Luigi's Mansion

One of the best gifts I got this Christmas was a copy of the video game "Luigi's Mansion" for the Nintendo Gamecube from my best friend (thanks Sonja!). Yes, I enjoy the occasional video game, particularly if it comes from the Mario (or in this case, Luigi) genre. I also enjoy the Donkey Kong games, but I digress.

I had tried the game a couple of times before (my sister owns it) and hadn't really liked it since I found sucking up ghosts with a vacuum cleaner a wee bit difficult. Owning the game myself allowed me to practice a lot more and I really started to enjoy it. Anyway, I've pretty much been playing the game non-stop since Wednesday, and today I BEAT THE GAME!

Now I have to confess, I had some help. A lot of help, actually. I downloaded a walk-through off the internet (hey, they publish whole books on how to beat the games, and I got the information for free!) and have been using it to help me figure out exactly where to go for each stage of the game. It also contains a handy map so I know the names of each of the rooms I have to go to. I could have figured out the game on my own, but it would have taken a lot longer.

The game was a lot of fun, but I found it a little too easy in some instances. I read an online review of the game that said that because it was one of the first games released for the gamecube, it was mostly designed to show players exactly what the gamecube could do. In some cases I really found this to be true. It was still really neat, so I'm not complaining. Apparently if I restart the game now, I'll have the option of trying a harder mansion, so I'm eager to explore that option. And this time I'll do it all on my own . . . maybe!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

In a short while I'll be heading out to spend the holidays with family and friends. I don't know how much I'll be blogging over the next few days, so I thought I would take this opportunity to wish all my blog buddies a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I hope that whatever your particular circumstances are, you are able to enjoy all the best the holiday season has to offer!

Movie Review

I promised a review of the movie "Goal" and I always follow through on my promises . . . For those of you who don't know the movie (I hadn't heard of it until a few days before I borrowed it from a friend), it's about a young man, originally from Mexico but living in Los Angeles, who dreams of becoming a professional soccer player. He meets a man from England who comes to see one of his soccer games, and the man talks him into going to England to try out for Newcastle. I'll let you watch the rest of the movie to see what happens.

Anyway, I really enjoyed the movie. I'm not much for sports movies since I don't play any sports, but I hear so many people talking about soccer at work that I figure it's as good a sport as any to make a movie about. I ended up falling in love with the story though, it was very uplifting. It was nice to see this kid making the most of his abilities. The main character, Santiago Munez, has some challenges to overcome, and the requisite "parent who doesn't believe in him" plot line, but overall the movie was quite effective. Effective enough to be spawning two sequels in the coming years!

Kuno Becker, the actor who played Santiago, is quite talented and very HOT! It was a real treat watching him play soccer. I would absolutely watch this movie again and recommend it to my friends!

Song Survey

I've seen this on a few different sites and just felt like playing along . . .

Simple Song Shuffle Survey
1. Put your music player on shuffle.
2. Press forward for each question.
3. Use the song title as the answer to the question.
NO CHEATING...

What does next year have in store for me?
Pieces - Rascal Flatts

What's my love life like?
Long Slow Beautiful Dance - Rascal Flatts (wow, so not! But okay . . .)

What do I say when life gets hard?
That's the Way it Is - Celine Dion (close . . . very close)

What do I think when I get up in the morning?
These Words - Natasha Bedingfield

What song will I dance to at my wedding?
Ain't No Other Man - Christina Aguilera (somehow I doubt it. I like the sentiment for a wedding song, but this isn't exactly my kind of wedding dance music)

What do you want as a career?
Mercy on Me - Christina Aguilera

Your favorite saying?
Without You - Christina Aguilera (okay seriously, I don't even listen to Christina that much! I know it's set to shuffle, but is this a joke?!)

Favorite place?
When the Sand Runs Out - Rascal Flatts

What do you think of your parents?
What Hurts the Most - Rascal Flatts

Where would you go on a first date?
Reflections - From the Mulan Soundtrack, sung by Lea Salonga

Describe yourself?
My Wish - Rascal Flatts

What is the thing I like doing most?
Cloud Number Nine - Bryan Adams

The song that best describes my school principal?
Welcome - Christina Aguilera (is it just me, or is this a totally random question?)

What is my state of mind like at the moment?
The Right Man - Christina Aguilera

How will I die?
Hurt - Christina Aguilera (interesting . . . )

Out Wit, Out Last, Out Play

Why do I freakin' cry EVERY SINGLE time there's a Survivor episode on featuring the Survivors seeing their loved ones? Seriously, I'm bawling right now as I watch it! Why am I such a sap?!

My Tarot Card

Very interesting . . . and very true!

You are The Hierophant
Divine Wisdom. Manifestation. Explanation. Teaching.
All things relating to education, patience, help from superiors.The Hierophant is often considered to be a Guardian Angel.
The Hierophant's purpose is to bring the spiritual down to Earth. Where the High Priestess between her two pillars deals with realms beyond this Earth, the Hierophant (or High Priest) deals with worldly problems. He is well suited to do this because he strives to create harmony and peace in the midst of a crisis. The Hierophant's only problem is that he can be stubborn and hidebound. At his best, he is wise and soothing, at his worst, he is an unbending traditionalist.
What Tarot Card are You?

Take the Test to Find Out.

Christmas Shopping

I began my official Christmas shopping today. As long as I don't have to spend too much time in the malls, I don't mind the crowds associated with Christmas shopping. I think today I got about half of it done. I have gifts still to buy for my sister and brother-in-law, but they sent me a list of stuff they wanted and they have a price limit, so it's not going to be too difficult. I also have my mom and step-dad to buy for . . . They don't feel they need much, but my mom has an impressive Santa collection that I've been adding to for the last few years. I always look for non-traditional or funny Santas. Thought I'd found one today, but I didn't want to buy the display model and two other Zellers were out of this particular Santa. So it's back to the drawing board. But I've discovered that finding a non-traditional Santa isn't really that difficult if you know where to look. I have a couple of friends still to buy for, but unless I've radically miscounted, I think that's about it. It feels good, and it was fairly easy on the wallet too!

Hope your December has started off as well as mine!

Early Christmas Present

I got an early Christmas present this year! Yesterday I was invited to my sister's company Christmas dinner . . . by her coworker Yvonne! Technically speaking it was Jennifer who called me to invite me, but she did it on behalf of Yvonne. It was a very nice gesture and a wonderful surprise. Ever since my brother-in-law Lance has been working for the insurance company, I've been hearing about the Christmas dinner from Jennifer. This year I will actually get to go! It's an all-expenses paid dinner at the Royal Oak restaurant :-) It's the same week as my own company's Christmas dinner, which happens to be the same week that I'm getting together with some friends to get some Christmas crafting done. It's going to be one busy week!

I'm very excited about this coming Christmas. I'm going to be spending Christmas day with my mom, sister, brother-in-law and step-dad at my step-sister's house. On Boxing Day I'll be with my step-mom, sister, brother-in-law and step-sister. We'll go visit my dad that day too. On New Year's Day I'll have dinner at my mom's house . . . and she's promised some delicious German food! Among the dishes being served: Rouladen and Spaetzle (German noodles). I've been promised leftovers to take to work the next day. It's going to be a big crowd that day - mom, step-dad, sister, brother-in-law (and his parents), step-brother and step-sister-in-law, possibly my step-sister and her family (including her in-laws), close family friends . . . I've lost count already!

Now I just have to get through the last few weeks of work for the year!

Can I get a "woot woot?"

It's a snow day! I managed to get halfway to work (walking) before I got the call telling me that school was closed today. Really, it's for the best. I was awake until about 4am last night (this morning), and during that time I watched two cars try to drive down my back alley. It took one car about twenty minutes to drive approximately thirty feet! I don't know where that person was going, but they were very determined to get there!

I'm off to take a much-needed nap. Enjoy the day!

SNOW!

I don't think these pictures do it justice, but it's snowing like crazy outside! This is the scene I can see out my window. That's not a major street, in case you're wondering. It's more like a back alley if anything. It's been snowing here since yesterday afternoon. Last week when people said it was going to snow on the weekend, I actually scoffed at them. I didn't think there was any way it was going to snow before December. Boy, was I wrong! If it continues like this all day, we're going to have a massive accumulation (massive by our westcoast standards, anyway). I'm starting to wonder what's going to happen in terms of work tomorrow. We've got people coming in from as far away as Abbotsford and Langley. What happens if they can't come in to work? What happens if our students can't come in? How much snow has to fall before we officially call tomorrow a snow day? Interesting question to ponder.

This is another picture of the snow outside. Actually, I was trying to take a picture of the snow falling, but I guess that part of it didn't turn out. To be honest, I don't particularly like snow all that much. It really throws people for a loop and it's wet and cold and difficult to walk through. One thing I do like about the snow is how beautiful and peaceful it makes things look. I also like how quiet it makes things seem. All the usual noises are muffled and it feels really calm. It's like nothing can get through the insulation. It'll be a different story after a few days when the snow looks more gray than white (or yellow in some areas, if you get my meaning).

On Friday when it became more and more apparent that we actually would get some snow, I taught my students a very valuable expression. I was asking them what kinds of things they could do in the snow and one of them said they could eat the snow. So I had to teach them "never eat yellow snow!" I thought I'd have to explain the meaning of the expression, but they got it right away ;-)

I LOVE Electricity!

My power is back on now - woot woot! It was out yesterday night when I got home and it stayed out until shortly before midnight. After I got all my clocks reset at 2:30 in the morning (what can I say, I was awake and it needed to be done!) I lay awake in bed until nearly 4 in the morning. Sigh. I left the house early this morning to deal with all the early morning "is school open?" phone calls at work and as I was walking down the stairs towards the door, the power went out again! Grrrr!

My power didn't come back on until two minutes before I arrived home. Yeah! Even though we had electricity all day at work, it was still nice to come home to a house full of electricity :-)

I think I've caught up on all your blogs now my friends. Have a good (outage free) evening!

Wishlist

My sister, the technogeek, has turned me onto a new online service called Wishlistr. It's pretty much exactly what it sounds like - an online wishlist. With Christmas quickly approaching I thought I would set one up and add a link to my blog. Hopefully my family will stumble across the link and it will make Christmas shopping a little easier ;-)

Rain, rain, GO AWAY!

Normally I enjoy rain, but there comes a point where it gets to be too much! This morning I woke up to another rainstorm similar to Monday's. I opted not to go for the rubber boots this morning and decided to take the bus to work - something I haven't done in about a year. I did manage to stay drier, but I got to work twenty minutes earlier than usual. Since I had done all my prep already, there wasn't much for me to do. C'est la vie! At least my pants remained relatively dry!

On the agenda for this weekend: lunch with my best friend tomorrow (mmmm, back to White Spot with the hot, competent waiter and the delicious sweet potato fries!), and a visit with my dad on Sunday. Monday is reserved for sleeping in and doing laundry since it's a holiday.

In technological news . . . I just downloaded Internet Explorer 7. It is very similar to Mozilla Firefox which I don't personally use but have seen in action a lot. I'm quite pleased with it so far. I particularly like the idea of tabbed browsing. I think I'll download it on my work computer one of these days. Speaking of work, it sounds like we're going to be getting new computers soon! My computer has actually held up quite well, but newer sounds better to me! We're getting flat screen monitors, which is really cool. As with all things though, I'll just wait and see.

Have a wonderful weekend lovely readers!

The secret to happiness is . . .

. . . dry pants! If you live anywhere in the Lower Mainland (and if you have to ask where that is, then you don't) you know that we got completely soaked today!

As I do every morning, I walked to work. I thought I was prepared. Clearly, I thought wrong. Let me paint you a picture. The walk to work is 20 minutes. I was wearing a t-shirt, a pair of brown pants, a sweater, my jacket, and rubber boots. I was carrying an umbrella. I knew I would get wet, but by the time I got to work I was TOTALLY DRENCHED! The entire right side of my body was completely soaked. I had to take off my sweater and leave it hanging over the back of my chair to dry (which took ALL day!) The right side of my pants were soaked through . . . and didn't dry until mid-morning. It was a very wet, uncomfortable morning. Luckily it stopped raining in time for my walk home.

In summary I repeat: the secret to happiness is dry pants!

Looking back

Seriously don't know what has prompted this post, but I was just sitting here in front of my computer thinking about the upcoming holiday season and how different this year is from last year. At this time last year I was suffering under the regime of "Dragon Lady" and pretty much just miserable at work. Now I have a wonderful boss and an awesome group of coworkers and the laughter is back in the school! There are a lot of new teachers, but as a staff we have managed to bond really well and have an awesome working relationship.
At this time last year I had just recently moved into my condo and was trying to unpack and organize. Haven't made a hell of a lot of progress in that area over the past year, but I don't really give a damn.
Right around this time last year I commented in a post that I was actually enjoying all the early holiday advertisements and things because it helped to lift my mood. Now I have a confession to make. It's probably as a result of all the subtle brainwashing by marketing experts over the years, but I really rather enjoy seeing all the holiday commercials after Halloween! It helps to build anticipation for the Christmas season!
I was reading some of the posts I made last year around the time I moved and I realized that I never posted the story of how I knew that I was meant to live in this apartment. My realtor had already shown me a few places and I wasn't really seeing anything I liked. I was getting a sense of what I definitely did NOT want in an apartment or an apartment complex though. I didn't want to live in a huge, impersonal building. I didn't want to live on the other side of the city close to Delta, and I didn't want to live on the first floor. One day after school my realtor picked me up from work so that we could go look at this place. I was quite interested in seeing it because for the first time after reading the address of a place I was going to look at, I could envision it being my address. When we pulled up in front of the building, I just knew. It looked exactly right for me. When my realtor realized that she didn't have the right keys for the front door and that we'd have to go to her office to pick them up, I was very disappointed. I actually wanted to say "hurry up! I have to see my new home!" We retrieved the keys and came back to the building. We came up to this suite and looked around inside. Since it was vacant at the time there wasn't a whole lot to see, except the giant dehumidifier set up in the kitchen to clean up some water damage left by the previous tenant. We walked around and my realtor said "so, what do you think?" I said "I love it!" She said "do you love it enough to make an offer?" I said "let's do it!" A couple of days later, it was all mine! I have not regretted the decision one bit over the past year. Interestingly enough, almost exactly a year to the day I moved into the place, a few of us were talking at work one day about buying property. The topic of conversation had to do with those home improvement shows and how there was one of HGTV that talked about how to set up your house to sell it. Pretty much all the stuff that they said was in the show about how to set up your house to sell it (new coat of paint, furniture in the house to help people envision what their furniture would look like in the house, etc.) was the exact opposite of what this place looked like when I bought it! I. just. knew. I knew that this place was meant to be mine!
I hope you have a lovely weekend my fellow bloggers!

If I Could Turn Back Time . . .

. . . I would have remembered to turn back my clocks last night before I went to bed! I woke up this morning and merrily started my laundry, thinking it was 8am. I watched a Star Trek DVD that my sister loaned me, and then prepared to watch Judging Amy at 9. That's when I discovered that I had forgotten to turn back the clocks! All I could do was laugh . . . and be grateful that I got an early start on my laundry.

Plans for today: head over to Penningtons and see if I can find some more long-sleeved shirts and sweaters (at reasonable prices) seeing as my classroom is really, really cold these days, and outside is cold too. Wish me luck!

Potluck Potpourri

Last night I went to an Italian potluck dinner. It was very, very yummy! I got to see some friends that I hadn't seen for a while - so hooray! I have to admit that I was a little concerned about going after having lunch with two colleagues from work on Tuesday. They were talking about all the times people go to potlucks and get food poisoning. One of the guys told us that his wife got sick two separate times after two separate potlucks. That's when I chimed in and said "gee, I'm going to a potluck on Friday" to which both guys just laughed. Sigh. Thanks M and B!

You'll notice that I am posting these thoughts on our potluck the day after the potluck. I didn't want to gross anyone at the potluck out, particularly after my friend Amy told me that she has been reading my blog. Hi Amy!

Once again I wished for my camera last night. When Jennifer and I took the bus to her place last night we passed by several houses who had gone all out to decorate for Halloween. I LOVE halloween and I really, really wanted to take pictures of the spookiness. Jennifer reminded me that I have a camera phone, but the quality of those pictures leaves a lot to be desired.

I also wanted to take some photos of my friends at dinner last night. There were LOTS of "kodak moments" when Jennifer and Lance broke out the Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) video game for little Kazzie to enjoy. He danced the night away with various dance partners including Lance, Jerry, Amy, daddy Koji, me, and Jennifer. Watching everyone dance was lots of fun.

Before I leave you all for the day, I want to share this pearl of wisdom from the four-and-a-half year old Kazzie: "my head gets really long when I jump!" It took me forever to figure out what Kazzie was talking about! We were standing in front of the stove checking on the progress of dinner. There was a big, shiny pot of water boiling on the stove for the spaghetti. The image in the pot was really distorted and lengthened everything! When Kazzie jumped up and down his head got really long. It was the first of many previously mentioned photo opportunities!

The new and improved me!

My hair before the cut. Notice how the length really drags me down. When I told me stylist, the uber-fantastic Daphne, that I had had this cut for the past ten years and that I really needed a change she got all excited. This is only the second time that Daphne has cut my hair, mind you, but she said she lives for days when someone tells her that they aren't sure what they want to do and asks for her help. I was very pleased with her suggestions, so I will definitely continue to see her. We discussed putting some highlights in at some point in the future. When I explained that I was very low-maintenance with my hair, Daphne told me about something called peekaboo highlights, which don't go over the top of your hair and lie under the first layer of your hair. I'm definitely thinking about some of those for the future!

Voila! I LOVE it! She cut side bangs into it, but I'm not so sure you'll really be able to see them unless I part my hair the opposite way. When she was asking me about my part I got flustered and told her the opposite of what I usually do (hey, cut me some slack! I was nearly blind 'cause I wasn't wearing my glasses, and I was looking into a mirror!) She cut the bangs opposite to how I usually wear my hair, but that's okay because I discovered that it looks good either way! Daphne told me that if I blow dry my hair and put some mousse at the roots that I'll have lots and lots of volume and it will look like porn star hair! I might have to buy some mousse and and a blow dryer in order to try that out!

Sexy, no?

Okay, seriously . . .

what's up with Lorelai this season on GG? She is supposed to be with Luke, NOT Christopher! I get the fact that he's Rory's dad, but this is just weird. C'mon, we're supposed to believe that all that sexual tension and chemistry over the last six years was leading up to Lorelai and Christopher getting back together?! Does anyone else have any thoughts on this new season? I'm thinking that the episodes have been fairly lacklustre so far. I miss all the snappy dialogue. There have been a few flashes of it, but not really enough to justify a full hour's worth of show. What do you think?

Now House is a show I've missed lately. I'm currently watching a rerun. Someone, in their infinite wisdom, decided that while the World Series was on we shouldn't have any new episodes of House. Who the f*ck thought that was a good idea? There won't be a new episode on until Halloween! I don't know if I can last that long! Today is the first day in three weeks that I've watched House. I'm surprised that I didn't experience withdrawal symptoms. I think it's because Hugh Laurie is one of the pictures on my sexy British men mug and his is the display picture on my MSN Messenger.

And finally I thought I should remind everyone that I'm getting my hair cut tomorrow. If my students drive me totally nuts maybe I'll get her to shave my head bald so that I can go get an awesome wig and go to work dressed as someone they don't know. Then they can't bug me. Yeah, right!

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Or in my case, Wednesday evening! I was supposed to get a haircut this morning, but when I arrived at the salon I was told that my stylist had called in sick. They couldn't call me because I was the first appointment of the day and my stylist called in right before the appointment. Anyway, I opted to make a new appointment than have my hair cut by someone else. I'm looking forward to possibly getting a new look (or will I chicken out and just ask for a trim?) - I've had my same hairstyle with varying lengths for at least 10 years now. All I want is something easy to maintain. I've even started to think about dyeing it (my students all think I dye my hair anyway, so I may as well!) or getting some highlights. I hesitate though because I don't want to have to return to the stylist all the time to maintain the colour. We'll see. Definitely won't be dyeing it on Wednesday, but it's something to think about for the future. I have this fantasy of sitting in the stylist's chair and saying to her "it's just hair. Do whatever you want to it, it'll grow back." Anyway, if my hair turns out really different I'll try and post some pictures after it's done :-)

Tipping

Ever had this experience? You're sitting in a restaurant with a friend. You order your beverage and it seems to take forever until it arrives. It's not a fancy drink, just a regular coke. You order your food and wait and wait for it. While you and your friend are talking you see your waitress standing around and chatting with the other servers, even though you could use a drink refill and you're wondering where the hell your plain ol' burger is. When your food finally arrives you attack it, starving, only to realize that your glass is empty and your waitress never offered you a refill. You spend the next five minutes trying to flag down your waitress to ask for a refill, which predicatably, takes five minutes to get to your table. After you finish eating, a good hour at least after you've entered the restaurant, you wait for your bill to arrive. It comes and you and your friend put your money on the table. You now have to debate the eternal question, "how much of a tip should we leave?" The standard seems to be about 15 to 20 percent. You wait and wait for the waitress to return and ask you if you need change. You ask for a certain amount back and you wait and wait for her to return with it. Does any of that sound familiar to you? More and more often it's situations similar to the one I've just described that I encounter when having lunch with my best friend. We have a standing date every Saturday afternoon for lunch and one of the few constants it seems we can count on is crappy service. We always leave roughly a 15% tip, but there are times when we debate leaving a tip at all. I can't speak for her (though I'm sure she shares these thoughts), but I'm getting sick and tired of tipping for sub par service. Don't get me wrong, I understand that service people like waiters and waitresses rely on tips to make ends meet. I have no problem tipping my waiter or waitress, but in return I expect some service that's at least halfway decent. I'm tired of my waitress walking right past me multiple times when I clearly need a beverage refill. And why does my waitress always seem to disappear for her coffee break at the exact time that I'm ready to pay my bill and leave? Would it kill my waitress to stop by the table once in a while to see how I'm doing with my meal? Today my friend and I experienced our usual level of poor service, so we decided to do something a littler different. We always split the bill 50-50. Since we've usually just been to the cash machine we always only ever have $20 bill, nothing lower, so we always need at least a couple of dollars in change. Today we were debating about whether to each leave $1 as a tip (which would have been approximately 12% of the bill) or $2 (just over 20% of the bill). Our money sat on the table for a little while. Our waitress walked past us a couple of times and we decided that if she came for our money within a couple of minutes we would give her the higher amount, but if she continued to walk past us we would give her the lower amount. We ended up giving her the lower amount and she looked quite peeved as she gave us her change. I really didn't care since she could have quite easily stopped at our table to pick up our money any of the 3 or 4 times she walked past us. What ever happened to the days of decent service? Or service with a smile? Seriously, why should I tip you for crappy service? A tip is meant to be a thank you for a service performed. I'm not willing to give you a generous tip unless you've actually given me some decent service! My friend and I even had a waitress take her own tip out of our change once. We gave her our money and asked for a certain amount back in change, which included roughly a 15% tip. The service had been okay, but nothing special. When the waitress returned a few minutes later with our change she said that we must have made a mistake on the tip and that she had corrected it by bringing us the "correct change", which was a couple of dollars less than what we had asked for. At the time were so shocked by her nerve that we left without saying anything, but I often wish I could talk to that waitress, whom we never saw again, and give her a piece of my mind.

To those bloggers reading this who currently work in the service industry or have in the past, I just want you to know that I do respect the work that you do and I know that crappy service sometimes isn't your fault. I have never not left a tip, even after really crappy service. But as someone who eats out on a weekly basis, I feel perfectly justified in asking that my waiter or waitress not ignore me or repeatedly walk past me when I'm trying to pay. Is that really too much to ask?

Happy Turkey Day!

I had my Thanksgiving dinner last night at my mom's place. The kids and spouses and two grandkids were all there. I'm the only single one now . . . but that's okay. I do have to say that watching the two newlywed couples (my sister and her husband, who have been married for a little over six months, and my step-brother and his wife, who have been married for two months) was a little uncomfortable sometimes. All the gazing into each other's eyes and private jokes and sweet nothings . . . yuck! Whatever. You're talking to someone who's ALWAYS been single, so I really can't relate to people in love.

Dinner was delicious! And abundant . . . ham, turkey, vegetable casseroles, stuffing, yams, mashed potatoes, perogies . . . enough to feed an army! Even for dessert . . . we had pumpkin pie, plum cake (yummy!!), and apple pudding. Not to mention ice cream and whipping cream to put on top. I ate so much, but it was worth it! All the kids were counting on taking home leftovers and we weren't disappointed! I took home three chinese food containers (the large round foil containers with cardboard lids) full of leftovers so I don't have to worry about what I'll be eating for lunch or dinner tonight!

I woke up this morning briefly contemplating a day spent cleaning. I know it should be done, but screw it, I want to enjoy my day off so I'll leave the cleaning for another day. I'm done everything I have to do for work tomorrow so today I can do whatever I want. Unfortunately I don't know yet what I want to do. Goodbye for now blog buddies!

Walk a mile in my . . .

. . . new shoes 'cause they are so freakin' comfortable! I would post a picture of them, but I don't feel like hauling out my camera right now. So I'll use my English teaching skills to describe them to you instead. They look a lot like bowling shoes actually. They're tan in colour with a couple of olive green stripes along the side and a couple of darker brown patches near the toes. They have olive green laces. They look and feel like suede, but I'm not sure that they really are. I bought them this weekend at Payless Shoes (LOVE that store!) I hadn't planned to buy anything new this weekend, but I after I got dressed to go out on Sunday I realized that I didn't have any kind of casual shoes in brown to wear so I headed off to the store to see what I could find. I'm glad that I don't have to wear my running shoes every day :-)

Now for a complete change of topic . . . I've had to make some new bug juice to put next to my sink in the kitchen. The fruit flies are getting annoying again. Karen was able to kill 30 of the little beasties when she made the bug juice last week. I'm torn between wanting to find 30 in my mug (though EEWWWW! That means there were 30 of them flying around my apartment) or wanting to find only 8 or 9 (though that seems vaguely disappointing since it's much more fun to think I've killed lots of yucky fruit flies!) Okay, you can't tell this just by reading this post, but I stepped away from the computer for a moment to do something in the kitchen and I noticed that I already have two flies in the mug! The bug juice has only been sitting in the kitchen for half an hour. Wahoooo!! Die little buggers!

Before you think I'm completely bloodthirsty let me assure you that I'm not. I usually don't experience the overwhelming urge to kill any living beings except for fruit flies and squirrels. Fruit flies because they're completely gross, and squirrels because they're nasty rodents who destroy nearly everything they come into contact with. Trust me, I know. About 4 or 5 years ago a squirrel got into our attic and it started to chew through the ceiling . . . right over my head while I was sleeping! I woke up one morning to find a small pile of plaster from the ceiling on the pillow right next to where I was sleeping! Luckily no squirrels ever fell on my head, but now I have an extreme dislike of squirrels. And I do mean EXTREME!

Now my lovely blog buddies, I'm off to read some of your blogs. Have a good night!

She's at it again!

Yup, I've made a few changes to my blog again! I talked to Jenn and she gave me some good advice about how to make some changes. The new blogger seems very easy to manipulate and I'm hoping that it will attract a bit more traffic to my site. As I figure out how to get more and more sophisticated with my blog I'll make a few more changes.

I hope everything is going well in your world! I've been to a funeral today and was feeling kinda low. The funeral was for someone that I used to sing with in my church choir. I haven't been in the choir for the last year or so (moving and stuff made me lazy). When my sister and I arrived at the Church we were asked to join the choir to sing for the woman who passed away. It was nice to be back in the familiar territory again, and the choir sounded lovely. The song we sang is one of my favourites and was meant to be a solo, but the woman who had agreed to sing it couldn't get through it without a little help today. I received many compliments on the singing, and was asked by many people when I would be back in the choir, which lifted my spirits considerably. We'll see if choir makes it back into my routine!

It's All About Meme

I can't help it, I'm a sucker for these memes!

ARE YOU:

1. A Cuddler?
Sometimes. It depends on the mood I'm in. Sometimes I just don't want to be touched.

2. A morning person?
While I can't really say I love getting up early in the morning, I am definitely able to get more stuff done in the morning than in the evening.

3. Are you a perfectionist?
In a way. I'm passionate about certain (stupid) things getting done right.

4. An only child?
Nope. I have one biological sister, two step-brothers (one on each side) and two step-sisters (one on each side).

5. Catholic:
No. I view myself as a Christian, but I don't think I could ever join a Catholic Church. Too rigid in its views.

6. In your pajamas?
How did you know?

7. Currently suffering from a broken heart?
Nope.

8. Okay styling other people's hair?
Don't have a lot of practice with my own hair, let alone other people's hair!

9. Left handed?
Yes, and damn proud of it!

10. Addicted to MySpace?
Addicted, no. Interested, yes.

11. Shy around the opposite gender?
Sometimes. It depends on how well I know the person. The guys I work with I tend not to be shy around. All the others . . .

12. Loud?
Sometimes. I have been known to get loud in my classroom when I'm mad at my students!

DO YOU:

12. Bite your nails?
No. I pick at them sometimes, but never bite.

13. Get paranoid at times?
Oh yes. Definitely.

14. Currently regret something that you have said/done?
Right now, no. Past regrets, sure.

15. Curse frequently when you get mad?
I guess that depends on your definition of frequently. If I'm really pissed, sure. Otherwise I try not to curse that often.

16. Enjoy country music?
Only new country. Rascal Flatts, Shania Twain, The Dixie Chicks, Faith Hill.

17. Enjoy jazz music?
Not particularly.

18. Enjoy smoothies?
Yes.

19. Enjoy talking on the phone?
Not really. There are a few people I really like talking to, but otherwise I prefer e-mail.

20. Have a lot to learn?
Yes!

21. Have a pet?
Not right now. I'd like a cat one day.

22. Have a tendency to fall for the "wrong" person?
Perhaps that's my problem! My past few crushes have been on married men, and therefore "wrong" in terms of their availability.

23. Have all your grandparents died?
My biological ones are all dead. Fortunately I have lovely grandparents living in Oregon. They are the parents of my stepmom.

24. Have at least one sibling?
Yes. Weren't you paying attention earlier?

25. Have been told that you are smart?
Yes.

26. Have had a broken bone?
Nope.

27. Have Caller I.D. on your phone?
On my cell phone.

HAVE YOU:

28. Changed a diaper?
Not recently, but yes. I used to babysit.

29. Changed a lot over the past year?
I'm not sure. I don't think I've changed a lot, but some.

30. Had friends who have never seen your natural hair color?
Except for one brief period in 1997, my hair has always been its natural colour.

31. Had surgery?
No.

32. Killed anyone?
No, but I have thought about it before ;-)

33. Had your haircut within the last week?
I haven't, but I wish I had.

LAST PERSON WHO:

1. Slept in the bed beside you?
I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that sometimes my family reads this blog! Hehehehe. Just joking . . . or am I?

2. Saw you cry?
Some people I work with last week when I found out that a friend had died.

3. Went to the movies with you?
My best friend Sonja.

4. You went to the mall with?
See above. My best friend Sonja.

5. You went to dinner with?
My friend Shannon.

6. You talked to on the phone?
My mom.

7. Said 'I love you' to you and meant it?
Don't remember . . .

8. Broke your heart?
Honestly? My students are currently breaking my heart because most of them are currently wasting their opportunity to learn English.

9. Made you laugh?
My friend Shannon.

WOULD YOU RATHER?

1. Pierce your nose or tongue?
Nose, I guess.

2. Be serious or be funny?
Funny. Definitely funny.

3. Drink whole or skim milk?
I usually drink 1% milk.

4. Die in a fire or drown?
Drown I think. I don't think I could tolerate the pain involved with burning. *shudder*

5. Spend time with your parents or enemies?
My parents.

ABOUT YOU!

1. What time is it?
10:22pm

2. Name?
Kimberly Wilma F.

3. Nickname(s)?
Kim, Teacher, Kima

4. Where were you born?
Burnaby, British Columbia

5. What is your birthdate?
August 8, 1978

6. What do you want?
Happiness. Love.

7. Where do you want to live?
Exactly where I am right now.

8. How many kids do you want?
At this particular moment in time, none. But I've always wanted to have one daughter.

It's a Woman's Prerogative . . .

. . . to change her mind about her blogger template! Yup, I've decided that the pink was too much pinkness. I love the simplicity and cleannes of the white. I've also added a few new links to my sidebar. I'm planning on making a few other changes over the next week or so, depending on how bold I get. Now, I think I've blogged enough for one day :-)

Back Home Again

I'm back from Maple Ridge! Taking the bus turned out to be very easy. It seemed to take a long time, but that was mostly due to the wait at Braid Station - I was 25 minutes early for the bus! Anyway, I listened to my tunes most of the way and my MP3 player worked extremely well.

When I got to Maple Ridge I got to see my stepmom's photos of her trip (along with my stepsis) to Nova Scotia to visit my stepbrother Sean and his wife Holly. They got some great pictures! I also found out that my stepsister has a new, serious boyfriend, which is great. After looking at the pictures we went out for lunch at ABC - Yummmm. Afterwards we decided to stop at London Drugs to look at picture frames. We couldn't find any we liked there, so we went to Zellers and each bought a few frames (I need some to hang my degrees, and I want to FINALLY hang some family photos around my apartment).

After shopping, we went to the hospital to see my dad. He has a private room in the new building and it's really nice! Lots of wood and muted colours. Each room has a "memory box" outside - a locked wooden cabinet with a glass door and three glass shelves for families to put mementos and stuff in. My stepmom wants to put some of my dad's prettiest beer steins in the box, which I think will look really nice. The room inside is a little plain right now, but Barbara and I decided where to hang some photos and stuff, so soon it should have a little more personality. We stayed and fed Dad his dinner, then we left and Barbara drove me home. All in all it was a good visit. Jennifer and her husband are going next Sunday. Hopefully the pictures will be up by then and there'll be a plant in the room.

I didn't even think about it until we were halfway home, but while I was in Maple Ridge I should have stopped to buy some of the delicious lox that my stepmom gets at the German butcher. But we came to an agreement in the car that she would stop during the week and buy me some and send it home with Jennifer next week. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. The only slight wrinkle in the plan is that Jennifer HATES fish, so I don't think she'll be overly thrilled to have to take it home with her and then possibly bring it to work with her one day in the middle of the week in order for me to pick it up from her. Jennifer, you'd be the best sister in the world if you helped me out with this!

Going to Maple Ridge

In about 15 minutes I'm going to walk out my door and head to the skytrain station to begin my skytrain/bus journey to Maple Ridge. I'm going to go visit my dad and stepmom. My dad lives in Maple Ridge hospital due to his Alzheimer's disease. He recently got moved to his new room, which I will get to see today.

Yesterday I went to Future Shop and "impulsively" bought an MP3 Player. I say impulsively because I just up and decided to make my purchase yesterday, but in actuality I've been looking into making this purchase for weeks now. I'm really looking forward to having some music to listen to on my long bus ride today, and to having some music to listen to on my walk to and from work each day!

Now I'd better get moving, I have a skytrain to catch! If I have time I'll post later and let you know how the visit went!

60 Questions

1) Do you talk in your sleep? I have been known to in the past. I've even argued with people in my sleep.

2) Ocean or pool? Pool

3) What song is on your iPod right now? I have an iPod? COOL! Oh wait, no I don't . . .

4) Current crush? Yeah, like I'd tell you. But yes, I currently have a crush on someone. It's a new/old crush and this guy makes me feel happy and tingly inside whenever I see him.

5) What's your favorite color(s)? Pink, blue and purple.

6) Window seat or aisle seat? Hmmmm. While it's sometimes cool to look at the view, I do like sitting on the aisle better.

7) Ever met anyone famous? Nope. But I'm pretty sure I saw Kelly Osbourne once in Vancouver.

8) Do you feel that you've had a truly successful life? Had? My life is just beginning baby!

9) Do you twirl your spaghetti or cut it? I cut it. Does that freak you Italians out?

10) Ricki Lake or Oprah Winfrey? Neither. It I absolutely had to choose . . . neither.

11) Baseball or Football? To watch, football. To play, baseball.

12) How long do your showers last? Maybe 10 or 15 minutes?

13) Do you know how to drive a stick? You can drive sticks?

14) Cake or ice cream? Cake. Or cake with ice cream.

15) Are you self-conscious? Yes.

16) Have you ever given money to a bum? No. I work in an area with a lot of them, and while I do feel bad for them, I wouldn't give them money.

17) Have you been in love? Yup

19) Have you ever ridden in an ambulance? Only in the front seat when my mom went to the hospital for her kidney stones.

20) Can you tango? Never tried, but given my poor dance abilities . . . probably not.

21) Last gift you received? A belated birthday present from Sheryl. Some lovely body milk that I've already started using.

22) Last sport you played? Baseball I guess, when I threw a paper ball at a student and he used his water bottle to bat it back to me. Oh, and I walked home from work today.

23) What would you like to spend a lot of time doing? Reading, relaxing, travelling.

24) Last wedding attended? Brad and Janine's wedding at the end of July.

25) Favorite FAST food restaurant? Gotta agree with Vesper on this one, Tim Horton's!

26) Most hated food? Tomato soup. I know . . . I'm weird.

27) Can you sing? Yes! And I love to sing!

28) Last person that called you? A woman from church to let me know about a funeral next week.

29) What're your least favorite chores? vacuuming!!

30) Favorite drink? Coca Cola.

31) Are your parents married or divorced? Divorced from each other, but both married to other people.

32) Are you a vegetarian? No.

33) Do you believe in Heaven? Yes.

34) Favorite Show? Right now it's definitely House. Of all time, Star Trek: The Next Generation.

35) What jewelry do you wear? none. I wear a watch every day (I have four different watches in regular rotation).

36) Are you eating? Not right now. But I likely will later.

37) Do you eat the stems of broccoli? Yes.

38) Do you keep commitments? Yes, otherwise I feel a great deal of guilt.

39) Can you dance? No.

40) Would you ever have plastic surgery? It depends on what kind of surgery we're talking about. Probably nothing too invasive . . . or maybe not.

41) What do you wear to bed? 99% of the time I wear pajamas. I have some really cute and comfy ones.

42) Have you ever done anything illegal? Little minor things such as jay-walking.

43) Can you roll your tongue? Yes

44) What kind of shoes are you wearing? None right now. I was wearing my brown slippers earlier. They aren't a fashion statement, they are just the best pair of slippers I've ever owned.
45) What is your hair color? My black-haired students describe my hair as blonde, but I myself call it light brown.

46) Future child's name? Maybe Emily or Laura. David or Michael for a boy.

47) Do you snore? I don't think so.

48) If you could go anywhere in the world where would it be? Many, many cities in Europe. Paris, London, Venice, Rome, etc.

49) Do you sleep with a stuffed animal? Sometimes if I'm lonely.

50) If you won the lottery, what would you do first? Pay off my mortgage and student loan. Then I would go on a nice, relaxing vacation!

51) Gold or silver? I think gold suits me best.

52) If you could meet anybody in history, who would it be? Hitler. I'd slap him upside the head several times.

53) City, beach or country? To visit, probably the beach first and then the city, like New York.

54) What was the last thing you touched? Remote control.

55) Where did you eat out last? Had a burger from A&W today.

56) When's the last time you cried? Last week when I found out that a friend from Church passed away.

57) Do you read blogs? Yes! I love reading blogs. I've added a few more to the list of blogs I read.

58) Would you ever go out dressed like the opposite sex? Sure. Why not?

59) Ever been involved with the police? No.

60) Do you have pets? Not right now. I wouldn't mind getting a cat one day though.

New Shoes!

I have recently had some wonderful success with new shoes. I mentioned a while ago that I purchased two pairs of black shoes at K-Mart in the States. Well, yesterday I bought the perfect pair of brown shoes for this coming fall season. I actually spotted them for the first time last weekend at a Payless in Metrotown. I tried them on and fell in love with them. Unfortunately the only ones they had were a 10W (wide), and they were just a touch loose. They were also a bit pricier than what I usually pay as they were marked at $49.99. Anyway, they did a check for me to see if any other stores had a size 10 and I mentally prepared myself to spend a bit too much money for a great pair of shoes. They told me there was one size 10 left at Central City, which worked out really well since I always stop by there to visit my sister on the way home. I ran in and found the shoes. To my surprise, the pair was marked at $24.99! When the clerk rang them into the machine they came up to $49.99. Since the manager was standing right next to her she asked her what to do about the difference in price and they ended up giving me the shoes for the (way) lower price. SCORE! Anyway, here are some pictures of my new shoes:

A Reason, A Season, or A Lifetime

“Friends are in your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.” Dr. Joy Browne.

I first heard that quote on the radio a long time ago and it’s stuck with me for years. I think it’s because for me it really rings true. When I think about all the friends I’ve had in my life I can identify the reasons, seasons, and lifetimes. I would also add to that category those friends who are so close to you that they are members of your family.

When I was in eleventh grade I met a guy named Chad. We became friends and stayed friends for over 3 years. He was the type of person who was always late to meet you, lied to you, and all the while tried to protect himself by hiding behind him mommy’s apron (yes ladies, he was a true “momma’s boy”). For some reason, even after he lied to me, showed up late for every single one of our outings, was inconsiderate and generally just a jerk, I continued to be friends with him. Finally, during one of my last years of University, I “woke up” and realized I deserved someone who treated me way better than he ever could. I basically “dumped” him and told him never to get into contact with me again. He seemed shocked that I could do such a thing, and I believe he said something along the lines of “doesn’t the word ‘friendship’ mean anything to you?” He was what I would call a friend for a reason. He taught me that I am a valuable person and I deserve to be treated with respect.

I have had many seasonal friends – people I hung around with for a while because we had classes together, but lost touch with once we finished the class. They were all good people and I sometimes wonder what they are up to now. My seasonal friends helped me explore different sides of my personality and made me just a little more adventurous.

There are a few people that I consider to be lifetime friends. These are special people who I know, no matter what is going on in our lives, I will always be in contact with. They are the ones, like my closest friends Sonja and Sheryl, who cheer me up when I’m sad, pick me up when I fall, and keep me from becoming a gigantic jerk. They mean more to me than anything and I know I can count on them whenever the chips are down.

In addition to those reason, season and lifetime friends I think I need to add a new category that I’m going to call blog buddies. These are the people whose lives I get to know through reading their blogs. Those people who I care about, cheer for, and pray for, but in many cases have never met. Some of these people you will find on my sidebar, others I have yet to discover. I'm sure they are out there though.

Blog Changes

Does this blog look different to you? I decided to hop on the beta bandwagon (which started with my sister) so that I could post comments on the blogs of friends who have already hopped on the bandwagon. Since I was making that change I figured I may as well change my template while I was at it. Pink is my favourite colour, but I don't know how long this template will last since it is a bit bright. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

PS Watch for a couple of new posts in the coming days about new shoes and a philosophical post about friends.

Barry Trotter And The Unauthorized Parody

I guess I should have added this to my previous post about the 100 things about me:

102. I like to listen to audiobooks as I fall asleep at night.

Today when I was in Chapters I started browsing through the discounted audio books bin. I've gotten several good audio books from this bin so I was hoping for another good deal. Imagine my surprise when I came across the following by Michael Gerber: "Barry Trotter and the Unauthorized Parody". My interest was immediately captured because I love the Harry Potter books. I own all of them and I've read each of them at least three times. I have a good sense of humour, so I tend to enjoy parodies of things I like. This is how the book is described:

"Stop that movie," Headmaster Alpo Bumblemore said, "or Hogwash is history!" After someone sells directions to the school to a sleazy Muddle tabloid, Barry Trotter, Ermine Gringer, and Lon Measly are hauled out of retirement to face their toughest challenge yet. Not only do the 22-year-olds have to elude packs of rabid fans, outwit Barry's sponging Uncle Serious, and vanquish their old foe Lord Valumart, they have to face the most powerful enemy of all: Hollywood!

Totally bought it and plan to listen to it soon. I'll let you know how I enjoy it when I've finished it. I should warn you though: I listen to these books at bed at night so I tend to fall asleep part way through a chapter and have to rewind back to where I left off the next night. Unless I'm experiencing a bout of insomnia, it usually takes me a few weeks to get through a book, so don't look for a review too soon!

100

I've visited a couple of other blogs today that have this posted, so I thought I'd give it a try. Will I actually make it to 100? You have to read on to find out!

1. My middle name is Wilma.
2. My favourite colour is pink.
3. It used to be purple.
4. Know how I knew my favourite colour was pink? My students told me! It was because I wear a lot of pink!
5. I am slightly claustrophobic.
6. Elevators don't bother me, but the closed door of my (way smaller than public school) classroom does.
7. So does the corn maze.
8. I have a fear of heights.
9. The skytrain doesn't bother me, but standing on a footstool does.
10. I am deathly afraid of snakes.
11. I can't even look at pictures of snakes in books or magazines. You can imagine what seeing the commercial or trailer for the movie "Snakes on a Plane" does to me.
12. I love watching TV.
13. I love watching movies.
14. Most of the movies I go see I go to by myself.
15. Being able to see a movie by yourself is very liberating.
16. I check my e-mail obsessively throughout the day.
17. I get mad when I don't get new e-mail.
18. I am a teacher.
19. Sometimes I don't want to be a teacher anymore.
20. I have no idea what I would do my life if I weren't a teacher.
21. I love teaching grammar!
22. I learned a LOT of grammar just be being thrown into the situation of having to teach advanced grammar.
23. The first class of teenagers I taught had 3 students in it!
24. The second day it went up to 5.
25. I did my education degree in primary education.
26. Now I teach teenagers.
27. I firmly believe that all teachers should be trained in primary education, even if they plan on teaching high school.
28. Most of the teachers I had in school were awesome.
29. My sister was a teacher at the same school I work at.
30. Now she sells insurance 3.5 days a week.
31. I didn't get my first credit card until I was in University.
32. That's because I didn't think I would be able to discipline myself enough not to spend, spend, spend and get into debt.
33. I pay my credit card bill in full each month.
34. I love reality television.
35. I don't watch shows like the Bachelor because I think they're boring.
36. I watch Survivor, the Amazing Race, Big Brother, Hell's Kitchen, the Apprentice and America's Next Top Model.
37. I used to watch American Idol, but not anymore.
38. I found Canadian Idol to be extremely boring.
39. I found Canada's Next Top Model to be extremely boring too.
40. My favourite show is House.
41. I am madly in love with Hugh Laurie.
42. I consider myself a Trekkie and I'm proud of it.
43. I have been to 10 Star Trek conventions.
44. Patrick Stewart was in Vancouver for a Star Trek convention once when I was 13. I wasn't allowed to go. I will always regret not sneaking out of the house to go.
45. I used to be madly in love with Patrick Stewart.
46. People tease me mercilessly for being in love with Patrick Stewart. But I don't care.
47. My love for Hugh Laurie has surpassed my love for Patrick Stewart.
48. I have a thing for British men.
49. It's their sexy British accent.
50. Strangely, I've never been a fan of British comedies.
51. One of my favourite singers is Bette Midler.
52. I love to sing.
53. I used to belong to my church choir.
54. I haven't been to Church in a long time.
55. It's because I'm too lazy to get out of bed early on Sunday morning to catch the two buses I would need to take to get to Church.
56. I miss singing.
57. I have sung solos in the choir before.
58. I have never sung karaoke.
59. I know someone whose baby is due TODAY!
60. Today is my mom and stepdad's wedding anniversary.
61. I don't have a driver's license.
62. I am addicted to reading blogs.
63. There are about 15 blogs bookmarked on my computer.
64. I check them at least once a day.
65. There are about 5 other blogs that I read once in a while too.
66. I don't find my blog particularly interesting.
67. I read celebrity gossip as well.
68. I buy People and Us magazine weekly.
69. I recycle the magazines by bringing them to school so my students can cut out the pictures for their projects.
70. I don't particularly like Jennifer Aniston.
71. I am rooting for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie to be together forever (or at least for a really long time)
72. This list is really hard.
73. I used to love watching He-Man.
74. I used to love watching She-Ra.
75. I have never seen Gone With The Wind. The few minutes I've watched of it I've found boring.
76. I have never watched Casablanca either.
77. For a long time I refused to watch The Mirror has Two Faces because I don't like Barbra Streisand.
78. Now The Mirror has Two Faces is one of my favourite movies.
79. Sense and Sensibility is one of my other favourite movies.
80. My former boss gave me the nickname "Sarcastic Wench"
81. I don't like Nicole Kidman.
82. I think I might actually make it to 100.
83. I walk to work every morning.
84. It takes me twenty minutes.
85. I love living so close to work!
86. I am a 10 minutes (maximum) walk away from the skytrain station.
87. I can list all the skytrain stations, in order, between King George and Waterfront.
88. I like the sound of rain.
89. I prefer being cold than being hot.
90. I keep two sweaters at work. Both are navy blue.
91. I keep one in the staffroom and one in my classroom.
92. I don't know why I have two sweaters at work.
93. I have two university degrees. One is in English, one is in Education.
94. My high school reunion is in October.
95. I'm not going to my reunion. The people I wanted to keep in touch with, I did.
96. I want my sister to have a baby so that I can be a real aunt. I think I'd be a good aunt.
97. Je veux aller a Paris!
98. My best friend is a french immersion kindergarten teacher.
99. My extended family all live in Germany.
100. One day I will go and visit them there.
101. I can't believe I made it to 100!

Phantom

Today I'm going to see Phantom of the Opera - wheeeeeeeeeeeee! I can't wait! I'm seeing a two o'clock performance . . . so I'll write with more details later today.

EDIT: I got back from the Phantom about an hour ago. It was AMAZING! I've always, always wanted to see it performed live and it lived up to all my expectations. The singing and music were fantastic - they gave me chills. I enjoyed all the colouful costumes too . . . particularly during the singing of "Masquerade". The actors and actresses were clearly passionate about their music and it showed. The man who played the Phantom was wonderful. What a voice! Anyway, I was impressed by how closely the recent Phantom movie followed the play, but I think I liked the character of Christine a tiny bit better in the movie than in the play. I don't think it had anything to do with the story, I just felt that the interpretation of the character was a little more likeable in the movie. But whatever, it didn't take anything away from my enjoyment of the play. Overall it was a great day and seeing Phantom was an excellent birthday present. Thanks Jenn and Lance!

boy, are my arms tired ;-)

So I had this really weird dream last night and I just had to share it with my loyal blog readers (all two of you). WARNING: THIS DREAM CONTAINS A STAR TREK REFERENCE. IF THAT MAKES YOU NAUSEOUS, STOP READING HERE!

Still with me? Here it goes . . . I was flying, relatively low to the ground, in a lawn chair. This seemed to be completely normal to me. I was flying over what appeared to be grassy hills bordered by forests, and it seemed to be a small airport (like the airports for small private planes, not commercial airlines). There were planes taking off beneath me and I must have been high enough for this not to interfere with my flight but when I looked down it looked like I was only about 15 to 20 feet above the ground. I kept radioing the "tower" (though none was in sight) talking about cloning my signal so that I appeared to look like a plane. After I crossed the runway, I started to go down for a landing. I landed safely, though I touched down pretty hard, and waited impatiently for my travelling companion to land. I was worried that he had not made it safely. A few minutes later he stumbled towards me from the top of a low hill, coming from some trees. He looked in rough shape, but he was safe. That man was Leonard Nimoy (Spock) from Star Trek. But not Leonard Nimoy as he would look today. It was a young Leonard Nimoy like in the Star Trek days. It wasn't Spock, but it was the actor when he was young and played the character of Spock. Then, after I could see he was safe, the dream started again from the beginning and the exact same things happened again. How weird is that?

So my loyal blog readers, I now invite you to tell me about your strange or weird dreams. Or, if you have some kind of expertise in interpreting dreams, can you please tell me what the hell this dream was supposed to mean?!

I lied to my dog because the voices told me to

I think what you have to do is self-explanatory ;-)

The month you were born:
January-----------i married
Febuary-----------I did
March--------------i played with
April--------------- i ate
May----------------i spanked
June---------------i kissed
July----------------i killed
August------------i lied to
September-------i choked
October---------- i slapped
November------- i watched
December--------i stole from-

DAY [NUMBER] YOU WERE B0RN 0N =]
1-------a spork
2-------my friends pants
3------- myself
4-------a mexican
5-------a hobo
6------- p diddy
7-------my best friends boyfriend/girlfriend
8------- my dog
9-------a lawn gnome
10-------a banana
11-------a monkey
12-------an ipod
13-------my neighbor
14-------a sandwich
15-------a goat
16-------a pickle
17-------bigfoot
18-------a spoon
19-------my sister
20-------a football player
21-------a ninja
22-------a fireman
23-------your mom
24-------a gangster
25-------1000 people
26-------a noodle
27-------an alien
28-------my true love
29-------my science teacher
30-------a squirrel
31-------my uncle-

C0L0R OF Y0UR SHiRT ;]
White------- Because i keep it gangsta
Black--------Because im sexy and i do what i want.
Pink---------Because im in love
Red----------Because thats how i roll
Blue----------Because the voices told me to.
Green--------Because I hate myself.
Purple--------Because i can
Gray---------- Because dat thang took my taco.
Yellow--------Because someone offered me 1,000,000 dollars
Orange----Because i hate my family.
Other-------Because i was high
maroon-----Because i was drunk.
teal-----cuz they were illegal
Brown-----Because im emo
Caramel----cuz Charlie told me too.
Striped------cuz ur mom said so
black..pink----Because i am kool like that
bra-----cuz im to kool for tv
bathing suit----- cuz im so sexy and i freak like no other

Oregon Pictures

Hey y'all, here are some pictures I took in Oregon. Enjoy!

Here are my grandparents, Bob and Evaline Bixby, and my step-sister Roisin (pronounced Row-sheen).

Here's a picture of where my sis and I slept. I had the bed on the right, Jennifer slept in the bed on the left. The room was in the basement, so it was nice and cool at night. One thing I found rather interesting was how differently Jennifer and I perceived the temperature downstairs. I know that Jennifer feels the coolness a lot more than I do, so I was curious to know how comfortable she'd be in the basement. She ended up wearing long-sleeved pajamas and sleeping with the top sheet, blanket and quilt covering her. In contrast, I slept in shorts and a tank top with only the top sheet covering me. I slept under the window, which I only closed because I figured Jennifer would be cold with it open all night.

This is my grandparents' house. They live in a city called St. Helens.

Here's a cool house in St. Helens.

Back from Oregon!

I'm back from Oregon my peeps! We got back this afternoon after a long car ride. The ride down was worse though - my knees were cramped and my legs were tired. We stopped more on the way back up so my legs weren't feeling so bad. We had a nice visit with our grandparents. We didn't really do much besides read, talk, take naps, and go for a walk down to the river. It was nice and relaxing for me. I took a bunch of pictures, which I have attempted to post 3 times now, but blogger is being uncooperative at the moment. We got to see an aunt and uncle and two cousins from Portland. They came up for dinner on Sunday so we got to chat and find out what's happening in their lives. One of the cousins has just turned 18 and he's going off to college next week. He'll be studying in Wisconsin, at a college that's quite close to Chicago.
We, or more accurately I, had a shocking moment yesterday evening though. We had been sitting around chatting after dinner and someone knocked on the door. He was from across the street and wanted to let us know that his dog had gotten out of the yard and had spent some time in our garage. He just wanted to apologize for his dog getting out, but we hadn't even known that the dog was in the garage, so it was fine. Anyway, a short while later I went downstairs to take a shower and get ready for bed. I got to the bottom of the stairs and saw that the basement door was wide open. This did make me a bit nervous, but knowing the family I figured that someone had left the door open when they came in from the garden (my grandparents aren't in the habit of locking their doors at night, or when they go for walks around the block). I rounded the corner to walk down the hallway to the bedrooms when I came face to face with a giant dog sitting in front of the bedroom doors! Yup, it was the dog from across the street! It turns out that the basement door hadn't been closed properly when the last person came through it so the dog, when he escaped from the yard again, was able to push it open and come right in. No harm done, but it was rather shocking!

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In other news . . . tomorrow is my birthday!!!!!!!! I'll be honest, I love getting birthday presents! I haven't always had the best birthdays . . . but that's a whole different story. Anyway, I can't remember if I've mentioned this before, but I really, really want to see Phantom of the Opera for my birthday! I love the music, I love the recent movie that came out, and I know I would love to see it performed live too! I don't know if it will happen or not, but I'd sure love it if it did.

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Now my lovely blog readers, it's time to get back to reality and get ready for work tomorrow. Did I mention that while I was relaxing in Oregon I had two work-related dreams? In the first one I was heading to the bathroom when someone beat me to it. I had to go down the hall to the other bathroom, which is right when I woke up. Man, I was pretty ticked off when my sister went into the bathroom first and I had to wait with my full bladder! In the second dream I was basically living the life of my sister with her two jobs and I was focused on job number two. I couldn't for the life of me remember if I had to work on Saturday or Sunday. I don't know how my sister works two jobs . . . I don't think I could handle it!

Going to Oregon!

I'm leaving for Oregon tomorrow to spend the long weekend with my sis, step-mom and step-sis. We're going to visit my step-mom's parents, which is always a lot of fun. I'm taking my camera so I'll be posting some pix when we get back on Monday. So my loyal blog fans (and I know there are legions of you out there who are just too shy to comment. Don't be shy! I don't bite . . . hard), I probably won't be posting or checking my blog over the weekend. Try not to miss me too much!

Best wedding favours ever!

The groom (my step-brother Brad) and the bride, Janine.

At this point the witnesses were signing the register. The woman sitting at the table is the bride's sister, Michelle.

My sister Jenn, and her husband Lance. They're newlyweds!

The Sadowski family. From left to right: Rachel, Cindy, Brandon and Dave. Cindy is Brad's sister.

These are the groom's parents. That's my mom, Erika, and my (step) dad Howie.

These cupcakes from Cupcakes made up the wedding cake. They were delicious!

So as you can tell from the pictures above, Brad and Janine's wedding on Sunday was awesome. I couldn't get over how elegant yet casual things were. There were bride and groom touches all over, from the total organization on the bride's part to the exclusion from the bar of Coors Light beer on the groom's part. Although it did start raining on us during the ceremony, everyone had a great time. The choir that brought this couple together sang during the ceremony and that was a really special touch. I couldn't get over how gorgeous the wedding dress was. It was everything that I imagined my own wedding dress to be one day. Oh and the wedding favours? Like I said, they were the best wedding favours ever. They were personalized M&Ms! No pictures of those though, they were gobbled up too quickly!

Congratulations!

A huge congratulations to my friends Sheryl and Koji! Early on Tuesday morning Sheryl gave birth to their second son, Caden. He's absolutely gorgeous and I'm sure he'll bring his parents a lot of joy and happiness :-)

My Feet

The beauty shot of my toes. The colour I chose was "I'm not really a waitress" by OPI. I have decided that I LOVE OPI nailpolish, so if anyone out there would like to know what to buy me for my birthday (which is on August 8th) . . . .

My left foot up close. My toes have alway been called "sausage toes". I inherited them from my dad. My baby toe has a really, really small nail that was difficult to apply polish to! One thing I don't really like about my feet is the hair on the knuckles of my toes.

My right foot. Not that much different than my left foot.

One last shot of my beautiful feet. These are my favourite shoes. I got them last summer from Avon. I really, really wish I had purchased two pairs! The best part about these shoes is that the flowers are stuck on by velcro and they come with 4 different coloured flowers - green, pink, orange, and beige.

Brides are everywhere!

Yesterday I went to a bridal shower for my future step-sister-in-law Janine. It was a Pampered Chef party and it was really neat. I had never been to any kind of Pampered Chef show before, but I have used a few of their products. My mom and sister both have some of their stuff, so I knew it was good. Watching the food preparation actually made me want to cook . . . but only if I have all the products she showed us! I was curious to know how we would be able to buy Janine some products since we didn't know what she had or what she wanted. In the end we were able to purchase products in two ways - by choosing things from the catalogue that Janine browsed through and chose items from, or by leaving money for her in a gift bag that she could use to buy whatever she wanted. Since Jennifer had given me some money to contribute towards a gift, I opted to give the money to Janine to buy whatever she wanted. Of course I also wanted to buy some stuff, so after careful consideration, I bought the food chopper (works to both chop food and relieve stress since you get to pound on the food a bit to chop it) and an apple wedger/corer that also works for potatoes. As my free gift with purchase I also received some twixit clips - clips of different sizes that you use to keep open bags closed. Since I had wanted to order those anyway, it worked out well. My mom also got a bunch of stuff! She got some stoneware and the miracle can opener (really wicked cool - it opens cans and leaves no sharp edges! And the can lids snap back on afterwards) for Janine and the garlic press (which is for Janine from my step-sister Cindy, who couldn't make it yesterday). For herself, my mom got a spatula and a piece of stoneware.
The marathon of brides continues today with a stagette for my friend Taran. The stagette is at a spa in Richmond (how cool is that?!) and I'm going to be getting a pedicure. Right now I can't think of anything more decadent than a pedicure for my tired, sore feet. The spa has a big party room that we can use to have some of our treatments, watch movies, and munch on some snacks. I'm totally looking forward to this spa experience. Right now I'm thinking of choosing a deep red colour for my toes. After our spa treatments, we're going to have dinner at the Cactus Club (yummy!). Hopefully I'll get a picture of my fabulously well-rested and pampered feet and post a picture later.

Insomniac

I've been awake since 3am. Not by choice, but anyone who knows me knows that to be the case. Yesterday was a crazy busy day! We tested in the neighbourhood of 120 new kids. It was chaotic, but it was controlled chaos. Placing students afterwards wasn't too bad either, but it took me 4 hours to create a working class list! I didn't leave work last night until 7:30 (usually I leave at 5:30)! There were a lot of students who didn't know how to spell their name in English, or who didn't write their full name on their test, so I had to make a few educated guesses. Today I'll have to spend a few more hours trying to get the list back up-to-date. I figure it'll take another 3 or 4 hours. I'm hoping that the 19 or so students we test today end up fairly evenly distributed throughout the levels we created yesterday or I could have a few more headaches to contend with today. It would be abundantly useful if I could use e-mail at our summer campus so I could e-mail myself some documents back and forth to work on while everyone else is teaching. At this point I'm not sure if that's possible, but we'll see. I'm hoping that once we get through today and start the process of getting ourselves fully organized, my insomnia will go away! I can't take too many more nights like this.

Another Kill Count

Bathroom: 10
Kitchen: 6

TOTAL: 16

Sweet. If only all problems could be solved with a tablespoon of sugar, a tablespoon of vinegar, and a drop of dish soap! Although wasn't it Mary Poppins who sang "just a spoonful of a sugar helps the medicine go down"?

In other news . . . today I met the majority of the new teachers I will be working with over the summer. It seems to be an interesting group. A lot of them are trained public school teachers, so that should improve the organization and general level of chaos. Several of the teachers already know each other from the school they currently work at, so that's neat. Hopefully that will work to our advantage - I don't want a situation where we have a group of teachers who do nothing but fraternize with each other! I do have a wonderful teacher who is returning from last year, so that should help. He's a great guy who is completely reliable and gets along well with everyone. There is another woman who is a bit older that I'm not sure about. I'm hoping she doesn't turn out to be like a current teacher we have who can't handle the teenagers and gets all upset every week. Don't get me wrong - I've definitely been in the situation where I have a class that's hard to handle and it makes me upset, but I only ever lost it at work once! Even that situation was extreme in that I'd had to deal with one thing after another after another after another, culminating in a student stealing the damn batteries from the classroom clock. At least I learned a few things from that situation. But, I digress.
I've decided that in order to cope with the summer (and hopefully avoid getting yet another ulcer) I've got to do a couple of things to relax myself. To that end, I've decided that I deserve a little pmapering. I've booked myself for a 30 minute massage on July 3rd. The following Sunday I'm getting a spa pedicure! The pedicure is part of a friend's stagette that is being held at a spa in Richmond. It should be a lot of fun - and what great timing!

Updated Kill Count ('Cause Now I'm Obsessed)

Kitchen: 4
Bathroom: 8

TOTAL: 12

Normally I wouldn't take pleasure in the death of another living being, but these are FRUIT FLIES! Do you have any idea how satisfying it feels to kill a fruit fly? Damn honey! It feels great!!

Teachers Take Note!

In my time as a teacher I have learned the following truths:

1. Teachers should all be trained as primary (preferably kindergarten or grade 1) teachers. They can move up from there, but it's really hard to move down if your training is at a higher level. It has been my experience that primary-trained teachers are waaayyy better prepared to deal with students at all levels of education. They're organized, able to manage a whole roomful of students without breaking a sweat, are more creative, and generally deliver better lessons. Now if you're a teacher reading this and you disagree, please feel free to comment argue with me.

2. Teachers should do their photocopying ahead of time. Do not leave it for the morning of because you never know what might come up! Photocopiers break down quite regularly you know!

3. Teachers should leave day plans, attendance lists, etc. AT THE SCHOOL. Taking it home might help you with your planning, but it doesn't help the substitute at all! If you really need to take stuff home with you, photocopy it and then you can keep a copy at home!

4. Teachers who can't be flexible or think on their feet shouldn't be teachers. Bottom line is you never know what is going to get thrown at you. If you can't deal with it, you shouldn't be there.

Happy Father's Day!

Just wanted to wish all the fathers and fathers-to-be a happy Father's Day this weekend! I am lucky enough to have two fathers (bio and step) and I hope they both have a great weekend!

Bye Dragon Lady!

Today was Dragon Lady's last day of work. Tomorrow she has to move out of her apartment. In the past couple of weeks I have tried harder than usual to be helpful and pleasant. I tried very hard lend her a hand in view of the fact that the assistant director (who is now the new director) was away on vacation. Today I found out that dragon lady told someone that I've been a real bitch lately and she didn't know how she would have dealt with me over the summer. Either I am one super-bitch who can no longer tell the difference between niceness and bitchiness (doubtful since I can't even walk past a former student without them saying hi and wanting to talk to me, and everytime I see my former students they shout "Kim, Kim we miss you!"), or dragon lady was truly a miserable person that I am well rid of as she just brings everyone around her down. So the last thing I have to say to dragon lady is "good riddance!"

High School Reunion

I just got an invitation to my 10-year high school reunion. It's given me conflicted feelings. On the one hand I want to go and see what people are up to and how they've changed. I also (selfishly, I suppose) want to show people what I've been able to accomplish in the past ten years. I may not be married or have kids or be rich, but I'm satisfied with my life. On the other hand, I don't really feel like seeing a lot of the real jerks that were in my class. Also, I don't feel like I have anything to prove to anyone. I only keep in touch with a few people from my class. Seriously, there are very few people from my class that I really cared to know or stay in contact with. Of those few people, I see two on a somewhat more regular basis than the third (who is in New Zealand). They all know what's happening in my life. I've run into a few people over the years and we've had some pleasant "how are you/what are you up to" conversations, but for the most part, I really don't have a burning desire to know what everyone is up to. Anyway, the reunion isn't until October, so I guess I have a few months to decide whether or not I want to go.