12.27.2006

+/-

Ever have days where ya just feel like everything is in negative and positive, with nothing in between??

12.24.2006

Merry Christmas, Friends!

Just wanted to wish you all a very very MERRY Christmas, and an exciting and rockin' 2007!! Can't wait to see what the new year has in store...love you all!

12.23.2006

You are Bettie Page

Girl next door with a wild streak
You're a famous beauty - with unique look
And the people like you are cultish about it

12.14.2006

Things are Definitely Looking UP.

*singing* Cass has a new job, new job, new job! Cass has a new job toooooooooday!!

Yup. I hand in my notice at Suck On Foods today, and go on Christmas break on Monday, so really, my two weeks will be spent gone! Whoo HOOOOo!!
The new job is going to be pretty sweet, as it is NOT in customer service. It is a position as an order processing clerk for Van Leeuwen Pipe & Tube (Canada) Inc. I'll get 40 hours a week, regular shifts, a signifcant pay increase, great benefits, and Heidi works there!! The only downside is that it is on the south east side of the city, but that's what Smeagol is for! I'm a little bit nervous, but very excited. Yay!! Bring on Christmas!

12.06.2006

The Stupidest Angel...

So, in order to get into the spirit of the season, I am reading one of my favorite books: "The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror", by Christopher Moore. It is a great way to get Christmasy, without letting the stress of the season get to you. The author's warning, on the first page:

"If you're buying this book as a gift for your grandma or a kid, you should be aware that it contains cusswords as well as tasteful depictions of cannibalism and people in their forties having sex. Don't blame me. I told you."

The opening line paints a beautiful picture: "Christmas crept into Pine Cove like a creeping Christmas thing: dragging garland, ribbon, and sleigh bells, oozing egg nog, reeking of pine, and threatening festive doom like a cold sore under the mistletoe." Seriously, a hilarious read...though you can't really read it in public, unless you want strange looks when you burst out laughing....but it somehow makes me feel Christmasy...

Evidently, I am "IT"...

So, I have been "tagged" by Dani, and now I have to reveal five secrets about myself...so here it goes:

1. While I do love a good cerebral read, I have a secret weakness for Brit-chick-lit. I hate chick lit, but I can't resist the British stuff.

2. My vast CD collection includes such train-wrecks as the Baywatch soundtrack (Jeremy Jackson sings, as does David Hasselhoff!), Effel 65's Europop, and um...Limp Bizkit.

3. I almost got kicked out of a finger eleven concert...I had forgotten my ID in the car, and so had the "underage" arm band. The boy that I was smitten with was in the "cool" section, so Yvonne and I traded arm bands in the bathroom...but security caught us, and so we gave them some line about how my armband had fallen off, and that the woman handing them out hadn't ID'd me, and so eventually, the guy let me go to my car and get my ID, and I got back just in time for the concert to begin.

4. I buy makeup and beauty products compulsively. Seriously, I have about 10 different shades of purple eyeshadow, and justify it by the fact that each one is slightly different...I buy things just because I don't have them. Russ has forbidden me from buying lotions...

5. I pretty much have every episode of Friends memorized.

So now...I guess I'm tagging anyone who reads this and wants to do it?

10.29.2006

"Wanted" Woman.

Things have been less crappy lately. I start training for the cash office job next week, and I found out that I qualify for dental coverage. They also want to train me for front desk, because apparently, I have the "right personality" for the front desk. When they asked me if I would be up for working front desk, I said "I guess...but will my rampant misanthropy be an issue?" Of course, I just got a weird look and nervous laugh...
I was also told that they want me in Price Change...which would be interesting...it would be a graveyard shift 10pm-6am, Saturday nights. You get a $2/hr shift premium, and all you do is put on your music, and walk around changing the price tags on the shelves...plus the department manager is frickin' awesome!! I dunno though...that would really screw with my system. I think I'll stick with this stuff for now...I'm totally pumped for this week's Eastbound trip too...can't wait to see everyone!!

10.23.2006

If Your Life Was a Movie, What Would the Soundtrack Be? (Expanded, With New Questions!!)

I stumbled across this on some random late-night random blogathon, and had to try it out!

So, here's how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool...


Opening Credits:
Empty City Lights: Hearts of Black Science (yay!! What a perfect intro song!!)

Waking Up:
All I Need: Air French Band

Average Day:
Heart of Glass: Blondie

First Day At School:
24: Jem

First Date:
Black Black Heart: David Usher

Falling In Love:
Let Go: Frou Frou (so fitting!!)

Secret Love:
White Rabbit: Emiliana Torrini

Fight Song:
Cigaro: System of a Down

Breaking Up:
Smoke: Natalie Imbruglia

Life:
Ein Lied: Rammstein

Mental Breakdown:
I'm Only Happy When it Rains: Garbage (my personal theme song...how fitting...)

Learning a Lesson:
Good Times: Finger Eleven

Deep Thoughts:
My Medea: Vienna Tang

Driving:
Be Still My Heart: The Postal Service

Flashback:
The Shining: Badly Drawn Boy

Party Song:
I Get Around: Dragonette

Happy Dance:
Rock Is Dead: Marilyn Manson

Regreting:
Embrace: Joydrop

Long Night Alone:
Useless: Imogen Heap

Getting back together:
Like Her: Mandalay

Wedding:
The End Starts Here Today: Bis (um...irony??)

Birth of Child:
America: Simon and Garfunkel

Final Battle:
Green Bird: Yoko Kanno

Death Scene:

Think It's Gonna Rain Today: Claudene Longet (wow...incredibly fitting! Creepy!)

End Credits:

So Says I: The Shins

So, I think it is safe to say that my playlist is a fitting soundtrack, since most of these songs actually work! I suggest you all try it, and DON'T cheat...it's much more fun this way!!

10.18.2006

HoBS, yo!

If any of you get a chance, you HAVE to check out Hearts of Black Science. They are from Sweden, and so AWESOME!! I just bought their EP, and can't stop listening to it! So check them out!!

10.17.2006

Learn.

are you feeling lost and lonely?
you needn't be
like you've lost all hope and your sanity
oh you needn't be

if we only have one turn
in this life we have to learn

carrying the world on your shoulders
you needn't be
ever more as you get older
you needn't be, oh you needn't be

if we only have one turn
in this life we have to learn

we wish our lives away
hoping for a better day
the future's miles away
and what is past is done and gone

if we only have one turn
in this life we have to learn
~
lamb~

10.13.2006

Friday the Thirteenth.

I'm feeling unproductive. Everyone else is doing something--in school, redoing their new home, getting married, getting a new job...and I'm still working at Save-On, getting letters from the Government telling me I have to give them money I don't have. On the bright side, I might start working in the cash office at work, which means no customers, something good on my resume, and possibly a slight pay increase....
I miss my friends. One of the "perks" of working at Save-On is that there are no set shifts, so I have no reliable schedule, which means I can't see my friends...EVER. I miss you guys! I'm spending too much time inside my own head, which is never good for anyone, but especially not for me...I need a day off.

10.11.2006

Life for Rent.

If my life is for rent,
And I don't learn to buy,
Well I deserve nothing more than I get
'Cause nothing I have is truly mine.
~
Dido~

9.14.2006

Wind, and Rain and...SNOW?!?! Oh my....

So, apparently, it's WINTER??? Though we have not yet got snow on the ground...it's freakin' gross out!! It's been a while since I've posted anything...but I haven't felt that there has been much to post. I'm still in Save-On hell, and every day it sucks a little more life out of me. Seriously, if I didn't hate Chad with such vengence, I'd consider going back--but I hate Chad. I'm getting exceedingly frustrated with the job search. Russ is doing well in school--in that he is the smart kid everyone sits by so they can cheat off of him...you know how he is. Right now I'm in Olds, visiting my family. My parents have another Japanese exchange student living with them, named Haruka. She's totally cute! Honestly, not much is post-worthy, and thus, I end this brief update.

8.18.2006

Square One.

Welcome to Square One. Population: Me. Yup. Back at Square One. I went to the Cup to say I would return...and was then told that the one person who I wanted to work with, is quitting on Monday. So on Tuesday, I shall have to call and say that I shall not be returning, because I'm not taking a pay cut to work with people I don't like. So I guess for now I stay at Save On and blanket the city with more resumes. Yay me.
P.S. Thanks for the links, Dani. I applied to a few of them, so we shall see!!

8.14.2006

ARRRRGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!

ARRRGGGHHHH!!!! So...the Cup on Jasper and 118th wants me back. They are tempting me with 40 hours a week (a 7-3 shift monday to friday), a raise, and working with the guy that I really liked working with there, even knowing that I am looking for a better job. I'm sick of Save On, because I am smarter than the managers, and they are screwing me out of benefits. I've been working 24-37 hours a week since I started, and you need to work 13 consecutive weeks of 20 hours a week in order to qualify for dental. The week that is my 13 th week, they scheduled me for-get this-19.75 hours!!!!!!!! And the week after, they scheduled me for 35 hours!!! Apparently, I'm not the only one they did/do this to. I don't know though, because I really don't want to go back to Second Cup, but at the same time, the offer is better than what Save On is doing to me...but thinking about going back to that Cup gives me a bad feeling too...Russ thinks I should go to Second Cup because working in a grocery store is killing me...but working in a Second Cup was killing me too...I honestly have NO idea what to do. And that really REALLY sucks.

8.02.2006

Suchen nach meinem Weg.

It just hit me the other day. I'm done school. I'm no longer a student. I don't have to go back to school in the fall. I don't need to have my confirmation deposit in by August whatever. I'm done. Now, I'm sure you're thinking, "Um, DUH, Cass. We all know this, and you do too. You wrote a post about being done. What the crap are you on???" Well...now I'm freaking out, and am totally confused. I don't like Save-On. It's too repetitive, the customers are too much, and I hate the management. Ever seen "Office Space"? Pretty much covers it. It's not for me. I thought about taking a two-year diploma in Professional Writing at Macewan, but after much agonizing, I have decided that, while it would probably get me a job, I don't think it would really challenge me enough to keep me interested...plus, I don't think I would be going because I really really want to, but rather, because school is where I am comfortable. It is easy to stay where you are comfortable, even if you don't get anywhere--hence, the centuries spent at Second Cup. So my next choice is to go to an employment agency, and hope for something that doesn't suck. Even a being a receptionist would be better than where I am now...although I'm wishing that I had graduated with a more useful degree. When I tell people I'm an English major, they laugh and then ask, "Well...what do you plan to do with that?" I would LOVE to work for a newspaper or a magazine, but I'm not even really sure how to get there. UGH! This sucks. Russ is lucky. He's gonna be an accountant--not that he's lucky to get to be an accountant, as I'm sure Arden can attest to, but rather, that he knows what he can do with it. What good is a BA in ENGLISH?? Seriously, this sucks. On top of all this, I'm just feeling restless in general, which just makes everything else more trying... Mein Verstand ist im Tumult.

7.24.2006

Twenty-Four on the Twenty-Fourth.

Today is my royal birthday. (Actually, at the time of this post, it's technically the 25th, but since I haven't gone to bed yet, it's still my birthday). 24 on the 24th. Honestly, it has been pretty good. Birthdays are always annoying because they get all hyped up and blown out of proportion, and then the expectations are too high and the day ends up being disappointing. We went to Cheesecake Cafe for dinner, and Dream Tea afterwards, and it was fun! All in all, I'm a year older, and no worse for the wear. Happy Birthday to me.

7.13.2006

Addicted to Freecycle!!!

I was perusing various blogs and on the Von Bieker blog, Christine mentioned her newfound obsession with Freecycle.org, so I thought that I would check it out. DUDES!!! It's awesome!! It's a site where people from Edmonton basically give stuff away for free!! I've already gotten rid of my Jane Austen texts, and possibly an old CD rack, if I can find the stupid leg for it...but yeah! Check it out! Now I'm looking around the house for things to get rid of, which isn't hard, because when we moved, I noticed so many things that we don't need, but are too nice to throw out...now we can try to give them to someone else who will find a use for them!! Check it out!!

7.08.2006

Crazies.

If a middle aged woman with an accent approaches you, RUN FOR YOUR FREAKIN' LIFE. This is the conclusion that I have arrived at. Inevitably, they will make you crazy. Work is good, but busy...however, I am scheduled to work on my birthday!! I mean, my birthday usually sucks, but I would prefer it sucking somewhere other than work.
We still haven't got the apartment unpacked, since both of us are working like madmen...but I hope to have it done before my birthday.
Things are very busy right now....but since I'm working so much, not much else is going on in my life...I feel very cut off from the rest of the world...I miss everyone!!

6.16.2006

I'M DONE!!

So I'm done. DONE. I finished my last final this morning. Wow. Scary. Now I have to join the real world until I decide if I'm gonna go back. Wow. I'm done.

6.01.2006

So That's Totally...awesome...

Ya know what's awesome?? Discovering that 4 of the classrooms that I spent everyday, for three years of university in are being redone to remove asbestos!!!! Isn't that great?!

5.31.2006

WE'RE FREE!!!

We are finally free from the craphole hovel!! Yup. Got the DD back and gave back the keys. Now we can focus on unpacking here. I'm almost done my training at Save On. So far, I like it. Actually, a lot of the regulars from the Cup shop there, so I'll get to see everyone still, oddly enough. Apparently, there is a contract revison in progress right now, and when it goes through, all the new employees will be getting a $4 raise!!! So good thing I left the crappy Cup. Yay! I can't wait to be done this semester, then I can truly relax.

5.28.2006

I'm SUPPOSED to be Studying Right Now...

I hate studying. Especially studying the moral fantasy and formula of the romance novel. I don't care. So I decided to post one of my favorite videos. Normally, I hate anime music videos, but this one is so well done, and involves two of my favorite things--Eva and Rammstein...it's better when you've seen Eva, but it's still great. It sums up Auska perfectly, and when you know that the chorus says "God knows I don't want to be an angel"...it's just great!!




Get this video and more at MySpace.com

5.25.2006

Everybody Dance Now.

Erika had this on her blog, and I just had to add it to mine because it will really make your day!! This guy has some sweet moves!

5.16.2006

Unemployed.

I am officially (but temporarily) unemployed!! I couldn't stand the Cup anymore, so I quit this morning. I gave the owner notice so he could get my shifts covered, but I quit. I couldn't deal anymore. He was a little choked, but c'est la vie...My mental health thanks me! I'm financially alright because of student loans, so as long as I don't spend like an idiot, I'll be fine. I start at Save On on the 29th, but I dropped off about 10 resumes to various places in case I can find something that pays a bit more in the meantime...But if nothing comes up, I DO already have a job. I would have started last night, but the training class was full, so I have to wait for the next one. Oh well...
Moving is going alright, we are moving the bed, and all the essentials tonight because phone and power get switched over tomorrow, so we want to be living there...I'm so EXCITED!! I can't wait to get out of this crappy place...especially after we were parking Smegol, and the landlord yelled at us for parking in the parking lot, and we said that we live here and have the right, and he said, "You can't just go out and buy a car!!" We said, "Yes, we can. It's a free country. When we moved in, we told you that we were buying a car, and you said that's fine because there are no assigned spaces and room in the lot." There no longer is room in the lot because he is using a space to park his crappy Grand Cherokee with friggin' farm plates!!!! Who uses a CHEROKEE on a farm?? Especially since it's been parked in the city for about 4 months!! Argh. Stupid people bother me. A LOT.

5.13.2006

Update...

So Till Lindemann is actually 43...which has no impact on my previous statements...also, it's worth mentioning that Richard Z. Kruspe-Bernstein is pretty freakin' hot too...yup..apparently I'm in high school again. Do you think Russ would let me put eyeliner and nail polish on him??
Anyways, I had the interview, and will likely get the job...but I won't take it because it requires me to take a significant drop in wage, which I can't do...so still cuppin' it for now...hehheh...that sounds dirty...I'm so overtired its not even funny. By the way, the cup I work at now is on Jasper and 118 Street, in case anyone wants to come visit...

5.12.2006

I'm Only Happy When it Rains...

Well, that's not true, but I LOVE the rain!!! I don't know why, but I just do. Anyways...I may beable to achieve moksha and escape from samsara...I have an interview for cashier at Save-On-Foods today. Not the world's most glamourous job, but I'm pretty sure it pays better than Second Cup and I will finally be able to escape. I'm so FREAKIN' sick of Second Cup! I dislike this Cup ALMOST as much as I hate the old one...for totally different reasons though. It's so dead that time c r a w l s by, they don't clean ANYTHING, which is pretty gross, and most of the people there are pretty lazy, so when I come on shift, I spend the first few hours catching up and stocking stuff. The people there are clique-y in a bad way, and all a bit rich, spoiled and stuck up. Don't get me wrong, there's a couple of people that I just LOVE working with, but not enough to stick around. I dread going to work so much...I hope I get the job at Save-On, but my sister works there and gave a good recommendation, so I don't see why I wouldn't. I won't, however, take it if it means less money, because I am poor.

On an entirely separate note, I'm falling in love with the lead singer of Rammstein, even though he's like 37...yup...something about growling in German just gets me all hot and bothered...plus, he wears black eyeliner and bondage gear onstage, and has access to a flamethrower...heheh...I wonder if Russ would let me add him to the List...doubtful.

5.11.2006

Need a Little Change...or a Big One.

So I have been seriously considering getting my lip pierced for...oh, about 7 years...but I don't want to wreck my teeth that took 4 years and butt-loads of money to get straightened and nice...and I think I have found a way around it--a vertical labret. Instead of going straight through like a normal lip piercing, it goes at an angle so that the barbell doesn't come into contact with your teeth. Amanda had one, and it looked even cooler than a lip piercing! So I think I shall trek on down to Eye of the Lotus and get an new hole in my head...yay!!

5.08.2006

Six Weeks and Counting...

I'm sitting in the drafty Business Atrium on campus right now...wasting time until my next class starts. It really sucks, because I have a class from 9am-10:20am, then I have NOTHING until 1pm!! Unfortunately, that is the only way that my timetable would work out. I only have six weeks until I'm DONE!! I can't wait. However, until then, I'm stuck spending copious quantities of time here on campus. I'm taking Women and World Religion, and C Lit of Popular Fiction...should be pretty easy. I had my C Lit class this morning. There are 11 people in the class! The prof seems cool enough, though a little flaky, but the class itself shouldn't be too bad. The great thing is that, the class is supposed to go until 10:10am, but instead, she tacked an extra ten minutes on the end of each class Monday to Thursday, so that we have NO CLASS on Fridays!! I think that's pretty sweet!
Ugh. I start closing shifts at the cup tonight. 4-11:30. Brutal. I hope the person I close with isn't a cow, or stupid, or anything. I'm a little nervous because they do things quite differently at this cup, and it's taking some getting used to...for instance, only one person actually works til 11:30. The other person is off at 11pm. I don't really know how that works, so tonight will be a learning experience. Luckily, the girl I'm working with closes all the time, so she will hopefully explain how things are done...anyways...I should get my reading done now so that I don't have to do it after work tonight. Only six weeks...

5.03.2006

Moving Moving Moving, Cass and Russ are Moving!!

Yes! Finally! We get to get out of this awful hole of a hovel!!! Nothing is finalized yet, but we are going to be moving into an apartment in my sister's building. The rent is $100 cheaper, including parking (designated parking, so no retards can threaten to get us towed because we are in "their" spot, even though there are no designated parking spaces...), the apartment is almost twice as big, its not a million years old, there is tons of storage, there isn't a freakin' crazy bowling ball woman with schitzophrenia living upstairs, it's bright, away from the Albany, and the landlords aren't CRAZY!! Yup...needless to say, we are pretty excited. What's even cooler, is that we can start moving in on the 10th, and they will only charge rent for the period of the month in which we actually have possession, rather than for the whole month. So, Russ got me hooked on this PS2 game called We Love Katamari, and in it you are an alien prince who has to roll things up into a giant ball because the king of the universe destroyed all the stars and you need to make new ones. Its hilarious, because as the ball gets bigger, you can roll up people, and animals, and buildings, and continents...yup...fun stuff.
I applied for a job at Coles books. I had always wanted to work in a bookstore and in a coffee shop. I have the coffee shop thing checked off, so next is the bookstore.
OOOoooooOOOo!! Also, after a long search, I FINALLY acquired my bright red Chucks!! They are surprisingly hard to find...there is a plethora of pink, black and white ones, but no red ones...but now I have some!!! Yay!! Things are looking up...except that I haven't got to talk to pretty much anyone from the Cup who has moved on and left and such, and that makes me sad...I miss you guys!! I also miss Yvonne...I haven't talked to her in way too freakin' long...maybe tomorrow will be my day of reestablished connections...

4.27.2006

How Would One Describe HIM?

I have been excessively frustruated in attempting to describe the ineptitude of the manager of my former Cup...and I think I have finally found some adequate descriptives:
*sets low standards and constantly fails to meet them
*works well under constant supervision and when cornered like a rat in a trap...wait, no, not even then...
*he has reached rock bottom..and is beginning to dig...
*has delusions of adequacy
*he would be out of his depth in a parking lot puddle
*his employees would follow him anywhere...but only out of morbid curiousity
*not so much of a "hasbeen" as a "neverwillbe"
*i would enjoy going hunting with him...heheh...
*he would argue with a street sign
*he brings great joy whenever he leaves a room..
*donated his brain to science before he was finished using it..
*the gates are down, the lights are flashing...but there's no train coming...
*if he were any dumber he would have to be watered twice a week
Harsh, I know, but honestly, at this point it is warranted. The store has been run into the ground, and now there is a combination of digging and grinding taking place. I feel bad for everyone still working there...and it makes me really sad, because I used to love that store...crazy how time and people change things...

4.17.2006

Welcome Smeagol!

Russ and I finally got a car!! It is a cruddy but sturdy old Pontiac 6000, whom we have *lovingly* named Smeagol. Yup. We are giant Dork! So, tomorrow, I start at the new Cup...I'm still hoping for a different job, and I dropped off a few resumes, but for now I'll survive. I hope it doesn't suck. Now, I have to get down to studying for crappy crappy finals...I'm trying to figure out a way to get a semester's worth of reading for 3 classes done in 2 days...sparknotes anyone?? But anyways..I should really get down to business...ugh.

4.09.2006

Haweli, Bubble Tea, Reunion, and Last Days...

Last night I went to Haweli for Indian food with Viv, Gretchen, Heidi, Steph, and Erika...SO FUN!!! I love you girls!!! Lots has changed since we last got together, and I would just like to say, Heidi, that I am SO proud of you !! And Viv, I'm SO excited for you!! And Gretchen, DON'T be a stranger!!! And Erika, I love you even though you are crossing over to the Dark Side...Steph, please don't burn out!! We then went to bubble tea, where Arden and Russ joined us...which was so much fun as always...Today was my last shift at Second Cup. *sniff* Scary, exciting and sad...my last official day is April 20th, but I have the next two weeks booked off for finals...my last finals of my last real semester of my BA!! Man...times, they are achangin'...Russ and I are going apartment hunting on Tuesday, which I'm really excited about because this apartment is not an apartment, but rather, a hovel. A hovel that gets crappier by the day. But on the bright side, we are going to go car shopping in Calgary when we go to Olds for Easter! We hope to soon have a beater that will give us freedom from the hell that is ETS...and it shall be called Walmo...because any car that you can get within our price range is doomed to be a Walmo...we can't all have a Francis, after all. Graduation also brings us one step closer to...well, the good life. Here, here, to the good life on the horizon...

Oh. If anyone knows of a job that doesn't involve dealing with coffee, let me know!!

4.06.2006

Sayanora Suckers!!

I'M LEAVING THE CUP!!!!! (Of course, I'm starting at another Cup, but it isn't owned by Keith and Jane, and it isn't run by their doofus son, and I'm getting paid better, and I'm bringing people with me!!) Yup. I am so outta there. I can't wait!! It's definitely time for me to go...though I get to miss out on actually working in the store after renos, but there is no freaking way I'm staying there for another month and a half. Chad would turn up dead long before then...But I'll miss working with everyone, so you all have to promise we will still get together a lot!!!!!!!!

3.26.2006

Gluten-Free's the New Way to Be...

Since I was little I have always had stomach problems. In fact, after high school, it was so bad that I had a Costco-sized bottle of Pepto in my car's glove box...as well as one in my purse, and one at home. I've been to specialists, and they've done all kinds of fun tests, but to no end. They slapped me with "chronic dispepsia", which essentially means "there's something wrong with your stomach, but we have no clue what it is". I was reading this article in Fitness magazine, about this woman who discovered that she has Celiac disease...and there was a list of symptoms, of which I had EVERY ONE. So I did some research, and came to the conclusion that this what's wrong with me. Now, I'm a hypochondriac, but this time I was pretty sure I was right. I went to the doctor, and asked to get the blood test that looks for the antibody for gluten intolerance, but she told me that the blood test is not especially good at picking up on it, especially since I started avoiding gluten. However, regardless of the blood test, she told me to cut out gluten and see if that makes a difference. If it's Celiac, then I'd notice a difference within a week or so. So that is what I'm doing. There is gluten in EVERYTHING!!! Today is only my second day of zero gluten...so we'll see how things go...if it makes a difference, at least I'll feel better...if it doesn't, it's one more thing to cross off the list.

3.20.2006

Why I Want Rubies...

Diamonds: Nothing says 'I love you' like a superficial and overvalued rock clawed from the guts of the earth by African slave labour...

3.13.2006

School Sucks, Dude.

I had a discouraging day...I got two papers back, and got two relatively mediochre marks. I didn't come close to failing, but I got a B+ and B- for what I thought to be an A and a B, respectively. I hate getting generic marks with nothing but arbitrary or vague comments on them. The problem is that the marks bother me, but I know I put no effort into preparing and writing them, and for one, I hadn't even read the book. Plus, these will be the last two English classes that I will theoretically have to take, EVER. That, and considering my lack of effort, I got off easy! I just really want to be done, and I really don't want to put in effort of any kind. On top of that, I've been feeling stressed and anxious lately, and I'm not sure why. Part of it is my deep-seated hatred for all things pretaining to second cup. Another part is that I really hate school right now. Blargh. Things suck right now, especially now that the whole boning and favoritism crap is going on at the Cup too. I just want to be done--school, work, this apartment, the drama. Mentally, I'm already done, and that is a dangerous state of mind to be in. So, as a warning to you all, especially the cuppies, if you have to work with me, you may need to be a mediater between me, and Chad, and customers, unless you would love to witness a figurative or literal bloodbath. Scary, huh?

3.11.2006

Epiphany!

Yesterday I had an epiphany. I know what my dream job would be: a beauty editor for a magazine! I'd get to write about new products, and get craploads of free products, and get to test out products before they even come out on the market!! I would be killer at it! But I could still go and get my esthetician and hair, because that would be fun to have too....yup. So I'm totally diggin' Interpol right now...just thought y'all should know.

3.04.2006

And I said, "What about Breakfast At Tiffany's?"

I bought the anniversary edition of Breakfast at Tiffany's on DVD. It is one of my most favorite movies ever...I love Audrey Hepburn!! She was such a fantastic person...I highly recommend the movie to anyone who hasn't seen it. It's one of the classics.
Speaking of dumber than a bowl of cookies, Russ and I went to the Lulu Lemon warehouse sale...I prepared myself for the stupidity that was about to befall us...but I'm still amazed at how self-centered the majority of their clientele is! Most of the good stuff was already gone, but I got some great capri pants for $40, regularly $84...so it was not in vain. The change room sucked though, because that's all it was. A room with some mirrors slapped on the wall. Not so bad, except that there were way too many people in the room, and since no one cared about anyone but themselves, they would walk all over your clothing and stuff...ugh. But at least I got my pants. Yay. Now I can wear them in the sauna apartment...yup. We now have heat. Actually, we can't shut the heat off, and it is now a zillion degrees, and the windows have all swelled shut, and so we are stuck in the stupid sauna apartment...now all I need are some rocks...

2.06.2006

Jane Austen Rocks.

Jane Austen blows my mind. How one person can write an infinite number of novels, yet have such similar characters, plots, themes...just mind-blowing...I do enjoy a good Jane Austen novel though...I read Pride and Prejudice when I was 10. It made more sense when I re-read it when I was 14 though. The new movie disappoints me and I haven't even seen it yet. They totally hacked the plot, and Kiera Knightley is not right to play Elizabeth Bennett. Besides. Colin Firth is the only man alive meant to play Darcy!

You know what I love? People whom you tell one thing to, so they do something completely different! For example, say I tell you that my work availability is only Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, but I booked one date off, that happens to fall on a Tuesday. Would you ask me if I could work on that particular Tuesday, even though I wrote it down in the book-off book, a note to you, and a note on my permanent availability, even after I told you I had a midterm the next day? No? Would you ask me if I could work the following Wednesday, even though my availability specifically said that I was not available on Wednesdays, EVER!!!?? Would you try to make me feel guilty for not working on a Wednesday when I have school and have told you numerous times that I am not available to work on Wednesdays???? NO????!!!!!!!! Well then what the CRAP is wrong with people!!!!??????!!!!!! Is anyone else as fed up as I am? It's pretty bad when the general manager of three stores quits for a better job...what does that say about a lowly lead agent who hasn't had a raise in 2 years?? Man. I'm pathetic!!!

Oh well...I'll just pretend I'm the heroine of my own modern Austen novel...now if only I can convince Russ to be Colin Firth...

1.31.2006

Everyone has the Plague.

So everyone is dying. Including me. It's ridiculous how sick everyone is! I began to develop a sore throat on the weekend. I thought I was just dehydrated. Then, on Monday, I woke up with my throat on fire. By Monday night, I was SICK. I went on msn. And of the 5 or 6 people online, everyone's profile included the words "sick" or "dying" or "kill me now"...yup...sick. Sick, sick, sick. I'm trying Cold FX for the first time. I just started it today. Let's see whether or not it lives up to the hype. I slept for 6 hours this afternoon...ugh. I feel like crap. I hope no one else gets sick...Eat Vitamins!!

1.24.2006

Fed Up.

I almost quit and walked out today. Almost the last straw. I have got to get out of this job before I snap. I really am fed up with this crap...They need to learn that they can't get away with treating employees like this...anyone know anyone hiring part-time people in the Oliver Square area??

1.15.2006

Guess What.

So...guess who came into the Cup this morning. Lorne Cardinal! He plays Davis on Corner Gas!! It was so cool. Yup. I'm a dork, and I didn't think to get his autograph. But he got a single shot red eye...

1.11.2006

This Place is a Hole.

So here goes another story about our crappy apartment, and stupid landlord. The bathroom and kitchen floor have been slated to be replaced since...October. The landlord called before Christmas to tell us that they would be doing the floors on Dec. 19. When I got back into the city on the 28th, the floors were still not done. We went to Cold Lake. We got back on the 2nd, and the floors still weren't done. We then got a phone call on the 3rd, saying that the floors would be done on the 4th. They didn't show up. We got a call on the 5th, saying that they would be coming at 10am on the 6th. Russ and I got home from West Ed around 7...and the floors were STILL NOT DONE!!! So then we got a call on Sunday, that they would do the floors on Monday. Yeah. Right. So FINALLY, on Monday night the landlord called and said that they were going to be here at 11am on Tuesday. Well...they came...at 10am...and when Russ said that he thought that they had said 11, the landlord got all defensive and accused him of not listening to the message and putting everything back. By "everything", I mean, everything that was in the kitchen, dining room and bathroom. Russ said that nothing had been put back, and by that I mean that the dining room table, chairs, boxes of books, and everything was still all piled up in the living room. So Russ went to school. When we got back, the hall was filled with the stench of varnish, and our apartment door was unlocked. The landlord was still there, finishing with sealing the edges of the lino in the bathroom. He told us that instead of putting lino in the kitchen, they just took out the tiles and then he buffed down the (badly beaten-up) hardwood underneath and dumped a bucket of varnish on it. He told us that it said to put on a thin coat, let it dry, then put on another coat. However....he didn't have time to wait, so he just put on one really thick coat on. We put on a box fan to help it dry quicker. He was cleaning up as we left. When we got back, the entire floor of the building reeked of varnish. The varnish smell was so thick in the apartment that I had an instant migraine. We had to open the frickin' window! In JANUARY! On the day when the atmosphere decides that Edmonton needs snow!! It took the floor a while to dry, and the thick coat bubbled as it dried, so now the floor is so rough it feels like there is a thick layer of sand on it! Plus, there's a reason why the floor was covered up with tile. It is very battered. There's deep, nasty gashes on it where it looks like someone moved the stove back and forth 10 or 100 times, some of the wood looks almost in the process of rotting...however, we are past the point of caring. We'll be moving in April.
Classes have started, and this is my last full semester. So far, my classes are going to be a lot of work, but I really like all of my profs so far. I just hope that my new preoccupation with Gilmore Girls box sets doesn't get in the way of keeping up with my craploads of re
ading...

1.02.2006

Back to Blah.

I'm back from Cold Lake, and back to boring life...it's been a busy few weeks, and it's kind of depressing returning to work, and, soon, to school for my final semester. Russ's friend's wedding was small, and sweet, and the couple seems very happy...man...I know this scares Russ, but I can't wait to get married...and to get a car. Having a car will be fantastic. As will moving out of this crappy apartment with no heat. Yup...I can't wait to join the Real World....but not the one that was a big hit in the nineties.