Looking Through Yellow

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:04:25 GMT

I am trying to read an online reading about blogs, but it keeps reminding me that I should be here, reading and posting and commenting.

This semester is definitely busier than the summer ones. There's more assignments, more homework (not sure how there's more homework than taking the course in half the time, actually :P) AND we have half our time in the lab, but the other half in a classroom. I miss the lab. I don't get as much time online anymore.

So far though, things are going well. I honestly can't remember what I've said in here, but they split our summer class into two sections, and blended us with the students that started last fall. In theory, it's so we meet more people. In practice I think it kind of sucks. I'm not in class with hardly any of the people I was just starting to talk to (yeah, it took me three months to warm up to them), but at least there's a couple of them. And we do have one class this semester all together to prep for our work placements, so it's not so bad.

I'm also in class with a lot of young just-out-of-highschool kids... I'll leave that statement stand for itself.

I got a job at the library. Did I mention that? I should probably go check, but I'm already half through writing :P

So I got a job paging. It's low level, but it'll pay for my gas, and everyone seems happy to have me back. My boss says I'll be used as an example to the younger pages and grow into a bit of a supervisor role, which is good for the resume... And hopefully will be reflected by a more-than-minimum wage, although I'm not counting on it. Right now I'm working with a lot of teenagers who seem to be content to sit and shelf-read half the shift, instead of putting away trolleys full of books. Not really acceptable, but I have to get to know them a little better before I start harping on them.

Anyway, I find it very difficult to type on the library computers. The keyboard's at a funny height and it strains my wrist pretty badly. And I should get back to my readings anyway.

Turtles

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:28:52 GMT

I'm done! Woo hoo!

But I really came here to talk about a turtle.

I was driving home from school last night, and saw something moving slightly on the side of the road. When I glanced by as I was driving past, I noticed it was a turtle, trying to cross. I kept driving, but after about 30 seconds, the overwhelming guilt and pity for the little guy took over, and I turned around. All I could think about was him never making it across the road (it's a country road, but fairly busy).

It took me a minute to find a place to turn around, and then another minute once I got back to him to find a safe place to pull over (he was of course right on a curve with no shoulder). And another minute to walk the short distance to him. By this time, miraculously, he had made it pretty much across the entire road, despite several cars whizzing by him. Basically I picked him up and moved him 6 inches to the grass on the other side (on his way to a pond, but there was a steep ditch in the way of me taking him there).

I felt silly I had gone to all the trouble of helping him when he was obviously quite self sufficient and didn't even need me, but I least I know he got across safely. :P

And that's my random anecdote for the day :P

Almost

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:09:00 GMT

I have one more exam this afternoon, and then I'm done another semester.
I cannot even express how much I am looking forward to having the next two weeks off. (And I'm not going to do it well either, because I'm tired and can't write good. ;)
I have really noticed my energy/motivation dragging this last semester. It's hard to pay attention in class when we're learning the main function of a library circulation staff is to check in and out books. Our review questions included "Why is it important for a library to keep track of circulation"
On the negative side, once one has fallen into the 'I'm going to sit here and do other stuff on the internet' trap, it is really hard to break the habit, even when we've started to talk about things that I should be paying attention to. I'm not saying I'm doing poorly. Just not as well as I should be, I guess.
But it's almost done. I'm so tired of writing exams (5 in three days), and this afternoon's is probably going to be a long one. But afterwards I think a bunch of people are going out for drinks, so that should be fun.
Anyway, I guess that's all that's going on right now.

Really? Seriously?

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:28:43 GMT

The last couple mornings I've been late getting up and leaving for school. Not late for school, just not here as early as I like. As I've been rushing through getting ready, I've noticed a small dark spot on the ceiling in my rec room, over the pinball machine.
I have also been spending a lot less time on my computer lately. I come home from school, watch some tv in my room, maybe play some ds, or read over my notes on my bed... I don't get out into the rec room a lot.
But I had a test this morning, so I wanted to spend some time on my computer last night, going over the class notes. So I went out, and again the dark spot caught my eye, so I thought I should go investigate.
Was it some mold from some sort of leak? Was it a stain that had always been there?
No.
It was a bat.

A cute fuzzy little bat curled up in the corner sleeping. I tapped the wall to make sure it was still alive, and its little ear twitched. I jumped.

Now, we know from the Mole Incident, that I can take care of things like this. But bats can fly. You can't contain something that flies, and what if it got caught in my hair or swooped at me?

On Michelle's advice (The phone call went a little like "Hi. How are you?" "Hi. There's a bat on my ceiling.") I called my brother Doug to come help me. Except that he was out under his van fixing something. Great. I called my mom at work, she said she'd be home in a little while. She seemed unconcerned.

Meanwhile, I'm thinking sitting with my back to the creature and turning lights on and clciky-clacky typing on my computer is not what I'm going to do. I opened the pool door closed the other doors out of the room. I told the bat the door was open and he was free to leave. I retreated to my bedroom to read.

My brother called me back in about 15 minutes, and I explained the situation to him. "So you want me to come over tonight or...?" he asked. He actually asked. I confirmed that is what I wanted.

My mom got home about a half hour later with a butterfly net, but pointedly waited for Doug to show up. Which he did, another 20 minutes later. Luckily I didn't have a lot of homework I was avoiding...

He also came with a net, but we used the one my mom had brought. He bent it into a corner type shape and put it over the bat. Ever heard a bat start using its sonar? It clicks. It did so quite furiously, and crawled across the stucco valence. Ever seen a bat crawl? FREAKIEST THING EVER. It looks like a four-limbed spider.

Doug actually had to grab it through the net to get it off the ceiling. He took it outside and deposited far from the house. I suppose the end was rather anti-climactic, but there you have it.

How did it get in? I have no idea.

~SmileShine

An DAPC Golf Tournie Anecdote

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:41:32 GMT

I decided to put the best story of the day in its own post, so here it goes:

It's called "How We Almost Broke Tim's Leg..."

We were on our third to last hole, and laughing and carrying on as usual. Tim and David were in the cart in front of us, and Doug was joking about running into them... as he had been threatening all day.

So Tim stuck his leg out of the cart as we drove up beside them. And by "stuck out" I mean he lifted it up and bent his knee towards us. I have pictures I'll post later. It all happened very fast but the gist is Doug came up beside them, and Tim kicked his leg a little, and somehow managed to get his foot over our windshield.

Worried about what was going on, Doug hit the brakes. Dave did not. Tim came half of his seat in an effort to NOT have his leg torn off and ended up half-turned around in the seat, trying to list himself off the seat to keep his leg high enough. Our windshield popped off, and David did stop. And we all almost peed ourselves laughing. Tim has a sore leg (and a bruise where he hit the frame of our cart with his calf) but thankfully that's all the damage. We put the windshield back on (with David muttering "shh, just act casual") and continued on. We joked about it for the rest of the night, and trying to write this still makes me giggle.

It could have been really serious, with us braking Tim's leg, or him tearing a groin muscle or something, but since it didn't come to that, I think it makes this year our best tournament yet.
:)

Golfing

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:29:43 GMT

As I mentioned, yesterday was the annual Dick Aldridge Pancreatic Cancer Golf Tournament, and my brothers and I participated for our third year.

We all met at David's in the morning (Doug and I carpooled there) and headed to the course for around 10:15. There's always a table of muffins, breads, etc, so we registered and had a light breakfast before the start at 11:00.

Our first hole was the one David sponsored, so we had our picture taken with the "In memory of Earl Fleming" sign and got started. I have to say, the first hole was I think our best one of the day. Tim and I can't drive the ball (and I really hadn't practiced much this year) but David had a beautiful shot up the fairway. It was "Scramble" format, so you choose the best ball and all hit from there. Tim apparently has a knack for the short game, and chipped the ball up to the green, and I got the putt.

The rest of the day proceeded in mostly the same fashion. My drives got better as the day went on, and we even had 2 we could legitimately say we played from. The rules of the tournament say you have to choose at least 2 of each player's drives... We don't stick to them too strictly though, because it's not like we're ever anywhere close to winning for it to matter.

The drinking started about about 12.. Tim shotgunned 2 beers to "loosen up his game" and I had one of the drinks we brought. Tim figured out last year that if you put a couple shots of vodka in a water bottle you can freeze it over night, and then put a Koolaid Single shot into it the next day and TADA: mixed drink. We packed about 8 of them, and I think we managed to drink 6.. I don't know how many beers we brought or the boys drank... David and Doug I know only had a couple, whereas me and Tim were definitely tipsy by lunch.

All in all it was a great day. Our score wasn't actually horrendous, and we all had a lot of fun. After the tournament, we went back to David's for pizza and video games. There is a dinner put on by the tournament that we went to last year, but it's really long and we'd all rather play video games anyway :P

Today my muscles are definitely stiff, but not in a terrible way. Just going to skip the gym tonight to let them rest, and then I'll be back to it by the end of the week!

Second Semester

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:11:10 GMT

So, there is definitely more work this term. Did I mention that in my last post? I can't remember.

I'm staying pretty on top of things though. We had a class canceled on Thursday, and I didn't quite realize how much work she had assigned us as homework.. but other than that everything is good. We have our first test on Thursday, and then 4 tests next week... (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday. Awesome.) I will be writing the Tuesday test on Thursday though, because on Tuesday I will be golfing with me brothers again.

I am only slightly concerned about twisting and swinging a heavy golf club... I'm pretty sure my back is strong enough now to take it. I haven't been doing my physio for a while, mostly because now that I'm not working, it's too expensive. I want to start doing the exercises again though, even if I don't actually go see the physiotherapist, just to make sure everything stays strong and braced.

I also started going back to the gym this week. It has been way too long since I went, partly because of being a cripple... and partly because of being lazy. But there's a Curves right on my way home from school, and I tried it out last night and I like the trainer that was there, and the building is nice and stuff, so I am re-dedicating myself!
Our class break seems to be ending, so I suppose I will end this here. My goal now that we're in the lab all the time is to write in here a little more. We'll see how that goes...

Bored bored bored

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:09:27 GMT

Half an hour seems like no time when you are sitting with a friend. No time when you have dinner. No time when a computer game is on your screen. Half an hour is a long time when you’re bored.
We got out of class early this morning … a whole hour early. I sat outside in the sun and read my book for a bit before I had lunch. I moved to sit in the shade for a while because the sun was so hot. I finished my book.
I came inside and found an empty computer in the library. Checked my email, checked facebook.
I’m bored. Class starts in half an hour.

So… what is new?
Not much. I’m starting Week 1 of second semester. Classes are a little more in depth than the introductory stuff last semester, which is good. I finished exams with an A+ average (I don’t actually know the marks) and I’m pretty proud of myself. : P
Second semester we have every class in the same room. We all sit in the same seats (and the class is full… not really any empty seats to move to)… 6 hours a day… 5 days a week. Lol the content in the classes seems good so far, but I’m worried I’m going to get sick of my spot pretty soon.
I thought I could kill a half hour writing an entry here, but so far I’m coming up pretty blank for inspiration.. I’ll think I’ll come back later

:)

Oh Right, School!

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 12:53:38 GMT

I have realized I have not yet talked about school!
So, here goes: I believe I already mentioned my schedule; Tuesday-Friday.
Classes are pretty good so far. Three hours each is a little much, but we have a couple breaks, so it works out all right.
My classes are:
Intro to Libraries
Basic Library Skills
Catalogues & Bibliographies
MS Access, HTML, & Networks.

So it's a lot of review, to "level the playing field" so to speak. People who have experience in
libraries have to wait for the rest to catch up. But honestly that's okay. Even if we're learning the Dewey Decimal System, a couple of my profs are really nice and I'm happy to follow along. The lab classes are another story. Access & HTML were things I was already pretty comfortable with, and even if I hadn't been, the prof goes super slow. SUPER slow. I have the internet to keep me company thank god. Catalogues & Bibliographies is also painfully slow, with the added "bonus" of having an inexperienced prof, who changes her mind about the rules every time we ask.
Seriously.
"So if this were a test, would you want us to say Browse Search, or Basic Search"
"Basic Search. Well. Wait. Maybe.. for this assignment use Browse Search. I'll think about it for the test." And that was actually quite decisive compared to usual. I am not the only one, I'm sure, coming out of that class frustrated and wondering why I even went in the first place. But anyway. I have the internet in that class too.

The accelerated version of this program is exactly that... We have a test every other week. Big tests. Worth like 20% of our mark. So far I'm rocking them :) In two weeks we have our exams, then a week off, and we start again in July.

Our prof just walked in, so I guess I should pretend to listen now (HTML today again). I have more entries to catch up on, about work, about life... But I'll try and get to them soon.

Other Things

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 18:42:54 GMT

I am feeling so much better this week, it's astounding. Funny how one day it can feel like the world is ending, and the next I feel happy and great and back to normal.

Work is really picking up this week with the nice weather which is... nice. Its good being busy and suddenly realizing two hours has passed.

I got my course schedule for school this week :) I have Mondays off until July, which is super sweet. I'm not sure what's going on work wise. I have told David I'm leaving, and I kind of want to stick to that. I spoke to a lady at the Bolton library last week, and she told me there would definitely be some hours in August, once one of the pages goes to University. So I think maybe I'll be taking the summer months off and focusing on school (which should be fairly intense) and then I'll take it from there.

I wanted to write more here, but it's running dangerously close to the end of my lunch break, and I have a list of things to get done today before 5 ...

Some Things

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 00:21:14 GMT

As usual, there are many things I've been meaning to write about, but haven't made it here to actually write them. My back is slowly getting better. I've been going to physio... and actually doing the exercises this time. She's been telling me a lot of the same things I've heard before -- weak core muscles, other muscles have over-developed to compensate. Basically its a lot of re-strengthening things.

Work is... almost over, surprisingly. It is quite challenging passing my job off to Silvya. Not only am I trying to teach her everything I've figured out myself for the past 5 years, I'm trying to teach her basic accounting, excel skills, and general computer savvy-ness as well. It's difficult.

I have to head in to the library in Bolton next week to ask about potential jobs there. On one hand, I'm quite confident that they will hire me, because they know me, and love me. On the other hand, it is very likely they won't have a job opening, or time to give me, and I'll be forced to stay at the store for a while longer. Only I won't have my job anymore, because I've passed it all off...

I haven't heard from Seneca yet about my courses... I did call, and they don't mail out timetables until the end of this week. I find that rather ridiculous, since class starts in three weeks, but I guess I just have to wait.

I think that's all the pertinent points right now. I have been feeling very ... low the past couple of days. Very disconnected, I guess, and generally unsettled. Usually I can attribute this to general tiredness, but I haven't really been behind on sleep this week, so I don't know. Hopefully it passes quickly.

I Went to the Doctors Today

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 01:03:33 GMT

I don't like going to the doctor. I really don't. But in the last year or so I seem to have found myself there a few times, clearing up things that have been going on for a while, that I've neglected.

Today I went because I threw my back out again last week. And because it's now becoming something of a chronic problem, a few different people starting telling me to get it looked at.

I didn't do anything to throw it out, as usual. It was stiff on Sunday, I slept on it wrong the night before, I guess, but it was feeling okay in the morning, once I started moving around. In the afternoon, I treated myself to a game of Civ4 on my computer, and *admittedly* spent a couple hours slouched on the couch. So by Sunday night I was pretty locked up. But I went bed and figured by Monday I would be back to stiff, but mobile.

WRONG.

I woke up at 3 am Monday morning in incredible pain, and barely able to roll over. Pain was literally shooting out of my lower back and down my legs. I managed to roll over and sleep a little more. When I woke up at 8, I still couldn't move, even to get out of bed. Thank God we have two phone lines, because I phoned my mom upstairs and asked her for some Robaxacet and Tylenol.

Monday I spent laying flat in my bed watching tv. By Tuesday I could walk, barely, and considered going to work. I made it into the bathroom to get ready, before my back spasmed again and I abandoned that thought. I took to using a baseball bat as a cane to get around the house, because I couldn't actually straighten by back. It was slightly too short, but it got me around.

Wednesday was a lot like Tuesday, so I caved to the doctor pressure. Except that the office doesn't open until 1:30 on Wednesdays, and when I finally did get a hold of them, they couldn't get me in until today. Thursday and Friday I did manage to get to work, but I left early. I also took breaks to lay flat on the office floor, because otherwise my leg would cramp and put me in more pain. My coworkers laughed at me, but in a supportive way :P

I seem to be digressing from the "Doctors" topic...
The problem, mostly, is that my "core" muscles give out, and, as I'm sure I've described before, my hips are now three inches off the to side of my shoulders. So today I went to my doctor, and they were still out of line, and she asked some questions, asked me to stand up and then with a lovely look of shock on her face said "Wow. I have never seen someone's back go out that badly."

So I had an Xray, I was sent to physio (still have to make an appointment for that) I was prescribed a muscle relaxant to take at night, and told to take Advil during the day, and she's booking me for a CT scan. I hate all the rigmarole, but I guess if it stops (or drastically reduces) the amount of time I spend unable to move, it could be worth it.

On the plus side, I caught up on a LOT of my Previously Recorded shows...

Delayed

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 02:51:42 GMT

I have been meaning to write an entry about something for almost a month now, and just haven't gotten to it. And at the time, I was really excited to come tell you all about it... But then it didn't happen.

So here it goes, although slightly behind schedule:

My sister-in-law Silvya was in Scotland for two weeks, to visit her sister and brother-in-law. While she was there she was introduced to a friend of Deanna's (that's her sister) who is a spirit medium. Introduced as in, never met before, because that's important. So, Silvya asked if she would do a reading on her, and the girl gave her the usual disclaimer that there's no guarentee who will show up, if anyone... yadda yadda.

So they sat down, and the woman immediately said "whoa, someone's here." And something to the effect of "he's pushing everyone else out of the way" Some of the things she said to describe the "spirit" were: "He's a big man, but not fat. He's tall, but mostly he's just really big in presense" and "He's a father to you. But he's not your father."

So Silvya said "yeah, that's my father in law"

The woman said a few neat things, which to me, really validate the whole expirience. She asked Silvya "Why does he keep saying Spring? Something about everything will be okay in the spring, or there will be money in the spring?" Spring, of course, is the busiest time of the year at the store.
She said he spends a lot of time at the store (surprise, surprise) and "some kind of farm. It's not a real farm, but there's apple orchards, and a lot of fruit plants and things. And a woman there who loves gardens and loves flowers." And also "I can see a kitchen, but a biiig biig kitchen (keeping in mind that in Scotland, kitchen's are very small) and there's some sort of counter sticking into the middle of it. And the floor looks like stone. He spends a lot of time there." He also mentioned that someone should look after the flowers for my mom.

At some point something came up about David dreaming about him, and the woman said "Yes. He says that was him. He has been trying to contact you, but it's too hard." And that any time we have dreams, that's him trying to tell us something. She also mentioned any time we feel like he's around, or smell him, or anything like that, it's because he's with us. (David says he smells him at work sometimes).

He "told" Silvya (via this medium woman, I mean) that he didn't believe in anything like this -- the afterlife, or that kind of thing -- and he was wrong, and that he was sorry. And he said that there is somewhere else for him to go to, but he's not ready to leave yet. We're not keeping him here, but he wants to stay with us; he's not ready to go.

So, my brother Tim called me and asked if I would go to a medium with him. He's been wanting to go for a long time anyway, and this just brought it up again. He had a number of a woman that his friend went to, and she was really good, so we called. But, unfortunately, their (9-month long) waiting list is full, so they suggested we try back in 6 months or so to be put on it... So we're going to wait a while. Neither of us wants to just go to someone random.

Having my dad "around" is both comforting, and kind of worrying, but I'll go into that more another time. Right now it's my bedtime..

"Appropriate" Adjectives.

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 19:18:55 GMT

So, an odd thing happened at work yesterday, I thought I'd share...

A customer called yesterday afternoon to check on a special order she'd placed a while ago. During our conversation, she made a comment like "oh, the guy who helped me..." so, I thought okay, I'll see who she was dealing with. I asked if she knew and she said "No, but I know what he looked like."
Okay great, I'm thinking this is pretty easy.. There are a total of 9 "guys" at our store, so I pretty much just need hair colour and approximate age and I can figure this out.
So I say "Okay, can you describe him?"
She paused for a minute and hesitated (which I thought was odd), and said "Well... He seemed kind of gay."
me: "umm, okay... what colour hair did he have? brown? blond?"
customer: "brown. almost black."
me: "okay, did he have glasses? did he have a beard?"
customer: "no; he looked like he maybe pencils in his eyebrows"
me: WTF?

She needed to talk to David anyway, so I passed her off to him, but I mean, really? The first way you're going to try and describe someone is "gay"? Like, could you be ANY less helpful?

Baaaah

Apparently

Sun, 25 Jan 2009 01:03:26 GMT

I never really talked about my exit strategy for work. And, since I'm trying to do this writing more often thing, I thought tonight would be a good time to lay it out.

My school starts in May. I don't know when exactly, because the only package I got was the generic "Come to our school!" one; I've been meaning to call and ask when I get the package that has actually Library Science details in it.

I have talked to David and confirmed that I will work the Saturdays in May, but after that I'm pretty much done. This is a hard decision. On one hand, I have no idea what my workload will be with school. Particularly in the summer, since its two semesters being condensed into four months, I expect it to be hard. And I don't want to have to work all the weekends and try to keep up with that. I am in a fortunate position that I don't have a lot of expenses, and I have a lot of savings that I can live on for a while, so I can take the time off working.

On the other hand, I'll be using a ton of gas to get to school and back, and having a paycheque would be nice.

Most importantly though, I'm worried that if I stay on "for weekends" or "for holidays" or even "here and there" it will become too hard to ever leave. It's hard now. This has been my life for ten years, and I am certainly a senior staff member, and I am certainly one of the most knowledgeable of our systems and things. I don't want to boast; I am not nearly as capable on the floor as many other staff members. But I can do almost anything in our computers. And I know a lot about how things have always worked, what policies should be changed, or what we've "always done".

And, let's face it, my job is pretty sweet. I come and go almost as I please. I have a nice office desk that I can retreat to whenever I don't feel like dealing with customers. I chat with David in the back room if it's slow. (My theory, by the way, being that he is aware that I am being paid, and if he wants to start conversations with me, that's his choice) But it's not really all those things I'm worried about losing, although I will certainly miss them.

But I do have to leave. It's best for me, and in the long run it's best for the store. I've said it before, and it's still true: I was there for my Dad. My dad's not there.

So I think that's the gist.

Honestly

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 02:26:28 GMT

If I had access to the internet during my lunch break at work, I swear my entries would increase dramatically. I just find that by the time I get home, have dinner, and am sitting at my computer, I'm in veg mode, and don't feel like writing. Today I decided to write an entry at work, and then just jump drive it home and post it.

Unfortunately, Gail was quite chatty on my lunch, and I didn't want to turn my back on her to use my computer. But I'm making up for it by still writing now! Yay!

I got new tires yesterday on my car. On one hand, it was $900 I wasn't planning on spending... but on the other, now I don't slide every time there's a centimetre of snow on the ground so I guess it evens out. The mechanic recommended another $700 worth of repairs, including a new wiper-blade motor because mine sticks and it drives me crazy. I am slightly leery that this is a way to get more money out of me, but he's a good customer at the store and my brother trusts him, so I suspect the work does need to be done. But I'm not doing it for a month because I would like to actually see money stay in my account for a change.

I've been thinking lately about getting a new car. Trixie is a 2002, and (as referenced) now is about the time she starts needing money and repairs. I think I'd like to keep her for a couple more years, until I'm done school and have another job (which seems optimistic at this point). The thought of replacing her makes me sad :(

Other than that, nothing is really new around here. I am making a concerted effort to go back to the gym more often. I ate like crap over the holidays and its definitely showing. I feel good going back, I just have to make it a habit and not bail because I'm tired. Even though I often am :P

And work is work. I haven't circulated yet that I'm leaving; I'm waiting until closer to the time. I feel worse as it gets closer - they certainly will miss me. And I will miss the paycheque. But I need to leave, and I can't drag it out or I never will.
So leave I will.

Destruction and creation are the same thing after all

I DID IT

Sat, 06 Dec 2008 02:02:38 GMT

I go accepted to Seneca!!!

I got the mail today, and totally thought I'd gotten my WWF calendar, so I wanted to open it and see the cute animals... but it was from Seneca! I opened it quickly in the kitchen before I called to my mom to exclaim my excitedness.

Then I did a happy dance. :)

Now I have to "accept my offer" and wait for my fun package of schedule-type things.

Yay Yay Yay

Work

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 19:43:32 GMT

I'm on my lunch at work, and kinda bored. I'm also not really sure when my half-hour is over, since I've been back down to help on the floor twice since I started. Buuut I can just guestimate. Not like a granola bar and some fruit really takes that long to eat anyway. On the subject of this fruit, I am not loving these black grapes as much as I had planned. *And* although I just went to the dentist two weeks ago, I'm pretty sure I have a cavity or something because I have one tooth that's really sore, particularly when I'm eating sugar. I'm going to ask him about that on Monday... you know, when I go back to have the OTHER cavity filled. Stupid soft teeth.

This entry doesn't have a point. Sorry if you're reading along expecting one :P

I have a work rant I keep meaning to put in here, but I don't really have time right now. Most of it boils down to the fact that I'm succumbing to the typical unmotivated retail working syndrome. Not that I've ever been particularly motivated to begin with, but since our store lost our main "Lead By Example" Leader, (aka my Dad), and got in replacement "Do As I Say Not As I Do" Manager (aka my brother), things have kind of been downhill. But that's okay. We move on.

On the plus side, with the passing of American Thankgsgiving, our Muzak station has started with the Christmas Carols. YES! And my mom and I bought a new Christmas tree and set it up last night. (Last year the base broke and it basically leaned against the wall all season). This week we'll be decorating the tree, and purging some old ornaments.

I think that's about all for now. I should go back to doing orders and things instead of internetz and things. :)

As promised

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 00:16:17 GMT

I am home from London, so I thought I throw up another update! ha!
It's snowing terribley in London, but luckily that only lasted for part of the highway. I had checked the weather reports before I left, so I knew that eventually, the roads would be dry and clear. And honestly, even if it was very snowy, there was no ice really, just low visibility, which led to slow moving cars.

Anyway, in the vein of proper updates:
I applied to go back to school.

This was a long and complicated process, mostly in the decision portion. I have been feeling really down about work lately, which has been brewing for a while, so I started thinking about what I would feel better doing. I factored in my (apparently poor) grades from my degree at Western, to see if I could apply the credits towards another degree. I considered getting another four-year degree, but the idea of that much more school did not sit well.

So in the end, I applied to Seneca, for their Library Technician's Program. I am supposed to hear back "closer to the new year", and I have no idea what the demand to get in is like, so I have no idea whether I have a good shot. I want to enter the Accelerated Program, which is 12 months consecutively starting in May.

So, we'll see what happens.

And that's all I gots for now
:)

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 03:08:34 GMT

There are times in my day when I have a whole Livejournal post in my head. Many times. On many days. And if I had the internet on my work computer, I would spend my lunch here I am sure. But, that is not the case (and it's probably for the better, given my lack of work ethic lately), and often by the time I get home, have supper, etc, I don't have the energy, or quick frankly the words.

But today I made an exception. And I'm at Kathryn's using the high-speed internet, which is always a motivation.

Soooo, hi.

I am in London to celebrate Kate's birthday. And by "celebrate" I mean hang out, in a not-really-associated-with-a-birthday kind of way. I was at my brother Tim's last night, because he had a doctor's appointment early this morning, and didn't have a way to get Maddison to school. Michelle and my mom are in Paris, since my mom won a free trip from Air Canada (and Michelle's fried is getting married in England this weekend, a convienient Chunnel-ride away).

Aaanyway. So I was in Milton, hanging with my brother, which is something I am coming more and more to enjoy lately. Because I was halfway to London, I had arranged to take today and Friday off work (couldn't swing Saturday as well unfortunately). Maddison is getting *completely* spoiled this week, and I don't envy what Michelle is going to come home to on Monday. :P

I had a lovely drive here, despite the snow and freezing rain we got last night. In fact, until Woodstock, the roads were barely wet. It got progressively worse from there, however, until I got to London, and BAM total snow-covered horrible roads. Luckily it was only ten minutes from that point to Kate's. And I don't think they're forecasting anything too bad for my trip home tomorrow.

Anyway, so ends my entry about nothing, because I've run out of words and thoughts :P
But I'll be back more often, I promise promise promise.
You know, with real updates about stuff.

Just for the Record

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 12:34:00 GMT

I do not have time to be eating this Poptart or checking my OD. I am, because my work clothes are in the dryer, since I forgot to take them out of the washer last night.

And I am, because it's become my latest habit.

And I am, because mmm Poptart.

But I don't actually have time, and will likely be slightly late to work as a result.

In other news: I have a terrible terrible cold.

Maybe you'll never die, maybe you're gonna live for ever and never have anything wrong with you

Frustration

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:27:51 GMT

I really don't have to words to express how much I hate people touching my things. If you want to psychoanalize, you might say that it bothers me that I'm not organized and therefore lose things. I would say that even though I live in an almost constant state of mess, I very rarely lose things.

My tv remote, for example, has been laying upside down beside the washing machine for a week. Or rather, it was lying upside down beside the washing machine last Thursday when I did laundry. We can get into the debate about why I left it there later. The point is, I haven't watched my tv since before New Hampshire (and that's a month ago) so when I saw it, I made a mental note of the location.

Tonight, when I had some time to watch tv, and settled onto the couch with my supper, I could not find the afore mentioned remote. I found the satellite control, the volume control, the DVD control, the spare satellite and volume controls... not the tv. You know, not the only thing with the Input Button to change the feed to watch the satellite. I looked on the table, I looked beside the washing machine, I took all the cushions off the couchs.

My dinner, meanwhile, which was carefully cooked in a way so that everything was ready at the same time, and therefore all hot, and which included steamed vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots of all the disgusting mixtures), sat on the coffee table until it was lukewarm at best, but mostly cold. I didn't carry it back up to the kitchen to reheat it, because I couldn't be bothered. And because I was mad by this point, and ate it cold to prove a point.

What may have happened here was something as simple as my mother doing laundry, noticing the remote, and "rescuing" it for me. I doubt that, because then, by all logic, it would be on the table with the other 5. What more likely happened was that my dear nephews were playing video games on the weekend while I was away, and have left it somewhere. Like usual.

So I guess from now on I'm keeping the tv remote in a drawer in my bedroom, and they can do without the video games when I'm not here.

There is nothing that I can say that would in almost any way express the frustration in my head

Im Sorry, Did You Say Its September?

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 01:22:48 GMT

Well how the hell did that happen?

I have been itching to write in here for the last three weeks, and honestly, just never had the oppourtunity. Now it's all old news, and you get bullets instead of entries.

1. Charlie!
Awesome. Amazing. So proud of Kathryn.
Giving birth in a pool of water in my bedroom.... will not be my A plan.
But the baby is adorable :)

2. The Zoo
Marian And Kyla arrived from out west avec le puppy.
A trip to the zoo with Michelle. A bonfire with Catharine. Vodka. Fun was had by all.
Some of us might have had too much vodka. Like, maybe me.

3. New Hampshire
There aren't enough words to describe New Hampshire.
Relaxed. Comfortable. Familiar. Mosquito-y (thats a new one I had to invent).
Reading. Swimming. Eating. Hiking. Puppy-rescuing. You know how it goes.

4. Seattle
PAX.
Geeks.
Lineups.
Teh Aw3som3.

In retrospect, booking two entirely different vacations (camping on a mountain, electronics and gaming convention... what will I PACK?) back-to-back, *without* a day in between to stop at home was fairly ambitious. And I did it. And I conquered it. But I wouldn't do it again.

And now I'm back at home. Which is nice. Except for my computer apparently blew up while I was away, and was spirted away to get a new power supply. Hopefully it will return tomorrow with no lasting damage. :S

That's All I Got.

Here it goes, here it goes, here it goes again

OMG

Sat, 31 May 2008 01:03:23 GMT

This is ME!

Alright the picture isn't working, so I'm just going to have to trust you all to go to
http://www.xkcd.com/430/

Because seriously. Every day.

Stupid Kids

Thu, 29 May 2008 14:51:57 GMT

Our policy at work for time off has always been "If you need time off, you need to let me know three weeks in advance". That's whenI make up the schedules. I am not always on time with the schedules being posted -- this is a combination of my not having time to work on them, and David not having time to approve them -- but they are always half made, and when someone asks me to change something, it just takes me longer to re-work it all out. After the schedule is posted, it's up to the employee to cover their shift, or work)

Yesterday, one of our young guys (who has been warned before about asking for time off too late) came into my office at 4:00 and said "Yea, uh, me and Matt (another part timer) need next Friday night off. For prom." Granted, next week's schdule is not posted yet. It's been sitting on David's desk for a week for him to review -- A step in the process I'm trying to eliminate.

But honestly, next Friday? I wanted to say no just out of principle, but it is Prom... and he would have just called in anyway. Instead I gave him a very stern look and reiterated that all requests need to be on my desk THREE WEEKS IN ADVANCE, and that I wouldn't promise anything. We worked it out, but I seriously want David to make a comment about if he calls in "sick" Saturday morning.

Anyway, that's my rant for today :P

I had a dream, I had a drowning dream