November 2009 Archives

1. Where is your cell phone? bag
2. Your significant other? christopher
3. Your hair? product-ed
4. Your mother? awesome
5. Your father? reliable
6. Your favorite thing? comfort
7. Your dream last night? engrossing
8. Your favorite drink? coffee
9. Your dream/goal? retirement
10. The room you're in? office
11. Your hobby? cleaning
12. Your fear? embolism
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? retired
14. What you're not? content
15. Muffins? blueberry
16. One of your wish list items? car
17. Where you grew up? hometown
18. The last thing you did? lunch
19. What are you wearing? jeans
20. Favorite gadget? touch
21. Your pets? dead
22. Your computer? old
23. Your mood? optimistic
24. Missing someone? lots
25. Your car? broken
26. Something you're not wearing? earrings
27. Favorite store? online
28. Like someone? intensely
29. Your favorite color? blue
30. When is the last time you laughed? morning
31. Last time you cried? saturday

[lovingly stolen from brigette - thanks!]

that was pretty darn good weekend. lots of peoples, lots of fun, lots of work done and fun had and food ate. i even finished reading the new Wheel of Time book!

my iPhone lust is fading, thank god. but, i still think i'd be a fool to pass up the crazy deal i was made aware of. i know i'd love it and use it all the freaking time but... a three-year contract? that's a lot of commitment. i just don't know if i could handle that. and it's Telus and everyone knows Telus is the devil, right? mrrf. too much thinking!

ugh, i really shouldn't post when i'm this sleepy. zzz.

after spending all day obsessing over how i could manage to afford an iPhone, or not, all day, back and forth, Christopher put it into perspective for me on the car ride home:

me: oh, fuck it. i should just go buy a cat.
him: there's probably an app for that.

so, yeah. $44.80 each month is standing between me and some iPhone-y goodness. it wouldn't compromise any of my current financial goals (accelerated debt repayment, emergency fund padding, car repair/replacement saving), but it would cut into that nice little "extra" i have after paying the bills and putting money away each month. you know, the buffer which gets used for gifts, clothes, emergency pizza delivery.

it's not a hardship, but i still find myself balking. i have a perfectly working cell phone (if you don't count it's complete and utter crapness at texting) and a super magnificent iPod Touch which isn't even six months old yet. but... constant access to the internets. oh, data, you seductive temptress. that's why i'd get the iPhone. data.

the cheapest Telus plan, with the unlimited texting and caller ID add-on would cost me just $44.80 more than i currently budget for my pay-as-you-go Virgin phone. it would give me twice as many minutes as i would ever think of using and 500mb of sweet, sweet data (which, by all reports would be entirely suitable for my level of usage).

i think it's just the concept of paying over SEVENTY DOLLARS a month for a portable phone device. it seems so... excessive.

anyway, i just can't seem to decide, so i'm not. i know, you guys choose for me! i know you'll come up with the right decision! go forth and comment your choice!

update:

my friend Colene showed me a way to get the iPhone for less than half the regular price AND save on my plan to get it under that onerous $70 monthly total (not by much, but it's all psychological anyway). now my choice is just that much harder! ARGH!

my new curtains (in ivory) are up. i think they're too much like the colour of my walls. when the other new curtains arrive (in raindrop), they'll probably be much more to my liking.

i get my bonus tomorrow. unfortunately, i've already used some of it to buy american underpants and the aforementioned curtains. fortunately, there's still enough left for new nikes. and maybe even a nike+ to put in them.

my new hematologist is awesome. she's letting me continue taking rat poison for the whole six months just to keep me from freaking out. and she's ordered fancy scans of my lungs. i think i love her, even though she's way too skinny. bag of hangers skinny.

chez hessie has been officially reclaimed. i scrubbed down the bathroom last night. the bathtub hadn't been cleaned since before my surgery. that was one icky tub. what's almost as exciting as the clean abode: i can kneel! it's been a long time since i could do that.

it's a party weekend. birthdays and brunch and many people all over the place. and i'm not even dreading any of it! how novel.

my co-worker bought an iphone last weekend. i want an iphone so much. if i never wanted to have enough money to buy new clothes or birthday gifts or pizza, i could totally go get one. but, i kind of like to not be naked, appreciate my friends and melted cheese. therefore, i will continue to lust from afar.

when my INR drops below 2.5 i get anxious and stressed out. last night, it was 1.6.

i'm going to bed so i don't have to think about it anymore tonight.

alive, but barely. sales were better than expected, but not quite what i'd hoped. brigette & markus were my visitors today. big-sale lady from yesterday forgot to pay for her stuff at the communal till before leaving last night, but called today to get my address to send me a cheque. we'll see if that happens.

very tired and feeling kind of sad because my oldest and best friend is suffering something which might not ever go away. it breaks my heart to see her and know just how much it kills her to not be able to do the things she wants to. but, i do what i can, like giving her my old mp3 player filled with all the music we listened to in our youth for her birthday this coming thursday. it's very near the least i can do, but i know she'll appreciate it almost as much as the biggest gesture i could muster.

i couldn't do this craft fair thing every weekend. i have to go back to the office tomorrow feeling like i haven't had a single day off. ugh.

after a very slow and worrisome start, i ended day one with many small sales and one HUGEMONGOUS one. seriously, i didn't think that one lady was going to buy SIX magnet sets and TWO pendants and THREE more magnets! that was almost a hundred-dollar sale! holy crap!

there was fairly steady traffic all day, which was good. my table-partner, and co-worker Sandy, got the first sale, but until near the end, i got most of the rest. Nelson came to visit while Jana was at a baby shower semi-nearby. a couple co-workers came to visit, as well. and, we made friends with most every other vendor who kept us company in the basement room of the Urban Academy. right next to us was actually one of the teachers, which explains why so very many people coming by knew her name.

interestingly, people seem to really like looking at my photo cards, but aren't so very interested in buying them. nor is there much interest in the pendants or rings. magnet sets are selling well and, after a slow start, so are magnet monograms and singles.

i supported my fellow crafters by buying a cat-shaped spoon rest and a cat-eared/devil-horned sparkly toque (it's pretty fucking fantastic, actually). i'm sure i'll spend more of my profits there tomorrow. especially on those extra-chewy homemade chocolate chip cookies. yum.

now, i'm home after finally getting to go out for sushi with Christopher after we closed up shop for the day. i've counted my money and now, i think i'm going to lie down on the floor for a while and unkink my back.

i'm such a party animal.

p.s. if you're not doing anything tomorrow, the craft fair is open for one more day! come see me from 10-5! i like visitors!

this is a list of all the things i think i should have accomplished lately but haven't:

- cleaned my dad's car windows while he was away
- vacuumed the crap off my floors
- washed my floors
- cleaned the bathtub
- called my cousin back
- returned that text message from Tyler
- used my Wii Fit (Plus)
- roasted the peppers which hopefully haven't yet gone bad
- eaten those potatoes i baked
- cleaned the window tracks
- removed all the various gardening debris from the balcony
- fixed the bathroom drawer
- cleaned the kitchen light fixture
- called the super about getting my bathroom repaired
- gone for a walk
- posted better things more often
- called Meghan
- called Karen
- helped my uncle with his scanner
- called about counseling
- cleaned and purged my kitchen cupboards
- cleaned and purged my bookshelves
- cleaned and purged my storage closet
- cleaned out the bottom of the coat closet
- moved the cedar chest into the closet so i have room for a new dresser
- turned the mattress
- had the blinds washed
- bought new curtains for the livingroom (i just ordered some in two colours to decide between)
- cleaned my car windows
- put up my craft crap on Etsy for sale
- all that shit at work i hate doing
- shaved my legs
- called for a hair appointment
- worn my brace
- found some way of keeping in better touch with Jeremy, Heather and Tyler
- lost weight
- ate more vegetables
- gotten over all the September trauma already

well, i'm all packed up for the big craft fair this weekend!

everything is in a big paper box or a lululemon tote bag (sorry, colene). at least i hope everything is. my worst fear is to get halfway through the day on saturday and realize that i've forgotten something vital.

SO SCARED!

anyway, set up is friday night and i have a serious question about craft show set up etiquette. is set up night just for putting up of racks and laying blankets on tables? or, does one set up all one's stock as well? so you can just show up the next day and get to selling? i guess my partner and i will find out once we get there, but it all just seem so damn confusing!

oh, unless something miraculous happens, the fancy business cards i ordered won't be ready in time for the show. fuck. instead, i whipped up something dodgy in Word and printed them on those fuzzy-edged laser printer cards -- which is EXACTLY what i wanted to avoid in the first place. boo, hiss. although, how excellent is it that i'll have 250 business cards and nowhere to use them!

anyway, yeah. i'm stressed out and quite frightened to be on the other side of the table at a craft fair. i've been a frequent visitor, but never a vendor. i don't quite know if i'm up for it. that's why i think y'all should come by to cheer me up!

Christmas Magic at the Manor
November 21 & 22, 2009 10 am to 5 pm

Urban Academy
101 Third Street, New Westminster, BC

i'm so annoyed!

i wrote this really adorable post using my ipod touch and the free wi-fi at the airport, but by the time i was finished one-finger-typing it all out, my session had ended, i had to relogin and the whole thing got erased.

i hate you free airport wi-fi! you are an evil succubus! promising awesome, but delivering suck.

boo.

anyway, it's nasty out there! and, amazingly, my car actually started AND got me home after sitting at my dad's house, unused, for the last two weeks. although, can i tell you? screw power locks and windows. i'd freaking kill for power steering. ow, my biceps.

eep. i was about three seconds away from missing two days in a row of posts. phew.

of course, it's 10pm and i'm too tired for lots of words, so let's boil it down to:

i'm done making things for the craft fair. everything is packaged, my display is almost entirely ready to go and i have lots and lots and lots of coins & small bills. the only thing i'm waiting on is my business cards. if they don't show up by friday, i might have to bust a gut or something. why, oh why, do i procrastinate so?

anyhoo, i'm glad that's done. now i just wait to see if the hundreds of dollars i've invested actually pay off and people buy my crap. please come buy my crap?

oh, that reminds me. i should get some candy for the table. people like free candy, right?

tomorrow night, i have to go to the airport to pick up my dad and relinquish the good car. he's returning from his mediterranean cruise. i wonder if my car will even start after having been parked in his spot for the past two weeks. i guess i'll find out tomorrow night!

okay, bedtime. sweet dreams!

thank goodness this weekend has felt like six days instead of just two. i've needed every second of it to Get Things Done. and, somehow, i've even managed to watch a movie (GI Joe -- don't judge), go shopping, see the inside of Kimli's apartment, do a mountain of laundry, check my dad's mail, phone my mom and cook food for the week in addition to all the cutting, glazing, gluing and packaging!

seriously, so busy.

so, because i haven't done anything worth blogging about, you get this fairly awesome music video. i've never heard of Oren Lavie (and, honestly, i had the song playing really softly, so i don't even know if i like him), but the video for his song "Her Morning Elegance" is pretty much fantastic. stop-motion always kind of puts me in awe. i just don't think that creatively, i suppose.

enjoy!

my house is a mess, my kitchen is covered in dirty dishes, i'm smelly, exhausted and broke.

this is what it's like when i procrastinate and have less than a week to produce enough crap craft to take to the craft fair to, hopefully, you know, sell.

i've mentioned it in passing, i think, but not in detail. after applying in May, my co-worker and i were finally informed of our acceptance into the Christmas Magic at the Manor two-day craft fair being held at the Urban Academy in New Westminster. unfortunately, they didn't bother telling us until the very end of October. eep! so, instead of having months to spend preparing stock, we've had less than three weeks to prep everything for the fair NEXT WEEKEND.

and, of course, because i'm a lazy slacker, i wasted two weeks and decided six days would be more than enough to make over two hundred magnets, one hundred photo cards, fifty pendants and two dozen rings.

just kill me now, please.

anyway, if you're not doing anything next weekend, feel free to stop by and say hi (and bring me food and/or beverages)!

Christmas Magic at the Manor
November 21 & 22, 2009 10 am to 5 pm

Urban Academy
101 Third Street, New Westminster, BC

after thoughtful consideration, i've decided i am no longer going to participate in my company's United Way campaign.

i signed up just as soon as i got hired because i thought it was a great way to donate to charity without having to think about it. i tell them once a year to take X number of dollars off my paycheques and bam said the lady! charitable donation and tax deduction all in one, with little to no effort on my part.

as the years have ticked past, i've always made it a point to check the little box on the form which directed my measly contribution towards the area of need i feel most connected with: seniors. i've tried to ignore all those news reports about the money such big charities waste on salaries and advertising and kept my Pollyanna belief that it wasn't my money being wasted. my money was helping elder citizens get out for a field trip or have a helping hand in their declining years.

well, it's charity season at my workplace and when the form came around for filling out, there was no little check box. suddenly, my choice of where my money went was gone and i got a little upset. i didn't like the feeling that my money was no longer ear-marked for what i believe in most. so, as of January 2010, i will no longer be donating, through automatic payroll deduction, to the United Way.

instead, i'm going to take the same amount of money each pay and have it get auto-magically sucked out of my bank account and into a TFSA at ING Direct where it will build up until, every year at this time, i will withdraw it and write a cheque to the charity(ies) of my choice. somehow, this makes me feel even better about donating and, while i know giving shouldn't be about making me feel good, i don't think it's entirely bad if it does.

i'm currently shivering so much i'm having trouble typing. so, you get this:

hi! welcome to my token post to keep up with nablopomo.

why the hell did i ever agree to this thing?

this has been the weirdest 24 hours.

not the finding yet another co-worker who lives in North Van (which means yet another potential car-pooler). not the spending four hours sandwiched into the backseat of a Mazda to go buy underpants with Brigette, Miranda, Shan and Kimli (our superawesome chauffeur). not the finding comfortable bras which fit without accessories. not the eating the world's second biggest burrito (the biggest being the one from Chipotle i ate while in Minnesota). not the going to bed at almost two in the morning on a Tuesday night. not the long, luxurious day at home in various states of undress playing with crafts and drinking hot, caffeinated beverages. not the crazy weather happening outside my window, complete with hail and monsoon-like rain storms. not the scalding shower i took just because i was chilly. not the phone call from my doctor's office with my INR results. not the weird, yet fabulous, nap i had late in the afternoon.

just all of that mixed up together in the last day has made me feel... weird. it's been inexplicably relaxing yet exciting. the adventure of crossing the border with the girls was just what i needed and i hope to do it with them again soon -- just in a slightly bigger vehicle if at all possible. ;)

i'm glad that i've got new awesome american underpants and i'm glad i got a day to get some crafting done. i wish i'd managed to do the errands i had on my list, but there's no reason they can't be delayed a day or two. hell, i wish i'd cleaned my apartment and gotten more craftwork accomplished.

maybe that's why the last day has felt so weird. i didn't spend it worrying about getting all sorts of various shit accomplished. i just did what i was doing and let the rest go. once i got into Kimli's car yesterday, i relinquished my ingrained need to Get Things Done. it was all up to her to get us to Bellingham and back; i was just along for the ride. i don't often get to experience that now that i'm a grown-up with responsibilities and chores and bills and and and...

i could use that feeling a little more often.

i had promised myself that today i'd post something with actual content, but work was crazy and i spent the last eight hours buying american underpants, among other things. more to come, but now... now i need sleep.

i know this is a funky week what with the holiday right in the middle and all, but really? why was today all the very worst parts of the entire week rolled into one, giant, anxious, painful, busy, freak-out day?

ugh.

so, instead of coming home and being as productive as i'd hoped, i stopped to get stuck by the vampires (btw, i have a new favourite vamp. turns out they DO get better with age!), then came home to eat the leftover pizza, fall asleep on the couch and then have a bath.

really, that's all i've done since i left work today.

wow, i bet you guys are SO GLAD i'm posting every day what with all this scintillating content, huh? hopefully, the car-full of hot chicks rushing the border for underpants and burritos tomorrow night will give me something worth writing about.

i spent so much time trying to get over the trauma of watching that damn Transformers movie, i totally forgot to post anything on Sunday. but, because i'm sure there are some Nablopomo participants who post-dated canned entries, i'm totally back-dating this one. hell, i've only been awake for fifteen minutes. it's still practically yesterday for me. ;)

yesterday was the annual camera show at the Croatian Cultural Centre. Christopher and i got up early and headed out in search of... stuff. neither of us really needed anything new, but you just never know what you'll find! this year, i found two new flashbars to use on my SX-70s for only $3 each!

both Jamie and Chris came away with awesome finds -- Jamie, an absolutely mint condition Minolta; Chris, a battery grip, with battery, for a third of the price new -- so we went out to the Three Lions Cafe for brunch to celebrate. i'd heard good things about the place from a bunch of local people, so i suggested it. well, the food was good (i had the traditional english breakfast), but the service was a little lacklustre. i think i'd rather go to The Tomahawk for a really expensive plate of breakfast food.

after food, Jamie left us to go back south then the boy and i took off for parts Granville Island. i was still in search of some items for crafting, so i wanted to take advantage of being in the neighbourhood while i could. after spending a bunch of money and taking a few photos we headed home to chill with pizza and Zombieland (which was FANTASTIC, btw). after the movie, i did some craft prep and then went to bed before nine-thirty -- i'm such a party animal.

next up is a busy week! there's: showdown at the office; american underpants; super crafting binges; and, fighting for my rights at a union meeting.

can i just skip right to next weekend?

today, i procured the fifth christmas gift for family/friends. i'm 45% of the way to a completely complete shopping list.

now, if i can manage to get cards and baking done, that's when i'll be impressed.

sorry for the sucky post today. gotta go watch Transformers 2: ROTF now!

this day held so much promise, what with the six people i was going to see naked and the potential for a yummy lunch from the awesome thai place. i should have known it wouldn't hold up.

let's just say that when i had to resort to mcdonald's drive-thru for lunch, i suspected it was all downhill from there.

my work-day ended with my "awesome" supervisor pulling rank and reminding me that he really doesn't care -- something i'd realized before i left, but obviously forgot what with all the near-death trauma. oh well. if he wants to play it that way, all i can say is he might not actually like having me not being able to do anything without checking with him first. trust me, i do a lot on my own initiative, but hey... if he doesn't trust my judgment in matters relating to my job, i guess he'll have to deal with me running every. single. thing. by him every. single. day.

luckily, i have the best boyfriend in the world. when i finally got home, he was cooking dinner and there were a dozen red roses on my desk.

now we're just chilling and enjoying a quiet night. although, it really does not feel like friday to me for some reason. that's not so bad, because then getting to sleep in tomorrow morning will feel extra-decadent!

i drove to work today.

now, before y'all get your panties in a twist, i have a perfectly valid and reasonable explanation for this turn of events: my dad is going on a cruise.

i can almost hear all of you cocking your head to one side, thinking "huh?".

you see, when my father goes away for one of his expensive and awesome vacations, i get the use of his car. this started when i still had the Geo and he refused to ride in it when i drove him to the airport (actually, it started in early 1990 before i even had a car of my own; but, i digress). i'd drive him in his vehicle and he'd just let me keep it while he was gone. now, it's a tradition of sorts. dad takes a trip, i get to drive the nice car.

this week was to be a real-world test of what it would be like for me to not own a car. if i didn't own a car, damn skippy i'd take his and use it at every opportunity! therefore, i don't see any reason why i should feel bad for doing so.

okay, so it's a little bit cop-out-y, but hey! would you turn down the use of the car with power steering, remote door locks and brand-new transmission if it were handed to you on a silver platter? besides, it's supposed to be all stormy the next few days. you wouldn't want me to get wet, catch a chill and then die of H1N1, would you?

i didn't think so.

so... road trip, anyone?

i think i like taking transit to work.

now, before you go calling the men with the straight-jackets and padded rooms, let me explain a little. i like taking transit to work. the length and leisure of it isn't so bad at all. especially on days when the sunrise is so spectacularly beautiful that half the bus stops their navel-gazing to stare out the window at is as we ride across the Lions Gate Bridge. i don't even mind the long walk from the station into work now that my body's starting to get used to this whole "moving" thing i haven't subjected it to in earnest for a far, far too long. i get to listen to music or an audio book on my ipod, people-watch, look at all those buildings i can't rubber-neck at while i'm driving past or just turn off my head and go to a happy place.

all of this for the low-low price of leaving the house at 6:30 a.m.

of course, when they turn the clocks back in the spring and 6:30 is actually 5:30... well, i might not be quite so positive about the whole thing.

while i kind of enjoy taking transit to work, i absolutely LOATHE taking transit home from work.

oh. my. god. there's something calm and soothing about transiting in the morning. it is the exact opposite going home. i don't know if it's that more people are awake or that they've all had crappy days or what, but man... the train is fuller and more annoying. the bus is packed to the gills -- sidebar PSA: if you go out in the world and interact with people, don't stink. please. it's painful for those of us with working olfactory senses. thank you. -- and takes way longer than it does in the a.m. it's just all-around sucky.

plus, it's freaking DARK out! ugh. how many months until the sunlight comes back?

so, if i could find someone to drive me home every day -- hell, even someone to just drive me to North Van and drop me at a bus stop would work -- my commuting issues would be mostly moot. alas, i don't think i'm that lucky or well-connected.

just for fun, i'm going to try taking a whole different way home today! maybe a train and two buses will be less trying than dealing with grumpy (and stinky!) down-towners.

today, a bug flew into my eye and got stuck there.

that was the best thing to happen all day. well, except for my sandwich. that was pretty awesome.

the most memorable part of my transit commute today: the fart someone let loose on the train.

other than a bit of stink, taking transit wasn't a big whoop today. i did have to leave 30 minutes early to arrive 10 minutes late and, because i needed to go get stuck by the vampires, i didn't get home until an hour later than usual. otherwise, it was fairly uneventful. it just took longer than normal and i couldn't easily stop for this or that. of course, the weather was nice and neutral for both my trips. i'm sure i won't be quite so positive if i have to slog home in the rain tomorrow night.

what's interesting is the different reactions i get from people when i mention what i'm doing and just how close i am to ditching my car. the first reaction is usually "oh, what're you going to buy?" then i have to tell them that i have no immediate plans to purchase a replacement vehicle and they look amusingly perplexed. some people get it, but the majority kind of jump into car-buying-advice mode without really getting my motives.

i suppose this whole carlessness will really start to settle in once the novelty of transit commuting wears off. or, i have to lug home a package of toilet paper home on the bus.

gesundheit!

since i need a reason to blog more and november seems to be the randomly picked month to write as much as you possibly can no matter how bad it might be -- just write, dammit! it's november! -- i've decided to try to post something every day this month.

oh shut up. i can hear you snickering.

i know, i know... my blogging record for the past couple of years is lacklustre at best, but hey, if i can post for thirty days in a row, that's pretty much my quota for the rest of the next twelve months and i can just slack off as soon as december arrives. ;)

besides, if i'm really strapped for content i can just save up all my tweets and post them at the end of the day as some random 140-character-at-a-time train of thought melange!

here's to the blogging!