Movie Review

Just came home from seeing the Jennifer Aniston/Clive Owen movie "Derailed". It was a last minute decision on my part since I walked into the theatre thinking I would see "Chicken Little". I'm not a big Jennifer Aniston fan (though I do love Friends, and generally like most of the movies I've seen with her), but can I just say that I'm totally adding Clive Owen to my growing list of hot guys? WOW! Anyway, the movie was really, really good. It had me glued to the edge of my seat for the whole two hours, and made me jump at least once. I don't want to say too much about the plot since I don't want to give it away, but you should see this movie!

Migraine

I'm sitting here right now with a massive migraine, wondering if I'll survive until morning. Why am I cursed with these pains? What is the best way to get rid of them? Uugghh . . . need to sleep!

Thankful

For the past few weeks (well, longer probably) I've been feeling quite blue. Actually, I've been feeling downright depressed, and really worried that I was sinking back into a depression I successfully escaped from a few years ago. The reason for the sadness (I don't think it's completely gone away yet) is the tension and difficulties I have been facing at work. I don't want to go into details, but the tension in the workplace has really begun to take its toll on people. Anyway, this weekend, while being perfectly normal in many respects, has also taught me that I should be thankful for what I do have. Canadian Thanksgiving has passed, but I would still like to take this opportunity to list a few things I am thankful for:
1. My friends and family! Whenever I've felt down these past few weeks I've gotten great support and love from all my friends and family! Even people at work have really been sticking together lately! It's like we've all recognized that we need to come together and support each other in the face of these current challenges.
2. Christmas! I don't know that I would be able to cope as well if this weren't the beginning of the Christmas season. I'm going to try and have a peaceful and relaxing Christmas this year, which means no frantic practicing for the Christmas concert, no worrying over where to spend Christmas, and NO stressing over the Christmas shopping! I take enormous pleasure in finding the perfect gifts for all my friends and family, and I've already started my shopping!
3. New life! Just when I thought things were really starting to suck I found out that one of my good friends is expecting her second child! This is such exciting news that nobody can feel sad right now!
4. Wedding! My sister and her fiance are getting married in just a few short months, and wedding plans and events will be kicking into high gear soon!

Thank you God for showing me how an ordinary weekend can turn extraordinary!

Odds and Ends (God Bless James King!)

I'm pretty proud of myself today - I finally did some apartment cleaning, and I got my next TESL assignment completed. I definitely had to do some cleaning, not necessarily because my apartment was so dirty, but the guilt was starting to set in. I blame the Woman's Television Network. I've been watching some WTN shows lately, and they have a commercial that totally freaks me out! It starts off with a warning that if you don't like dirty pictures you should turn away. That of course prompts curiousity. Before your sick minds wander too far away from the story, I should tell you that it's a commercial for a new show called "How Clean is Your House?". The dirty pictures are of actual dirt! They show filthy, disgusting homes filled with mold, rotting food, and insect galore! My place does not in any way look like that, but it still makes me feel guilty that I haven't done my cleaning yet. Hence the cleaning binge I went on this morning.
I'm also happy that I got to finish my next TESL assignment. I have to say, as much as I used to enjoy school, going back to do any kind of school work SUCKS! I have little motivation to get my assignments done, so I have to force myself to work on it on Sundays. Luckily it's been pretty easy so far, and I am actually learning stuff! I think in order to force myself to complete it in a timely manner (it's Distance Ed., so theoretically I suppose I could work on it forever) I'm going to have to reward myself big-time when it's done. For those of you who are curious to know how I want to reward myself, I think I'll buy a new Nintendo game. Either Donkey Kong Jungle with congas, or Mario Party 7. For those of you really, really generous people out there, feel free to walk into Future Shop and drop $60 on one of those two items in order to reward me yourself. I won't be offended; I can always think of another way to reward myself!
Now comes the James King part of this blog entry. Does anyone know who James King is? I didn't think so. He is the inventor of the washing machine! He invented a modern version of a washine machine with a drum, but it was still human-powered. He's the best person I could come up with to answer my "who invented the washing machine?" question. I say God Bless him because I'm doing some laundry right now, and I don't think I'd ever get anything done if the washing machine had never been invented. I also know that I would hate my new apartment if I hadn't purchased a place with in-suite laundry! So, the next time you get some kind of stain on your outfit, or the next time your dirty laundry piles up, please take a moment to say thank you to James King!

House

Last night I had one of the best laughs I've had in a long time. I was watching the show "House", which I am addicted to. For those of you who don't know, House is a medical show in which a group of doctors in a New Jersey hospital diagnose and treat patients with unusual diseases. The main character, Dr. Gregory House (played by the fantastic Hugh Laurie - one of my Hollywood boyfriends) is extremely sarcastic and this makes for some very funny moments. Last night was a classic . . . I won't spoil it for you, but I strongly recommend you check it out. For those of you living in the Surrey area, House airs on Tuesday nights at 9pm, channel 11.

Question of the Day

So I've been doing some thinking about my current (lousy) work situation. It's prompted me to put the following question out into the cosmic void: at what point do you just cut your losses and quit the job? Maybe I should explain a bit about my situation in particular . . . I have worked at my current job for just over two years now. I love my job and find it challening and satisfying. I love my students and most of the people I work with. For the most part, everyone gets along well and the atmosphere in the workplace is quite friendly and relaxed. As it turns out, a great majority of the credit for this happy workplace goes to our former boss. He left his job a while back and in exchange we got a female boss that many of us had worked with before. Because of her manner of dealing with people, many of us are experiencing severe job stress. Luckily I still love other aspects of my job, and I get along well with most of the people I work with, but for the first time in two years I'm now starting to think about quitting. I just don't know . . .

Halloween

Gotta say, this year I'm not loving Halloween! It's just past 8pm and I haven't had any trick-or-treaters :-( I guess that means more candy for me (not that I need it), but it makes me a bit sad. Now, I did get home a bit late today so I guess it's possible that some little ones knocked on my door before I got home. I think what really put me into a non-halloween mood, however, was the fact that the work Halloween party was ruined for me on Friday (can't publish too many details about why, but if you're really interested you can e-mail me and I'll tell you the whole story). Adding to the grinchy feeling I now have towards this Halloween is the fact that I was snapped at by the boss at work today, for reasons that weren't my fault, in front of other people. That tends to put a damper on my "holiday spirits" . . . Sigh . . . I hope November is a better month than October!

Weather

"Rain, rain, go away! Come again another day!" I guess those of us getting wet in BC these days shouldn't really complain - the beautiful days still outnumber the rainy ones (for now). It got me thinking earlier today about what my favourite season is. Honestly, there are things I like and dislike about every season. Fall is beautiful because the leaves are changing colour, but the weather tends to be rainy and raw and cold. Winter is nice because the air gets crisp and cold and right after the snow falls things look absolutely peaceful and nice. Unfortunately, I hate slipping and falling (which I am prone to do) on the ice. Spring is lovely as the weather gets warmer and all the living things start to bloom and grow. But, spring brings about "spring fever" in many people and that tends to get annoying. Summer is nice since there are many long, warm days that you can spend soaking up the sunshine, but in my profession summer is almost too busy to enjoy! I guess all this means I like all the seasons!

Daylight Savings

So I'm watching a news report now on the change of daylight savings time. This is a huge issue! I think I agree with people who think that it should just be the same time all year round. Changing the time always brings with it a host of problems, and a lot of the reasons why the time changed in the past are now obsolete. Who knew, though, that in a world as crazy and complex as this one, we would end up arguing over daylight savings time?

New Look

So if you are a regular viewer of my blog you will notice a huge change to the site . . . I've changed the look completely! I decided that I wanted something new and fresh, and if you know me at all you probably know of my love of the colour pink! I know this may make some people physically sick, but too bad, I like it!
So if you could see my new apartment you would see a bunch of boxes all over the floor still! But, slowly but surely I can see a light at the end of the tunnel! My wonderful sister is coming over on the weekend to help me move some furniture, at which point I think all the furniture moving will be finished. Once the bookshelves are in place, I can finally unpack all my books, which will be really nice. Maybe then I'll be able to fight the "buy new books NOW" urge (which I've been pretty good about lately . . . I was in Chapters the other day and didn't buy a thing)!

Seven Things (AKA: Yes Dianne, I read your blog!)

7 things...
7 things I plan to do before I die
- Travel to all the countries that I have had students from
- Get married
- Get into better shape
- Become a (good) mother
- Finish the Juior curriculum!!!!!!!
- Finish my unpacking!!!
- Volunteer to help someone in need

7 things I can do
- Teach
- Sing
- Make a fool of myself in front of my students
- Juggle curriculum development and teacher without killing anyone (remember, this is this not about skill level!)
- Make people laugh
- Say no to any kind of alcoholic beverage offered
- Put off unpacking!

7 things I cannot do
- Dance
- Ask a guy out
- Listen to mindless rambling without going nuts!
- Play sports
- Watch sports on TV
- Grow things in a garden
- Pee standing up

7 things that attract me to another person
- sense of humour
- intelligence
- compassion
- age (those who know me know "the older the better")
- body
- facial hair
- hair (or lack thereof)

7 celebrity crushes
(oh this is so easy! You are talking to the co-owner of "The List". Speaking of which - HI SHANNON!)
- Patrick Stewart
- Tom Hanks
- Alan Rickman
- Hugh Grant
- Colin Firth
- Mel Gibson
- Sean Connery
7 Things I say the most
(Okay, this one is hard)
- Be quiet (to my students who never stop talking)
- Sit down! It's not break time/lunch time yet! (to my students who insist upon waiting by the door for me to say "break time" or "lunch time")
- Oh vey!
- Whatever
- Yellow card! (to my students who lover soccer, but never stop talking)
- Morning Bernie (because he's usually the first person I see in the morning)
- Bless You! (To Andrew, because he sneezes a lot!)

7 bloggers I am tagging: (if I tag you, that means you absolutely must copy and paste this into your blog with your own answers.)
- Jennifer, because she's the only untagged blogger I know

Furniture

Well, I finally have all the furniture that I need. My computer desk is all put together and working beautifully (thanks mom and Rosemarie for putting it together!), and my new filing cabinet is in place. Sadly the box unpacking is still going nowhere fast! Even though I hate having the boxes lying around, I hate unpacking them too! I'm hoping to get more done this weekend since it's a long weekend. Tomorrow I'm having dinner at my mom's place, so that should be nice. Monday will be the work day where I plan to get a lot done. We'll see how that turns out. Maybe my new goal should be to have all the boxes unpacked before Christmas! Sigh . . . Maybe I'll do a load of laundry instead.

America's Next Top Model

So I'm watching America's Next Top Model (guilty pleasure - don't judge me, just accept it!) and I have to wonder - how can there be so many different ways to walk? Seriously, what ever happened to a simple "one foot in front of another" approach to walking? It's served me quite well over the years. I rarely fall or walk into things. I just don't get it. I guess I'm not meant to get it.

Bummer

So I couldn't put together my computer desk today :-( Sadly, the company that manufactures said desk included two part E's and no part F's. Now I'm just F-ing mad! I did determine that both my tvs have the ability to work, but one tv will only work with my remote control. Where my remote control is, I have no idea! I'm fairly sure it's not in a box, and I don't see it lying around anywhere, so I'm a bit concerned. I may have to go out and buy another one. I really hope one of the guys didn't steal it . . . Just another bummer associated with moving . . . Oh, and today I discovered one other thing I kinda don't like about my new location - the lack of retaurants within easy walking distance. Now, this might end up being a plus, but let's be honest . . . a great chef I am not!

New Home

So I successfully managed to move into my new condo! I had some wonderful people help me and the move was quite hassle and worry-free! The place is covered with boxes right now and I have no energy to unpack them (this could be a problem). The building seems nice and quiet, and I like it a lot. There is a very cute guy who lives below me . . . I don't know if he's married, but I know he's a smoker (I saw him carrying a pack of smokes, and I can smell the cigarrette smoke through my open window at night). Anyway, I wish there were little fairies to come around and unpack my boxes and put things into the right order, but I guess I'm going to have to do it myself. Better get back to work . . .

Bye House!

This is my last night in the home I've lived in for 10 years. I can't believe the time has come to leave. It's exciting though - once I get past all the work it takes to move! For the record, I'm never moving again! If it takes this much effort to move one person with the minimal furniture, how crazy must it be to move a whole family? YIKES! Glad to have a day off from the students tomorrow though . . . as much as I love them all (okay, there area few I could do without), they do grate on my nerves!

Packing is . . .

. . . not fun! I've been packing up this place for a while now, and it's really not an enjoyable process! I don't understand people who move often! Why would you want to pack up all your stuff and move every 6 months? Are you nuts? And don't even get me started on all the people you have to contact with your new address . . . and the utilities . . . and all the picky little change of address things you have to do . . . what a nightmare! I'm currently trying to figure out when I can get to the DMV to get my address changed on my ID . . . I think my next day off that they will be open will be in December? Great . . . Oh well, God willing this will be the only time I move for a long time!

Moving Soon

EEEEK! I'm moving at the end of September! Time has just flown by and now I have to pack up all my stuff and move! This sucks (well, the packing part anyway, I hate packing!). This Fall is, as I may have mentioned before, a time for major changes. I'm moving, my sister and future brother-in-law are moving, my boss at work is leaving (boo hoo!), my sister is leaving (slowly) her job (we've worked together for 2 years). It feels unending.
I've been thinking a lot lately about change. Because of all the recent and upcoming changes I've been wondering if I should stay at my job or move on. There were definite reasons why I took my current job and for the most part those reasons haven't changed. But, I have been at this job for just over 2 years now and I am starting to feel a little burned out. I love, love, LOVE 99% of the people I work with, but some of the people I love most are leaving. I could go back to subbing, but I'm too attached to having "roots" at the place where I work. Even though it's sometimes boring to sit at the same place every day and see the same people, it's very comforting. Let's not forget the practical reasons for keeping my current job - a steady pay check and the opportunity to secure a mortgage! Still, if you are the type to believe in signs, and I may or may not be that type, I have been getting some signs lately that it may be time to change. I won't go into the details since they're mostly uninteresting to anyone but me, but I suppose I've gotten to a point in my life where once again I need to sit down and evaluate my choices and career path and goals. Hey . . . anything to get out of the dreaded job of packing!

Moving

So it looks like I'll be moving, one way or another, by the end of September. The townhouse is as good as sold, and I'm looking for my own place to buy. If I don't find something by the end of September then I'll be moving in with my mom and step-dad in Burnaby. Hopefully that will just be temporary . . .
Lots and lots of upheaval at work recently. Now, according to a magazine article I read recently, people shouldn't blog about work because people have gotten fired for it. I think, depending upon the content of the blog, this is stupid. First of all, people shouldn't be dumb enough to write specific/negative comments about their employer and/or workplace in an online forum such as a blog. That's just begging for trouble. But, for people who tend to just vent a bit and keep their comments too general for people to know who the employer is, firing seems way too extreme! People, chill out! Anyway, so that I don't risk getting fired when I still have to qualify for a mortgage, let me just say that over the next 4 to 6 weeks there's going to be A LOT of changes happening, and it remains to be seen whether these changes will ultimately be positive or negative.

Harry Potter

At 9:45 yesterday morning I received my copy of the newest Harry Potter book. Since then I've read about halfway through the 600+ pages . . . I can't seem to put the book down! Overall I'm highly satisfied with my purchase, and I hope my friend Heather enjoys the copy I'm sending her in Korea. Now, my fellow muggles, I must get back to my reading!