Jim Henson Was a Wise Man

"The attitude you have as a parent is what your kids will learn from more than what you tell them. They don't remember what you try to teach them. They remember what you are."
~Jim Henson

Another Year...

The new year is always a time of reflection, as one year passes and another one begins, a sort of death and rebirth takes place. People always try to reinvent or improve. Some stick with it past January, some don't make it through the second week. While I avoid "resolutions", I definitely reflect on the past year. 2008 was actually a pretty great year. I got to marry the most wonderful man I've ever met. We traveled to Hawaii. My dad celebrated his 50th birthday. Of course the year also held the usual (and unusual) issues, complications and problems, as well as some real tragedies, but what is important is that we survived. I look at each new year as an opportunity for change and to venture into the unknown. Who knows what 2009 has in store, but I'm interested in finding out...

It's Christmas Time Again, Charlie Brown...

Retail tries to ruin Christmas for me. Being forced to listen to stale, boring classic Christmas music on a loop right after Halloween, being surrounded by crazed shoppers day in, day out...Christmas isn't about the gifts. It isn't about the baking and treats (though they are really great!), it isn't about the lights and the decorations, but it's been eclipsed by them. The consumerism of this holiday is especially frustrating because I'm surrounded by it daily. Being stuck in the mall at Christmas is frustrating. I love Christmas. I love listening to the good music, decorating a tree, (even if it as tiny little one on our table), I love spending time with family, making and eating treats...Christmas is a sweet time, outside of the mall.

Much to be Thankful For...

Thanksgiving flowers from family

Lovely fall days

A wonderful husband

I hope that everyone else is feeling thankful for life's blessings!

A Way With Words...

Have you ever noticed that some people have a way of making the most pedestrian, everyday things seem magical and epic? I have such a hard time turning my everyday experiences into some sort of lesson or pondering, which is why I hardly ever post. I feel like things are boring for ME, so why would anyone else want to read about it?? That's not me being self-deprecating, just honest and practical. Since I'm pretty sure that no one reads this anyways, that's all fine and dandy...but if someone does happen to stumble across this little blog, I don't want to bore them to tears! So, I could post everyday, about everyday things...or I could post once in a while, when inspiration strikes. Or, I could attempt to do both. I do want to post more...perhaps I'll just start typing and hope something decent comes out of it...

On a side note, hooray for RED wedding shoes!!

Thought-Provoking Talk.

I am up way too late, but working late shifts has thrown me back into my night-owl ways. I was catching up on the latest David Usher blog posts, and came across a link that he had posted for a talk given by Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, a Harvard neuroanatomist, in which she describes her experience of having a stroke. It is incredibly thought provoking, and I thought I would share.

Greatest Comic EVER!

Change "Natasha" to "Cassandra"...

Why We Can NEVER Understand American Politics....

SO many things wrong with this...check out the full explanation for this abomination at Andrew Sullivan's blog.

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

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~

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...

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.

Bad People...

Does it make me a bad person that I think it's hilarious that someone who I used to know, who pretty much screwed me over, is now fat? And has an unattractive boyfriend? Yes. I'm a bad person..but sometimes being a bad person is so good...for example, as a bad person, you have the ability to tell people exactly what you think of them...and they can't get angry, because, well, let's face it, you're a bad person, so what you say is of course going to be bad. It's implied in the title: "Bad Person". It's right there. Yup. I'm not really a bad person...most of the time, although some people (who shall remain nameless...i know who you are....) might say differently. Surprisingly enough, though, I CAN be a good person too. This morning at the bus stop, I let this really elderly old man with a cane on before me, because, well, lots of university students are real jerks about giving the elderly people their seats on the bus. In fact, I really hate that so many people have absolutely no sense of social decency when it comes to basic courtesy! Like those people who sit behind me in one of my lectures and gossip the whole time! Really, just because you whisper does NOT mean that no one else can hear you! Or those really mouthy teens who lip off pretty much anyone and everyone. Or those zombie shoppers who slam into you in the mall and are completely unphased...or those scary stroller mommies who try to plow you down with their stupid gimoungous Mercedes stroller piled up with lulu lemon bags or whatever the crap they buy...I think that everyone needs to learn some manners...I haven't read the book yet, but the author of "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves" just came out with a new book on society's lack of manners...
Now, I get to go to work and deal with more people with no manners and the creepy CREEPY sleepers......Also, is it weird that it bothers me that in the new film based on the book "Memoirs of Geisha" has a Chinese girl playing the main, JAPANESE character???

Happiness...

"Happiness is like peeing your pants....everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth!"
Whenever I am having a really crappy day, I try to remember this wonderful quote that my bestest friend Yvonne once wrote in my grade 11 yearbook...and you can't help but smile whenever you think of it...
Happiness is also finally getting your Victoria's Secret shipment that the retarded mailperson gave to Alissa "in C" rather than me, in "E", even though it was clearly marked "apt. E"...but that doesn't matter, because I now smell like "Vanilla Lace"...mmmmmMMMMmmmmm.....

Thought for the Day...

"Even as he walks along the road, the fool lacks sense and shows everyone how stupid he is. " Ecclesiastes 10:3

Chaos Theory.

You'd think that after 3 years at U of A, I would have learned that you DON"T go to the bookstore in the first few days of school. If anyone has seen Shaun of the Dead, and remember the scene with all the zombies in front of the Winchester, that was how the bookstore was today. It was the worst I have ever seen!! No one seemed to understand the concept of lining up down the aisles, and instead clumped all over around the actual lines. Ugh. On the bright side of things, my profs aren't jerks, and most of my reading material is available online!! Which, for Cass, equals WAY less money spent on books!! And way fewer books to lug around!!! Hooray!!

My Birthday.

Today is my 23rd birthday. Man, do I feel old...I know that I'm not, but still...
It was a quiet day today. Russ and I went to the mall, for about 1/2 hr. because it was so stupidly busy. Then Russ took me to Gabbana for supper, which was soo good!!! Then we went and bought a lemon cream shortcake, and watched the movie Billy Elliot (which is such a great movie!) My parents called from somewhere in Montana (on their way home from Texas), which was nice because I hadn't been able to talk to them for about 10 days. I really wish that I didn't have to work 7 open shifts in a row this week...it kind of puts a damper on my freaking out over how much stuff I have to get done before the middle of August...but...I also need the money so that I don't have move again...but yes. Today is my birthday, so happy birthday to me.

Um... Alanis Morrissette is WHAT?!!!

Have you ever met someone who's very existence irritates you to your very CORE, who is so abrasive that you seriously consider lighting them on FIRE just to find repose???? Well, I worked with that person today. Let me tell you, to say that it was no picnic would be like saying that Mount Everest is high.
I have never heard so much inane, vapid chatter in my entire LIFE!!! Just shut UP! And the crap that came spewing out of her mouth...SERIOUSLY!!!
Apparently, the Cup is not haunted by a ghost, as we have believed. APPARENTLY, it is haunted by...drumroll please...Jesus. Yes. That's right. Jesus is haunting Second Cup, because, apparently, He doesn't have anything better to do. And-GET THIS-it is all because of the Communist cookies! Because the raspberry stars apparently have a political affiliation. She then proceeds to tell me that she doesn't like Alanis because she thinks that she is God. Why, you may ask, does Alanis think she is God? Because she played God in Dogma. Playing a role in a movie now apparently makes you into that role! Its so sad though, because by the end of the shift, I was openly insulting her, and she DIDN'T GET IT!! She called a customer a GRUMPIPUSS !!!!! She told another couple, who was sitting on a couch, talking and holding hands, to GET A ROOM!!! They weren't regulars, she just randomly does things like that!!!
I guess you learn something from each experience in life...today I learned restraint...BAH.

Operation Hipster Chic

Operation Hipster Chic is officially underway. I believe that all agents have been briefed, and we are now prepared to plan the first mission. The MO is clear, but the way of reaching that MO is not. Any agents with any ideas let me know, as I am eager to get this underway.

Stupid Computer...Whatever...

So now I have decided that the Sims are minions of Satan. Well, that may be an exaggeration...but they DID crash the computer, so I have decided that I shall wash my hands of Reno and Vendetta Stitch. For now....
I have been looking at the building across the alley from time to time, and have noticed that one of the balcony has an extra bar around the top of it...I wonder what purpose it serves, and what makes that balcony so special that it has that little extra bit of metal?
As it is plain to see, I really do NOT want to read the first act of Hamlet again, and am looking for distractions. I'm tired of being in school, but I don't really want to be done yet, because that means I have to find a REAL job...maybe I'll become a professional student and try to get more letters after my name than are in my name. Such an ambitious goal...or a stupid one...