Laurence Fishburne had never seen 'CSI' before landing lead role

This forecast makes me happy:
http://www.theweathernetwork.com/weather/caon0728

Shared a 5 minute testimony at church on Sunday, check out my post on my other blog:
Contemplations r us

I am making a cake/cupcakes for a bridal shower in April. Below are links to an idea I have:
Bride Cake Idea 1
Bride Cake Idea 2

Phases I am teaching my ESL colleague:
"Fooled with" (in the context of someone changing something that shouldn't have been touched)
"So far so good" (the difference between saying "good" or "so far so good"

Weirdest song remix I've heard in a while:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j07edUsAGBE
(Using a Phil Collins song, who would think of that?!?)

I know where I am going on June 6, 2009 - Ontario Place. Why?
GROUP 1 CREW IS IN TORONTO!! We're going Cynthia, right?!?

Seriously I love reading LOST episode recaps. Totally makes my nose bleed...wait, no, those would be the Losties..makes me really think about all the crazy happenigs.

Anyways..found some great comments on Zap2it.com that I want to share:

"Now that we see Locke & Sawyer's Merry Band wondering around the island through time: are they the whispers we have heard in the first four seasons, or was that solely the original Others?"
http://blog.zap2it.com/ithappenedlastnight/2009/02/lost-flashes-of-brilliance-abound/comments/page/3/#comments
That was totally a HUH! moment reading that. Totally believable explaination!

"Imagine explaining any of what's going on now to a fan back in Season 1, who was blown away by the reveal that there was a ship in the jungle or a hatch in the ground. Season 5 would be so preposterous to them, they'd think you were a crackpot."
http://blog.zap2it.com/ithappenedlastnight/2009/02/lost-flashes-of-brilliance-abound/comments/page/4/#comments
So freaking true and for all those people who complain about things not being explained or happening in episodes, think of the above.

I heart LOST.

Isn't this the cutest?
They're having a heat wave in South Australia. This little koala walked up onto a house deck in Maude, and thoroughly enjoyed a bucket of water the owner kindly filled to cool him off.

http://therecord.blogs.com/fizz/2009/02/cooling-off-koalastyle.html



Random Search of the day:
Vin Desiel - heard he was gay, not so sure. Has a girlfriend who he had a baby with last year. Also has a fraternal twin brother. This search got me thinking about:

Fast and the Furious (4).


I am so watching this movie as soon as it comes out!! I heart Paul Walker, what can I say? :) I also own Fast and Furious, 2 Fast 2 Furious on DVD and I have watched them more than I'm willing to admit.






Other Randoms of the night:

Vector Energy Bar - Tried one tonight as a snack and ick! Good thing I only spent 50cents on the darn thing. It has the texture of a Nutri-grain and the heaviness of a yogurt covered granola bar. Waayyyy to sweet even for me! I've ate protein bars that taste better than this!

Ka-Glom - Totally addicted to this game which I have on my Blackberry. It's like "Collapse" (we will not discuss how much time I wasted during lectures in college playing this) but more fun. So much better at it then Brickbreaker!

BookExpo Canada cancelled due to lack of industry interest, report says
Whoa, not good news for Canadian book retailers.

'Fringe' stars Anna Torv, Mark Valley got hitched over holidays
Weird. That's all I have to say and speaking of which it's on tonight. Getting prepared to be grossed out as per usual.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
DUDE!! Transformers!! Can hardly wait to watch this movie! Loved the first one.

'Chuck,' Dominic Monaghan, and the annoying gimmick
Recap of last night's episode of Chuck 3D guest staring Dominic Monaghan. Apparently he's just so good at acting like a washed up rocker. Love him! Oh, and the episode was great! Nothing like a good dose of Chuck to make the world a bit brighter.

Interview with Dominic Monaghan
Because of my fondness for Dominic, here is an interview with him about being on Chuck

I almost snorted my gum out my nose after watching this:

Roundabout Dance
(click on above title)

Seriously, take a moment to watch this - it's worth a good laugh. I understand the need for education about pedestrian safety but could it be a tad less cheesy?

I feel guilty tonight/morning. My sister wanted to borrow my car overnight and into tomorrow and I said no. I'm not going to go into details but basically I've hit a point where I need to be selfish at times and say no. It is my car and she doesn't live with me anymore which makes things more difficult. I don't need to be the "mom" of chauffeuring people around because it makes their life easier. There are times that I really don't mind going out of my way but not when it becomes frequent and disruptive to my life it takes a toll.

I shouldn't feel guilty and I need to get over it. I'm too emphatic and person pleasing.

Lottery Kiosks Closing
http://news.therecord.com/News/CanadaWorld/article/477729
"Local kiosks also sold about $100,000 a month worth of bus tickets and passes for Grand River Transit. Affected locally are kiosks at Market Square and Fairview Park malls in Kitchener, Conestoga Mall in Waterloo."
That really bites for bus riders - the lottery ticket booth is the only place in Conestoga Mall to buy bus tickets. I really hope some other store steps up to the plate or GRT takes care of this.

Landmark Waterloo Hotel sold to local developer
http://news.therecord.com/Business/article/477705
Hopefully this doesn't ever affect the Symposium Cafe.

How about some controversy right off the bat?

I was surfing through Relevant Magazine and came across this article

Role of Women
http://relevantmagazine.com/releblog/editorsblog/the-role-of-women/
The blog posting itself is fine and outlines the basic questions about women's roles in the church. No big deal. It's the comments that irk me:

Eg. "I think Biblically we can expect women to use their spiritual gifts (which could be teaching), but I think any ministry done by a woman should be done under the leadership of a male." Matt

Geesh. This guy would fall out of his chair if I told him as a 24 year old female I'm an Elder in my church! Talk about breaking the stereotypical role eh? I know not everyone sees this as okay but I love being such a huge part of my church! I'm gaining so much being in this position. It's not as if I sought out this role - I consented to being nominated and the congregation voted me in. I love belonging to a church that doesn't stick so much to traditions! :)

Anyways, there is my blurt for the day. Time to go home and SLEEP.

Eep! Another week is here! My weekend was fairly packed with dinner plans on Friday with my friend Heather, orientation at Goodlife (post for that coming soon...so not impressed), Snow Tubing and grocery shopping on Sunday. It was nice to hang out with people this wkend...it has been a while!


GRT Pilot Bus Route to Elmira starting in May

Also, my co-worker I work with a night brought me dinner (well his wife made it but that's beyond the point)! It's the Chinese New Year and they wanted to let me in on a bit of the traditions. It was delicious! :)

My church is doing something different during our services this year and that is someone shares their life story** in a 5 minute review.  It's amazing the feedback you get from people when they are honest about themselves.  One guy in my church last Sunday mentioned to the effect that when you are doing through rough times in life sometimes you honestly don't give a crap about other people.  This got me thinking and nodding in agreement.

First off, I've drank one too many caffeinated drinks this shift but yet I'm still sluggish. Hmm, I think this wonderful developing cold has so much to do with it. Should have knocked on real wood the other day when I told someone I was very fortunate to not be sick. BOO. Hopefully this is short lived.

Secondly, thanks to my friend Dee for sending me a review of LOST season 5 premier:
http://blog.zap2it.com/ithappenedlastnight/2009/01/lost-does-the-time-warp-againand-again.html
Seriously some people have too much time to think about said show. So freaking fascinating though. If you find the review too wordy, just read the comments as they are almost more interesting.

Lastly, going snow tubing for the first time tomorrow night at Chicopee Tube Park . I'm hoping it's as fun as being a kid whipping down Haden's hill on krazy karpets.

Other tidbits from web surfing:

Obama keeps his BlackBerry
http://news.therecord.com/News/CanadaWorld/article/475830

LOST Addicts Blog
http://www.lostaddictsblog.com/

LOST Season 5 started last night and all I can say is AWESOME. So excited!! (This included chills during some moments!)










(Courtesy of ABC.com)
Wish I could find this photo in high rez. I wants it!

---
Read this during my web surfing this morning.
Wescast announces Wingham foundry closure










http://www.wingham.com/index.php?article=313

This is just brutal for this community. There are two Wescast plants in Wingham but even with just one closing this is such a blow economically for the town. 140 jobs lost out of a population 2,885? Wescast supports so much of the town...sad. I, myself even worked for Wescast for a time in grade 12 as a co-op student. I hope at least the one plant stays!

----
A friend of mine got engaged recently and I'm slightly left in shock. Again this shows me how "absent" I was last year. Here but not here. So focused on my own situation I wasn't making an effort to keep in touch with some friends. Ouch. Well here's to catching up in 2009 my friends!

---
Praying for travelling mercies and safety while a group from my church are in Mexico on a missions trip. I hope they bring me back a tan!

Heinz Ketchup Makes 'Major' Change To Product After More Than A Century
Heinz Ltd. has confirmed it's doing away with the little green pickle that's been on the label of the world's best selling ketchup (top left) since the 1890s.
http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_31128.aspx
Awe, bye bye green little pickle.

City of Waterloo reaches agreement with its outside workers
http://www.swo.ctv.ca/news.php?id=3726&PHPSESSID=69631599953cb0ba9aba16ca73f3585c
THANK GOODNESS is all I can say.

Ewan McGregor













"I will love you until my dying day!". Le *sigh*. Need I say more?

Yahoo News Canada

Links of Interest

Twitterholic.com
- see your stats (eg. when you joined, how many friends are following you, etc)
Tweetwasters.com
- how much time do you waste on twitter? So far I've wasted 2.8 hrs of my life away.
Sticky Screen
- totally love this! I love office supplies, even if this is virtual and doesn't kill trees

Local Happenings

Walmart has opened in Waterloo/St. Jacob's! I don't care what people think but I like shopping at Walmart especially for basic things. I'm so happy that I don't have to drive all the way down to Fairview Mall and deal with the pain in the butt parking lot! I'm so going to the grand opening after work on Wednesday I think...
http://news.therecord.com/News/CanadaWorld/article/473481

Weather Facts

University of Waterloo Wather Station recorded that "we got 11 cm of snow between Saturday night and Sunday morning" this past weekend.
"As of January 9th we have had 154.0 cm of snow this snowfall season. This compares to only 79 cm last year at this time."
http://uwweatherstation.blogspot.com

Scrapbooking is a hard thing for me to do for many reasons and namely the trip it makes me take down memory lane.

High School prom. Looking at the picture of me and my date thinking about that summer after that night. The long phone calls, the "dates" and the end of the "almost" relationship. And the end of that friendship a few years later. He went
off to school and so did I. He met a girl and is now happily married (last I heard) for the past 3 years.

Kingdom Bound. Remembering how rude the girls in the youth group were to me, excluding me in everything so instead I hung out with the boys. Sleeping around the campfire and watching Switchfoot perform before they became popular.

Graduation from High School. Wearing the stupid caps. Actually receiving an award besides my diploma but having my name said as "Michael" instead.

Trillium Formal. I covet one picture on this page - one of me, my gr 12 best friends Kathryn and Bob as it's the only picture of the 3 of us. Bob's been on my mind a lot lately and I lost contact with him 2 years ago. He was my second biggest crush in high school. I miss that guy and wonder where he is.

Sweet Sixteen birthday. Why did I think I was such a fat kid? Seriously! Wearing massively oversized tshirts. That was the only surprise party I ever had even if most of the people there I wasn't even really friends with.

MWSR. The summer I piled on weight thanks to the crap food and stressed job. But the summer of great change for me. I missed my parents. I grew up. I went to my first drive-in movie.

Just glancing through the pages I see faces of people I knew never really liked me (gotta love youth group). Boys I had major crushes on. Acquaintances that are now married. Landscapes I want to see again. Jobs I slogged through just to make money for school.

This bugs me as you can tell! I don't want to let myself entertain the past - the what if's, the could have's, the moments I missed, the person I was, the people I didn't stay connected to. It's not healthy! So my goal ladies and gentlemen is this - catch up on my scrapbooking and to regularly update my book so in 5 + years I don't have to walk down memory lane again.

"I wish that I knew what I know now
When I was younger."
(Ooh La La - Rod Stewart)

Anyways those are my thoughts at 4:04am.

Weather. Or so it seems lately next to the economy.

"Miami will be lucky to get to 16C by Friday, and in a scenario that might seem laughable to us up here, some local media are warning residents to take precautions because of the 'excessive cold'. (See one typical set of warnings here.)"
http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_30976.aspx

Too funny. 16C you say? That's almost shorts weather to us crazy Canucks! :P Think about it though, in the spring we can't wait to wear shorts and will before it hits 20C but come mid/late summer we start wearing pants if it's only 20C.

I suck at BrickBreaker on my Blackberry! Oh and I'm super stiff/sore on my right side from falling down stairs yesterday morning. Stupid snow that accumulates on the stairs. Oh and stupid city workers for toppling a snowbank into my driveway so at -25C after working all night I have to shovel my way in? I had a WONDERFUL morning yesterday. Shovelling and falling down stairs - awesome way to start my day (or would that be end my day since I went to bed shortly there after?).

Status: Waiting on machine to callibrate
Time: 5:34am
Hunger level: low
Thirst level: medium
Feeling: so sore on my right side from falling down stairs
Wishing: I didn't wear 2" boots to work
Current Song: Akon - Right Now

I was/am working! :P

Status: Typing up reports than lunch time!
Time: 4:12am
Hunger level: low
Thirst level: low
Feeling: the affect of 3 shifts on nights
Wishing: I didn't forget my chap stick.
Current Song: Kanye West - Stronger

Anyone remember when KFC's Toonie Tuesdays were just a toonie? (Isn't it false advertising otherwise if it's more than a toonie?)

Status: Working on the XRF, how do I dis-assemble a track ball?
Time: 5:27am
Hunger level: low
Thirst level: low
Feeling: The music! Listening to 91.5 the beat.
Wishing: I could stop yawning. Even typing "yawn" makes me yawn.
Current Song: Snow - Adore You

Well ladies and gentlemen, it's 1:31am and guess where I am?
I'm officially on my first night of being on nights! Let me tell you, it's odd to be driving into work in the dead of night. (Although talk about no traffic! :P) The lab is brightly light yet secluded from the production floor so all the corridors are eerily dark and shadowy. It's weird being here at these hours, weird I tell ya!

Anyways, so my official job is "lab operator" in the Materials Interconnect Lab at RIM working on an XRF machine Sun-Thur from midnight 'til 8am. Not exactly glamorous but it's a learning experience to say the least! For the first 7 ish weeks I was put on days just so I could get comfortable learning everything so that is why today is so different as I'm now on the shift I will always be on. Thankfully I'm not alone at night, I work with another guy as well except English is his second language so it's always interesting communicating!

Be prepared to see blog posts at random times at night as I will be bored and tired at times so I apologize in advance for any forth coming confusion in future ramblings.

Status: Very alert
Time: 1:54am
Hunger level: low
Thirst level: medium
Feeling: Glad I wore a warm hoodie
Wishing: My lips weren't so dry

In what may be a record of some kind, a 29-year-old Aurora man faces multiple charges that include driving while under the influence of alcohol after his Mercedes Benz SL600 was clocked on Toronto's Don Valley Parkway at a speed of 231 kilometres an hour.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090109.wspeeding0109/BNStory/National/home

Seriously?!? 231 km/h and drunk? So not cool even if the car is capable of going that fast. There is a place for that called....the race track perhaps?

So I have noticed the uh, sudden lack of blog readers of late and am wondering if my last post was just a tad much SO without further ado...

I will stick to more "fun" topics.

Unfortunately it's past my bedtime so I can't do a real "post" at the moment but coming soon! It's been a nutty week and I'm changing to night shift (it's been nice being on days for 7 weeks!) as of Sunday at midnight so I'm gonna be all wacked out with the change in sleep patterns WHICH could make for some interesting posts in the future. (Seriously, I'm allowed to blog at work so you could see random ramblings of a struggling night shifter at 3am).

Anywhoozers, my life is mucho better since...well...end of January 2008. A lot has happened and at this point I'm not going to post about it because, it's the past - learned lessons, had a rough year, made new friends, moved, worked a zillion jobs, church relocated, etc, etc..I learned a lot and my life is forever changed. THE END. Well the end of 2008 that is. :P

Stay tuned for more posting from...the Blackberry Slayer/Lab Rat.

Ha, ha. Man, I so dislike that I let myself go so much in the last year. I was so much slimmer and trimmer last year...oh and way more energetic! BAH. So getting back on that train once my gym membership comes in the mail this week. Looking forward to taking some classes and not just doing boring cardio and weight training. Anyways, what I wanted to blog about was health issues. I have a couple and they are um, slightly odd.

1. Asthma. Not a odd health issue but it was dormant for quite sometime until I had an asthmatic allergic reaction to mildew and mold at a camp that I worked at.

2. Keratosis Pilaris "is a very common skin condition often referred to as "chicken skin". While KP resembles goosebumps, it is characterized by the appearance of small, rough bumps on the skin." There is no cure but having a cleaner diet, more exercise and moisturizing bodywash has helped me tremendously.

3. Plunging Ranula. "A ranula is a type of mucocele found on the floor of the mouth. Ranulas present as a swelling of connective tissue consisting of collected mucin from a ruptured salivary gland duct, which is usually caused by local trauma." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranula). Want to be grossed out? Keep reading.
I developed a hardish sak under the left side of my tongue in 2002. It didn't hurt very much but it was large and annoying! I went to the doc to get it diagnosed and they did say I could have surgery to remove it but it didn't have to come to that. A couple weeks later the ranula broke and drained. Nothing like getting a mouthful of hot, salty mucous in the middle of the night. Yummy! Now I only get smallish ones once in a while when I don't drink enough fluids (or so is my theory).

4. Hearing loss. Not odd either but I burst my eardrum in 2004 after a severe sinus infection and since then my hearing isn't the same.

5. PCOS. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrine disorder that affects approximately 5% of all women .[1] It occurs amongst all races and nationalities, is the most common hormonal disorder among women of reproductive age, and is a leading cause of infertility. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycystic_ovary_syndrome). I was just diagnosed with this a year and a half ago. It's an interesting "disease" as it can be controlled by weight loss yet it causes weight gain. Strange! I am on medication to control the hormonal part of syndrome.

People may find it odd that I'm blogging about such personal matters but to me it's a bit fascinating! And I know I'm not alone. I could name off a handful of people that suffer from at least one of the above issues.

Are bodies are wonderful yet interesting machines!

That's enough health talk for tonight.

I hate driving in this crap.  I'm tired of sweeping off my car, spinning my tires taking a corner and shoveling my way out of the driveway. BUT tonight reminded me how much I do love snow.  It's fluffy, white sparkly-ness, it's ability to quieten the neighbourhood, it's blanketed warmth to the earth....

Disappointment is failed expectations.

I had expectations about something and it was not what I expected. I thought my life was going to get back to "normal" but it's far from that.

Apparently God works in mysterious ways. I trust everything works out for Good and for His purpose but I have to remember to constantly trust.

"How you were raised has absolutely no impact on your personality at all"

I saw this quote on a friend's facebook page tonight and it's "got my goat". I'm not even going to state where it's from because maybe it's a good book and this is totally out of context but regardless...

WHAT?!?

Um. Seriously. How you were raised plays a huge role in your personality! The way you treat others, how you look at finances, how you perceive and get ideas about politics and religion, your morals, what's right and wrong.

That doesn't mean you BECOME how you were brought up but it does impact a lot about you!

Please don't feed me this junk. I'm grateful for how I was brought up and it helped me appreciate things other people may not. I am who I am because of that!

So take that book quote!

I have yet to drink any eggnog but I'm getting my fill so many other ways. Just typing that makes me want an eggnog latte...*drool*....

mmmm....latte...

Anyways, tonight my sister gave me a pre-Christmas present and it's this delicious smelling candle! If only I could post a "scratch n sniff".


Fragrance: a sweet marrying of warm caramel,
buttery accords, vanilla and a hit of rum to finish

HAIR of course. :)

First photo shows how long my hair got after 11 months without a haircut:












Bye bye dead hair, hello short haircut:












The photo isn't the greatest and at the end of the day but you get the idea. Definitely going to grow it out again but progressively and with less dead ends/knots involved.

Think this is noticeable? If not, you can join the ranks of my entire church. No one noticed! (Excepts are my sisters and roommate upstairs).

- bought a tank of gas for 75.6cents a litre!!
- just watched Rihanna's new song ft. JT and have decided it's "meh". I heart JT.
- had an uber overwhelming 4th day on the job
- LOVE LOVE LOVE the new gmail themes!

Day 1 of orientation - found out tomorrow is another full day of orientation. Sheesh, talk about mental overload! Today was a mixed bag but spent 2.5 hours being educated about ESD - talk about FUN.

"Electrostatic discharge (ESD) is the sudden and momentary electric current that flows between two objects at different electrical potentials. The term is usually used in the electronics and other industries to describe momentary unwanted currents that may cause damage to electronic equipment."

And scored a 97% on the test! Also came home with yet another pair of specialty safety shoes. Otherwise it was a good day!

I am so in the holiday spirit right now even without decorations up or being at the mall. It's all because of what happened tonight:

I have a love/hate relationship with the white stuff. Love to look at it, play with it and build things with it but when it comes to driving in it - not so fond.





I've also decided that "O Holy Night" is my favourite Christmas carol especially sung by Josh Groban. *sigh* It almost makes me tear up, almost. Oh and my favourite Christmas cd is "Believe" by Natalie Grant - it's beautiful!

Anyways, it's late and only slept 4 hrs last night. :S Looking forward to church in the am!

I haven't gone shopping for myself in a very, very long time! Today I had a couple hours to kill from dropping my sis off at work to going to work myself so I went to Fairview Mall. Which of course was already turning into a zoo with Christmas mere weeks from now.

Anyways, I only bought two items for myself.

These awesome boots:
"This sleek boot features a faux leather upper with a covered button detail, a squared toe and a 2.75" square heel. Side zipper. Padded insole for comfort."

I heart Payless Shoes. Not uber amount of selection for my 10w feet but it's pretty much my only hope/place for finding shoes.


And...oh goodness. Had a coffee break at Second Cup - had a gingerbread latte which was lovely - and happened to smell some coffee beans that were displayed in bags on the counter. I made a very impulsive buy (I don't do that often) and left not only with my gingerbread latte but also 200 grams of Spiced Egg Nog coffee beans. I sooo can't wait to sip on some of that!

This is the coolest website I've seen in a long time:

Why does no one believe that I drink coffee? An old colleague of mine that I talked to tonight didn't believe that in the 4 years that we worked in the same office I drank a cup of coffee.

I do drink coffee. All the time - but - in my time/when I want it. Back in that office I had a cup a couple times a week and sometimes daily. Although that coffee was waaaayyy to strong so I usually mixed it with hot chocolate.

While at the roofing company, my consumption sky rocketed. It was sometimes two larges of Timmy's a day. That was one habit that became hard to kick after only 2 months.

Now I drink coffee when I want it - at a friends house, after the church service and sometimes I just want a cup of Java Moose coffee!

If I'm going to get healthy again, I'm going to have to totally kick coffee to the curb but we'll see when that happens...

- that an important envelope got lost in the mail which creates another headache which I thought I dealt with before. Which brings me to this - my sisters can take care of their own tax crap next year. I'm filing for myself only. Who would have thought 6 months later I'm still dealing with paperwork.

- that my hairdresser won't call me back! I want a frigging haircut before I start my new job on Monday but apparently that isn't going to happen. TEN MONTHS it's been since my last appointment. I'm tempted to go elsewhere but I don't want my curly hair to be destroyed aka don't want a triangle head.

- I'm not going to have more than a day off before I start the new job on Monday. Sorta my fault for not requesting time off earlier and also being too nice and giving Food Services tons of time to replace me (I should have quit earlier)

- My room is a disaster and I wanted to clean it up before working at the store but instead I'd to deal with point #1 above.

Anyways, hopefully after a hot shower and getting dressed my irritable mood leaves me.

A few points of the day.

1. At the RGM store:
- Apparently since I'm "younger" I know what sex talk books to recommend to parents.
- Questions I'm sick of hearing and am tempted to throw books at customers when they ask it:
Q. When is the closing date?
A. Mid-December or so
Wish I Could Say - Tomorrow, so hurry up and pay for you books.
Q. Why are you closing? It's sad.
A. The economy,
WICS - We felt like shutting down a 74 year old company, laying off all employees and having a giant sale for fun!

2. Paid under $30 to fill my car. Sweetness. I don't remember the last time gas was this cheap.

3. Had a giant bowl of stirfry at "The Daily Grill". It was good and now I'm stuffed.

4. Just listened to the longest titled song ever - "The Only Thing Worse then Beating a Dead Horse is Betting on One"

5. Impatient pastor wants my meeting minutes from Wednesday night so I must get to them.

I have great news! Full-time employment starting at RIM on November 17th. More details to be shared but I'm too tired right now. :P

Although in the meantime, feel free to check out my new book review website:

www.underthebookstacks.wordpress.com

The current template is temporary until I learn how to use WordPress a little more.

Happy weekend! I'm off to get caught up in "Grace Walk Advanced training" and reading "Until Christ is Formed" by Paul Anderson Walsh.

I am absolutely blown away. Posting that blog entry on October 18th changed everything.

I have amazing friends and family. I never expected this and I'm humbled.

Thank you.

A little "birdy" told me (wow, I sound like my mother) that my latest blog post had been sent to all my former colleagues.

Hi RGM Family!

My life has changed again so much in just a few short days.

I'm now working another part time job at the RGM store in K-town. How strange is that? I miss working in the book industry and being in the know about upcoming fiction books. I miss ARCs. Being at the store brings back so many memories too. In some ways I feel reconnected again. (I heart books, what can I say?)

I have a possibe job offer waiting for me. I won't say much more because it's not final, final. It's not a great job but it pays well and will help me get back on my feet. (And not to mention getting back on my PCOS meds, getting a hair cut and getting new tires for my car). Please pray that the final steps for this job offer go through fine. I need this.

Amazing what God can do in so little time after such a long, long struggle. Trusting God is not easy. Honestly giving the entire situation up to Him is easier said than done. Being stuck in cycles of lessons not being learned is emotionally draining. There is no right prayer to say, there is no right song to sing or word to speak. Let Him have it. Tell Him exactly how you feel. Stomp your feet, yell if you have to. (Been there and done that). Rest in Him but seek out support from those around you. Hang out with friends, go for coffee, talk to your Pastor, blog about it (:P), help others out that are in need, call a friend, visit family and just be honest.

My life is far from figured out. My career life is far from being figured out. I still have more questions than answers to where God is leading. I'm really not going to know, there is no arrival. Time flies and I don't want to miss out on any of it.

I'm going to be extremely vulnerable and honest with this post, you are officially warned.

I'm flat broke. I can't pay my bills. My sister (who is also jobless and recently returned from Africa) has bailed me out twice now. Currently I have only been able to find a part-time job which only makes me $10/hr and only hitting a max of 20 hrs a week.

I had an interview today for a night shift job (yes, I'm that desperate because it pays well) and I won't find out until Nov 15ish if I got it or not. Between now and then I have car payments, insurance, rent, cell phone and credit card bills. The $ I make between now and then will barely touch it.

I was laid off a job where I was making enough money to pay all my bills plus a tiny extra.

I cannot sell my car - it is an asset as well as cuts possible jobs in half. (Seriously, I've been down this road before). And it still has 1.5 years of payments on it.

After 4 years at a company - it got me no where resume wise apparently. I'm back to freaking square one and entry level positions which make a quarter past min. wage if I'm lucky.

Back in July i had a job at a roofing company but I had to leave. I don't regret leaving. I left feeling that God would provide for me...

I'm hurting. Nothing has changed in the past 2+ months. I have no frick'n concept of where God is taking me and I'm tired of feeling like this. Financially I was fine during the first 5 months of being laid off but that was because I was working stupid temp jobs.

I DON'T GET IT. For my entire life, life has never been easy. Not for me, not for my sisters and especially not for my parents. Money has always been a problem. (Let's not forget my dad losing 2 sisters, his father and a friend in the past 4 years) Why is it that some people get amazing jobs and have it so good? Why must me and my family constantly struggle? (Don't even try to tell me it's just to build character).

I'm depressed and sleeping at least 9 hours a night and still wanting more.

I bawled again today knowing that I don't have money and finding a job in a few weeks just isn't going to happen. I don't know what to do anymore. I can't buy groceries to eat, I can't put gas in the car (I take the bus to my pt job), I can't get my hair cut which it's been 10 months, I can't pay for the pills I need for my PCOS, I can't afford to even make payments to my sponsor child.

What the HELL am I supposed to do? Where is God in all of this? Why can't I hear Him or see Him directing me? I'm sick of hearing that "God has a better job for you, be patient.".

Pray for me, pray for my sister who needs a job as well. Pray that my parents store will make it through the winter. Pray that my parents will fix their relationship. Pray that God will reveal to me His provisions. Pray that in a couple years I will look back and see what a growing experience this was for me. Pray that a good job does come along for me.

or at least when they are around.

HoneyCrisp apples

Seriously my favourite apple! Unfortunately they are only around for 3-4 weeks. :( This is my description of said apple - mix the sweetness of a macintosh and add a slice of a granny smith which equals delish!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honeycrisp

Okay, this really got my goat tonight.








Guitar Praise? Have you got to be kidding me?

And to quote from the website:
"The lyrics are appropriate for all ages so friends and family can sing along as you shred. "
(Shred?? Some of the songs are from Chris Tomlin! Seriously)

Some Christians need to get their heads examined. Why do you have to copy everything mainstream? Can we ever be inventive?

I have nothing else to say about this except LAME.

Funny story. Well maybe not quite BUT it's interesting anyways.

So tonight a couple of friends decided to go to a local church girl's night out (http://www.gnolive.ca/) at a local church. Sounds great. Doors open at 7pm and the show starts at 7:30pm. We'll aim to be there just after 7.

First problem. No parking. 4 blocks later and crammed along a side street the car is parked.

Second problem. It's freezing cold and I didn't bring a jacket. Um, wait, that's my problem.

Third problem. It's 7:10pm and the doors to the church are locked. Why you ask? 390+ women are already in the building and it's hitting the fire hazard restrictions. Yup. No lie. The doorman locked the doors and wouldn't not let anyone else in. The line outside the doors? At least 100 strong. There were women there that drove over an hour to come. Some took the night off, other's had to get sitters. We were turned away with craptacular excuses.

This was a free event but you needed a ticket. They printed waaayy more tickets than seating available. At least 150 more tickets. They blamed Mitchell Family Books for having tickets and with going bankrupt there was no way of knowing how many were given away. POOR excuse. The stores are still open, go and ask!

I wasn't really ticked, I live 15 minutes away. I feel so sorry for the older ladies who were freaking ticked and were vocal about it.

Next year? Good luck getting a great turnout because after how this was handled? You're going to have a hord of angry, church-going ladies to sooth over!

I never thought I'd post something like this or admit to it but here goes.

I miss taking the bus.

Why?

The simplicity. Reminds me of easier times in my life. No stress of parking, dealing with moronic drivers or in general taking care of a vehicle.

Riding the bus gives me time to let my mind wander and rest. To think about my day and the future. To pray for a few moments or just sing along to my iPod (well maybe during the walk to the stop :P).

I'm enjoying the time right now taking it* but the novelty will wear off again quite quickly I'm sure. (Seriously, can buses ever be on time?!)

*I take the bus to my p/t job at the university. I still have my "baby" but it's cheaper to hop the bus right now then to pay for parking and gas.

My blog is currently under construction! How 'bout the new design tho? I think it's pretty sweet! :)

Uptown Girl living in an Uptown World

Eventually I hope to have all my blogs linked to this one but we'll see if I can figure that out.

"I read your blog a couple of times

You write good blogs

Cathartic"

Thanks Tim! I appreciate knowing that someone reads my blog :P

cathartic (http://definr.com/cathartic)
adj 1: emotionally purging [syn: psychotherapeutic]
2: emotionally purging (of e.g. art) [syn: releasing]
3: strongly laxative [syn: evacuant, purgative]
n : a purging medicine; stimulates evacuation of the bowels
[syn: purgative, physic, aperient]

I'm pretty sure he was referring to the first two of the definition.

Fab article in the Woolwich Observer about my church's new location:

Frowning she sits staring out the window.
Staring beyond, her fingers touching the glass.
Her world so changed and so unstable.
A single tear slips down her pale cheek.

Segregated, alone and feeling lost.
She dreams of better days and bigger things.
From life she knows not what she wants.
A longing, a desire to want more.

This life of hers seems an endless battle.
The rain it pours down tapping the window.
Her forehead touches the cold glass.
A heaviness sits upon her like the rain clouds...

I took a huge risk last week - I quit my job that I finally got after a 5.5 month adventure of working full-time temp and part-time at Chapters. My parents don't know yet (unless they read this post) and I'm struggling with picking up the phone and telling them.

I'm scared.

Afraid.

This is the first time I've ever walked away from a job.

Why? Self-preservation. The job was killing me slowly - emotionally, personally and spiritually. For two months I had to learn a job on my own in an industry I know nothing about and working as an assistant to a man who doesn't understand what being accountable means. Being in an office with tons of cussing, vulgarity, lack of morality and general un-professionalism. Being told that there is no learning curve left - that basically I'm not doing enough work even though I am constantly stressed out, buried under paperwork and working so much there is no time for lunch. I made one friend and he got the boot last week for a reasons I didn't agree with.

I met up with a lady from my church, Colleen, on Thursday evening - perfect timing. She had so much to tell me and let me talk over and over again - justifying over and over again why I wanted to quit and why I shouldn't. I knew what I needed to do and after 2.5 hours talking I did what my gut and heart were telling me. I was done. I made the phone calls and my life is forever changed yet again.

My eyes are open even more now to what I truly want in life - not that job! :P Time for a career change? I think so. I've been doing administrative work since high school - about 7 years. It was a safe career choice. It was an easy choice. I need to trust God immensely to guide my next steps.

Talking to a bunch of people this weekend has shown m that sometimes you have to take a leap like this to figure out what to do in life. My friend Mike got married on Friday night and I think I got more advice from him then I know what to do with. Having friends who know you is so crucial! Talking to someone who's been in the same boat give me so much more hope.

If you think of me, please pray for me. I thought I knew what I wanted out of life but am learning very quickly that I don't. To change careers I need to find something I enjoy but figuring that out is going to be a hard battle. (Suggestions from anyone?)

This afternoon I watched my good friend Mike get married to his wonderful wife April.  Watching his face as his bride walk down the aisle was price-less, he was grinning like a little kid.  It was an outdoor wedding and just a beautiful day to boot.  This is the first wedding I've gone to that it's a good friend getting married - it made me flash back over the last number of years of my friendship with Mike and it's been a blessing.  Sometimes people are in your life for a reason.  :)

Where we end up in life is such a mystery.
We live like we know where we are going.
We act like we have it all together when that could be the furtherest thing from the truth.

We dress to impress,
we worry about everything.
We buy, save and store.
We move through each day, living for the next.

Life can change in a moment, a second, a blink.
It takes but a moment can change everything.

----

A smile,
a face captured mid laugh.
The moment,
treasured forever,
in a photograph.


---

Love...
Contagious
Energetic
Bubbly
Life
Affirming

---

It takes a different path to see things different.
It takes an experience to gain knowledge.
It takes hurt to heal.
It takes disaster to see beauty.

---

Take a look at this ad. I received this in my inbox last week at work. I think they are pushing the envelope just a tad. (Free advertising for the company I know but I couldn't help but not share this)

So digging Manafest tonight!

And so totally pre-ordered the album which drops tomorrow! Check out "So Beautiful" from the new album "CITIZENS ACTIV" :

Yesterday marks an entire week that I have not cried since the lose of my job on January 21st. I guess this means I am healing and moving on. :)
I was also wrong, Wednesday marks FIVE months....

Tomorrow begins my life of working two jobs. I'm a bit nervous about how crazy my life is going to get. ACK. I also have a second interview tomorrow for a job in an accounting firm so really hoping that goes well!

This has been one insane weekend of not relaxing! My sister and I are finally getting our rooms in the new place set up....we're getting there slowly but surely! My legs throb something fierce at the moment tho so it's time to chill out.

Also finished a very funny and interesting book recently - "Bitter is the New Black". If you like sarcasm and lost a job recently, definitely get your hands on this book. You'll be laughing your way through her life story.

I think it's time for a movie...."A Walk to Remember" or "Fast and the Furious" ? (Do not mock my choice of movies! I'm in a odd mood and not sure if I want to cry through a love story or stare adoringly at Paul Walker. Tough choice, i know.)

Hello to my loyal readers of a blog of which I am neglecting. I do have a big long story to tell here eventually but for now I have a quick update.

I am currently full-time temping in G-town (guaranteed until the end of May) and as of tomorrow will be employed at Chapters part-time. Guess who is going to be a tad busy? I'm doing this so I have somewhat of a secure income (at least a little bit of money) as well as I need to be making more money anyways to pay the bills.

Next Tuesday marks 4 months since I lost my job. That's a crazy long time and feels like a lifetime ago.

I pray that God keeps granting me patience and understanding as He leads me to where He wants me to be.

Hey all, I'm still alive. Lots of updating to do. Please forgive the absence lately but the last 3 months of my life have been....um, interesting. Also I just moved at the beginning of the week so I'm currently living in a massive mess of boxes and bags.

Thanks to my faithful readers! I will be back soon! :)

I haven't blogged for quite some time on here and with my return I am going to blog about software. Yup, that's right. Good ole office software.

Lotus Notes.

I have never used Lotus Notes until the last month and well, I have an opinion about this program.

First off, I had no concept of what Lotus Notes was or the functions of the program in an office. Now I know - it 's like Outlook but not in a good way. Lotus is bulky and not very efficient. Figuring out how to compose a new email took me a couple minutes! Actually the item that took me the longest to figure out was how to create a signature and automatically have it attach to each new "memo". That's another thing that bugs me - why do they have to label emails as memos? Is labelling it an email too cutting edge? Then there's the issue with each new "memo" opening in a new tab. Terribly annoying when you want to toggle between multiple emails and other documents. I'm also not fond of the contacts database because again it's not very easily organized compared to my experience with Outlook.

This brings me to my question, how retro is Lotus Notes? Is it relevant with today's fast paced technology? Is it a cheap alternative to Outlook? What convinces companies to go with this program?

Mind you the only bonus to learning about this program is that now I can list it under office software programs I am knowledgeable in! Will this add value to my resume? I have my doubts.

Now I know why I don't like using Lotus Notes - the version I've been using is seriously outdated - version 6.5: (no wonder!)

I like coffee! (Especially that of the flavoured nature) So when a friend of mine and my sister's introduced us to Java Moose, let's just say we started to drool.


For her birthday my sister received a couple sample packs of said coffee and it is delicious. The flavours currently in our possession:

English Toffee
Cocoa Mocha Nut
Chocolate Hazelnet





Other available flavours:

Macadamia Nut
Canadian Maple Cream
Cinnamon Sticky Bun
Caramel Chocolate Nut Crunch
Cinnamon Almond Macaroon
Mocha Mudslide
etc....

Sadly Java Moose General Stores only exist in New Brunswick :( But they do online orders!

Coffee never tasted soooo good! :)

I am dutch, therefore I love some certain dutch foods. Today I am focusing on a wonderful dish called "Nasi Goreng".


Nasi goreng (Indonesian for fried rice) literally nasi means rice and goreng means fried. The dish is often accompanied by additional items such as a fried egg, fried chicken, satay, or krupuk (fried crackers / chips made of shrimp or vegetables). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasi_goreng)

Why it fits into the dutch culture:
Because of the Dutch colonial past, there has been a considerable Asian influence on Dutch cuisine. From the 16th century onwards all sorts of spices mainly from the Dutch Indies were introduced into Dutch cuisine. Hence many traditional Dutch dishes are (heavily) flavoured with Southeast Asian herbs and spices. Later Indonesian dishes such as nasi goreng, rice with chicken or pork, became part of Dutch cuisine. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_cuisine)

Why I like it:
It's super duper easy to make and you usually end up with oodles of leftovers! It's a good thing my mom taught me how to make it as the instructions are only in dutch of which I cannot read...




Nasi is made by taking that contents of the package - put in one cup container then add hot water to fill cup. Let sit for 15 minutes and add it to the beef mixture. Stir and combine with rice. Done.




End result:

and I'm now unemployed. It's been 2 seconds since I last thought about the fact that I'm jobless.

Please pray that I may find another job.

I left my office with a heavy heart on Monday morning, leaving behind co-workers who were are like family to me. I miss them all.

Right now I'm taking a short vacation and visiting my parents. I may be close to a beach right now but sadly, I'm not up for any polar dips. :)

(great lake pics coming soon tho!)

Dread Pirate Roberts:

           Really. [pause] In that case, I challenge you to a
           battle of wits.

Vizzini:    For the princess? <> To the death? <> I accept.

Dread Pirate Roberts:

           Good. Then pour the wine.

           [Roberts pulls out a small vial, and uncorks it]

           Inhale this, but do not touch.

Vizzini:    I smell nothing.

Dread Pirate Roberts:

           What you do not smell is called Iocane powder. It is
           odorless, tasteless, dissolves instantly in liquid,
           and is among the more deadly poisons known to man.

Vizzini:    Hmmmm.

*Update* I brought my car back to the shop first thing Monday morning and they did discover it was the brakes and fixed it free of charge. (They sorta did still try to rip me off by machining a part instead of replacing it to begin with but ah well, moot point now). My car is fixed and I'm happy now.


I am super ticked right now. I went to my car dealership to get a noise checked out and it ended up being a brake problem. Okay, they fixed it and yes, I paid too much. (Already found a new shop to go to). This was Wednesday I think and today as I'm driving to a friends house guess what I hear? Yup, that's right the stupid moronic mechanics screwed me over and did not fix my brakes properly.

I'm stressed and annoyed so extremely much because I got screwed by a place that is already charging me too much. Now I have to drive my car until Monday morning with brakes that sound like a train's coming.

UGH! I've been worked up about this all day...I know it's just a car but I absolutely hate that I trusted the autoshop to fix my car and they failed to do so. They are getting an earful Monday morning!! I am not paying a darn cent for any more repairs needed and I'm not going back there for anything!

I don't want this stress! I'm already having problems sleeping, my jerknut neighbours in this apartment have been freaking noisy all weekend. I'm tired of it.

I am getting so excited about season 4 of LOST! Today I stumbled across the poster for this season:





*Note the city reflected instead of the trees and the number also reflected.

Pic taken from here.

It's going to be an insane season!! Want to find me on Thursday evenings - I'll be glued to my tv.

I've been wanting to blog about my past year for a while, late but better than never.
This has been an intense year for me and I want to highlight a few points:

Job promotion - no picture for this but a huge change in my daily work life.

Voted in as a church Elder! It has been a learning experience and I'm looking forward to another great year being challenged and constantly growing.


Second ear piercing (that I wanted for years and finally did it)










Bought my first car! I absolutely love my car and having a car. It's been a great blessing for me and a whole other world of educating myself on car maintenance.















Disney World. This included my first plane ride ever and the first time in Florida. Best vacation EVER!
















Camping at a new place - Port Burwell Provincial Park. It was a really nice change and definitely plan on going back this coming summer. (Discovered that going after Labour Day weekend was smart - no one around!)
















First time bridesmaid! I had such a fun time being a part of Steph & Jerry's special day. It was also a mini-vacation for me at the same time (had a cottage to myself for a day). Oh and first road trip on my own - 4hrs was long enough!




















Parents moved out of my childhood home. What an experience! I do miss the old home but it was time for my parents to move on. (only pic I could find of the house at the moment)
















My sister moved to Tanzania, Africa and will be gone for the next 8-12 months. I miss her so much but I know this is a awesome opportunity for her. (I'm slightly jealous, she gets to miss a winter!)















It was a very challenging year but I came away changed and that is the best part.

Here's too a new year!

I talk about this book all the time, so why not blog about it? Read my review here.
--
"The Shack" by William P. Young is a phenomenal hit! I can't get over the amount of response this book is getting not to mention the word of mouth promotion!

Examples:

Ranked on Amazon.com today - #81 in books
Ranked on Amazon.ca today - #164 in books

I'm seriously excited about how well this book is selling/circulating! The book has an amazing message that the world needs to hear and be reminded of.

What's also fantastic is that according to William's website he will be visiting my area of the world in April! Talk about awesome!

If you have not read this book - please pick up a copy and read it!

...for this week:

1. Eating apple fritters fresh from the Farmer's Market (thanks Jolene!)

2. Finally getting more than 5 hrs of sleep at night (semi-insomnia probs lately)

3. Great convos over coffee with friends

And the best one...

4. Season 3 of LOST!

So this afternoon I was flipp'n thru channels trying to find something to watch and I stumbled across "Eve's Christmas" which of course ended up being a cute chick flick of course! BUT, it had a certain actor in it which brings me to the meaning for this post is to expose my long time crush for a very unknown actor - Sebastian Spence:









Oh goodness! I used to watch him on the weekly show called "First Wave" as Cade Foster, the alien hunter. And that is all I have to say. Ha, ha.

This should be an interesting...

I am a slob, well at least when it comes to my room.

I was so embarrassed today when I had guests over and someone needed some privacy and let them into my room. It's a disaster! I have books, papers and clothes all over the place!! Maybe this is my wake up call to getting a bit more organized?!? Ack! Why can't there be more hours in the day so I can accomplish such a monstrous task?

I guess you can tell a lot about a person by the messiness of their room? Yikes, that does not paint me in a very good picture.

Tomorrow nite, if you need me, I'll be cleaning my room....

Ugh, I still feel embarrassed...

I couldn't sleep last night.

I went to bed at midnight and did not crash until 4:30 this morning. I was so mad! I'm usually the type that when my head hits the pillow I'm sawing logs within 10 minutes. But no, I tossed and turned, tried to read a book, read my bible for a bit, drank water, walked around the apartment...I even tried crying myself to sleep but NOTHING worked! Stupid brain would not turn off.

Seriously, my number one annoyance in life - is not being able to sleep. Ugh. I'm going to be living off cafeine and sugar for entire day.

Wish me luck or help me get off the sugar high...

I'm feeling special today, the good special, not the my-mom-thinks-I'm-special kind of special.

I feel nerdy special.

At work I'm part of reading club where we submit the books that we have read each month and well, in less than 5 months I've won TWICE!

Yup, I'm a reading geek.

Now to take the gift certificate and go shopping! :)

Book stats:
45 books
13,457 pages

Today is a day I long to be a kid again.

The crisp snow under foot, the snow lightly falling from the sky…and I stick out my tongue to catch a few flakes. What it would be like to throw all cares away and make snow angels or build a snowman. Just a day with no pressure, responsibility or worry. To lay back on a pile of snow and just let your mind wander.