -- there were fare more CKI alumni present at this convention than ever before in my recollection. I also ran into many other CKI supporters including my fellow DAs (past, present, and future plus assistant admins), current CKI members and of course KI staff who were very familiar. Then there were some of my favorite Kiwanians, new friends and new faces, and of course my very familiar We-Can Kiwanians. Highlights include: -- The Grand Ole Opry (with amazing stars! Did you know that they have real commercials?) -- Jack's BBQ (so yummy!) -- Broadway Brewhouse (72 beers on tap -- we counted the taps!) -- The Past Perfect Restaurant (the decor and atmosphere was excellent even if the server did forget to serve me a few times) -- The Country Music Hall of Fame (including Elvis' Gold Piano and Gold Cadillac) -- The Parthenon (yes, Nashville has a scale replica of Athens' Parthenon) -- The Ryman Auditorium (the Church of Country Music) -- The Wildhorse Saloon (we had a private party there! Booking the whole place, and had great live music, buffet food, drinks, dancing, line dancing lessons and more! -- BB Kings for the SLP Alumni reception (great to convene with some of my CKI 03-04 Governors, and my fellow Admins among others... including Paul Palazzolo, 09-10 Kiwanis International President) -- The Stage (one of the Honky Tonks with continuous live music -- the band took no breaks and ONLY played GREAT songs!) -- The pedestrian foot bridge and great photo ops -- Swimming at the hotel pool -- Having a ridiculously awesome hotel room (at the Hilton) -- The Nashville Social (for guests from not-the-USA -- I met people from Panama, Japan, and Canada among others) -- Judson Laipply (of The Evolution of Dance fame! I even got my book signed, and met him yet again) -- Denver and the MileHigh Orchestra (great music! Reality TV can select some decent music sometimes) -- Sweet Tea (oh how I love this delicious stuff!) -- yummy southern BBQ food -- the swing in the park -- Celebrity Impersonators (including Dolly Parton, Minnie Pearl, Elvis etc.) -- Loads of great experiences with far flung friends! Suffice to say: I can't wait for next year in Vegas! Perhaps I'm a Kiwanis convention junkie or something, but what can I say -- these are some of my favorite moments -- reuniting with some of the most awesome service-minded people plus some great sightseeing and fun for good measure! Current Mood: cheerfulCurrent Music: Vampire Weekend - The Kids Don't Stand a Chance | Powered by Last.fm | | Thursday, June 18th, 2009 | | 1:16 pm |
Quick personality disorder quiz from Heather
Intriguing, yet probably overly simplistic quiz, which I surmise would have different results depending on my mood etc., but entertaining nonetheless. Current Mood: calmCurrent Music: Jay Brannan cover of Jann Arden Good Mother Live/Acoustic | | 12:17 pm |
Today is International Sushi Day
And I'm planning on going for sushi! :) So happy with this plan! Current Mood: calmCurrent Music: Jay Brannan videos on YouTube | | Wednesday, June 17th, 2009 | | 12:00 am |
Extremes and I don't get along...
Maybe it's just the heat outdoors... or the fact that I haven't been sleeping well at all lately, but I definitely was in a mental funk today. Sure I put in 8hrs of work, finally got a form notarized, and otherwise worked on some of the items from my to-do lists (yes I have several at the moment), but it wasn't making me happy this evening. Nor did the internet suffice. I tried reading (read two chapters of a new book), watched a couple episodes of That 70s Show, which almost pulled me out of my funk but wasn't sufficient. I realized yet again that my archaic phone book lacks many people's numbers. I realized that I am too much of a weakling to move my fridge and figure out if looking at the back of it will help me determine what's wrong with it (it still keeps things cold, they just taste/smell strange). And I leave for Nashville on the 24th, which is rather soon. Sometimes my travel schedule gets a bit crazy, I will admit. Perhaps a good night's sleep will help. Perhaps if I plan some social engagements into the spare time I have until I leave that will also be a good thing. Every cloud does have a silver lining though -- and part of mine is that I'm getting a great amount of hours at work whenever I'm actually around and haven't booked time off, which will definitely help things :) Oh and did I mention that I had won a SaveOn gift card at work? It's making buying lunches at work much lighter on the pocketbook, which is ALWAYS an excellent feeling. Current Music: Jay Brannan -- American Idol | | Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 | | 8:53 pm |
| | Thursday, June 11th, 2009 | | 11:46 pm |
| | 8:14 pm |
Minor Frustrations
... and yes I will get back to writing my Vegas post soon... but first some minor frustrations: -- The Fridge smells horrible (the freezer is worse) and is flavouring food with the most bizarre flavour. This is resulting in my not buying groceries and instead attempting to go through what I have left. I'm really wondering what it is, as all my food seems intact. Regardless the fridge and freezer seem to be working fine and I DON'T THINK I've gotten ill from any of the food. -- Speaking of getting ill, I think I might have had food poisoning earlier this week. I felt utterly rotten on Tuesday (to the stomach mostly) and Wednesday wasn't much better. Today however I'm like 100% in comparison. It's either food poisoning or the random illness that a smattering of my co-workers have: similar enough symptoms. No idea what food would have caused it though. *shrugs* -- I don't like having to reschedule things. Apparently I need to reschedule my wisdom teeth removal. I'm just REALLY hoping that that works out somehow. As it was, the surgery was going to be on the perfect days... and now I'm going to have to re-do my requests for time off at work. -- Speaking of re-doing time off at work, since they rescheduled one of my required classes for my degree, I'm going to have a less than optimal school/work schedule this fall. It's not a bad schedule (and the school part will be rather consistent) but the off campus work will be less perfect based on this slight schedule change (can you tell I'm timing focused?). -- I'm still playing phone tag. I'm not a huge fan of phone tag, really. For years I wasn't even a fan of using a phone. -- And yeah, the more I think about cell phones, the more frustrated I am that there aren't more touch screen versions of smart phones that are useable with my nails rather than my fingerpads. No, I'm still not planning on getting a cell phone any time soon, but if I were (and I imagine I will eventually) finding one that I can use effectively with my nails would be of utmost importance... -- Oh and the usual gripe: People: if you're going to use self-scan, PLEASE a) read b) listen c) pay attention! Telling me that I can't expect you to know that you're overcharging yourself (by putting in a plainly obvious wrong item instead of the item you're actually buying) things because you don't read the screen is not an excuse. If you don't want to read, listen or pay attention, please use the full-service tills over there. Thank you. Current Mood: hopefulCurrent Music: Pierre Lapointe - Nous n'irons pas | Powered by Last.fm | | 8:02 pm |
| | Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 | | 6:57 pm |
Vacation, here I come!
So, following tomorrow's work shift (and it should HYPOTHETICALLY be less stressful than the work chaos of earlier this week [including computer issues, customers, injuries and bizarre thefts among other things]), I will be on vacation, heading to my parents' place for a dental appointment, back to Edmonton, to Calgary to visit a friend and then to Vegas with said friend. I'm truly looking forward to this trip, because it's one of VERY few REAL vacations. As many of you realize, I often travel for CKI/Kiwanis or other purposes that aren't solely leisure. This will be FUN. That said, I will likely eschew all contact via phone or email/internet for the duration of my stay in Vegas (barring really good reasons). This will of course contribute to the vacation aspect of my travel! What will I do on vacation? See some shows: Cirque de Soleil's Zumanity and Bette Midler, eat some great food, swim a bit, and catch the sights. Yes, I overplan too, so I have tonnes of information available to me, but heck we'll have a good time. And I've been getting loads of advice (solicited and un!), which helps influence just what I want to go out of my way and partake in on my travels. Current Mood: calmCurrent Music: Pete Seeger - This Land Is Your Land | Powered by Last.fm | | Thursday, May 21st, 2009 | | 10:03 pm |
Back to Edmonton... and much to do in limited time.
So I'm back home. And looking at 6 more work days (8 consecutive in total) now before heading off again, this time to a dental appointment followed by a trip to Calgary and then my trip to Vegas. I don't even think I have breathing space if I want to get everything done (thank goodness I realize that I am an imperfect being and cannot get everything done). BC was... well, emotion filled, actually. Tears and laughter, and everything in between. The weather couldn't have been better actually (though it was a BIG shock to the system to come home to snow!). The weekend included seeing cousins I hadn't seen in YEARS, many stories from my father's past (and the pasts of other relatives), meeting relatives I hadn't met before, good food, crazy art work, riding a segway for the first time, walking around Ymir, helping to clean up my grandparents' basement, acquiring an odd assortment of items from said basement (the next board games night will possibly include "The Game" and/or the "MAD Magazine board game" among other possibilities), getting gifted with a wedding shower gift (yeah I know, I'm nowhere near getting married... put it this way: my cousin mentioned that they had given up on us girls...), walking tour through Salmo, eating great breakfasts at the Dragonfly Cafe, the mountains, watching my brothers and cousins jump into the frigid river water (off the divingboard no less), watching kids roll down the hill (as we once did), listening to an excellent eulogy, passing the urn, getting to know people better (especially significant others of family members), etc. So many memories, including the ones we made that weekend. It was as I expected, and more in many ways. Once I got back to Alberta, I relaxed for a day with TV and Wii. I definitely overdid it with the Wii (as per the usual), and am still a bit sore from that. I kind of wish I had one here, seeing as regardless of the size of my puny TV, it encourages me to be active. I was having stomach upset issues the night before last. Thank goodness they were essentially gone by morning, though yesterday I was feeling rather run down. I didn't want to TOUCH the computer let alone deal with my email backlog (which I'm sorry to say still isn't caught up on, but I'm getting there). Instead, Beth and I went and saw Studio Theatre's production of Assassins. I really enjoyed this production, and it gave me a lot to think about. Put me in a good mindset actually -- of all things! So I was pretty motivated today to at least tackle some of the internet backlog. Seeing as I have to get up mighty early tomorrow and have probably a tonne of things to do (including a party to potentially attend tomorrow night depending on whether I'm feeling up to it), I had best get offline shortly... but yeah, I'm back to my Edmonton reality for the time being -- at least until next week anyhow. Current Mood:  tiredCurrent Music: Azeda Booth - Ran | Powered by Last.fm | | 8:59 pm |
A meme! (from Maria)
I want to know 36 things about you. I don't care if we never talk or if we already know everything about each other. Short and sweet is fine. You're on my list, so I want to know you better! BE HONEST! COPY FROM HERE THEN SEND DIRECTLY TO ME IN A COMMENT THEN, REPOST THE EMPTY QUESTIONS. 1) Are you currently in a serious relationship? 2) What was your dream growing up? 3) What talent do you wish you had? 4) If I bought you a drink what would it be? 5) Favorite vegetable? 6) What was the last book you read? 7) What zodiac sign are you? 8) Any Tattoos and/or Piercings? Explain where. 9) Worst Habit? 10) If you saw me walking down the street would you offer me a ride? 11) What is your favorite sport? 12) Do you have a Negative or Optimistic attitude? 13) What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me? 14) Worst thing to ever happen to you? 15) Tell me one weird fact about you. 16) Do you have any pets? 17) What if i showed up at your house unexpectedly? 18) What was your first impression of me? (hmmm...careful!) 19) Do you think clowns are cute or scary? 20) If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be? 21) Would you be my crime partner or my conscience? 22) What color eyes do you have? 23) Ever been arrested? 24) Bottle or can soda? 25) If you won $10,000 today, what would you do with it? 27) What's your favorite place to hang at? 28) Do you believe in ghosts? 29) Favorite thing to do in your spare time? 30) Do you swear a lot? 31) Biggest pet peeve? 32) In one word, how would you describe yourself? 33) Do you believe/appreciate romance? 35) Do you believe in God? 36) Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same for you? Current Mood:  curiousCurrent Music: Disney - Test Track Medley | Powered by Last.fm | | Monday, May 11th, 2009 | | 10:00 am |
Books and Movies... oh my! :)
So, someone mentions that I haven't posted much lately, and she's right, I haven't. So I guess I'll start by writing about that which I had been mentally thinking about posting lately: various media. I've been reading a smattering of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and magazines lately. Plus I finally read the Watchmen, which I adored. It was utterly excellent!! Following my reading of the Watchmen I went and finally watched the movie. I rather liked the movie as well. I missed the intertextuality of the graphic novel while watching the movie, but appreciated the decrease in emphasis of smoking in the movie. The movie's ending is also a better reflection of our post 9/11 world than the graphic novel was (though the graphic novel better reflects 1985 sensibilities). I also finally read the Da Vinci Code. I wasn't as trapped by the suspense of it as I would have been had I not already seen the movie, but I rather liked reading the illustrated version. Plus I was surprised by that which differed from the film. The writing was a lot of telling rather than showing but was very accesssible and a well-developed/researched mystery. So I enjoyed that, although the writing style wasn't particularly jaw-droppingly amazing. I had a VERY hard time putting it down. Last night I saw Star Trek!! I absolutely adored it and REALLY hope that there will be other Star Trek movies made with these actors in this universe. It really truly impressed me. It was indeed all that I expected it to be and more. I was giggling so much (plus to be honest was rather frightened at times...). The intro took me a bit to get situated with. The aesthetics were really well suited to the film as well. On another note, I'd like to thank all who came out to the last board game gathering. I'm only sad that there weren't more willing/able/healthy enough to come out to play board games this time around, but I certainly had a good time! I'm not sure I'll be able to host as many of these as I would like in the coming months given my ridiculous travel (etc.) schedules but whatever. Sure, I don't host the most crazy of parties (usually) but I enjoy everyone's company for board games and discussions and good food (hey, this time I even baked!). Now I'd better get off to work... Current Mood: cheerfulCurrent Music: Leonard Cohen - Everybody Knows | Powered by Last.fm | | Saturday, May 9th, 2009 | | 9:31 am |
ABC 123 Facebook meme
The rules are: *you enter the letter into the search box and first name to appear you must answer truthfully ..Then tag the people you answered questions about! ( what I answered with ) Current Mood: cheerfulCurrent Music: Stacy's Mom -- Fountains of Wayne | | Thursday, April 30th, 2009 | | 12:23 pm |
| | Sunday, April 26th, 2009 | | 9:20 pm |
Maybe (just maybe) I'm starting to de-stress...
... and check a few items off of my too-full to-do list. While I'm currently operating on next to no sleep (and operating surprisingly well), I've had a rather good weekend. Certainly I didn't get to do EVERYTHING I wanted to do, but it was replete with different experiences (and yes, that work thing too...). Friday I attended Edmonton Poetry Festival. It was good to finally get out to a Po-Fest event (as much as I wanted to attend more, I realized that I needed to stop stretching myself far too thin). In the process I was exposed to not only the excellent poets from the Glam Slam but also some other new poets in addition to Nicole Pakan and Douglas Barbour. I was disappointed that the "Assasin" of the night didn't place during the Glam Slam (as his poetry was so engaging and really unique too... plus you can never discount the fun aspect during a slam), but overall I truly enjoyed that aspect of the night. And I didn't go overboard this time but picked up a signed copy of The Hayflick Limit by Matthew Tierney (who greatly impressed me during the reading I attended at Axis cafe). Saturday night I caught Oh Susanna! As per my last experience it was a blast, though shorter than expected. I found the guest stars (the actresses who played witches from The Wizard of Oz at the Citadel) more engaging this time as I had already seen their performance. I think I ought to go out to this more often, however when Colin and Peter leave town, the lack of company for the walk home will probably make it rather unlikely that I'd feel comfortable attending... not that I won't want to! Again it was great fun. Plus the sandwich was yummy! Also Colin and I exchanged books, which I absolutely cannot wait to read. Today after work I enjoyed the Baroque Ensemble (thanks to Maria), which I think helped me be in the right mind today... and relax. And then I read a nice light Sophie Kinsella book -- Can You Keep A Secret? And I'm slowly getting other things done. Which makes me happy! Current Mood: calmCurrent Music: The Beatles - Ticket to Ride | Powered by Last.fm | | Thursday, April 23rd, 2009 | | 10:54 pm |
So apparently I still need to relax...
Or something of the sort. I was in a perfect mood today (after a bizarre work shift, really what with doors being broken, people being sick, and the crazy snow/cold weather) and my computer printer decided it didn't want to print. Now my next action was to mention it to people online and hope that someone would point out an answer. And that worked, although in an entirely unexpected way. Of the many people named David who could have helped, one came over and miraculously made the printer work. And I mean miraculously, because we have no idea why it works now but didn't then. Bizarre, really! In other news, I read Cory's new book, and was rather pleased with the quick read. It's really nifty to see his story in print. It's quite a good one. And I'm slowly getting my travel plans under control for this summer. Slowly because not all the info is available. But it's getting there. And really, that's what matters. I'm really looking forward to my vacation. I'm just thinking I might need another vacation, where NOTHING is planned as well. We'll see. Current Mood: calm | | Tuesday, April 21st, 2009 | | 10:19 pm |
Not much to say... but transit adventures are fun (plus I'm a couch potato!).
So I got home from Regina safe and sound. It felt good to doze on the way back (I tend to doze/sleep on the way home from trips rather than en route to get there). That whole weekend consisted of a lot of sitting and eating (yes, and productive stuff too). It strikes me that I've become more couch potato-ish lately, and probably need to do something about this. Today was no exception as I was working a Casino for one of the local area Kiwanis clubs. I adore being banker so that was good stuff. That said, I really need to do my transit research more diligently... so that I don't go miss the bus I'm planning on taking. Very important. Now driving through a trailer park on the bus was interesting, but it wasn't on my list of things to do today. So I guess that's something to consider. Yes, my brain did think about the convenience of having a cell phone or a internet capable device at that point (when I was waiting for the bus) but you all know me well enough to realize that while I may have thought of it, I'm not about to act on that thought -- not for a long while yet anyway. In other news, this Leonard Cohen CD that I won (and picked up today): Live in London, is very soothing. It is truly helping me relax. Current Mood: calmCurrent Music: Leonard Cohen -- Tower of Song |
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