... and then Everything Changed

I thought I had it all figured out. I had made my tough decision of which party I was going to vote for on October 14th; and then the economy south of the border went tits up, and I had to re-think a lot of things.

I was never going to vote for the NDP or the Bloq. I'm especially not going to the vote for the NDP now after hearing about all the spending they plan on doing.

It was down to the Greens and the Conservatives. And I said I would never vote for this new Conservative party. Things have being going along fine, but there's something about Harper, something I just can't put my finger on. But then I stopped paying to the politicians, and started paying attention to the party platforms, and I liked what the Conservatives were saying, especially when it came to the criminal/justice system, and most importantly, the Young Offenders Act.

This is something I have been passionate about for years (since I was 16) and have been waiting for the government to tighten the reins on young offenders. So with that, and some other parts of the Conservative platform, my mind was made up. On October 14 I was to check the Conservative box... And then everything changed. The economy fell apart in the US; it's falling apart in Europe; and like a house of cards or a line of dominoes, Canada will feel the pain too. It might not be as bad; it could be worse; whatever it is, we know it's coming and Canada's economic high is going to come down, and whatever party finds itself in power in two weeks time, needs to be ready for that.

The reason I was not going to vote Liberal this time round is that I find nothing inspiring about Dion, and apparently the same thing goes for many other Liberal supporters. And my repelling of the Liberal party takes place at the grassroots level too - my MP is none other than the one-time NDP Premier of BC Ujial Dosanjh. And we all know what I think about the BC NDP... But yesterday Stephen Dion said something that made me listen to him for the first time since he was elected leader of the Liberal party. He asked people to remember the strong economic stance taken by the Chretien government. Sure, there were a couple of scandals along the way, but bottom line, the Liberals brought us to great economic prosperity in the 90's and the turn of the century, turning an deficit it years of huge surpluses, and focusing on paying down the debt. If any party in this country has proved to us their economic ideas are solid it is the Liberals....

Yesterday I heard someone say that Canada's economic fundamentals are sound. I thought what the hell is John McCain doing discussing the Canadian economy, and then I took a closer look - it was Harper...

Oh My God! Like Gag Me with a.... Fluoride Tray?

Throughout my 30 years on this planet I have yet to meet anyone who didn't mind a trip to the dentist. It's one of those things that you hate as a child, but assume it will improve when you grow up. Nope.

There's nothing like having you teeth and gums poked and prodded, and being told that your brushing and flossing skills are less than mediocre. But the thing I hate most about the dentist? The fluoride. Sure it's only a few minutes, twice a year, but it's still one of the most horrible things. I hate the taste (even though it has somewhat improved over the years), and I just feel like gagging.

I thought I had an out. A couple of years ago I was told I have fluorosis. A condition of having too much fluoride in your system, making your teeth pretty much indestructible, but at the cost of having plaque like build-up on your teeth, that doesn't come off.

I got this condition because I was fed a small drop of fluoride every morning as a child (a very popular thing to do in the 70's and 80's); along with my Flintstone vitamin. And, until recently, Vancouver put fluoride into the water system, and I drink Vancouver tap water by the gallon. So, one would think that I would no longer need fluoride. Nope. I still have to endure those icky trays, and long, gagging minutes twice a year.

Darkness Falls

The hardest thing I find about this time of year is the growing, lingering darkness. I've noticed it getting dark earlier in the evening for quite some time now. I guess that's what happens when you spend the longest days of summer way up North and are used to dusk at 2 am, not 9:30 pm.

But it has only been over the past week or so that I have noticed the mornings getting darker, and darker, and darker. It was very pronounced this morning, most likely due to the fact that it's overcast, but it was definitely night time when my alarm went off at 6:30 am. There is a huge difference in getting up at 6:30 am when it's daylight, and getting up at 6:30 am in the pitch black. It takes a while for my body to adjust and realize that 6:30 am is 6:30 am, no matter how dark or light it is outside.

The thing I noticed about this morning, however, was that it stayed dark. It was dark when I got out of the shower; it was dark while I was preparing my lunch and eating my breakfast. I only noticed the first light while getting dressed and ready to get out the door. By the time I left shortly after 7:30 am, it was finally light out, but soon enough I will be leaving for work as dawn is rising.

I suppose that it is one of the many advantages of working in a school. At least during the darkest days and hours of the year I'm on vacation. And when I return to work in January, the days are beginning to show signs of getting lighter and longer. But it is a long way from September to January...

Blink and It's Over

That's how I would best describe this past weekend. I was constantly on the go, from the second I got home Friday afternoon. But you know what they say about having fun...

Friday night we headed downtown to see Alice Cooper. Prior to the concert we visited my brother is his new, Yaletown digs. We grabbed some yummy pizza for dinner from a place on Granville Street (the name currently eludes me), and went back to Andrew's to play Rock Band.

Colin forgot to turn his alarm off, so I was rudely awoken at 7 am on Saturday morning. And then again, ten minutes later, because Colin only hit snooze... So I fell back asleep and didn't get up until 10:45 am, which is a) very late for me, and b) very bad as I had million things to accomplish that morning.

We had to get Colin's car window fixed as it was no longer working properly (you can tell I'm not a car person...). Long story short, the window got stuck in the down position, and the first rainfall of September happened to be a torrential downpour. So we quickly popped down the street to the local mechanics and dropped off the car.

After that we headed to Canadian Tire because I was in desperate need of a new pair of windshield wipers. After that we went to Denny's for brunch, popped by the library to pick up my books on home organization and the went to the Petcetera in Richmond to pick up more kitty litter.

We usually by bulk bags of the Petcetera brand of kitty litter and fill up our reusable bucket at home. Petcetera now has a huge bin of litter (the brand we use) that you can just scoop into your reusable bucket. Environmentally friendly. That's good. But when you do the math, it's cheaper to buy the bulk bag... Maybe they need to rethink that one.

We also picked up one of those fancy water fountain drinking apparatuses for the cats because they would much prefer to drink out of any running tap in the house and ignore their water bowl. Solution: one of these gizmos:

It seems to be working so far.

When I got home I had to get ready at lightning speed, including having a shower. It was almost 2 PM and I had plans to meet Thalia at her place in North Van at three. I managed to get out the door just after 2:30 and made it to the North Shore just after 3 PM. Not bad considering it was pouring with rain, and Rupert was just one, big obstacle.

Thalia drove us out to Coquitlam Centre so we could go to H&M. Yes, we choose to head to Coquitlam versus dealing with downtown. Afterwards we returned to North Van, went out for a sushi dinner, and rented a movie - I can't remember the title, but it's the about Mr. Bean heading to the South of France. It was okay. The TV show is much better.

On Sunday I went to my dance class - extra practice before the big show next month - and had a hell of a workout. After class I returned home, did a few things around the house, and then went over to Mum and Dad's for dinner.

Alice Cooper

This past Friday Colin and I saw Alice Cooper at the Centre for the Performing Arts. I may seem like an unlikely Alice Cooper fan, but if you know me, and have seen my itunes list, or our CD collection, this shouldn't be much of a surprise. To say my taste in music is eclectic is an understatement.

What I thought was my first exposure to Alice Cooper was Wayne's World. But according to my mum, he used to make guest appearances on Seasame Street. But my first memories of interest in his music was thanks to Wayne's World. The movie also introduced me to Queen (with some help from Lisa), and my talent for headbanging...

Colin and I thought we were going to stick out like sore thumbs, dressed in our conservative ways. Turns out though there was every type of person possible at this concert. People my parents' ages dressed like their age. People dressed like Alice Cooper. People dressed like us. People still in their business suits.

We were very close to the stage, which was good and bad. Good because we were so close and had a good view. Bad because we saw every wrinkle and sag on Alice's face, and we were right next to the speakers, and seem to be in denial that we are both in our 30's. We didn't have earplugs. When I went to bed Friday night I could hear my eardrums banging - that can't be good, can it? Here we are Monday morning and my ears are still slightly plugged.

Stink bomb

I think Colin had one hell of a workout at his martial arts class last night. He came home and threw his gi in the hamper, which happens to be in our bedroom. I was lying in bed reading. After a few minutes I started to sniff, something smelt like it had died in our room. I realized what is was... Colin's gi. I got up and asked him to remove the gi from our bedroom. Instead of removing just the gi he took the entire hamper and locked it in the bathroom overnight (with the window open, thank god). When I got up this morning, the smell seemed to have dissipated. The question is, can we survive a stinky gi until I can do laundry Saturday morning?

Fall-ing

It looks like the dog days of summer are just about behind us now. I think Vancouverites were appreciative of the late burst of summer, considering how mediocre this actual summer was. But the leaves are now turning, literally. I've been feeling the onset of autumn in the air for the past week or two, and that onset was confirmed this morning when I saw my first leaf fall.

I always have a hard time making that transition from summer to autumn. I love long, warm sunny days. But once I'm into autumn, and and as long as it doesn't pour with rain the whole time, I don't mind it so much. I do suffer from SADS, but that doesn't usually kick in till January, but this time round, I think it may be a whole lot earlier. Why? I have never have been as pale as I am right now, at this time of year. I can usually hold my summer tan till October or November, but this year it's already fading away, and it's still September.

Here's hoping this autumn/winter is a dry one... of course, this is Vancouver so that odds of that happening are, well, none.

Election Overload

I will be the first to admit it - I am a political nerd. I can't get enough of the goings-on of our elected officials, especially at the Federal level.

The last year and half has been somewhat quiet in the realm of Canadian politics, but the US has certainly made up for that with what seems like the longest election ever. And there's still two months to go before it actually happens.

But Canadians get to take a break (sort of) from the hoopla down south and pay attention to our own interesting characters who make up the face of Canadian politics. This will be our third election in four years. In some ways, I'm hoping for a majority government so we can move on and get some things accomplished. But, according to the poles, the Conservatives are in the lead, and while I don't mind them thus far, I would be somewhat concerned if Harper had 'absolute' power. He's made mention to things here and there that just don't jive with the Canadian mindset; but at least he's leaving the abortion issue untouched this time round. At least that's what he said.

This will be my sixth federal election... I have only legally been allowed to vote for twelve years - so, on average, I have been going to the polls every other year. And like I said I love the political goings on, but at this rate it's almost too much, especially since there is a municipal election in November and a Provincial election next May...

As for who I plan on voting for, well, I have mere weeks to figure that out. This time I truly am a person without a party...

Ahhh Lint Remover...

...good, ole lint remover. A roll of sticky paper perfect for removing cat hair from clothing, furniture and just about anything else. But can there be anything else wonderful about the stuff? According to Wellington (the cat), yes!

It makes a wonderful cat toy. I'm not sure what's in the stuff, but it's something that Wellington loves, (and that Tiki could care less about).

Whenever I a discard a used piece, I will find it later outside of the garbage can. So I take it away from Welly, hide it deeper in the garbage, yet it somehow makes it way back out again.

Yes Wellington has a thing for lint remover... and cutips. Used, waxy, yellow cutips, which I find discarded all over our apartment.

I love animals, don't you?

...to Whitehorse

This year's annual vacation was a bit different from past years. Instead of hopping on a plane and heading South (or East), we hopped in the car and headed due North. Destination: [the rest of] BC, the Yukon, and Alaska.


Instead of boring you with all the details (of which I am fast forgetting), I will cover where we went, what we saw, and some other highlights. But just be warned, once I start writing, I may go into details anyway...


Our first day goal was to make it from Vancouver to Barkerville. Which we did. Sort of. We drove up through the Fraser Canyon, planning to take Hwy 99 on the way down (mother nature had other plans though). We made it all the way to Barkerville, and stopped in Wells (just west of Barkerville) to find somewhere to stay. Turns out for the first time ever there were no vacancies due to four reunions taking place that weekend. It was late, I was tired, hungry, and getting really grumpy. We had dinner in Wells, and made the drive back to Quesnel.



The next morning we got up, drove back to Barkerville, did the tour, drove back to Quesnel and finally started heading north towards Prince George, and on to our next destination Ft. Nelson. We managed to make it as far as Chetwynd, and spent the night in the Chainsaw Carving Capital of BC (or was it the world?) and dined at one of the many Chinese-Western diners.


Our third day was probably the shortest traveling day of the whole trip. We cut up through Hudson's Hope and popped onto the Alaska Hwy, just north of Ft. St. John. I was promised lots of Moose on this leg of the trip, at least that what the signs kept telling me... but I didn't see one. We arrived in Ft. Nelson after only a few hours on the road, and spent the afternoon, evening, and stayed over night with an old friend of mine I hadn't seen in ten years. It was a fun visit!


The next day we decided to drive all the way from Ft. Nelson to Whitehorse. A 12-hour driving day, with a nice break at the hot springs in Liard Provincial Park - nature's hot tub! It was awesome, and difficult to get back in the car!

We pulled into Whitehorse around 11PM... and it was still light out. Welcome to the land of the Midnight Sun. I have to say, I was not overly impressed with Whitehorse. I expected it to be more like, well, Dawson City. I don't think our first hour in Whitehorse set a good tone either: We went to Boston Pizza for dinner. Not our first choice, but given the time of night, and what was available, it was our best choice. We walked into the restaurant around 11:15 PM. We both know this for a fact, because that's what time it was when we got out of the car. We were told they stopped seating people at 11:30. We decided not to make a stink about it and left. Strike one for Whitehorse. We settled on a gourmet meal at Timmy Ho's. I ordered a egg salad on brown bread. They only had chicken salad left. Strike two. And they only had white bread. Strike three. The donut options were very limited, but I managed to get a chocolate one. Which Colin accidentally ate. He offered me his donut, but it was maple, and I hate maple... I just wanted to cry at this point. And get the hell out of Whitehorse. But we stayed for a couple of days. We walked around the city, and along the Yukon River; we visited the Beringia Interpretive Centre; and visited Muktuk Adventures, a kennel just west of Whitehorse with a 120 dogs who run the Yukon Quest. This visit somewhat redeemed Whitehorse. We had the opportunity to visit with the dogs and pups, and learned all about mushing.

We left Whitehorse and made our way to Dawson, the heart of the Klondike Gold Rush. Now this was a fun town. Dawson is home to literary greats Pierre Burton and Robert Service. And Jack London spent a lot of time there too. We visited a couple of museums, took a walking tour, visited Dredge #4, and panned for gold. We also spent the evening at Diamond Tooth Gerties - the thing to do in Dawson. But we never got the guts up to 'drink the toe.'

We left Dawson after a few days, and continued West. We drove the Top of the World Highway (aptly named) into Alaska and visited Chicken (named for all the ptarmigans in the area) and Tok. We only spent half a day or so there, so we headed back into Canada via Beaver Creek and spent the night in Haines Juction. The following day we began heading South, and found ourselves in Skagway, Alaska. This was our first time camping on the trip, and it was cold and poured with rain. And our site was merelt feet away fromt the train tracks.... But despite the weather, and being woken up by trains at 5 am, Skagway was a neat place, and the perfect bookend for our trip to Dawson. This is were the trek to Dawson began: in Skagway (Whitepass) and Dyea (Chilcoot Trail) - now a ghost town enveloped by a forest.

After Skagway we headed back towards Whitehorse (yee haw!) and begin to work our way back to BC. This time we headed down the Stewart-Cassier Hwy with Stewart/Hyder as our next destination. We dined in Dease Lake and spent the night in Bell II. We arrived in Stewart the next day, and got a good glimpse of Bear Glacier. When then crossed the only unmanned border aournd into Hyder, Alaska - a ghost town for all intensive purposes, even though there are a few live souls kicking around.

We visited the state park to see the Grizzly Bears. We paid $5 each to get in. Stayed for 45 minutes. Saw nothing, decided to head back to the car. Saw a grizz walking down the street...

We then began climbing our way up to Salmon Glacier, crossing back into Canada. Salmon Glacier is the largest glacier in the world accessible by road, and the fifth largest glacier in the world. It was something else.

We returned to the State Park (since we could still use our passes), and this time got to see a grizz enjoying a tasty salmon dinner and frolicking in the water. A couple of my favourite past times...

After our day in Stewart/Hyder we made our way to Prince Rupert - the warmest and driest part of our trip - oh the irony. We passed through Terrace, birth place of Colin and spent the night in Rupert. The next day we drove around, visited a museum, and decided to start heading east towards Prince George. We stopped in Terrace for lunch. It was strange for both of us, sitting eating our lunch and thinking this is where Colin is from. He was around one when his family moved to Richmond, and had only been back to Terrace a couple of times when we was very young.

We called a good friend of ours who returns home to Vanderhoof every summer for a visit, and it turned out he just arrived back home. We met up with Adam and his dad in Burns Lake and spent August 1st (our ten year anniversary) fishing... on a boat on Babine Lake. We spent our first date on a boat, but instead of fishing, we were watching fireworks. But a perfectly fitting way to spend the anniversary of our first decade together. And I caught my first fish ever - a nice, juicy lake trout.

We spent the evening at Adam's family farm, and enjoyed a crazy game of Gin. The next day we toured the farm and made our way home. But we had to return through the Canyon instead of passing through Lilooet and down the Sea-to-Sky because of a massive rock slide the essentially shut down the highway between Vancouver and White Rock.

The Highway 99 re-opened half an hour after we returned home...

Trudeau's Law

My return from DC was a bit of a gong show. The flight from DC to Montreal was somewhat interesting. I'm convinced my pilot was drunk. The plane was bouncing up and down, and shaking from side to side, and there wasn't much cloud cover. And twice, it felt like the pilot literally slammed on the breaks. It was like he was thinking, 'oh shit, I supposed to start my descent better slow this plane down.' The second time, I think he just about overshot Trudeau Airport!



Just to give you some background, I have never re-entered Canada through any airport other than YVR. So for the first time in my life I had to clear customs, pick up my luggage, drop it off, clear security again, and finally get on the plane.



When I entered the customs hall the first thing that went through my mind was Oh Shit! I have never see line-ups like it before, but I had no choice and I ventured down the stairs (it's the same layout as YVR). I saw there was a special line for connecting flights, that pretty much took me to the front of the line-up. Next problem: there were only a couple of people in front of me, but I don't think they were Canadian, and the custom officers kept asking tonnes of questions. So I started to panic again. I had about 90 minutes to make my flight. Finally it's my turn, the customs officer scans my passport, and boom, his computer crashes. He's frantically trying to reboot, and I can't go anywhere until it's working again. So he asked me the usual questions, and we got to chatting. He felt really bad and embarrassed about the whole thing. Finally, it started working and I could continue on.



Of course my bag was already on the carousel, so I grabbed it, handed in my customs card, dropped my bag off - the easiest part of the process, and headed to my gate, with ample time. Get to security... you can guess where this is going. Massive line-up, chaos, etc. But the line is moving, so I keep calm. Of course they stick me in the worst possible line-up. There was a woman with two small children who was trying to smuggle something through. So security pulled her aside, but it takes a few minutes before they send a new guard to our line-up.



The woman in front of me starts telling me how she's missed a few flights due to Montreal security... perhaps it wasn't the airport's fault though... the guards repeatedly told us to take all liquids out of our bag and make sure they're in the little baggie, etc. This woman WAITS until she is about to put her bag through, and then begins to pull out all her liquids and shove them in a bag. I had few choice words for her, but thought it best to keep my mouth closed.

Of course, my gate was at the very end of the hall. I couldn't even see it when I first passed through security. Let's just say I got my exercise. Finally I made it some time to spare - my flight was delayed!

And that's Trudeau's, err, I mean, Murphy's Law.

From the Whitehouse...

Most of my July was not spent in the office. In fact, I only worked six days the entire month. I don't think I've had time of like that since university.

Early July was spent in the US Capital. I was venturing over to Arlington, VA for the DPhiE Convention, so it just made sense to take the opportunity to visit DC while in the neighbourhood.

DC is quite a city, except for the people ... they make New Yorkers look like the politest people on earth. Despite its denizens however, it was a spectacular place to visit.

We stayed in an area called DuPont circle. This was a hip little neighbourhood which reminded us of the West End. It was home to some great restaurants, and the best frozen yoghurt you will ever have! We were eating dinner at this great pizza joint, and noticed all these people walking past with (what we though was) ice cream. We figured it had to be near the restaurant, and decided it would be a good idea for dessert.

Turns out it was right next door, and it wasn't ice cream, it was frozen yoghurt - literally!

You had three choices: plain, green tea, and pomegranate. And you had your choice of three toppings, with a variety to choose from. The yoghurt was delicious, and had a nice, tangy flavour - hence the name Tangy Sweet. It was such a popular place, the line-up was right out the door. It was also like that when we returned the next evening. Gotta have our Tangy Sweet.

Ok, there is more, much more to DC than rude people and damn good frozen yoghurt. Our first day in town we took an indoor tour around the city that included stops at: Capitol Hill, Ford Theatre, the White House visitors centre, and the Smithsonian (Aeronautical & Space Museum and the Native American Museum). Afterwards we ditched the tour and ventured over to the Library of Congress.

We ventured out of DC our second day, taking a boat cruise down the Potomac to Mount Vernon, George Washington's plantation. It was quite a spectacular place. We even saw were George and Martha are entombed, and George's wooden teeth.

After the jaunt to Mt. Vernon we returned to DC for some more touring. We walked the length between Captiol Hill and the Lincoln Memorial - 8 KM in 100 degree heat! We visited the WWII, Korean, and Vietnam war memorials, and the Lincoln memorial. By the end of the day we were very hungry, and more sweaty and dirty than any of us had been in our lives, which made things interesting come dinner time. We found a brew pub to have dinner at, but we swear they were going to refuse us service. They did let us in, but stuck us at the back of the restaurant - there was plenty of space up front... I have never taken such a satisfying shower in my life as I did that night.

For our final morning in DC we visited the Whitehouse. Normally foreign visitors have to sign up six months in advance through their embassies, but our sorority arranged the tour. It was a bit of a gong show... but all worked out in the end. I have to say, the secret service guys are some of the friendliest people around.

The White House was very opulent. It reminded me of a European palace. After our tour we returned to our hotel, checked out, and made our way to Virginia. We checked into the Convention hotel and looked into heading to the outlet mall. But it was too far away, and too expensive to get to, so we settled for the local mall: The Pentagon Mall. It was one of the most amazing shopping days of my life. I kept finding deal after deal, and everything fit. I went a little nuts in Banana Republic.

During Convention we had a free morning to do as we pleased, so we headed over to Arlington Cemetery. I can't even explain how immense it is. We saw the resting places of JFK and RFK, and watched the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier.

And that concluded our trip to DC, and DPhiE convention.

Where to Begin?

I wrote an entry just over a month ago, while I was in DC. It described my day out visiting the US capital, which is fast becoming a faint memory. As I went to post the blog, the time on the hotel computer ran out. So do I cram in two vacations, and six weeks worth of blogging into one post? I don't know. I'll see how it goes...

It's funny, since my return to Vancouver, it seems like everyone has disappeared. I'm assuming everyone is out of town, as is common at this time of year. It makes socializing hard, even though I really should take it easy this weekend, as I have not had a lazy weekend since, I don't know? Spring Break probably (and I'm not exaggerating)!

I had a couple of days after returning from our trip up North, to clean the apartment and do four, yes four loads of laundry. I didn't have a chance to vacuum upon returning from DC, so that was a must. Quite frankly, I was surprised the cats weren't hairless, since our bed spread had grown a thick layer of fur on it while we were away.

I've been spring cleaning the apartment, since Spring. I was hoping to really tackle the mess last weekend, but the social gods had other plans. Friday after work I raced home, caught some of the Olympic Opening Ceremony, and then it was off to what I swear was the longest game in CFL history, maybe football history! At least the Lions won.

Saturday I spent the whole day with my new nephew, Tobin, who is now 5 weeks old. We left our place at 11:30 am and didn't get home till 6:30 pm, at which point we turned around and headed out to Lisa and Andrew's for a evening of Olympics, games, and always good conversation.

Sunday I spent most of the day finishing my book for book club. I thought it was this coming weekend, not last weekend. I really enjoyed Guards! Guards! and hope to read more from the Terry Prachett's Discworld Series. I also spent Sunday running errands.

I finally started tackling the apartment this week. It is already looking a lot better. There are still a lot of items to sort through, but it's coming together now. Then I will be able to concentrate on my dancing and sorority volunteer work...

No rest for the wicked...

#200

I couldn't think of a catchy title for my post. Then I saw that this will be post 200. I think that may be a little low for 3.5 years of blogging, but I have noticed as of late, I seem to be more and more sporadic about it.

I am officially on vacation as of 4 PM tomorrow; however I think my mind is already on left. After a four day weekend, filled with glorious summer weather, and a pending vacation, I'm finding it a bit hard to concentrate.

I spent part of my long weekend in Whistler, enjoying the mid-30 degree temperature, and being able to spend time by the lake sunbathing and reading. Two of my favourite things. I finally have some decent colour, and no longer look like I have been living underground. It's a bit cloudy today, but at least it's warm.

I didn't get much done on Monday as I was suffering from heat exhaustion. I've been able to handle hot, hot temperatures my whole life, so I will blame it on:
a) going from Winter to the dead of summer in days
b) adjusting to life at 30, i.e. the bizarre aches and pains that seem come with it

So, I lost a day of tidying up and packing for Convention. Tuesday I wanted to celebrate Canada Day by attending Salmon Fest, but by the time I arrived in Steveston there was absolutely no parking anywhere. I drove around for 30 minutes in the heat, wasting gas I just paid $1.50 a litre for, so I headed home, and did what I do best: sunbathing and reading.

Later in the afternoon Colin and I went to MEC in search of hiking boots for our trip. Colin pointed out that he was shoe shopping with me - perhaps Hell had frozen over. I can't say that shopping for hiking boots is quite the same as shopping for cute, strappy heels. But shoe shopping, is shoe shopping.

Last night Colin and I went to see Corteo (my birthday present). Neither of us have ever been to Cirque de Soleil before, so we weren't sure what to expect - it was amazing. I can't fathom what some people can do with their bodies. It was something else, and a lot of fun.

Afterwards we popped into Women's on our way home and met our new nephew. No Name Blackstock - at least that's what I'm calling him until he has a name. Despite the fact he has yet to be named, he is very sweet. I think Colin was in a daze over the fact that his baby brother has a baby.

It's been an exciting week, so you can perhaps understand why I have left for vacation, even though I'm still here.

And it's already Thursday...

No Rest for the Wicked

I must have done something that is completely pure evil because my work life and social life are still insanely busy. The school is quiet with the students gone, and the teachers soon going, but things are still very busy in my office. Right now I am playing catch-up with work dating back to November. I have a pile of filing to do (among other things) that I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy! The stack is at least 2 feet high! I'm not exaggerating! I also have a lot a pressure to get things done because I am only working 6 days next month, and I prefer to get the ball rolling on some things and not leave everything to August. In fact, I'm not even back at work until August 5th, and I still have 1.5 vacation days left which I need to take by August 31. Is there such a thing as too much vacation???!!!

My social calendar has been jam packed thanks to myself and my closest friends all turning 30. At the same time! May and early June were a bit nuts. My craziest weekend was two weeks ago: I drove up to Whistler with Thalia and Lisa Duff - an old Crofton friend whom we had not seen in twenty years! So I was up at 6:30 am - normal for a week day, but not for a Saturday - met Thalia at her place in North Van at 8:30 and headed to Whistler. By the time I got back down and back to my place it was 6 pm, and Colin and I were heading to a BBQ in PoCo that had started at 5:30 - needless to say, we were fashionably late. And somehow, we didn't make it back home till 4am! I was exhausted. And the next day I had to get up for a baby shower! Last weekend was wonderfully quiet, but that's it, until sometime in August:

This weekend I am going shopping with Mum, and out for Sunday brunch with some friends. Next weekend Colin and I will be in Whistler. The next two weekends after that I will be in Washington DC for DPhiE Convention, then the next two weekends after that I will be on vacation, and will be somewhere in BC, the Yukon, or Alaska.

I'm wondering at which point I will drop dead!

At least I'm enjoying myself :)

Oh, and being 30 - so far, so good.

Time to Re-fuel

I didn't realize how prophetic my last entry would be. Ever since writing that entry I have been busy with work, and have been as sick as a dog, so I haven't been able to accomplish much with my personal life. Because I was so busy with work, I really couldn't take any time off to get over my cold, so it has dragged on for weeks. It's been so bad that I haven't been to Curves or my dance classes for three weeks now - and I'm starting to feel the effects. This is the longest I've gone without exercise in three years, and it's starting to take its toll. Needless to say I'm actually looking forward to going to Curves tomorrow. Yes, I did just write that I'm looking forward to going to the gym!


This week has been the most insane - a lot of late nights leading up to the golf tournament, including a 16-hour day on Wednesday! But it's over now. That's it. No more events to plan this [school] year. I am very chuffed with myself - the tournament went well, and I've been receiving a lot of thanks and congratulations from co-workers and parents. I can't take all the credit - I had a lot of help. But it is certainly nice to hear a thank you and a nod of appreciation for a job well done.


So what do I do now? Turn 30. Yup. That's it folks. I have 48 hours left in my twenties. I don't know why I'm dreading turning 30 - I think I have turning a new decade phobia. I went through the same thing when I was about to turn 20... and that was the most amazing summer. And the last ten years have been pretty awesome for the most part.

I don't think it's so much of having one foot slightly closer to the grave. You can go at anytime, like yesterday's untimely death of Canucks Defenseman Luc Bourdon at 21 years of age :(. But, I think it's an aging thing. I am now starting to look older, although I've been told I look only mid-20's. I keep telling myself that I'm not the only one having to go through this. In fact I have a lot of close friends my age (many of us just weeks apart), and we all get to go through this together. A nice, little support group for heading into your 30's.

I suppose the hardest thing I have with turning 30, is that it sounds older, and I don't feel (or look) older. Maybe "they're" right. Maybe 30 is the new 20.

Fast & Slow

What a difference a day makes: yesterday I arrived at work, buried myself in a pile of work - mostly golf related, and before I knew it, it was the end of the day. Today? That's a different story. I have work to do. And I have other work to do, on top of the work I have to do, but I haven't been able to concentrate. The office has been very quiet today - I find background noise helps me concentrate. Really there is no reason, but today is dragging its heels.

At least tomorrow is Wednesday. But I wish it was Friday. I have a feeling this week is going to be a long, boring one. But, I know I will be wishing otherwise in a couple of weeks time, with the golf tournament just around the corner, and no doubt, lots of last minute running around. But compared to the gala, it's a cakewalk.

Laziness? Burnt Out? Or Just Getting Older?

Lately I haven't been doing a lot. I've been skipping Curves and dance classes. My apartment is a bona fide pigsty. I haven't been preparing meals. I've been avoiding my volunteer work, which basically includes our local alumnae chapter newsletter, and the overall organization alumnae association manual. I haven't been sleeping well, because I haven't been exercising as much, because I've been too tired after work, because I haven't been sleeping well...

So, I am beginning to wonder: I have just been to damn busy? Did the gala burn me out more than I care to admit or know? Have I suddenly become lazy? Or is it just that I'm getting older and don't quite have the energy to juggle a billion things anymore?

I don't know what the answer is - I did get a lot done over Spring Break, but now I seem to be back in a funk. Of course, I haven't had many weekends at home, which is a big time for getting stuff done. I was in Mission last weekend for a women's retreat, and am leaving tomorrow for Las Vegas, and won't be back till Sunday evening. And then... there's nothing on my calendar. And maybe that's a good thing. Sure, there's the odd party here and there. But that's it. I am not going away again until July, and by that time work will be at a standstill.

All I know is I have to get my butt back to dance class and curves next week. Tackle the messiness that is my apartment. And start making meals again. And then my world will be at peace and balance.

I'm Still Here

I'm sure I am writing for an audience of zero. But maybe there are people out there who check back here every now and then, on the off chance I have actually updated this thing.

I blame it on Facebook. There is definitely a direct correlation between my discovery of FB and the lack of blogging. I blame it on Thalia (in good humour). She's the one that sent me that fateful email last March inviting me to this entity known as Facebook.

Who needs to come here anymore? I'm sure the majority of people who read this thing are Facebook 'friends.' And visiting my FB profile will give them more insight into my life than I'm sure this blog ever could. Heck, I can even blog on FB - but I don't, and probably won't.

My other reason reason for lack of blogging. The inane business that was my life between December and February. I'm still not quite sure how I made it to March 8, but I did, relatively in tact too.

I have come to realize there is bad busy, and good busy: Bad busy is when there aren't enough hours in the day; it's when you are working so hard and in such a frenzy to get everything done you seem to loose sight of where you are going. By the time you get to your personal life you are so exhausted you can't even do anything with that. But, there's also good busy - my favourite kind of busy. This is when there's lots to do that time flies; you can take your time with each task, and if you don't finish it today, well, there's always tomorrow. And by the time you get home, you actually feel energized from your accomplishments, and not beaten down.

I am slowly returning to that latter state. Spring Break was enjoyable, and couldn't have come at a better time, but I'm still not quite over the craziness of the last four months. But I just think of all the things I can do, because of the career and job that I have, and that the last few months, no matter how trying at times, were completely worth it. I get to spend a long, long weekend in Las Vegas with girlfriends (in fact, two weeks from this exact moment I will be airborn). I received a grant for my convention in DC, and will be able to take extra time off beforehand to see the sights. Then there's the rest of my holiday time to take this summer. And so much more.

Now, I just wish this lousy weather would pick up. It is Spring. At least that's what the calendar says...

A New Year (... and a return to blogging)

I can't really tell you why I neglected my blog for so long - I haven't become a recluse or anything like that. Quite the opposite in fact. I don't no where November and December went. It's hard to believe Christmas 2007 is over and done with. Actually, it's hard to believe that 2007 - period - is over and done with.

So here we are - 2008. This is one of those years that always seemed oddly futuristic to me, mostly because I turn 30 this year. I'm not scared or upset about it, I just can't believe I'm already at this point in my life. I don't feel like 30, and apparently don't look it either (I was mistaken for 20 recently). But what exactly is a 30-year old supposed to feel like and look like? I believe it's all up to the individual and their state of mind. I have friends who are already mentally pushing 45, while others are still in high school. Me? I put myself somewhere in my mid-20's. Still have lots of energy, always up for a good social outing, but beginning to realize that I may not be invincible.

Besides turning 30, 2008 is looking like it will be a fun and interesting year: Two friends are having babies (one is adopting); I will be an aunt for the 4th time (but the first blood relative, on Colin's side); I am heading off on a retreat the first weekend of April with a couple of very good friends; and the second weekend of April I will be partying in Vegas with my sorority sisters! After a wedding-free year, I am back on that bandwagon, with one in May. I am crossing my fingers that I can get a convention grant and attend DPhiE convention in Washington DC. For summer vacation this year, we've talked about going to the UK (a long overdue trip for the both of us), or maybe over to Tofino to learn how to surf (my next foray into Polynesian culture). And that's just the stuff I know about... hopefully 2008 will be great.