I miss Rachel. I found a frame that I was planning on giving to someone else, unwrapped it, and put this picture in it. 

I just got these pictures from Rachel's wedding in Edmonton, which was way back in the spring.  

the life aquatic

Boxing Day is over. I am so glad.
Here's my theory about Boxing Day:
Most people spend all their money before Christmas, giving the economy a nice little boost. The most reasonable thing would be for people to stop spending money when they have none left. But "they" (the industry? the economy?) just can't have that. And so "they" came up with a new ridiculous excuse to drag people into the malls - Boxing Day, conveniently right after Christmas.
Keeping the malls full.

Anyway, I have one more shift left, tomorrow. We're taking something in for all the people in the Mobility dept. because they have been fabulous.

Today feels really odd. I just got home from the cinema (cinema?). My dog seems to be missing.

Nine days. Scratch that, it's Monday now...
Eight days until Mexico.

A guy at work the other day told me I should be going to University instead of travelling. I replied, as if this was a scientific fact, "I will learn more in a month in Mexico than a year of school here."
I think it is true, if not scientifically proven.
How can anyone really learn when they're doing the exact same thing they've been doing all their life? It's by new experiences and circumstances that we learn to adapt, which is what emotional growth is all about.

P.S. Do you ever wish you could breathe under water?

Stop. And Go.

Soma is what they would take when
Hard times opened their eyes
Saw pain in a new way
High stakes for a few names
Racing with sun beams
Losing against their dreams
-The Strokes

A Brave New World reference? Can it be?
I never noticed before.

"I have done all I can do in this town"

I had a fondue party tonight.
A little tribute to the eighties.
Only bad thing is I have quite the mess to clean up tomorrow morning. Bah.

So, yesterday I said I was almost in tears at work... today I was in tears. If it keeps going at this rate, I will have a mental breakdown by boxing day. (Yes, I have to work boxing day. Take pity on me.) I was by myself for one thing and it was crazy busy. Something went wrong with every activation, which was also a nice little treat.
I now hate Christmas on a whole new level. Does anyone actually enjoy Christmas shopping? I wouldn't want a gift that was bought in panic and desperation. It's nothing more than a big marketing gimmick now.
("and now Christmas is for shopping
and the shopping god is everything")
I am so glad I don't celebrate Christmas.

Ah well, only four more shifts and all this cell phone knowledge will thankfully be of no use.

And then I'm off to Mazatlan!
I think I am subconsciously anxious about it. The past couple of nights I have dreamt about Mexican mishaps (is it 'mis-haps'?).
But consciously I'm not really worried at all. Definitely looking forward to it.

Well, I've gots to get up early tomorrow so as to clean up the mess I've left before service.
Adios.

dressed up like it's world war 24

There is one song on the display ipod at work. I have heard "...my boyfriend is back, he's gonna save my reputation..." a kazillion times. It's our theme song. It used to claw at my brain but I've learned to accept it. Now we dance a little each time it comes on.
So, work has been good. It's getting a lot busier. There have been so many people buying their ten-year-olds cell phones. Yikes.
I had one guy that almost had me in tears today, actually. I had to take a little trip to the back to "get a drink". He was so condescending and ignorant. Forbid a young girl such as myself might know a little something about cell phones!
The day went uphill from there though.

I just got back from Serena's.
GT's at Serena's.

I have so little to say right now. Much is going on but I just don't feel bloggy.

16 days until Mexico.
Enough said.

I wore this button to the annual pioneer sessions today.  

Self-declarative. 

Twenty-two

Depart: Calgary, Canada (YYC) - Tue, Jan 04 at 7:00am
Arrive: Los Angeles, CA (LAX) - Tue, Jan 04 at 9:22am
Depart: Los Angeles, CA (LAX) - Tue, Jan 04 at 11:13am
Arrive: Mazatlan, Mexico (MZT) - Tue, Jan 04 at 2:44pm



And a little throwback to Erin's pre-Mexico countdown blog days.
My countdown starts....
NOW.

3 weeks.
7 shifts.
9 meetings.
22 days.

brown paper packages tied up with string

I sat in the chiropractor's office in one of those hot backless gowns for two hours today, reading and re-reading a poster:
"How to be a Chiropractic Artist
....adjust with your heart
...make a snow spine
...make a cake on Sept.18"
...and so on.
Then I read two issues of Alive magazine. Apparently lipstick isn't as innocent as previously thought.

It was worth it though. First, because it was free because my mom works there.
Second, because my neck feels sooo good.
And the next adjustments won't take as long. I can't wait for Wednesday.

I got a package in the mail the other day. It was a brown paper package but it wasn't tied up with string. My cousin sent me an mp3 player. I made the mistake of telling her that my discman was broken. Not that I'm complaining, it was a good mistake.

Saturday night was fantastic.
There's something to be said of low expectations.
I was invited to this party a while ago but didn't really decide to go until the day of. When Steph was telling us about it, she said that there would be no chairs or tables. Darrin asked, "What if someone just wants to talk for a while?" to which she answered, "If we wanted you to talk, we'd have a talking party."
And so we danced.
Hours of caffeine-induced maniacal dancing.
Fabulous.

Mmmhmm.

the truth is in the details

I came home from service three hours earlier than planned.
But it was two hours longer than I thought I could last three hours in.

Even my good mood couldn't defeat the bitter cold. We had fun while we lasted. It scares me that winter doesn't even officially start for another couple weeks.
Even if it wasn't so horribly cold and windy, I can't get in my huge days because it gets so dark so early.
All I can say is I will have a lot of catching up to do in the spring.

Oh, and this is also quite comforting.

the hazards of sitting beneath palm trees

Scratch that last post. It was a lie.

I promise.


I'm hating society a little right now. Maybe not society - that's a little too general... bureaucracy. I can't find anyone to be my guarantor for my passport so I'm just going to have to go pay a lawyer to listen to me say "I promise I am me". Ridiculous. I'll be spending Thursday, all day I'm guessing, downtown with this ridiculous passport nonsense.

On a much happier note, my meeting was great. Although we did get a flat tire on the way so I was a little bit late. We went out for coffee after. And Brandon paid for all of us. He gets extra gold stars.

Well, I'm beat. This weather makes me sleepy.

I'm in love with every boy.

Yeah, you heard me.

Snow, Low -14

Today was day one of my circuit assembly.
Starting in the very first part, I made a conscious effort to see how the information directly applied to me and my circumstances - what I need to work on. There are a lot of stars and underlines in my notes, let me just say that.

After the sessions, I had to stick around because I am on cleaning team #4. I tried to make up a theme song for us, but that didn't go over too well. I got the job of looking for stains. Pretty important, I know.

Then I went for dinner with Nikki, Bob (who knew there were actually people with that name still...), Jeremy, Megan, Astelle and Kristian. Astelle is an older woman from Lethbridge who had just met Jeremy and Megan today and was staying at their house tonight. She had some good jokes.

Q: Why did Mount St. Helens erupt?
A: Because she didn't take her earth control pills.

Oh I know you are all going to steal that one!
Kristian and I met up with Jord after and we went music shopping / coffee drinking / book buying / laughing at the horrible Calgary drivers who have their summer tires on in December and seem unable to cope with our first real snowfall.

Well, today is now tomorrow.
So I should go get some sleep. I don't want to be sleepy for tomorrow.

a book laid on its binding

Here's a little tip for you:
When buying a cell phone, make sure you are absolutely decided before they activate and program it.

I've been feeling so out-of-sorts lately. Did I just make that up - "out-of-sorts"? My brain feels really cloudy. I messed up at work today. Thank goodness the mobility supervisor is ridiculously nice. Then I left a bunch of stuff there when I left. And I didn't realize until after my shift that I had no way of getting home. So, as I called around looking for a ride and then waited, I did a little shopping in the nearby stores. I found a book I wanted but I ended up buying the wrong one. I'll have to exchange it tomorrow. Ugh.

Tomorrow is pay day! And my last day of work until next Friday. We're training a new guy to cover for us. Actually, he's covering for Jay because I have already made up my hours. Hopefully that will make the night go a little quicker.

Well, adieu. I need to sleep so I can go out in service tomorrow morning.

driving fast through a big city at night

I worked today. I'm making up for the weekend (my assembly!) working today, tomorrow and Thursday. I'll be working alone for all three days because Jay is doing perfume demos plus all the pre-assembly haircutting frenzy. There are lots of other people there - I just mean I'll be the only Bell rep.
Speaking of which, I have decided that I would really like to get another Rep job when I get back from Mexico. The marketing company that I am working for said that if we did a good job, they would try to find another placement for us after Christmas.

Anyway, I am really looking forward to my assembly. I feel like I need the boost. And my parents are being interviewed (even though they are in a different circuit) so that should be interesting.
I can't believe it is already December.
Happy new month.

word clusters 

A letter from a friend.

I was speaking with the bat people about the later induction, which was an odd fervor of never realities spinning like tops into the afterglow of an ancient toll booth guarding a passage to illinois. Seven times i laughed about that spent remembrance, it was so sudden. I ate the interior room of salad stories on the boat over to london's finest restaurant, and mark said nothing about the fine selection of karate flavoured diamond snaps. As The Murky Flask was measuring a mastermind for his garden he spelled the phrase "I've never been soup" into the reiteration of dirt swaying platter stands. Nub swats are landing at 4 am pacific notion. If you recieve a plentiful bland hat, mask it off with ribbing for a tiny little digit, perhaps seven or maybe discrimination. The greatest dance is not loading the silent beeping of a Howard Stern re-run cranking a lever alone in the inky limelight of prosperity. Or is it posterity? 4x7 is the various foghorn merriment not intended for children under cerebral "ifs" "ands" and "buts", swelling greedily, rather like receding hairlines in the golden age of reticence. A single wire passed under the potato skyline catches matrimonial servitude, kicking higher and higher, malt liquor, banana, and why the ketchup angered by the petulant day of your money changing transforms into three simple words - Fozz. Bluv. Gleertific sunrise. I was totally unprepared for dismal structures betraying the breath of cascading filters like gray and pink kittens hugging in the space between the language i'd never heard before and the crack in Mount Everest.

sea change

I should really be sleeping right now.
Work tomorrow is going to be so rad, I just know it.
But I have too much energy, so I will recount my adventures of the day.

It was one of those bad days, or so it seemed.
I was feeling grumpy, and then guilty for my grumpiness, followed by more grumpiness and guilt... and so on.
I had quite an uneventful day - I slept in, went for pho with my mom, fought with my printer.
Then I went to work.
And I got a new shirt!! I am rather sick of wearing dark pants and white dress shirts. Mostly I'm sick of washing and ironing white dress shirts.
But they gave us long-sleeved teeshirts that are super comfy. They even say Bell on them. Yay.

Then we (Kristian, Jayce, Nathan and I) headed downtown to say adieu to Reid in the form of a sushi party. We met up with Serena, Blake, Brandon and Jord. Oh, and Reid. I was receiving a lot of opposition on the whole sushi idea, which was disappointing.
It was great though. Ha. Everyone had to admit that it was great.
We had these huge boats of sushi and the staff sang and drummed for Reid. We all sang "Leaving on a Jetplane". Then they made Reid and Serena wear these japanese costumes and dance. They even took a picture of it. One day I will get a copy of that picture (Reid has it) and I will post it. Cutest picture ever.

After we all went to Serena's house and hung out there until 3. Her parents are away right now and when they are out of town, she really likes to rearrange her furniture. Basically, her living room was in her kitchen and her kitchen was in her living room. And one chair was at the top of the stairs. It made me really happy.

Well, now I'm feeling a little tired.
Plan for tomorrow:
-Go to work
-Work (or is that included in the above?)
-Sleep
-Go to Renee's for gt's.

Oh, and I'd just like to take this time to appologize for the lack of depth in my posts. No startling revelations here.
Adieu. To yieu and yieu and yieu.

translate this inspiration into something tangible

I have to stop this money-spending madness.
So, the last two days I have been trying to get my passport photo. The trouble is I get sidetracked and completely forget my whole purpose. I have bought a lot of stuff, yes. But no passport.

Anyway, I just got back from my meeting. Well, we went for coffee after. The place we wanted to go was closed so we had to drive around looking for a different one. It's annoying trying to coordinate six vehicles.

Reid is leaving on Saturday. Somehow it feels like we've been having goodbye parties ever since he moved here. Tonight was the... fourth I think? And Friday night we're having another. There was talk of sushi and karaoke. An odd combination - I'm not sure if it will work out.

Tomorrow night I am not going out - I don't have plans so if I can keep it that way, that'd be great. I am going to go to bed early. That way I will save money and energy.

Adieu.