This week so far has been fantastic! Most weeks disappear so fast or I just long for the weekend, but not this time.

Tuesday night I had the apartment to myself...yah for me time! (Although I couldn't sleep well with no one home, sad eh?)

Yesterday I received 3 birthday cards in the mail - from the president of the company I work for, my good friend Steph and my sweet older sister (who is currently in Las Vegas). I opened them even though it's not Friday yet but how could I resist? I feel so loved! :) (And a gift certificate for the Body Shop - love it!)


Then this morning as I was eating breakfast and perusing my inbox, I got an email from Kathryn - a friend of mine who I've lost touch with over the past couple years. I share a ton of memories with her thru youth group, high school, summer jobs, retreats, etc. Just reading her email sent a rush of things through my mind and I just grinned. What a fab way to start a morning!






And speaking of mornings, I need to get back to work.

Well that bites. I did not know that with my Flickr account I could only store up to 200 pictures! No fair! Apparently I didn't read the fine print :( I think I may just have to upgrade to Pro. :( :)

Sometimes I wonder why I take my birthday so seriously. For some reason it's a big deal to me if a close friends forgets to extend greetings. Why? It's just another day in a year with the small change to your age digits. So what's the big deal? I guess I want to feel that other people recognize who I am and that I do exist - the only day I can be truly selfish?!?

Although at the same time I make my birthday known by complaining about all the years I've had to move on that day. So for this year I am very grateful for that. Is it wrong to just want a fantastic birthday? That involves delicious cake, friends sending greetings and maybe presents? I guess I'm also not used to working on my bday....back when I was small everyone on my mom's side of the family came over to celebrate - it was the last event of the summer. I miss that and I miss Grandma and her dutch treats.

Anyways, there is my rant for today. Time to chill in the empty apartment...a nap sounds wonderful right about now.

If anyone is interested...I have created a Birthday wishlist which is located on the left side of the screen for your convenience.

Enjoy.

What's worse then..

Being awake because you can't sleep or dreaming you are awake?

This has got to be the weirdest week at work - ever. Between some upcoming changes announcements and addition to staff, the atmosphere in the office is just...odd.

And I also have a strange feeling that again my birthday is gonna suck. People are busy, I'm in charge of getting my own cake for the birthday bbq at work, a lot of my friends aren't around BUT the only thing I can be grateful for? Not having to move.

Seriously my mind is just so overwhelmed with so many strong emotions with recent happenings in my life. I asked God to challenge me and I think this may be the beginning of things to come.

Current song stuck in my head? Goes like this: "I just called to say I love you. I just called to say how much I care".

Odd. Everything is just so odd.

What a bizzar-o day.

Honestly.

Can I say rollercoaster?

There are some people in your life that you know you will be friends with forever.

Like me and Pam.













Just think in 50+ plus years we will be sitting in our rocking chairs knitting absentminded as we stare off into the distance thinking about the good ole days.

*grin*

I'm sad. :( My hairdresser is quitting at the salon I frequent. She's such a sweet girl and does such a fantastic job with my curly locks. Thankfully she likes me and my sis so much she is willing to do our hair at her house! Great eh? Glad I don't have to go salon shopping again.

I will never go back to that hair salon though. Basically the one lady has screwed up our appointments twice in a 2 week time span and then tried to blame us because we should know better not to let her write down the appointments (yet she answers the phone..hmmmm). Some people just don't have any professionalism...but let's not go there :P

*This is an actual name of a hair salon in my home town.

Cy is putting apple sauce cups in the cupboard:
Cy: Apple Banana? Eww! I won't eat that, I'd rather eat your arm.
Ch: A badger would.

"A spoonerism is a play on words in which corresponding consonants, vowels, or morphemes are switched. While spoonerisms are commonly heard as slips of the tongue (sometimes spoonerised as tips of the slung), they are considered a form of pun when used purposely as a play on words."

Try reading these:

Chilled greese is delicious (Grilled cheese is delicious)
It went at the lead of spite (It went at the speed of light)
That's a lack of pies (That's a pack of lies)
Remember, wave the sails (Remember, save the whales)
Know your blows (Blow your nose)
Go and shake a tower (Go and take a shower)
Bad news could make your socks stink (Bad news could make your stocks sink)
He slid into a sparking pace (He slid into a parking space)
She won't tolerate mad banners (She won't tolerate bad manners)
I went to mend the sail (I went to send the mail)
Crawling through the fax (Falling through the cracks)
I couldn't find the plaster man (I couldn't find the master plan)
Engine won't start with bat flattery (Engine won't start with flat battery)

I'm in some not-so-convenient pain. Saturday was another intense i'm-gonna-die workout which has left me with some pretty sore upperbody muscles. I wasn't too sore yesterday but after taking a tumble last night (off a sidewalk..yup, I'm blind)....my right shoulder area is extremely sore and I have a hard time using my arm for pretty much anything - even typing or clicking the mouse bothers me.

So here I sit in front of my monitor with a glazed tired expression, sipping on some chai tea and wishing I was still in bed.

I hate Mondays.

"It might sound like a chocoholic’s dream, but stepping into a vat of bubbling chocolate became a two-hour nightmare for a 21-year-old man this morning."

Read more here.

...back by popular demand!

F: "M!"
M: "Yes?"
F: "I just sent you anhemail..."
M: "An he-mail? So any emails from females are she-mails?"
*laughs*
---->
T: "What's the difference between chasing a car and being chased by a car?"
Girls: "What?"
T: "One you get tired and the other you get exhausted!"
---->
Co-worker#1: "Ahh! C has been reduced to a pile of photocopies and cds!
Co-worker#2: "If it were only that easy!"
--->
C&K discussing pig roasts...
C: "So M, when are you gonna hook us up with a pig?
M:"Why would I need to? You're already sitting over there."

~ ~ ~ ~
I feel like the weight of the world is all - crashing down on me
And some how I just don’t believe this how - it is suppose to be
And all this expectation on - the way I’m suppose to live
Becomes my minds distraction - with nothing left to give
You said your burden is light and your load - is no more
You said your ways are right and in you I will soar

I want to be free - free to dance and free to sing
Free to live and learn and free Oh, free to be me

I feel like my heart is being beat - down into the ground
In you I’m longing for some peace - to be found
I know the heaviness that’s - making me cold
Is stealing my youthful soul and - making me old
You said your burden is light and your load - is no more
You said your ways are right and in you I will soar

I want to be free - free to dance and free to sing
Free to live and learn and free Oh, free to be me
(Free-Shawn McDonald)
~ ~ ~ ~
Definitely in a depressed mood this afternoon...came across my late aunt rita's email address while I was searching for someone else's. *sigh* Almost 2 years ago and it still hurts.

My summer (2.5 months) at Muskoka Woods Sports Resort wasn't just spent in the kitchen, I did get 2 days off during the week and I spent the time doing many things such as...

Rosseau: Closest town to the resort, half hour walk. Small town with a post office, beer store, minimart/grocery store, coffee time and a ton of antique shops. My friend Kathryn and I would walk there on occassion to just get away, exercise and get some food to store in our cabin.

Outtings: Kathryn and I became friends with the Sous Chef (Eddie) in the kitchen and thankfully we did because he made our summer! His soon-to-be wife (Rhonda) at that time was my "one-on-one" mentor and they would both plan events for us.
1) Parry Sound: I went with a family (the son was a cook) to a beach in Parry Sound - what a gorgeous place! I'd love to back there again.
2) Burlington/Orillia: Eddie and Rhonda took us for a picnic, some shopping and the drive-in movies for a day. That outting was the best part of the summer.
Eddie was an interesting guy to say the least...which made for some light hearted fun during the days at work.

Alarms: Whenever a guest went missing - we had to be at a certain station within minutes of hearing the alarm. Kitchen staff were to cover a section of the lake - literally. We had to form 2 lines facing each other and wade through the water (waist high) back and forth until they found the missing guest. This happened on a weekly basis or more and most of the time we would be fully clothed (jeans, tshirts, socks and running shoes). Talk about fun! *rolls eyes* And for some reason this seemed to happen quite frequently on our break while we were napping. It was so annoying!

Fun Facts:
- I was nicnamed "Boss Lady" and "Princess"
- I had a song dedicated to me (there was on-site radio station) from someone in the kitchen on the last day of work
- the resort director rewarded my friend and I with free hoodies and t-shirts (he really wanted us back the following summer*)
- only time other staff would talk to us Kitchen staff: after our shift when we were showered and in summer attire....don't believe me? K and I tested this theory numerous times.
- on rainy off days we'd watch movies ALL day long
- our cabin consided of 20 females with only 3 showers, 5 toilets and 6 rooms
- some pics from my summer, click here.

Dispite having such a high stress job, working long hours and crappy pay - I came home a totally new person. I grew to appreciate my family, I learned to become a leader and my personality matured. I think that summer was one of the most difficult I've endured but it lead me to who I am now and I am forever grateful. Last but not least I discovered what hard work is and how much I hate dishes! :P

There are many other short stories and incidents that happened during that summer but this post is long enough! :)

*I never went back to work at MSWR for many reasons: 1)not enough pay for the amount of hours and work I put into it 2) do not agree with how "christian" the camp was 3) very cliquy and I never felt like I belonged 4) I was graduating college the following summer and needed a real job

You want an exhausting job? Let me recap a day in the life as a Kitchen Supervisor (at MWSR back in 2003).

6:00 - alarm clock
6:15- in the kitchen wearing standard gear*
6:30 - Kitchen crew comes for morning prep (10 ppl approx)

7:30-8:30 -- Breakfast is served in 3 dining halls
8:30-10:00 - Cleaning
11:15 - back in Kitchen for lunch prep
12:00-1 -- Lunch is served in 3 dining halls
1-2:30 -- cleaning
4:30 --back in kitchen for dinner prep
5:30-6:30 -- Dinner is served in 3 dining halls
6:30-8:00 -- cleaning
8:30ish -- back to prep snack

Gear: long pants, t-shirts, running shoes, ballcaps or hairnets
Prep: Buffet tables, replace boxes in juice/milk machines, salad bars, arrange chairs, clean pots and pans
Cleaning: dishes, sweeping entire kitchen and 3 fridges x2, vaccuming 3 dining halls, mopping kitchen x 2, crack tables, clean tables, pile chairs, wipe down hot cabinets and beverage counter, take out garbage bags, hose down dishwasher, etc.
Saturdays -
Outdoor BBQ from 4-6:
- fill canoes (6 in different places on the grounds) with ice and then have trays of fruit placed on top as well as juice containers. Ever tried carrying 2 watermelons sliced? Heavy.
- place out condiments
- help bring out buns and meat for bbq
- replenish trays constantly
- dining hall ready for staff to eat leftovers
- plus everything else we do on a regular day

Fun Facts:
- I was one of the only people that could carry the 5 gallon bags of milk (which were for the dispencing machines)

- We had weird things come throught the massive dishwasher, a thong underwear for example

- I would scrap plates with my bare hands since it was quicker than using a glove (I'm talking things like soggy pancakes, syrup, ketchup, spagetti, salsa, sour cream....the good stuff!)

- As a trick, someone switched the water dispenser with tonic water and I drank it (it was SICK!)

- Walk-in fridges were good places to cry (never do I want that kind of stress again)

There is much more detail to each of these tasks but I won't bore you all to death. But just think about it - we served 1000 people each meal! Plus prep and cleaning was done everyday 3 times a day - the kitchen had to be spotless and any discrepancies were my responsibility.
Originally when I first started I was a Kitchen Crew Leader in charge of 3 people - after 3 weeks I got promoted to Kitchen Supervisor - this make things difficult since I had to go from co-worker to boss very quickly and I didn't get much respect.

That has been the most stressfull and exhausting job I have ever had! So much work to do and the kitchen staff were ignored/treated like crap by all other staff. It was a really tough job but at the same time I came away a different person with developed leadership skills.

Part 2 - a day in the life outside of the kitchen! (a little less doom and gloom) :)

*I had maybe 3 pairs of pants with me for the summer - my employers failed to tell us that was the required outfit PLUS we couldn't send anything with spandex to the cleaners = hand washing most of my pants for 2 months

I have yet to finish a book in the past week - make that almost 2 weeks.

QUICK!

Someone get me a chick-lit novel stat!

#1
Leg presses are evil. They make walking downstairs very painful and awkward. Never give in to the seductive sounds of gym equipment - there will be much agony. Save yourself!

#2
Never find old tv shows u used to watch on www.youtube.com - unhealthy ADDICTION!

This morning my mom called asking for the building number of where I lived. I kept trying to give her my work address.

Is this a bad sign?

And apparently this morning I missed the memo on Green Shirt Day (4/7).

Doesn't that look delicious?

Brownie crust+
vanilla ice cream+
cream cheese+
caramel sauce=

*drool*





Want the recipe? Leave a comment*


*with contact info (even your own blog site will do)

You know you hear/see actors who try their talent in the music industry...but what about a figure skater?

Apparently Elvis Stojko is producing a CD that will hit stores at Christmas time.

Interesting.

I used to love watching figure skating competitions (who didn't after taking skating lessons* for 7 years)....he was up there with Kurt Browning as my skating idol. But to see him as a singer? No can do.

*I have a sudden urge to go home and burn all my skating carnival tapes....seriously, some of those moments are blackmail material. *

My life as a pedestrian can be quite interesting sometimes...running for the bus, being splashed by cars on rainy days, stomping through a couple feet of snow in the winter, dodging around other people walking dogs, avoiding collisions with bikers, crossing busy intersections, etc.

One of my big pet-peeves is drivers who on rainy/slushy days decide it would be most fun to see how wet they can get pedestrians. I'm serious, it happens quite often and it's hard to avoid when sidewalks are only so wide. There was this time my sister and I were walking downtown to go skating at City Hall and someone (I like to assume it's a guy) driving a toe truck decides to go as close as he can to the sidewalk to splash us with the slush. So here we were a block from the rink and my right leg is sopping wet and I am to be skating outdoors. Ugh. On rainy days it's the same type deal but has a greater effect when the wheel hits the puddle in the right place.

On to my biggest pet peeve. Pedestrian haters. These are the drivers that pay no attention to people on the sidewalks, especially pedestrians that have a Walk sign yet the driver will turn at the corner with no regard for the person(s) with the right of way. Great example was last friday when I was walking home from work - I almost got hit by an SUV (to find out today it was one of my coworkers driving a new vehicle). When I walk down the street I live on, I have the right of way and anyone turning off the street has to watch for pedestrians yet these drivers rarely do. Time and time again I have to dash across a sidestreet, or stop dead on my tracks or wave the driver on. It's kinda funny finding out it was a coworker because I remember being annoyed and muttering something like "jerkwad" outloud as I jogged across the street to avoid being hit.

Oh the life of a pedestrian...sometimes I wish people could (literally) walk a mile in my shoes, maybe they'd be a little more considerate. One thing I know for sure is that when I do eventually have my own vehicle, I won't become a "pedestrian hater".

A Monday morning pick-me-up:

"Yer crazy and great! Love your honesty. SO cool to see God at
work in you!! We’ll have to do coffee before the end of august..."

Now there's an email to put a smile on my face!

You can now chat to me when you visit my website! Take a look to the left colum under my profile information - you will see a chat window. If I'm online, feel free to leave me a line! Isn't this soo cool?






Credits to discovering this nifty widget, click here.

A headache like this needs a drill...what I wouldn't do to release the pressure in my noggin. Even more fun is having this pain and having to stare at a comp screen all day. Just love it! Great way to spend a Friday.

It's crazy to think it's already August when the temperature is currently sitting at 40C. Along with the new month has come some new colour on my tomato and bean plants! So far I've been able to harvest 3 beans and 1 Tiny Tim.















Sad I know, like what do you do with 3 beans? There are more coming but slowly. Next year I'll have to plant more and with way more soil! I also have 3 normal sized tomatoes on the way and 6 tiny tim's. I'm mostly impressed that the plants have lasted this long....been thru some rough wind and rain so far.

On another note, I just checked my camera and I've taken 1300 plus pictures! (well my sister has taken a bunch too) Can you wear out a digital camera? Is there a number in which the camera implodes and disintegrates?

I need to find some things to photograph..I've got enough self-portaits, like this one I took the other night: (one of the only pics I like of myself)
















Lately I haven't been inspired to take any pics....besides the above. Hmmm...I need to pick a subject..
*UPDATE: Ended up taking a bunch of pics tonight at Whole Lotta Gelato in Uptown, click here for photos.