Mich

2003-10-09T00:02:00.000-06:00

OK, so I've somewhat re-established my template, although it's not quite the same as I had before (I think that would take too much time to re-create). But at least you can see it now.

Oh yeah, I created a new blog since I was having problems with this one.

2003-10-08T23:24:00.000-06:00

I have no idea why I'm missing my template?!??

2003-08-08T22:32:00.000-06:00

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2003-07-19T15:37:00.000-06:00

So what have I been up to...
I just can't seem to find the time to sit in front of the computer and blog anymore. I'm starting to think that maybe I am too busy. Swimming, biking, softball, etc. and of course I have to incorporate my social life. *sigh* Oh well, since last week, I've been swimming and I think I'm progressing quite well. Now if I could just get completely comfortable in the water, I'll be laughing (I still kinda "panic" when the water is above my head). Other than that, the past week has been OK.

Taste of Edmonton
I went to Taste of Edmonton last night with Irma, Irene, Sue, and Larry. Everytime I go to something like this, I like to have a "game plan" as to what I'm going to eat. So I printed out the menu at work, so that by the time I got to Churchill Square, I wouldn't have to walk around. But Sue and I ended up walking around anyway, since she's never been there before. We met up with the others and it was off to sample some food. First, I tried this seafood skewer, but I didn't like too much. Then I had this chocolate fondue fruit kebab, followed by strawberries in Grand Marnier with whip cream, and finally some deep fried ice cream. OK, so 3 out of 4 were desserts, but they were really good.

Highlights:

inner voice vs. outer voice (in Irma's case, the inner voice seems to take over the outer one)
inner hearing vs. outer hearing
Irma vs. Larry - no holds barred

Need a drink
After we had all that food, we needed some beverages to water it down. So Irma, Irene, Sue and I went to Ceili's and had a few bevvies.

Highlights:

Loser 1 aka Loser Bumblebee was there again
Drunk Fat Bastard was passed out on the bar, and his drunk friend carried him out where he (i) lost his shoe in the process, (ii) the 2 of them sat at the entrance and then literally crawled out, and (iii) drunk friend passed out on the sidewalk, hence became known as Dead Man Outline
"validate parking"
10...9...8......3...2...1... HAPPY BIRTHDAY IRENE! [*singing* It's Irene's birthday, she's 28 now...]
"phantom" dancing (for some reason, the speaker above the dance floor wasn't working?)
"twisting" this guy's arm to dance with us (he managed to guess our ages, names (except Irma's), and nationalities - talk about being on fire)
performance from Delta Police Pipe Band

I finally went home a little after 1:30 am since I had to work the next morning. It was a fun night though.

Vamos à Mexico!
The trip that Irma and I have been talking/researching/planning about is finally going to happen! Yay! We went to the travel agent's this afternoon and put our deposit for the trip. So, if anyone would like to come (Bern, Gary, Bev, Leah), let me know and I'll give you the details.

2003-07-15T01:02:00.000-06:00

The past weekend

Friday
I was planning to go to kickboxing, but that didn't happen. Instead, I went to the Creperie and watched Pirates of the Carribean. The movie was good, except for the part where I fell asleep. Oops. There was a scene that seemed to drag on, and coupled with the fact that I was a bit tired and couldn't understand what was going on, I dozed off. But overall, it was a good movie. Hmmm, maybe I should watch it when I'm not so tired?

After the movie, I went to a house party which was being thrown by a former co-worker. It was good to see some of my old co-workers (key word is "some"). I made my appearance, chit-chatted for a while, and went home.

Saturday
I worked for a few hours and went home to take a nap. I wanted to take advantage of the nice weather, but I was too tired from the night before. Plus I had my godson's 9th birthday to attend to in the evening. Can you believe it?! He's NINE! You know you're getting old when...

Sunday
We probably had the best softball game thus far on Sunday. In the first game, I played third base. I usually play rover or back-catcher, but this time I played third base, which wasn't too bad. I made this awesome catch when the guy up at bat popped the ball up in the air, and I hussled to the ball before it was called foul. Kinda hard to explain, but you had to be there. We won 15-2.

In the second game, I played third base again. I got a couple RBI's and even managed to score a point (I usually don't make it to first base because they usually tag me out). I did a lot of running in this game. Unfortunately, we lost 9-25. Yeah, we got killed. But we had fun anyway. The best thing about it was, even though they were a serious team, they weren't yappy and whiny like the other teams we played. They had just as much fun as we did.

Useless info of the day
What happens every 2 seconds around the world? A can of SPAM® is opened. That's a lot of SPAM®...

2003-07-08T01:07:00.000-06:00

A year and a half later...
... and I finally get a call from PriceWaterhouse regarding my trip to Hawaii which didn't happen. Apparently, I'm supposed to get credit for the amount that I paid for the trip. After waiting a year, I didn't think I would ever see anything. But I guess with patience comes rewards. Woo hoo!

2003-07-02T19:46:00.000-06:00

Happy Canada Day!
OK, so I'm a day late. But that's because I was out last night and was too tired to blog. The morning ended up to be unproductive. The plan was to drop off some film I needed to develop; stop by my office to pick something up and drop it off at another location; pick up the pictures I dropped off earlier; then meet Irma at the Riverboat landing to watch my co-worker practice paddling (he's part of this dragon boat racing team), and to inquire about being a drummer. Well, my morning didn't quite work out the way I wanted it to. Part of it was because I was on the computer, and I knew I shouldn't have checked my email, etc. But NO, I had to log on. Ugh. Then, to really make my day, my dad told me I had a crack in my radiator which is why my car would overheat. Thank goodness it didn't overheat to the point that it broke down. So now I have to get that fixed. OK, enough's enough. I need a new car.

Anyway, by the time I finally left the house, it was 11:30. So I drove to work, and I was getting closer to the area, I realized the parade was about to start. Great. And of course, the street to my office was blocked off and there was no other way to get there. Well, so much for that idea. So I basically drove all the way to work (almost), just to turn around and drive all the way back to my house. I dropped of my film, had a quick bite to eat, and then headed back to the south side to meet Irma at the Riverboat landing.

When I got there, I had a bit of a "lost" moment. I couldn't remember how to get to the landing through the trails, so I called Irma and she pointed me in the right direction. About 5 or 10 minutes later, she was right behind me. We walked for probably another 15 minuted and then decided to walk back to her car and drive to the landing, since it would be a long walk. Talk about a back-and-forth type of day. When we got to the landing, my co-worker was just getting onto the boat. Irma and I watched, while they had mock races. After they were done, Irma and I went home to change and get ready for dinner.

Official Canadian Dinner
As part of Irma's Canadian Citizenship celebration, I thought it would be fitting to take her out to dinner on Canada Day. We met at the Creperie and the food was so good. Irma hadn't been there before, so it was good that she was able to try something new.

"agressive" server
"Do you want a mint?"
"Do you want a toothpick?"
"Do you want a rose?"

After dinner, we planned on going for a walk, but it suddenly became cloudy outside and started to rain. Plan B: head to Irma's place to wait for the rain to stop. To kill some time, Irma put some stuff away, I took an inventory of her shoes (which by the way she has 33 - yup, you're catching up), and we picked up hair off her floor. When the rain finally stopped, we picked up her sister and brother-in-law at the movie theater, and then drove them home so we could get Irene. Then it was off to Whyte. We made a pitstop, then walked to Saskatchewan Drive to watch the fireworks. We ran into Jo Anne and Christine, and waited about half an hour for the fireworks to start. Half an hour we waited, and the fireworks were only on for 5 minutes. Hmmm, that's nice. Once they were over, people either headed to Whyte Ave., or went home. We opted to go home, since we had to work the next morning.

2003-06-29T23:16:00.000-06:00

It's a hot one today...
I'm not sure what the high was for today, but it was really hot. Thank goodness there was a wind to cool things down a bit.

Softball
I played 1 out of 2 games today, since I had other plans for the afternoon. We had played against this team before (I actually played with this team a couple weeks ago because they were short players), and again we won. One player was getting way too serious and technical about the game. She would whine and complain about certain things, so a couple of us made comments that "it was just a game". And when it came time to shake hands with the other team, she even stopped walking as if to suggest that their team was better? Whatever. I was about to say something, but her teammate beat me to it by telling her to "keep walking". Why can't these people just play for fun?

Charlie's Angels
After playing ball, I met up with Irma, Irene, Joi, and Phoun for our "ritual Sunday", except that we didn't do the Café Select thing afterwards, since Joi and Phoun had other plans. The movie was pretty good, and as usual, there were some scenes that resembled things that Irma and I either said or did. It would've been nice to watch the movie with Irma sitting right next to me, but we somehow lost Irma and Joi? About half way through the movie, Phoun went to look for them, and then never came back. Later on, Irene and I found out that (i) Irma and Joi couldn't find us in the theatre to begin with, but ended up sitting a few rows in front of us, and (ii) Phoun did come back after looking for the other 2, but ended up sitting in the back because he didn't want to disrupt the people sitting behind us? We found each other after the movie.

Lounging on the patio
Irma, Irene and I headed to Moxie's to get something to eat and just lounge around on the patio. Smart ass comment for the day (once food had been served):

Server: Is there anything else I can get for you?
Me: Uh, how about some chicken? I asked for chicken on my salad...

Normally, people ask for salt, pepper, extra napkins, a glass of water, etc. But me, I ask for chicken. I bet that's the first time they've heard that one. hehehe

Walk down Whyte
After dinner, we headed to Whyte Ave to go for a walk. The only problem was I noticed the temperature gauge was too high. Great. Either I need a new thermostat or I have no coolant. So we made a detour and dropped my car off at my house, since I didn't want to be on the freeway and it breaking down. I had my dad take a look at it, and apparently I was out of coolant. My dad thinks that there might be a leak somewhere, because he just put coolant in it not too long ago.

Expensive year for car expenses
I've noticed that I've had way too many expenses on my vehicle this year. First it was the bumper (due to spinning out on a patch of black ice and hitting the rail on the freeway). Then 2 flat tires. Then my muffler being replaced. Then my rear shocks being replaced last week. And now my front shocks being replaced this weekend. *sigh* I really think this is a sign that I need a new car. OK, so maybe I just want to get a new car... =P

2003-06-28T17:50:00.000-06:00

Back to kickboxing
After 47 days of not going (because of spanish and swimming), I finally made it to kickboxing class last night. It was a good class, but really hard. I was a bit disappointed with myself for not being able to keep up, but then what do you expect when you haven't done any hard core training in a long time. I found that I'm not as flexible and strong as I used to be. With time, I'm sure I'll be able to get to that level again. The best part was at the end of class when my instructor told me that the monthly fees were going down. Woo hoo! I guess after you've been there for a certain period of time, you get a discount on the monthly fees. I can't believe I've been going for 3 years now?! And to think, I was actually going to cancel kickboxing until the fall since I've only gone 3 times in the past 3 months. Talk about an expensive class.

Productive weekend so far...
I actually woke up at 9:00 am. That's a bit early for me, especially since I had the day off. But I guess my body is used to waking up early during the week. Anyway, Irma and I played tennis this morning. After all that confusion of actually having a tennis racquet, and planning to play but being rained out, we finally got to play. And I finally got to use my new tennis racquet. We had a lot of fun. And we looked good too - good form, good follow through, etc. Only problem was that we either missed the ball altogether or hit the net. hehehe. =P There were a couple times where we occupied 2 courts. OK, so we're not that great, but it was tons of fun!

After about an hour, we headed back to my house for lunch and started planning the Mexico trip. Yup, I'm going to Puerta Vallarta in the fall as part of my birthday celebration. [If anyone would like to come, let me know]. I'm glad we got that out of the way, since we have to book it pretty soon.

Once the Mexico trip was all figured out, we went to GMCC to sign up for swimming. I mentioned before that I was thinking of taking them again, and since Irma doesn't know how to swim either, we figured it'd be a good idea to go together.

Blizzard
No, that's not the weather we're having. It's actually really nice. Anyway, Irma and I went to Dairy Queen for some ice cream. She had the brownie earthquake, and I had the clodhopper blizzard. YUM!! I hadn't had a blizzard in soooo long. And I forgot how filling they can be. I ordered the medium-sized one and was full afterwards. Good thing I didn't order the large...

2003-06-26T00:32:00.000-06:00

Where does the time go?
And why does it seem like I have very little of it? Am I really that busy? Or maybe there's nothing really interesting to write about? Probably a bit of both. Although, I should point out a couple things that have happened over the past week:

(i) I had my final swimming lesson last Friday. I have to say that I'm quite proud of myself for accomplishing that. Or should I say I'm proud of the fact that I've somewhat conquered my phobia of water. It's not a phobia per se, where I completely freak out, but rather being comfortable in the water. I'm still not as comfortable in the water as I'd like to be, but I'm more comfortable now than when I first started. I'm thinking of taking more lessons just so I can be completely relaxed in the water. The last class was tough. From what the instructor told me, I swam a total of 400 m (which equates to 16 laps). Wow! I wasn't really paying attention, but that explains why I was tired and out of breath at times. We swam back and forth with flippers, without flippers, frontcrawl with flippers, frontcrawl without, back stroke with flippers... well, you get the picture. At the end of class, our instructor told us that we could scuba dive for a day for free. She also works at this scuba school (?), and all we have to do is call in and book a time. I definitely want to do that!

(ii) Softball was cancelled on Sunday due to rain

(iii) I went biking for an hour last night. It was good until I had to go uphill. That wasn't fun. I probably could've done it if I shifted gears quick enough, but I still need to work on it. Oh well. It was a good ride nonetheless. And surprisingly enough my muscles aren't sore.

(iv) I had my final espanñol class tonight. So that completes level 2. If you were to ask me to say something to you, I don't know that I could. I could say a few things, but nothing too complicated.

Does that mean I have free time?
Free time? What's that? Now that spanish and swimming are over, I have no idea what I'm going to do with myself. I mean, I've gotten so used to being busy (spanish, swimming, biking, etc), that I don't know what to do with this extra time. But is it really extra time? Knowing me, I'll probably do something else. I should go back to kickboxing, especially since I haven't gone in almost 2 months and I'm still paying for it. But we'll see. I'm still debating on whether or not I should cancel it. And Irma wants me to take pilates with her, which is something I would like to try. And then there's other things I want to try like yoga and kayaking. *sigh* Maybe I'm wanting to do too many things?

2003-06-19T17:10:00.000-06:00

Groundbreaking News...
This just in... As of approximately 11:00 am, Irma is FINALLY a Canadian citizen. YAY!! It only took 14 years, but hey, better late than never right?! =P I'm glad I was able to witness this moment. I found it interesting that the UN named Canada as the best place to live. I mean, I think Canada is a great place to live, but I never really thought of it as the best place. During the judge's speech, there were a couple things that stood out: (i) law-abiding citizen [Irma, that means you can't cause riots anymore]; (ii) permission to leave the country and come back [yes Irma, that means we can finally travel outside the country. Woo hoo!!]; and (iii) becoming a Canadian citizen is like your convocation [being that you've been here for 14 years, I guess that means you have your Masters and your PhD. hehehe]

Anyway, congratulations Irma on becoming a Canadian citizen. It's about damn time! hehehe. :-)

2003-06-17T01:17:00.000-06:00

Back to work
*sigh* Having a week off was great! The good thing was I didn't have to wake up early, I was able to get together with people I haven't seen in a while, and I went shopping. The bad thing was I wasn't able to accomplish much of my "possible things to do" list, and I did way too much shopping. I managed to do 2 out of 7 on my list, and neither one of them involved finishing up my Paris scrapbook. Oh well. I really didn't want to go to work today, but after all that stuff I bought the past week, I kinda have to.

New Bike
I ended up getting that bike I mentioned before. Talk about last minute shopping. I bought it half an hour before the store closed. Now I need to get a bell for it, since there's a $100 fine for not having one. I didn't know about that?...

MVP
I played softball yesterday afternoon and was named MVP for our first game. Yay! The opposing team didn't have enough girls on their team (they only had 1), so I volunteered. It was funny because there I was playing for the other team, but at the same time I was cheering for my team. It was all good though. Thank goodness they weren't as snarky as the second team we played. They were getting mad at each other for making bad plays. Uh hello, this is softball and it's supposed to be fun?! They were taking it way to seriously.

Father's Day
After softball, I went home and had a BBQ with my family. And after dinner my dad and I went to the driving range (my mom just watched). I was able to hit the ball 100 yards, but that's about it. I'm not sure if golf is a game for me, but my dad says I should get into it. We'll see. With all the other activities I'm involved in, how can I find the time? One thing's for sure, I have to get back into the gym. My shoulders are a bit sore from swinging that golf club.

2003-06-13T00:21:00.000-06:00

6
That's how many times I was on the freeway today, driving back and forth between the west end and southside.

5
That's how many bevvies I had (I'm really liking this "being on vacation" thing)

Sports shopping
I decided to buy a softball glove, a tennis racquet, and some tennis balls. I almost bought a bike. So why the sudden interest in sports stuff? Well (a) I play softball every Sunday, so I figured I should get my own glove instead of always borrowing someone else's. Plus it was on sale; (b) the tennis racquet thing goes back to the whole "confusion" Irma and I had a while ago. Plus it was on sale; and (c) I thought about buying a bike because (i) I just wanted to get one, and (ii) it was on sale. I'm really thinking about going back for the bike. But we'll see.

2003-06-10T11:41:00.000-06:00

Impulse shopping
Since I didn't know what to do with myself yesterday, I decided to go shopping. I really didn't feel like going since I had planned to go today, but I went anyway. My main thing was to go to American Eagle and exchange a pair of sandals. The ones I got from Southgate were size 6, so I went to the mall and exchanged them for a size 7 which fit much better. Now, I should've just exchanged the sandals and left. But NOOOOOO, I had to continue shopping. I thought to myself "well, since I'm already here I might as well..." Uh yeah, big mistake. After about an hour of going around in circles, trying to find something to buy (that should've been a red flag that I should leave the store), I ended up with 3 shirts and a tank top. Thank goodness they were all on sale. ;-)

Once I finally got out of there, I decided it was time to go home. So I spent the rest of the afternoon watching Dr. Phil and Oprah.

I have a headache...
That's what happens when you have one too many drinks. I think I had 6? It was a co-workers birthday last night (I still can't believe she's only 21!), and the surprising thing was she wasn't as drunk as I thought she'd be. I'm not saying she had to be drunk, but she was having a pretty good time. I can't believe I was actually out on a Monday night. But then, I'm on vacation so it's OK. ;-)

2003-06-09T10:10:00.000-06:00

Vacation - Day 3
I have no idea what to do today. I can't do anything physical (like rollerblading or kickboxing), since I pulled my groin yesterday during softball [we won the first game, and lost the second by one point]. I should figure something out soon because I don't want to be stuck at home while it's nice outside.

2003-06-07T19:39:00.000-06:00

I'm officially on vacation!
Yay! I went into work for about 2 hours and spent the afternoon with my mom. We went downtown to pick up her dress for my brother's wedding, and at the same time I brought my dress in to get hemmed. After that we went shopping at Southgate, where I got 2 shirts, a pair of jeans, a pair of shorts, and a pair of sandals. Ah yes, I think I'm back into the shopping thing... =P

2003-06-06T22:39:00.000-06:00

Swimming 101
Today's class was tough. We practiced treading water and our front crawl and back stroke. Our instructor mentioned at the beginning of class that she wanted us to swim 25 meters by the end of the class. No problem, that's one length of the pool. Yeah well, it didn't quite happen that way. Oh sure, we swam the length of the pool but did it 4 times! So by the end of class, we swam 100 m. My legs were so tired by the end. And apparently we're supposed to do the same thing next week. Great. I really need to get back into the gym so I can condition myself.

One more sleep...
... until I'm on vacation. Woo hoo! Even though I'm not going anywhere, I'm happy just to take some time off. And I'm already finding that my week is slowly getting booked. Hopefully I'm not tired by the end of my vacation. Then I'd have to take a vacation for my vacation. =P

2003-06-05T15:18:00.000-06:00

What should I do?
Obviously, if I have time to go onto the internet at work (my supervisor is out of the office, of course), then I have nothing to do. Well, I shouldn't say nothing, but rather there's nothing pressing that needs to be done. Plus, I just came back from having lunch with Lynne at La Marchand, so I'm not really in the working mood. Especially since Lynne and I were just talking up a storm. I haven't seen her in a while, so we got caught up on things, and she looked at my half-Paris scrapbook (because the other half is not done yet).

Yeah, I think today is a slack day. Haven't really done too much except for make a few phone calls, and entered some stuff into the computer. And I can't really do too much paper work because I have to train one of my girls to do it while I'm gone.

Gone?
Yup, I'm actually taking next week off! Woo hoo! Finally, some time off to re-group and do a whole bunch of things for myself. I'm not too sure what I'll be doing during my week off, but I know I'll be taking it easy. I have no plans to go anywhere because (i) I can't afford to; (ii) even if I could afford it, I don't know where I would want to go for a week; and (iii) I don't really feel like travelling right now. OMG, did I actually just say that?!? Yeah, you know you need a vacation when...

Possible things to do during my time off:
* check out all-inclusive packages for Mexico
* check out places to possibly get my makeup done for my brother's wedding (I might end up just doing it myself)
* get bridesmaid dress hemmed
* go rollerblading
* go kickboxing
* get a gym membership? (not sure about this one)
* finish Paris scrapbook

That's about all I can think of for now. Notice how the Paris scrapbook thing is at the bottom of the list. I should make an effort to put it together, but if the weather is nice outside, there's no way that I'll be touching those pictures. *sigh*

2003-05-30T18:16:00.000-06:00

Is this a sign?
My car temporarily broke down the other day, and now one of my tires is slowly deflating because I somehow managed to run over what looks like a piece of a wire hanger? I noticed a hissing sound as I got out of my car, and sure enough there's a piece of wire sticking out of my tire, letting out all the air. ARGH!! Great. Like I need this right now?!? And of course, I can't replace it with my spare tire because I already used when one of my other tires went flat, and I haven't had a chance to repair the flat tire. Basically, I need a whole new set of tires.

Hmmm, either this is a sign that I'm not supposed to be driving or I need a new car...

2003-05-30T17:00:00.000-06:00

Ice cream season has finally started...
Well, we've had some pretty good weather for the past couple of weeks, but I'm officially starting ice cream season today. And today's flavor was mint chocolate chip. Yum!

2003-05-29T22:31:00.000-06:00

Blog Slacker
Yes I know, I've been a blog slacker. But with the schedule that I have, who has the time to sit down in front of the computer and blog? I suppose I could blog while I'm at work, but that's a bit difficult when you share your office with your supervisor. Anyway, what's happened in the last 13 days? Well, I ...

went to a wedding
did nothing
worked 11 hours
worked half day (since I worked 11 hours the day before)
had español class
went tanning (session 5)
went swimming and swam the length of the pool, with the help of a life jacket =P (our instructor wanted us to get comfortable in the deep end with life jackets first, before we learn to swim without them - that's next swimming class...)
went out with Irma Friday (walked on Whyte), Saturday (Niki's party at the Druid), and Sunday (walked through the trails along the river valley) (it's been a long time since we've done that)
went to a BBQ Sunday night
had a quiet evening and rented Gacy and Antwone Fisher
went tanning (session 6)
had español class again
went tanning (session 7); and went shopping with Irma and Irene (all I bought was a couple pairs of socks =P).

OK, so now I'm updated. Hopefully, I won't have to wait another 13 days to update this...

In other news...
Weather has been pretty nice so far. If it would warm up just a couple of degrees, it'll be perfect.

My car temporarily broke down yesterday. There was gas in the car, I had my oil changed a few weeks ago, so I'm not really sure what happened. My supervisor took a look at it and said that it could be that my fuel filter is dirty? Ugh. I really don't want to put anymore money into this vehicle for repairs. I think it's time to look for another vehicle...

Random Thought
Why is it that when someone you haven't seen in a while, calls/emails you to get together, other people you haven't seen in a while want to get together as well? Don't get me wrong, I like hanging out with these people, but trying to coordinate going out for coffee/lunch/etc. around spanish/swimming/softball/etc. is a bit tough. *sigh* Oh to be wanted... (hehehehe =P)

2003-05-16T20:27:00.000-06:00

Tanning - Session 4
After my third session, I realized 10 minutes is way too long to be in the tanning booth. I didn't think it would be too bad since I went in for 7 minutes a couple days ago. But by the 8.5 minute mark, I thought my skin was going to peel off. So this time I went for 8 minutes, which wasn't so bad. I think it's the right amount of time to be in the booth, and I have to say I'm getting some color.

Random Thought
What is with the obsession with color? Sure, I'm participating in this whole obsession, but I don't think I'm as bad as some people. I've seen people, who go to the same salon as I do, who are pretty much black. Which does not look good at all. To make an analogy, she was one burnt piece of toast. For me, I just want to get enough color to give me that "golden brown" tan, without looking fake.

Beer
I'm actually having a beer. Corona to be precise. I'm not a beer drinker, but I felt like having a drink and I didn't want to have hard liquor. I could've had some wine but that would make me sleepy. Plus, my friend is visiting and I heard drinking makes things flow better... =P

2003-05-15T00:02:00.000-06:00

Where have I been?
Yeah I know, it's been a while. So what's happened since my last post?

Weather watch
The snow melted some time last week, and the weather is getting a bit better. Although lately it hasn't been as warm as it should be. Right now temperatures are in the low to mid-teens with a light wind, thus creating a cooler-than-norm weather pattern. I suppose it's better than snow, but why can't it be warmer?

Español 200
Last week's class was a good one in that I was forming sentences like a pro. OK, maybe not quite a pro, but I was putting in some good effort. Tonight's class was not bad. It took me a while to figure out what was going on because I was late for class, and I wasn't too sure what they were doing. Later on, it all made sense. I'm still not reviewing as much as I should be. Hmmm, maybe I'll do that this long weekend?

Swimming 101
Had my fourth class in which we practiced on what we learned so far, and worked on the front crawl using the 1-2-3 count. Our instructor gave us a brief run down on what to expect in the next few classes and eventually, she wants us to swim a lap. Hmmm, I don't know if I'll be ready for that…

X-Men 2
I saw X-Men 2 with Louise and Merry. The movie was pretty good, and it was nice to see Louise and Merry again. We went to BP's afterwards, but I wasn't too impressed with being called into work to fix a problem. Ugh! I'm not liking the fact that I'm accessible. I suppose I didn't have to answer the phone, but then I'd hear about it at work anyway, so I might as well "save the day".

Tanning
I've started tanning. I know, I don't need a tan since I have a natural one, but I wanted to get a base tan going. As hard as it may be to believe, it takes me a while to get a tan going during the summer. And once I finally do get some color, summer's already over. Plus, I wanted to try it out…

Day Off
I had the day off on Tuesday, and of course it meant me running around. In no particular order, I

picked up some tanning lotion

put air in my tires, filled up on gas

went for lunch

did a bit of shopping – both for myself (I was looking for a bathing suit and couldn't fine one where both pieces fit. And if I did, it was way too expensive), and for a wedding (thank goodness they're registered which makes it easier in the sense that you know they'll like and/or need it)

cleaned a bit

went tanning

had dinner

watched The Hot Chick

So in nutshell, that's what I've been up to…

2003-05-06T22:15:00.000-06:00

Snow, snow, snow, snow, snow...
It's May 6th and we're still getting snow. ARGH! Just when I rotated my closet, I have to go dig out the turtlenecks again. It's times like these when I wish I was somewhere warmer...

2003-05-04T14:07:00.000-06:00

Swimming 101
I had my third swimming class on Friday night. So far, I've learned the front glide, side glide, front crawl, front float, back float, and back stroke. We seem to be picking up the pace on learning new strokes, which is good in a way because it changes things up a bit. But at the same time, being the perfectionist that I am, I don't feel like I've "mastered" the strokes. I guess the instructor wants us to get a feel for all these strokes, and then work on "mastering" them later. I suppose that makes sense.

Wedding #1
It was Grace & Rohan's wedding on Saturday. The ceremony was held at the Citadel Theatre with the reception to follow at the Delta. I was assigned the role of usher, and helped Jo Anne with cuing the bridesmaids as they walked down the aisle. It was kinda funny because some of the girls were a bit anxious to get going so they'd kind of "jerk", but it was all good. I'm not sure if it was because they were a bit nervous or what, but I tried to make it a bit fun by giving them the "one… two… three…go…" Once everyone made it to the altar, Jo Anne, Irene and I sat off to the side to watch the ceremony. The only problem was, I don't really know what was going on. The photographer/videographer were right in front of us, and we couldn't really move so I didn't really get the whole ceremony. After the ceremony, everyone did a "victory lap" around the theatre, and the people downstairs (who were attending a conference or something) were applauding them.

Once that was over, Jo Anne, Irene and I headed to the Delta to do the final touches to the decorating, except for one minor thing – the room wasn't set up yet. OK, don't panic. We waited around for a little while and decided to go home and get changed, and then meet back a little later, since there wasn't much that we could do.

We met back at the Delta at around 4:45 pm to do the last-minute-decorating. But then we ran into another snag – some of the labels from the flags came off, so we didn't know which flag belonged to which country (sidenote: their theme was places they've travelled to, so they had a different flag for each table). Again, don't panic. We turned it into a game by asking guests a trivia question as they walked in. Thank goodness, we got it figured out before the bridal party entered the room. As the bridal party was being introduced, I had to direct the junior bridesmaid and groomsmen to their table as they walked around the reception area. Then we had dinner, a few speeches, some games, and then some dancing. It was a fun evening. But at the end of the night, I only came out of there with one photo, providing that it turns out. Talk about photo withdrawal. Oh well, hopefully I can some copies from someone else's camera. I have to say, even though I didn't do too much as far as helping out, I was exhausted by the end of the night. [Mental note: Get a wedding planner. Either that, or elope - it's probably much simpler. (hehehe)]

2003-05-02T18:31:00.000-06:00

What day is it??
For the past week or so, I haven't been able to keep track of the days. Wednesday felt like Thursday. Thursday felt like Friday. And based on the trend, it should feel like Saturday today. But it doesn't. And it doesn't feel like Friday either. I'm confused. I think I need a vacation...

Herman Miller
My boss recently got an Aeron chair. And since he's going out of town for a week, he's letting me use it. I know, what's the big deal about this chair? Well, it's really really comfortable. And... it's just really comfortable. [I know, I'm a dork. =P]

2003-04-28T21:50:00.000-06:00

I finally got some sleep!
Yay! After work on Saturday, I had a quick bite to eat, watched a bit of Sniper 2, and took a nap. After about an hour and a half or so, I watched a bit of tv, and went back to sleep. The rest of the ~~day~~ weekend pretty much followed the same pattern (yup, it continued on into Sunday as well): wake up, watch movie, sleep. And somewhere in between all of that, I had something to eat. What a better way to spend the weekend. I haven't done this in a long time.

2003-04-23T23:52:00.000-06:00

Español 200 - 1st class
New class, different classroom (which I don't like because it's not as "cozy" as the other one), and only 10 people are in this class (8 of whom were in my level 1 class). Since we have the same instructor, we did a brief review on the last unit of level 1, and continued on with the new material. In this class we learned how to ask and tell time (¿Que horas es?), as well as study the verbs querer and ser. And of course, the class ended with a song. I wonder if he does this to help us learn the language, or as an entertainment thing?

Laundry
Yup, I did more laundry. Even though it seemed like a lot, it really wasn't (only 3 loads - and they were all pretty small). Now if only I can get to my ironing...

2003-04-20T18:53:00.000-06:00

Stagette
[Sidenote: I have had no sleep since Thursday]
Last night was Grace's (Irma's sister) stagette. My brother and I went to the usual to watch the hockey game, and the rest of the girls met us there later. Once the girls got there, a few of them were wearing their "theme" shirts, which meant I had to put mine on. We had a couple drinks, and went on our tour of Whyte Ave.

Highlights:

"pickle"
"can't hear you"
revenue = $25

Happy Easter!
[Sidenote: I still did not get much sleep]
My family and I had brunch with my aunt, uncle, and cousin at Café Lacombe in Crowne Plaza Hotel. We met at 10:30 am and I was starving. The food was not bad, and I was able to sample most of it. I made sure to make room for dessert. ;-) One thing I thought was really cool, was this harp made of chocolate. Hmmm, do you think they'd notice if I walked out of here with that?. After brunch, we went home and I went straight to sleep, since I haven't slept since Thursday. I can't remember how long I was out for, but it was a long nap. I felt much better afterwards.

Oh, and before I forget...
Happy Belated Birthday Bern!!

2003-04-16T22:57:00.000-06:00

Español 100 - Lesson 12: Final Class
We spent about an hour in class finishing off the material, and at the end we got our certificates for completing the course. Since there were only 6 of us in class (7 including the instructor), we continued the class at this mexican restaurant where we had some food, and a cerveza or 2 (I had sangria). We hung out there for a while, and then out of nowhere, my instructor pulls out his guitar? I had no idea he brought it with him, so I was a bit surprised. So there we were - all 7 of us singing spanish songs in the middle of this restaurant. A couple of people were kinda looking at us weird, but it was all good. We sang La Bamba, Guantanamera, and 3 other songs (I don't remember the titles).

Now that I've completed the course, I have to say that it was a good class. I can't really say that I've learned a lot, which is my own fault for not reviewing the material, but I enjoyed it. I've also signed up for level 2 with the same instructor, so that should be a good class as well. I should probably read over what I've learned so far before next week...

Random Thought
Have you ever noticed that when a class is nearing the end, the number of students attending gradually diminishes? Our spanish class started out with about 20 people, and ended with 6. Maybe it's because it's a non-credit course, so those that don't finish the course don't really care. But if you took that class, wouldn't you want to finish it? I mean, the whole point of taking the class was to learn conversational spanish. So does that mean that all those students who "dropped out" learned it in less time than everyone else? Or perhaps, spanish just wasn't for them?

2003-04-15T22:31:00.000-06:00

Finally, a day off...
With the exception of my mini vacation to Philadelphia, the last time I took a day off was in December. And as usual, the day was jam-packed with stuff to do. I left the house by 9:30 am, and my first stop was to pick up some office supplies. Then it was off to my doctor's appointment for my annual physical (gotta love those - NOT!). After the doctor's, I went to the motor vehicle registration office to get another driver's license. The next stop was a medical clinic (actually, it's more of a lab), so they could do a blood/urine test, since there isn't a lab in my doctor's office. By this time, it was about noon so I went home to get a quick bite to eat, before heading out to my hair appointment. Then I had my hair appointment (for a trim), and headed back to the mall to drop off some drycleaning. Of course, while I did that, I ended up shopping. At first I wasn't really in the mood to shop, but then I saw these black capris, and since I don't have a pair of black ones, I bought them - along with another pair of capris and a tank top. I know I shouldn't be shopping right now, but I couldn't help it. They were on sale and the last one in my size! =P After the mall, I decided to drop off the office supplies I bought earlier, at the office. I know, it's my day off and I shouldn't be at the office. But it was the end of the day anyway, so I knew they were getting ready to shut down. Besides, I was getting a bit hungry, and I remembered that we had cake and ice cream in the fridge (what an excuse!). For a day off, it sure seems like a full day of work.

Random Thought
Is a day off really a "day off"? I mean, sure you get a day off from work, but when you end up running around doing errands, it doesn't seem like a day off. Shouldn't a "day off" be a day where you just stop and veg out at home and do absolutely nothing? I suppose it's up to you if you decide to do stuff on your day off or not. I guess what I'm getting at is, a day off isn't really a "day off", but rather a "day to do other things besides work" - things that you normally wouldn't be able to do during the week because you work. Does that make sense?

2003-04-13T21:19:00.000-06:00

Clean, clean, clean
My agenda for today was to clean out my closet. And that I did. I took almost everything out of my closet and sorted it out according to (i) stuff I don't wear, (ii) stuff I need to dryclean, and (iii) stuff I need to wash. You don't really realize how much clothes you have until you actually empty out your closet. I had clothes which I had drycleaned about a year and a half ago, which I haven't worn since then, and they don't fit me anymore. After I had everything sorted out, I started to do some laundry. I think I did about 6 loads (because of the different types of loads), and I'm still not completely done. And while I was doing my laundry, I went through my shoes. I cleaned/sprayed/protected shoes which needed to be cleaned/sprayed/protected, and rotated the fall/winter stuff with the spring/summer stuff. It was a lot of work and I even got a workout out of it from running up and down the stairs between the laundry room and my room.

Shoe Inventory - Final Count
The results are in. I have 44 pairs of shoes. Why is the final count lower than what was previously estimated? I either (a) haven't worn them in a long time, (b) they're out of style, or (c) they're worn out. So there you have it. You should receive a full "report" via email. [Disclaimer: final results were tabulated and verified by the accounting firm of MMSF =P]

2003-04-12T23:04:00.000-06:00

The week in review...

Tuesday - went to the gym.
Wednesday - watched co-workers play their final soccer game. Unfortunately they lost 4-5. :-(
Thursday - went to the gym.
Friday - I signed up for swimming and had my first lesson. There were only 3 of us in the class (me, Gabriella, and Cola (sp?)), which was good. The other 2 had some experience in the water before, and they were in it to improve their strokes. Seeing as I've never been swimming, I was starting from scratch. I have to say I think it went OK. I blew bubbles out my nose and learned the front float. I'm determined to learn how to swim and ultimately I want to be able to do laps.

Lost my driver's license
I just realized I lost my driver's license. The last time I had it, it was in the back pocket of my jeans. But when I went to get it, it wasn't there. I figure I lost it sometime on Thursday.

Home again
I'm actually home again on a Saturday night because (i) I don't feel like going out, and (ii) I don't have my ID, therefore I won't be able to get in anywhere. Oh well.

2003-04-07T23:26:00.000-06:00

Español 100 - Lesson 11
Even though my classes are usually on Wednesdays, I decided to go to tonight's class instead. Partly because I'm watching a couple co-workers of mine play soccer on Wednesday, so I altered my schedule. But getting to class was a bit of an adventure. I had emailed my instructor earlier this morning about an idea for our last class. He had mentioned that perhaps we could have the class outside of the classroom, like at a restaurant or at someone's house or something. So I suggested that we go to this mexican restaurant, since it'll kinda have a spanish theme to it. Plus, they make really good sangria! ;-) But I'm digressing. Anyway, I also asked my instructor if I could sit in on tonight's class, since I wouldn't be able to make it on Wednesday. He said that was fine and gave me the room number where they met (they're in a different classroom than we are). So as usual, I parked my car in the parkade (had a bit of trouble with the parking thing - it wouldn't give me a ticket), and headed to class. Problem #1: the room number he gave me was for the general office of one of the departments. Uh OK? So I went down to the registrar's office to ask them for the room number. Problem #2: apparently there's some kind of privacy act thing that they can't give out that information. So they sent me to security, and told me to ask them for the room number, so that they could escort me to the classroom, and verify with the instructor that I am supposed to be in that class. When I got to security, the lady just gave me the room number. Problem #3: she gave me the wrong room number. So I went all the way back down to security to get the right room number. And finally I got the right one and made it to class - 10 minutes late.

I was a bit surprised to see that there were only 7 people in class (compared to our class of about 20). But I joined in and I have to say that this class was dull. Not so much spanish, but the people in the class. They weren't lively at all. But I made it through class, and we finished the rest of the material we had to go through. ¿Hay un banco por aqui? Está a dos calles. I'm looking forward to Level 2, which I signed up for last week.

~~Quick Return~~ Nevermind
~~I mailed my tax return April 1st, and got my refund check in the mail today. Woo hoo! Talk about quick turn around time. It's not much, but at least I don't owe any money.~~ Wait a minute, it's actually my GST check. Oops. I guess I got a bit excited when I saw the government envelope. I thought it'd be a bit soon to get my tax refund back, but I guess it was wishful thinking.

Reminder to self
Sign up for swimming ASAP (since classes start at the end of the week).

I think I'm hearing things...
I can hear music, but I don't know where it's coming from. At first I thought the radio in the kitchen was on, but I checked, and it's off. It kinda sounds like it's coming from outside. Maybe it's coming from the neighbors? Or maybe it's just time for me to go to sleep...

2003-04-05T16:01:00.000-07:00

Mission Accomplished
We (being me and the other bridesmaids) found our dresses for my brother's wedding. Yay! I'm so glad we were able to find dresses that we all liked. The weird part was, we found the dresses in the first store we went to. How's that for luck?! At first we put the dresses on hold, just in case we happened to find something in another store, since these dresses were a "final sale". After walking around, we all decided to go with our first choice. Once we got our dresses, we looked around for shoes and purses. We didn't find anything, but we still have a bit of time before the wedding. My biggest concern was finding these dresses. But now that that's out of the way, I can concentrate on my next assignment: getting ideas for the wedding since Laura (Shelley's sister) and I are emcee-ing the event. That should be interesting... ;-)

2003-04-03T00:10:00.000-07:00

I'm noticing...
...that the past couple of posts have been either on Tuesday or Thursday. Have I, or am I, that busy. Or maybe I just don't have anything interesting to talk about. Or maybe I do have something interesting to talk about, but forget about it. But then it wouldn't be interesting now would it? =P

Español 100 - Lesson 10
I really need to review my spanish more. I'm starting to forget some things. And we only have 2 classes left. Then Level 2 starts (which I still have to sign up for). We're still working on units 4 & 5, learning how describe things based on their proximity to each other (la izquierda, la derecha, enfrente, etc.).

Other observations:

my instructor shaved his head
my instructor always seems to be wearing blue socks
my class seems to be getting smaller and smaller as the course is ending

2003-04-01T12:21:00.000-07:00

What's wrong with this picture?
It's April 1st and we're still getting a bit of snow. Just when everything was starting to melt too. Hopefully this is the last of it...

Productive morning
Even though I didn't get into the office until 11:20 am, I still had quite a productive morning - booked my annual physical; finished my tax return; dropped off camera to be fixed; booked hair appointment; and looked into taking swimming lessons (yes, I'm finally going to learn!).

And it looks like I'm going to have a busy evening as well - go to the gym after work; run some errands; do laundry; and maybe start on spring cleaning my closet.

2003-03-27T00:40:00.000-07:00

Español 100 - Lesson 9
We did quite a bit tonight and I feel like I'm a bit behind. I haven't been reviewing the material as much as I'd like, simply because I don't make time for it. Tonight's class focused on how to ask about someone's identity; describe people, places, and weather; and how to greet and introduce people. And as usual we ended the class singing yet another song, except that I don't remember what it's about?

After talking to a few people in class, we figured that we do have 3 more classes left. And after talking to the instructor, he suggested that the last class should be a pot-like type of thing, where we'd just hang out and practice what we've learned. I'm not too sure if that's a good idea or not, but whatever.

[Reminder to self: sign up for level 2 spanish soon!]

And now for the re-cap of my Philadelphia trip...(warning: this is a long post)
THURSDAY
I did some last minute shopping and picked up what I needed. I didn't bother going to the bank, since I could just take money out of the ATM there. Irma and Joi picked me up and drove me to the airport. They hung out with me until it was time for me to board the plane. Irma and Joi decided to get something to eat, and as we were sitting there I realized i did forget something - Jenn's address and directions on how to get there from the airport. Ugh. But it was no big deal. I just called my brother and asked him to relay the directions to me, since they were on the internet.

When it was time for me to go, Irma and Joi left. As I went through the security gate to get checked, I was a bit surprised when they asked me to take off my belt. I mean, I remember wearing this belt when I travelled before, and it wasn't a big problem then. But I guess with this whole war thing in Iraq, security has to be tighter. [Mental note: do not wear belt when travelling]. After I passed through security, I went to the waiting area and waited until we had to board the plane.

As I was sitting there, one of the cleaning staff was cleaning around me, and as she passed by she gave me the 'evil eye' as if to suggest that I'm in her way. Uh hello, why can't you wait until the people have boarded the plane before you start cleaning? What was also really annoying were these university students with cowboy hats. I'm not sure why they were wearing them, but I guess they were on some kind of field trip which required them to wear cowboy hats. Anyway, they were a bit loud while we were waiting to board the plane, and all I could think about was that these guys better sleep on the plane. By this time, I was getting tired and cranky so I just wanted to get on the plane and go to sleep.

But do you think I was able to get some sleep? Well, not as much as I'd like. Just when I was about to go into "deep sleep", the guy sitting next to me fell on top of me. Hmmm, maybe if he reclined his seat he wouldn't have fallen over? At some point, they were serving food, but I was way too tired so I skipped the meal.

FRIDAY
I made it into Toronto at around 6:30 am and waited for about an hour for my connecting flight to Philadelphia. I noticed a lot of people were glued to the TV, watching what was happening in Iraq. And if they were watching it, they were reading about it in the paper.

Random Thought

Anyway, since I didn't sleep that well on the flight to Toronto, I slept during the whole flight to Philadelphia. No one was sitting next to me, so I had no interruptions. Only problem was that the plane was really noisy because it was so small. So even though my eyes were closed, I could still hear what was going on. They served food as well, but I skipped it again.

I finally landed in Philadelphia at 9:00 am and took a cab to Jenn's place in Chestnut Hill. Once I got there, we talked for a while, had something to eat, and then took a nap because she worked the night before and I couldn't get some decent sleep on the plane. We had planned to nap for a couple hours, but ended up waking up 4 hours later. Oops.

Basketball Game
After our long nap, we got ready to got to First Union Center to watch the Sixers play Atlanta. We took the subway to the arena, but got there late because the bus was late. So we ended up missing the first quarter, but it was OK since there weren't that many people there at first. We weren't the only ones who were late, and we noticed that most of the people walked in during the second quarter. I guess the time to go to a basketball game is during the second quarter? We got to our seats and watched the second quarter. During half-time, we went to get a snack. I got a pretzel and a beer (which I got ID'd for) and Jenn got a pretzel and ice cream. We hung around the concourse level and watched this band play. We headed back to our seats once the third quarter was about to start. One thing I noticed is the energy in the building. It was a close game for the most part, and I found myself cheering for them, even though I'm not a big basketball fan. Unfortunately, the Sixers lost 105-114, but I'm glad that we went.

SATURDAY
We woke up bright and early at 8:00 am (which is equivalent to 6:00 am MST). The sun was out so it looked like it was going to be a good day. We had breakfast and got ready for the day. The first stop was The Gallery at Market East. Seeing as I haven't gone shopping since Christmas, it was a bit hard to get back into it. I tried to shop but couldn't find anything. The next stop was K-Mart to get batteries for my camera, since my batteries died before I even got on the plane. I figured if I get something that I need, then maybe it would trigger the 'shopping bug' in me. But it didn't. :-(

The next stop was Liberty Bell. We had to listen to a 5-minute speech on the history of it, and then we were able to take pictures. I'm glad we went to the Liberty Bell and skipped Independence Hall, because when we came out there was a huge line of people waiting to see the Liberty Bell. Then we went across the street to The Bourse to pick up some souvenirs.

From there we walked and walked and walked (thank goodness I had comfy shoes). Our next stop was Penn's Landing, where we walked along the Delaware River. We took a few pictures and headed to South Street. There were a lot of people walking around and it reminded me of Whyte Ave. We went into a couple shops, but I still didn't buy anything. We stopped for lunch at Jim's Steaks, which supposedly is one of the best philly cheese steaks in town. And I guess it holds true since the line went around the block. We waited for about half an hour, I met people from Canada, and finally we got our food. I have to say, the cheese steak was pretty good. After lunch, we walked all the way back to where we started - City Hall (which is about 20 blocks).

We headed back to Jenn's apartment, took a half hour break, and walked some more. We walked to Germantown Ave, had ice cream at Bredenbecks (I had strawberry sorbet), and hung out at Borders. We finally made it back home, watched TV, and called it a night.

SUNDAY
Again we got up early and did the museum thing. We took the subway to City Hall and walked down Benjamin Franklin Parkway (which is said to be like the Champs Elysée of Paris), to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. When we got there, of course I had to the "run up the Rocky steps", and take a picture. I didn't find the museum to be that interesting, probably because I was comparing it to the museums in Paris (which I know I shouldn't do because they're totally different). Jenn and I just went to the wings that we wanted to see and then headed to the Rodin museum, which is much smaller than the one in Paris. And there weren't many sculptures in there.

Random Thought

The Thinker

Water Lilies

Anyway, after our little art experience we headed to Franklin Mills to do some shopping. At this point, I still hadn't bought anything, besides souvenirs, and I was determined to buy something for myself. I wanted to get a pair of shoes (I know, I have enough already but I wanted to replace the ones I was wearing because they're worn out =P), and maybe a spring coat. I walked into one shoe store and they were having a 'buy one, get the second at half price' sale. Of course I couldn't resist. The shoes were so cheap, but the problem was they didn't have any shoes in my size. Ugh. And if they did, they didn't fit right. We kept walking through the mall, and I went into shoe store after shoe store. Still nothing. I finally went to the Nine West outlet and found a pair of shoes - in my size and on sale. Yay! [Side note: so now I have approximately 48 pairs of shoes (final count to be verified by the accounting firm of MMSF - hehehe)]. As for the spring coat, they didn't have anything. I was disappointed to see that they still had winter stuff out.

After another day of walking all over the place, we headed back to the apartment, then walked to the supermarket to get some groceries. We cooked dinner (yes, I actually cooked), watched a bit of TV, and went to sleep early since we had another early day the next day.

MONDAY
If you think getting up at 8:00 am EST was early, try getting up at 6:00 am EST (which is equivalent to 4:00 am MST!). The reason why we got up so early was because we had to get to the Greyhound Bus Station to catch the 8:30 bus to Atlantic City. We decided to take a day trip out to Atlantic City since it was only an hour away. Technically, it only cost us a dollar to go because the bus ticket is $14, but you get a $13 voucher which you can use at the slot machines. Not bad for a day trip to Atlantic City. We snoozed during the entire ride out there, and got off at Bally's. The first thing I noticed was the sea of slot machines - lights flashing, bells ringing. I've never been to Vegas, so I can only imagine what it's like there. Another thing I noticed were the people. The majority of them were seniors, who probably have way too much money and don't know what to do with it. Anyway, we thought it was a bit early to be gambling at 10:00 am, so we walked along the boardwalk. The sun was out, and it was nice just to go for a stroll along the boardwalk. We walked to Caesars, then grabbed a tazo chai at Starbucks. We walked the other way to Taj Mahal, where I played the slots. Now, I'm not much of a gambler so we didn't stay for very long. We took a few pictures outside the hotels, and then stopped for lunch at Hard Rock Café.

After lunch, I picked up some salt water taffy (I keep hearing about this stuff from people, and had never tried it), and then we walked back to Bally's. As we walked through the door, the guard immediately stopped us and wouldn't let us walk through the casino with our bags. Uh hello, we've been walking around all day with our backpacks and no one stopped us then. We managed to go through another entrance, and the guard didn't stop us. Maybe the other guy was having a bad day? We picked up a couple souvenirs and hopped on the bus back to Philly. We tried to take a nap on the bus, but the guy behind us wouldn't stop talking.

We dropped off our bags at the apartment, got ice cream at Bredenbecks again (this time I had mocha chip), and hung out and watched Battle of the Sexes on MTV.

TUESDAY
I woke up early again (6:30 EST/4:30 MST), just so I could give myself enough time to get ready and pack before the cab came to pick me up at 9:00 am. I was ready by 8:30 and 10 minutes later, the cab called to let me know he was downstairs. Uh, you're early. So I went down and headed to the airport. I was anticipating to hit rush hour traffic, which is why I had the cab pick my up that early. Of course, there was no traffic and I made it to the airport by 9:20 am, which meant I had 3 hours to kill at the airport. Ugh.

One of the highlights at the airport was my conversation with the airport security guy (AS):

AS: Could you take your shoes off please?
Me: Huh? (not sure if he was being serious)
AS: In case there are steel plates in them.
Me: Are you serious? I'll take them off, but I know there isn't anything in them.
AS: You're more than welcome to keep them on, but just in case...
[other airport security guy jumps in]
AS2: Did he just ask you to take your shoes off? You better watch out for him...
Me: (turning back to AS) Do you have a foot fetish? (everyone else breaks out in laughter)
AS: (caught off guard) Nothing I can discuss at this time...

Yeah, it was a funny moment. I walked over to Terminal D and sat in the waiting area. I snoozed for half an hour, had tea and a muffin, and walked around the airport. There's only so much you can do at the airport. Finally it came time to board. The flight to Toronto was quick, and when I landed I noticed the airport seemed to be a bit different than when I was there last June. I basically had to run to the next gate because there wasn't much time between connecting flights. By the time I got the gate, they were just starting to board. I slept for half of the flight, and finally got into Edmonton.

And that was my trip to Philadelphia. Overall, it was a good getaway since I had been putting in a lot of hours at work. Plus, it was long overdue for a trip. Hmmm, where should I go next???

2003-03-25T23:01:00.000-07:00

Stay tuned...
...a re-cap of my trip to Philadelphia still to come. Just haven't found the time to post it...

2003-03-20T18:17:00.000-07:00

85% done
I still have to go the bank (I hope it's still open), and pick up some toiletries. My flight isn't until 12:30 am, so I have a lot of time, but I want to be able to relax a bit. I hope I'm not forgetting anything...

2003-03-19T23:41:00.000-07:00

Español 100 - Lesson 8
I left work a bit earlier than usual so that I could have time to go home and get a quick bite to eat. But in doing so, I got to class late. Good thing the instructor wasn't there yet. Today's class focused on demonstrative adjectives, prepositions, and the verbs ser & estar. For some reason it seemed like we were just flying through this lesson. And when someone asked how many classes we had left, he said 2 or 3, when I thought it was 4 or 5? Again we ended off the class in a song that he sang to us (something about a boy not being able to carry a jug of water or something?).

Locked out
After spanish class, I went home. Only problem was, I locked my house keys in the house. Argh. Could anything else go wrong? I'm thinking this all has to do with the full moon. Anyway, I had to track my brother down, and when I finally did, I had to drive all the way back to downtown, get his keys, and come all the way back home.

Panic Mode
I haven't packed yet. Ugh! I don't know why I didn't do it on the weekend, but whatever. I know I'm only going to be gone for 5 days, but I need to plan these things out. Plus, I still have to go the bank and get some cash, pick some toiletries, etc. Why didn't I do this earlier?!?

One day off
I keep thinking today is Thursday. I guess it's because I can't wait until I go on this trip. One more sleep...

2003-03-16T23:52:00.000-07:00

Weekend Summary
Friday
After kickboxing, I went to the usual to meet up with co-workers. I had something to eat and my "quota" of drinks. During the evening I ran into few people I haven't seen in a while [Jeff (former co-worker, Sheila (Cheryl's sister), and Chad (Cheryl's friend)]. Some of my co-workers even said "it was nice to see [me] again". I guess I haven't been out in a while? Even though I was there for a couple hours, it seemed like longer. We finally called it a night at 11:30 pm! A bit early, I know, but it didn't matter to me since I had to work the next morning.

Saturday
After work, I went to the mall to run some errands. Now that I think about it, I'm not exactly sure why I went there in the first place (besides dropping some stuff off at one of our locations), but I was there. So I decided to shop around. I really didn't have anything in mind that I wanted to buy because I figured something would just "pop out" at me.

You know you haven't been shopping in a while when: (i) the last time you bought something was Christmas, (ii) the crowd of people get on your nerves (reminiscent of the whole holiday shopping thing), (iii) nothing catches your eye, and (iv) you don't buy anything (not even a pair of shoes!). I think there's something wrong with me.

Then I went home, took a nap for 3 hours, and did some ironing since I'm running out of clothes to wear.

Flat Tire
As I was getting ready to go to work this morning (I only had to go in for about an hour), my dad told me that I had a flat tire. At first I thought he was just exaggerating (he tends to do that sometimes), and meant that my tire was just low on air. But when I went out to my car, sure enough, I had a flat tire. ARGH! It was fine yesterday after I came home from work, but I guess I ran over a nail or something? So my dad changed my tire with the spare one, and I was on my way. What else could possibly go wrong with this car? I think it's time to get a different vehicle...

Road Closed
While I was driving to work, I noticed the street to my office was blocked off. With the recent fire that happened on our block, I thought that there may be another fire or something. So I ended up parking 3 blocks away from my office and walked over. Apparently, they blocked off the street because of the St. Patrick's Day Fun Run (I don't know what's so fun about running in cold weather?). I went to the office, did what I had to do, and walked back to my car. I caught a bit of the parade, and would've stayed to watch it, but it started to drizzle. Plus, I had other things I had to do.

Laundry
Once I got home, I had something to eat, and did some laundry. Again because I'm running out of clothes to wear. =P As I was doing my laundry, I decided to do a...

Shoe Inventory
It's no secret that I have a shoe fetish. But what woman doesn't? Anyway, a couple of my friends have always asked how many pairs of shoes do I have? And the answer is: 47. [Note: This is just a preliminary estimate. There are boxes of shoes which may have 1 or 2 pairs in them, and boxes which may be empty.] To those, who have always wondered how many pairs I have, there is your answer. A full "report" will be available at a later date, once the results have been tabulated and verified by the accounting firm of MMSF. hehehe =P

Just when I thought spring was right around the corner...
...it starts to snow again. Ugh. The first day of spring is supposedly on the 20th or 21st, but at this rate I don't think that's going to happen. I spent about 20 minutes shovelling our walkway. It doesn't sound like much, but when you're shovelling wet snow, it gets a bit heavy. Yeah, we'll see if this stuff melts by the end of the week...

4 more sleeps...
...and then I'm off to Philadelphia. I still haven't packed anything yet. I think I'll take Tuesday off and do it then.

2003-03-14T00:45:00.000-07:00

I smell smoke
As I was watching TV at a friend's house, we both noticed that something smelled like it was burning. At first I thought it was coming from the neighbor's, but then we realized that it was coming from down the street. Apparently there was a fire in Old Strathcona, which started in Stolli's, which happens to be on the same block as my office. Hopefully no one got hurt...

AA Meeting
The "crew" (Boo Boo Bear, Bunny Foo Foo, Lee King Chin, Nala, Heidi, and myself) got together for our "AA Meeting". It's been a long time since we've seen each other, so it was fun to meet again. We met up at BP's and watched the hockey game. Unfortunately, Edmonton lost against New York 2-5. :-(

One more week...
...until I go to Philadelphia. I can't wait to go. I'm looking forward to seeing Jenn, since it's been so long since I last saw her. I should start packing soon. Hmmm, I wonder if I have time to get my hair trimmed next week?

2003-03-12T22:59:00.000-07:00

Español 100 - Lesson 7
First, I got to class way too early. Early enough that the classroom wasn't even open yet. I should've left the office 10 minutes later, but I was anticipating to hit traffic going downtown. And as I was driving, there wasn't as much traffic as I expected. So I ended up wandering around a bit, and bought myself a muffin (low-fat blueberry). I made it back to class and it was open, with a few students in there. We started Unit 3 and focused on verb conjugations, particularly the verbs hablar, comprender, and vivir. One thing I've found with spanish is the similarities it has with French, as far as verb conjugations go. We ended off the class singing La Bamba again (I'm starting to get sick of this song).

Highlights:

I'm not the only one who thinks annoying girl is annoying
phrase of the day: "get over it"
"second level" spanish
bevvies after class

2003-03-12T14:56:00.000-07:00

Back into the Groove
After kickboxing Monday night, and going to the gym last night, my muscles are a bit sore. It's amazing what 2 weeks of not doing anything will do to you. Now I have to get back into the thick of things. Especially since I've gained 3 lbs. Ugh. Well, it's not that bad, but now I have to use that extra weight to get my muscle back. I'd like to get as fit as I was last summer. But will I be able to do that within the next 4 months? That will be my goal...

2003-03-09T18:55:00.000-07:00

Stuck at home
This is the first weekend in a long time where I've been home the entire weekend, because it's been TOO COLD to go out. But it gives me a chance to do stuff that I've been putting off, like work on my Paris scrapbook (which is half done - Bern, did we take a lot of pictures or what?!); and do my tax return, which I'm happy to say I'm getting some money back. Woo hoo! It's not much, but hey, every bit counts. And that's all I've done the whole weekend. It doesn't sound like much, but try putting over 300 pictures into a scrapbook. After cropping and arranging and gluing, it takes a while. I probably could've taken the easy route and just put them in those pocket-style albums, but what fun is that?

2003-03-08T10:20:00.000-07:00

What's wrong with this picture?
It's Saturday, I have the day off, and I still get up at 7:30?! Well, part of it was because I had to drop something off at work (since I didn't do it last night). And when I came back home, I couldn't really go back to sleep (even though I really wanted to) because I was hungry. So I had some breakfast and I've been on the computer since. Basically answering emails from people I haven't talked to in a while.

So what's the agenda for today? Well, I was supposed to get to get together with Shelley and the rest of the bridesmaids to shop for dresses again, but it was cancelled because one or two of them couldn't make it. But I'm thinking we need to order our dresses soon, since it takes about 3 months to get them. And waiting until the end of the month to get together again is cutting it too close. Maybe Shelley and I could look around today and narrow down the choices?

Deep Freeze
IT'S COLD!!! Currently it's -28C with a windchill of -38C. BRRRR! I'm so not liking this weather. It sucks because I can't go to the gym/kickboxing because it's too cold. Because that would mean I'd have to wear layer upon layer upon layer of clothing, and I don't like that. I shouldn't say I can't go, but I choose not to go because of this crappy weather. Why can't it be spring yet?

2003-03-05T22:46:00.000-07:00

Got my car back
I left work early again today so that I could pick up my car from the shop. But before I could pick it up, I had to return the rental they lent me with a full tank of gas. So I went to the gas station, spent a whopping $12 on gas, and went to the autobody shop to get my car. And there it was, parked out front, looking like nothing happened. But I know it happened because it dented my credit card! Ugh. Oh well. It could've been worse.

On the go
Since I had class tonight, I went home briefly, had a bagel, visited with my mom for 45 minutes, then headed to class.

Español 100 - Lesson 6
I actually spent some time last night reviewing what we've learned so far. I even read ahead (yeah I know, I'm a keener =P) just so I'd know what to expect in the upcoming classes. In tonight's class, we did more Q&A stuff - ¿Cuál es su número de teléfono? ¿Cuántos años tiene? ¿De dondé es? We also learned a bit about la población y el clima de España. We ended off the class singing La Bamba (again) and De Colores.

Fieldtrip
After class, about 10 of us, including the instructor, went out for drinks. It was kinda cool to socialize with other classmates, since you usually tend to socialize with people who sit right next to you in class. I found that most of the people are in this class because they have plans on visiting (if they haven't already) a spanish-speaking country. A couple people are in it just for fun. Our instructor mentioned that he was thinking of teaching the second level during the spring/summer semester, on Monday and Thursday nights. I'm not sure if that would work for me, but I am interested in taking the next level. Hopefully it will all work out, but I'll find out more about it next week.

2003-03-04T20:50:00.000-07:00

First quarter coffee
I had my first café mocha of the year with Irma last night. I've tried not to drink coffee at all, but another friend of mine got me hooked on it a few years ago, and blah, blah, blah, now I'm drinking coffee. But I limit my coffee intake to 4 times a year. It doesn't really do anything for me, as far as keeping me awake, but whatever. Anyway, Irma and I went to the Four Rooms for coffee and dessert. We hadn't really talked for over a week, so it was good to catch up. It's amazing what can happen in a week. We're pretty much caught up now, which is good. (Sorry for not calling, Irms)

We sat at Four Rooms for a while, and then Joi came and met us. Only problem was they were closing at 9:00 pm and it was already 8:30 pm. So much for getting food for Joi.

So we decided to go to L'Azia in Edmonton Center, so Joi could get some food. I was in a munchy mood myself, so we split a combo platter, and then he had a burger. I guess he was really hungry. It was good to just sit there and hang out, especially since we haven't done that in a while. We gotta get back to our "tradition" guys. I know it's partly my fault for being too busy, but we should do another matinee/café thing soon. We just need to come up with another café to go to. Any suggestions Irma?? hehe ;-)

2003-03-02T01:59:00.000-07:00

I'm wide awake
It's 2:00 am and I can't sleep. That's because I had a 2 hour nap earlier. And that was because I woke really early this morning (7:00 am) to go to work, and I didn't get much sleep last night. It's all a chain reaction...

Plan A
I had planned to watch the CIS Men's Volleyball Championship between U of A & U of M(anitoba) with Larry, a co-worker of mine. As we pulled up to the parkade, there was a sign that said the event was sold out and had been sold out since 3:00 pm. What?! Great. So now what? We didn't have a back-up plan, so I had to come up with one pretty quick. And that's when I came up with...

Plan B
Larry had been telling me about this pub that's a few doors down from our office. He said that we should go so that I could "experience" it. So with that in mind, that idea became our Plan B. We went there (after basically driving around in a circle), and let's just say that that's the first and last time that I'm going to that pub. Why? Because (i) the place is grungy, (ii) I had a "screwed-up driver" since they made with watered down Tang instead of orange juice? (iii) I think I'm allergic to that place because I literally broke out, (iv) some guy thought I was from Taiwan/Korea/Japan (every other Asian country except PI) and tried to have a conversation with me in one of those languages, (v) I ordered a Corona, but they had no limes, so the next choice was a Coors Light, and (vi) I got my "dose". Well, I guess I can say I've experienced it now.

Plan C
(Now we're coming up with plans as we go along). We knew we weren't going to stay long, so the next plan was to watch a movie. We went to the cheap theatres and saw Maid in Manhattan. I liked the movie. There were a couple parts that seemed to drag, but overall it was pretty good.

Plan D
After the movie, we decided to go to Tim Horton's for hot chocolate and hot apple cider. As we sat there observing people, I noticed Joey, Chandler, and Ross look-alikes, a student who seemed like she was writing a paper (?), and a cop who came in for a coffee and a muffin (I thought they had coffee and donuts? I guess, they're eating a bit healthier now??).

Last Stop
The final stop for the evening was the Iron Horse. I hadn't been there in a while, and now I remember why - the crowd is younger. We only stayed for about 20 minutes, visited with a couple people, and called it a night.

I should probably go to sleep now... *yawn*

2003-02-28T00:25:00.000-07:00

Español 100 - Lesson 5
I know I should be reviewing the material I learned last night, but I'm not. I should actually be reviewing it before going into each class, but I don't have time. Or should I say I don't make the time? Anyway, last night's class was pretty good. We started Unit 2 which focused on giving more info about yourself, and how to get the same info from other people (¿De dónde es? ¿Cúantos? números veintiuno - sesenta, and the verbs ser & tener).

Highlights:

I am now the teacher's pet
I think annoying girl (AG) likes guy with accent (GWA), judging by the way she acts towards him
class outing next week after class (we're all going for a beer/drinks)
singing La Bamba at the end of class

Update on car repair
I called the autobody shop yesterday morning to see if the parts came in. They said they'd be in either later that afternoon, or early this morning. So, they scheduled me to bring my car in on Monday morning. Great. I kinda wanted to drop off my car before the weekend, but now I have to wait until Monday. Oh well.

When going to a restaurant/fast food place, how do you know that the person is single or not?
They usually order an item that's always "to-go" because they probably don't want to sit by themselves. [This was an observation made by a co-worker of mine].

Reminder to self
DON'T FORGET TO RENEW YOUR VEHICLE REGISTRATION (WHICH EXPIRES ON FEB 28/03)!! I got this notice long time ago, but of course, I have to leave it to the very end. And I'm sure I'm not the only person who's going to renew their vehicle registration tomorrow. Ugh. Why do I do this to myself?

I need a vacation!
There seems to be too much going on right now. Different stresses in life. Work, family, this whole car thing, expenses, etc. I need some time to relax and pull myself together. I can't wait until I go to Philadelphia.

Speaking of which...
...where did the month of February go? It's already the end of February, and I have no idea where it went and what I did?? I hope summer doesn't go by this fast...

2003-02-25T00:38:00.000-07:00

Just because I don't have a vehicle, doesn't mean I'm down and out...
On Saturday night, even though it was really cold, Irma, Irene and I went to the Druid for a girl's night out. We hadn't done that in a while, so it was due. And Irma was good enough to drive (thanks Irms! :-) )

Highlights:

thinking out loud (really loud)
Kokanee guy
nice shoes guy
beer quality control guy
"you guys are so cute" (2x)
"Do you mind if I dance with you? I don't mean no harm" (3x - like I didn't hear it the first 2x?!)
"You just won a hand shake..."
"Are you there?"
goofing around on the dance floor

Early rise
I woke up at 6:00 am. Yup, 6:00 am!. And I set my alarm for 6:30. I hate that. Anyway, I was out and about by 8:20, looking for estimates on repairs to my car. I went to one autobody shop and they said that the soonest they could get me in was March 17. Plus the price they quoted, nearly made me fall off my chair. Sorry, but I can't wait a month to get my car fixed and I don't want to spend that much. So I went to this other place. The estimate they gave me was a little bit cheaper than the first one, and they'd be able to fix my car sooner. All they had to do was order in the parts, which should be in by Wednesday, at which time I'd drop off my car and use a loaner vehicle while they fix it. Then it'll probably take another 3 or 4 days to get it fixed. As long as I don't have to wait a month, that's fine with me. I'm not too happy about the cost of this whole thing, but I have no choice. I really didn't need this expense this month.

After driving around all morning, I finally made it to the office at 11:00 am. Where did all the time go?

2003-02-22T19:12:00.000-07:00

How hard is it to find an autobody shop that's open on the weekend?
You would think that half of the accidents that occur, happen on weekends. Hence, there should be at least one place where I can take my car. Uh, nope. I called several places and they were all closed. And I know they're not open on Sunday for sure, so all I can do now is wait until Monday to take it in. Great. It's times like these when I don't want to drive anymore.

2003-02-22T07:55:00.000-07:00

"Is your name Olivia?"
That's what this guy asked me last night. Apparently I looked this girl he went to elementary with? Sorry man. First of all, even if I were Olivia don't you think I'd look a bit different? I mean, I could understand if I resembled someone he went to junior high or high school with, but elementary??

Random Thought
Have you ever wondered if there is someone else out there who resembles you? Or have you been approached by complete strangers and either (i) asked if your name is (fill in the blank) (like what happened to me); or (ii) told that you look like someone they know and are possibly related? I've had this happen to me a couple times. It's one thing if a friend says you look like someone, but to have a complete stranger come up to you and say that is another. I remember when I went to New York 5.5 years ago, I went into Armani Exchange and the sales lady asked if I was related to this girl that she knew because I looked like a friend of her's or something. As far as I know, I don't have any relatives in New York. But that would be weird if I did have relatives in New York and was related to that girl she was talking about.

Accident
I hit the railing on the freeway. I was merging onto the freeway and hit some black ice. Before I knew it, I was spinning out of control. Everything happened so fast, but at the same time it was going in slow motion? I did a 540, while the passenger side of my bumper clipped the railing on the freeway took it off. A stripped bumper, a cut lip, and some rattled nerves later, I stopped. There doesn't seem to be too much damage, besides the fact that I don't have a bumper. So now I have to take my car in to get it fixed. Great. This is one expense that I could do without. Oh well. At least the damage wasn't as bad as it could've been. And I'm glad that I'm OK.

2003-02-20T21:32:00.000-07:00

Español 100 - Lesson 4
Class wasn't cancelled last night. Thank goodness. I guess the reason class was cancelled last week was because our instructor was sick. But it still would've been nice to have gotten a phone call or something. I asked one of my classmates if they were notified, and apparently the school called them. Nice.

Anyway, this lesson focused on singular/plural possession, conjugation of verbs, and more dialogue. We went through so much material that I don't remember everything we covered. We basically finished the first unit of the lesson plan. Unfortunately, there was no singing this class. =P We did, however, get to play with balloons.

No cavities
I had my semi-annual dental check-up and I have no cavities. Woo hoo! I do have a bit of recession (I really should start using my electric toothbrush), but nothing too bad. One thing that I noticed after I left the dentist's office was that part of my tooth seemed transparent. I never really noticed it before, so I'm not sure if my tooth enamel is wearing off or something?

I'm going to Philadelphia
Yay! I'm finally taking some time off in March (5 days), and visiting Jenn in Philadelphia. I booked my ticket last night, and it's a good thing I did because there was only 1 seat left on the outbound flight to Toronto (according to the interactive seat map). I can't wait to go. I desperately need some time off to clear my head and pull myself together.

Bad case of the giggles
My supervisor and I had a bad case of the giggles this afternoon. I'm not really sure how it all started, but then he kept going on and on that everything just snowballed. We were laughing so much that even "our neighbor" started laughing. Talk about contagious laughter.

Back in the deep freeze
Well, maybe it's not as cold as it could be, but it's cold enough for me. We've gotten even more snow (ugh!), and the wind has picked up a bit. Why can't it be spring yet?

2003-02-17T00:01:00.000-07:00

Daredevil
It's been a long time since the "crew" went out to see a Sunday matinee. I met Irma, Irene, Joi and Phoun at the theatre and we saw Daredevil. I thought the movie was OK. Some parts kinda dragged, but overall it was not bad. One thing I did notice while watching the previews is that this year seems to be the year of the superheroes - X-Men 2, The Hulk, and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

After the movie, Joi, Phoun and I went to Mikado for sushi. I haven't had sushi for the longest time and I was craving it. It's a good thing we went when we did because we just beat the rush. The only thing that was annoying was this group in one of the rooms. They were so loud that I couldn't hear myself think. I was tempted to close the door just to give them privacy, but whatever.

Highlights:

"Where's the honey?"
Joi and Phoun are hardcore when it comes to wasabi
"friends don't let friends stay sober"
"friends don't let friends quit smoking"

2003-02-16T01:13:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Liz!
Well, actually it should be happy belated birthday since her birthday was on Wednesday. But I greeted her then too. Anyway, I went to Liz's new apartment (my first time there) for her birthday get together. A bunch of her friends had gone toboganning, which I was also invited to but didn't go because of my knee (yes, my knee is still screwed up), and then went to her apartment for some munchies. One thing about Liz is that she is so hospitable. And she always has some good food. I somehow ended up sitting at the table, with all this food in front of me. I tried hard to stay away from the not-so-healthy stuff, but that didn't happen. I did balance the not-so-healthy stuff with some fruit and veggies, so really in the end it balances out. Oh, who am I kidding? =P I met most of her friends and they seemed like really nice people. But I felt like the odd one in the group because they all knew each other.

One thing that Liz and I did, which we always do every year, is exchange Christmas presents. A bit late, I know, but somehow our schedules are always conflicting. She got me an alarm clock/radio, which I asked for (we always ask what the other person wants), so I can get rid of the small travel ones I've been using. It's too bad that we don't get to see too much of each other, but at least we keep in touch via phone/email. One thing's for sure, I know I will never lose touch with Liz. We've known each other way too long (since grade 4), to lose contact with each other.

2003-02-15T21:23:00.000-07:00

Rejuvenated
I had a 2 hour nap and I'm wide awake. I feel much better now. Now it's off to Liz's birthday party...

My archives are back...
... I fixed it. ;-)

2003-02-15T16:40:00.000-07:00

Traditional Valentine's Day Dinner
For the past couple of years, Irma, Jo Anne, Christine and I have gone out to dinner on Valentine's Day. It's become a tradition, since the four of us are all single. In the past we've gone to greek restaurants, but this year we thought we'd change it up a bit. Originally, the plan was to go The Creperie but they've been fully booked since two weeks ago. Then we thought about having East Indian food, but not everyone was in the mood for it. So we ended up going to Bul-Go-Gi House (korean restaurant) last night. The food was so good. But we ordered WAY too much. [mental note: try not to order so much food next time].

So what do singles do on Valentine's Day?
Well for us, we go out for dinner and catch up on what's been going on with us. We talk about work, our social calendar (or lack thereof), any other new interests/hobbies that me might have - pretty much anything and everything. The main highlight of the evening was that we set a goal for next Valentine's Day: to have a significant other by next year, and turn our foursome into an 8-person party. OK, no pressure!

Drinks, drinks, drinks
After dinner, Irma, Christine and I went to the usual for a couple drinks. We hung out there for a while and chit-chatted with a few of my co-workers. About an hour and a half later, Christine went home, while me, Irma and a couple of my co-workers headed to The Keg for more drinks.

Highlights:

laughing too much
Hank? William??... Johnny Cash!
play-by-play action on the people walking by
name that tune
ran into an acquaintance whom I haven't seen for 7 years

We finally called it a night just before midnight. A bit early considering it was a Friday night, but I had to work in the morning. :-(

Early start
I woke up at 6:30 am. Yup, 6:30am! I was supposed to get the day off, but since no one else could work, I had to go in. Ugh. And I had to go in bright and early because I was meeting Shelley and the other girls at 9:30 am to shop for bridesmaids dresses. I made it to the office at 8:30 am and realized I had to be out of there in 45 minutes, since I had to account for the 15 minute drive to the mall. And as much as I wanted the day to go smoothly, of course it didn't. The numbers weren't balancing at first, but then it all worked out. I ended up leaving the office at 9:45 am. Argh (OK, deep breath). I called Shelley to let her know I was running late, so it was all good. I raced down the freeway, picked up my mom, and met up with Shelley and the other bridesmaids at 10:00 am.

Think pink
Pink is one of the colors that Mike and Shelley chose for their wedding. So the plan was to look for pink dresses. How hard could that be? Well, it wasn't as easy as we thought. And it didn't help that the colors that were out were mostly dark (navy, burgundy - aren't these for fall weddings?) I also noticed a lot of red. I'm not sure who would wear red bridesmaids dresses, but whatever. I didn't realize how stressful it is to look for bridesmaids dresses. You have to take into account the right shade of pink (don't want anything too bright), the style (making sure it will suit all the bridesmaids), and the price (there's no sense in paying a lot of money for a dress that you're only going to wear once). But we had a lot of fun trying dresses on. For one of the dresses, we even walked out into the middle of the mall to see what the dress would look like under natural light. Some of the people passing by actually stopped and looked at us. I guess they thought we were modelling or something? After all the dresses we tried on, we managed to narrow it down to three choices. We're going to meet again in a couple of weeks to look for dresses, since some of the store said their shipment of new stuff hasn't arrived yet.

Exhausted
After walking for 3 hours, we called it a day. I grabbed something to eat and did some errands. Now that I'm home, I think I'm going to take a nap.

Where are the rest of my archives?
Even when I go to the archive page to republish them, they're not there. Hmmm, maybe Blogger is experiencing some technical difficulty?

2003-02-13T23:46:00.000-07:00

Rootbeer causes heartburn
Well, it does for me anyway. For the longest time, I've avoided carbonated drinks. OK, so perhaps I've had the occasional glass of champagne during New Year's, and maybe a sip of coke or 7-up (or whatever), but besides that, I haven't been drinking anything carbonated. Until tonight. I decided to have rootbeer (since someone drank my juice), and I don't know if it was because it was carbonated, or maybe I drank it too fast or something, but a couple minutes later I was having chest pains. I've never experienced heartburn before, so initially I wasn't sure what was going on. I felt very uncomfortable and it kinda hurt to breathe. I was told that it was heartburn. I'm OK now, but I don't want to experience that again. I'm definitely staying away from carbonated drinks.

2003-02-12T21:48:00.000-07:00

~~Español 100 - Lesson 4~~ Class Cancelled
I have this routine when I go to Spanish class. First, I park my car in the parkade (and yes, I remembered to take my ticket with me) and park on the second level next to the pedway. Then, I go through the pedway, down a flight of stairs, and to the store to get a drink (either a bottled water or a juice) and a sometimes a snack (depending on whether or not I have a snack with me already). Then I go up the stairs to the third floor to my class (room 6-338), and sit at my regular spot. But when I got to my class, I noticed a yellow piece of paper on the door:

Wed, Jan 12/03
SPAN 0100(552)
5:30 to 8:00 pm
E. Palomino
CLASS CANCELLED

Great. I go all the way downtown for nothing. I spent $3.76 on a drink and snacks, and $1.00 for 45 minutes of parking. It's not the fact that I spent money, but just the time it took for me to go there. Plus, I was really looking forward to the class. Ugh. So instead, I went to...

Kickboxing class
The first thing I heard when I walked through the door was, "you're early". Not once; not twice; but 4 times, since I got there an hour before class. Normally I'd go to the gym beforehand, but since it wasn't worth it to go to the gym for half an hour, I went straight to kickboxing. I hadn't been to class for over a week because of my knee (which, by the way, is still bruised up). So it was good to get back into it, except that I couldn't work as hard as I wanted to, simply because of my left knee. I really hope it gets better soon. There's so many other activities that I want to do but can't because I'm afraid of injuring my knee even more.

Philadelphia Update
Jenn left a message for me, letting me know of her finalized schedule. So, it looks like I'm going to Philadelphia for 4 days. Yay! I know it's not that long, but I need a vacation. And if it has to be a mini one, then so be it. I know I'll be able to take some time off during summer, so it's OK.

2003-02-09T15:56:00.000-07:00

Hockey game, nicknames, & spelling games
On Friday night, I went to the Keg with a co-worker of mine and his friends to watch the first period of the hockey game between Edmonton and Chicago. After the first period, we picked up Irma and Irene and headed to the Sawmill to watch the rest of the game. Unfortunately, Edmonton lost to Chicago 3-4 :-(

After the game, we hung out for a while, got something to eat and had a few bevvies. Irene seemed to have a bit of trouble eating her nachos, not because it tasted bad, but because of the portion. And she even ordered a small! After I ate my cajun chicken caesar wrap, I helped her out as much as I could (hey, I was hungry =P). Somewhere in the midst of things, we somehow came up with nicknames for everyone:

Boo Boo Bear (Rick)
Bunny Foo Foo (François)
Lee King Chin (leaking chin - Jay)
Heidi (Irene)
Nala (Irma)
Banana Sophia (me)

And if that weren't enough, we also came up with spelling games:

s-m-all
s-m-art (we figured Bunny Foo Foo was lacking in this department, hence making him s-t-upid
s-p-ell (again, Bunny Foo Foo didn't get this one)
s-t-umped

It was a fun evening, so much so that my stomach hurt from laughing so much.

Double movie, double your pleasure, double meaning?
After work on Saturday, I vegged for a bit, took a 30-minute power nap, and then met Louise and Mary at the movie theatre. We had planned to see a double feature, and then go out afterwards. Before we got into the theatre, we were a bit worried that we wouldn't be able to see the second movie, because there seemed to be more managers/supervisors working this time. (Hmmm, could they be catching on to what we're doing? - Nah!) The first movie was Just Married. It as a cute movie and I thought it was really funny. After the movie, we took a bathroom break and "casually" walked into Shanghai Knights, which just "happened" to be right across from us. We managed to walk in without anyone noticing, which was good. That was a funny movie as well, and by the time we got out of the theater, our cheeks were sore from laughing.

Highlights:

fruity deodorant?
"Oh my god"
Mary gets excited easily
almost walking into a pole

After the movies, it was off to downtown to meet Mary's friend's friend, who was showcasing some of his art work at this cyber café. But before we went there, Louise and I dropped our cars off at Mary's place, and took Mary's car to the café. When we got there, there were 2 guys performing (one of whom was the artist guy). We sat in these big comfy chairs, listened to them perform, and had something to eat.

Highlights:

Mary and I on the same wavelength
almost walked into a parking meter
pole vs. bar
Spiderman song
"before & after" art pictures
pickle vs. banana
Todd can't seem to hear properly (double meaning)
Ugly song ("...and if she says she just wants to be friends, she thinks you're ugly...")

We called it a night around 12:30 am, but didn't really get out of there until about 12:45 am. Go figure.

Random Thought
What are the chances of 2 guys having the same name, both being bald, and both being artists? Well after Saturday night, I'd say the chances are pretty good...

Snowboarding 101 - Make-up Lesson
Since my knee wasn't 100%, I decided not to go snowboarding. I was kinda bummed because I really wanted to go, but the last thing I need to do is really hurt my knee. A part of it is still numb, so I'm wondering if I did some nerve damage? (Obviously, I haven't gone to the doctor yet).

Call from Philadelphia
My friend Jenn called me from Philadelphia to let me know what her schedule is like in March so I can go visit her. It's not quite finalized, but it looks like I'm going the third weekend in March. I can't wait!

Static toes
I was cleaning (first time in a long time), and as I was wiping down the tv screen, not realizing that the tv was still on (hey, the screen was black, so I figured it was off), I got static shocks in my toes. It was the weirdest feeling. Then I realized it was because the tv was still on. Oops! =P

2003-02-07T16:09:00.000-07:00

Trapped in an alley
So I'm driving down a back alley, and as I get toward the end, a truck that's trying to back up to one of the buildings gets stuck. Uh, OK. I figured it wasn't a big problem and that I could just back up and go the other way. Only problem was, there was a big 16-wheeler blocking my way. Picture it, a truck in front of me that's stuck, and a big Tim Horton's rig behind me trying to maneuver his way out of the alley. And there's me, stuck in the middle. A couple workers from Tim Horton's couldn't help but giggle at my predicament. I couldn't help but laugh myself. But what could I do. After about 15 minutes, I managed to get around the truck in front of me and get out. I think I'm gonna have to limit my back alley driving for now. At least until all this snow melts.

2003-02-06T23:54:00.000-07:00

Español 100 - Lesson 3
Last night's class focused on giving personal information (i.e. name, surname, nationality, and occupation) through Q&A. We also got into los colores (rojo, azul, verde, etc), los números (cero - veinte), subject pronouns (yo, tú, él, etc), and adjectives.

Key words/phrases:

Es usted canadiense?
Es usted caliente? (of course my response to this was "si" =P)
otorrinolaringologo = otorhinolaryngologist

[Sidenotes: Annoying girl is still annoying. And entering the parkade 5 minutes earlier cost me an extra $1, when it's supposedly $1/hr. Does that make sense?]

Update on my knee injury
OK, so maybe "injury" is a bit much, but it's still sore. I am able to walk without limping, but the bruise is still numb. Is that normal?

2003-02-04T19:59:00.000-07:00

Don't you hate it when...
...you're walking toward the cashier at any store, in this case Staples, carrying a big box of paper, and 2 guys carrying nothing but a notebook and a couple pens, hurry toward the cashier so that they can get in line before you? AND they don't even have the common courtesy to at least move up a bit so that I can at least set the big box of paper down on the counter! AND to make things worse, because of the fact that they wouldn't move, I decided to go to another cashier so I could set the stupid box of paper down, but on my way to the other till, I tripped over the carpet and fell on my knees, thereby making my knees even worse, since I fell on them enough times over the weekend. OUCH! !@#$!!

My left knee is numb. I don't think this is a good thing...

2003-02-03T00:58:00.000-07:00

Snowboarding 101 - Lesson 4
It was a wonderful day to go snowboarding with very nice weather. Irma and I got to the hill an hour before our lesson so that we could warm up. There weren't that many people at first, but then out of nowhere a whole crowd of people just showed up. We warmed up for about 45 minutes, took a 15 minute break, and then met our instructor for our lesson. Since we missed our lesson last week, we went over stuff we did before, and then worked on our turns. For some reason, I find it easier to do the toe-side turn, than the heel-side turn, even though the toe-side turn is supposedly more difficult (according to our instructor)? Go figure.

Highlights:

how many times will the chair lift stop?
grade 5 kid singing the opera (this kid was way too happy to be in lessons, although it was good that he was so encouraging toward other kids in his group)
Irma did a turn - yay! :-)
I fell on my knees twice! Ugh. And it didn't help that I banged them up the night before while curling. I think my knees are screwed up now...

After the lesson, Irma and I headed home. We were both quite tired, and I wanted to get some sleep. [But that didn't happen]

A new activity?
As I mentioned, I went curling Saturday night. Who'd ever thought that I would go curling. Well, I did. I went with a co-worker of mine, whose friends were putting together this curling thing. And it turned out to be quite fun. But it's harder than it looks. To make an analogy, curling is like a combination between bowling and shuffleboard on ice. Anyway, we drove out to the middle of nowhere (the highway we drove down was like a scene from the Blair Witch Project), where we met up with 30 other people. The way this event worked was that you'd play 3 ends, go for a drink, play 3 ends, go for another drink, play 3 ends, and drink, eat, and drink. And during the games, it was a good thing to have an "aiming drink" (I found those helped a lot =P). Out of the 3 games we played, our team lost all 3 :-( [3-0 in the first, 4-1 in the second, and 2-1 in the third] But I had fun. A couple people thought I had curled before since I had good form? It definitely takes a while to get the hang of it, especially when you're throwing the rock. I think the hardest part of it is the sweeping. You don't notice it until a day after when you're chest and back muscles are sore. Hmmm, could this be another activity I will get myself into? We'll see...

2003-01-29T23:13:00.000-07:00

Español 100 - Lesson 2
¡Hola! ¿Comó está? ¿Comó se llama usted? As you can see I'm practicing my spanish. I'm having a lot of fun in this class. Today, we reviewed what we learned last class and learned more about masculine vs. feminine, singular vs. plural. And to make the class a little interesting, our instructor brought in some props. There was Curioso Jorge (Curious George), Rosa (the puppet), and Andrés (the troll doll), as well as small toys to help us learn certain words (bicicleta, libro, auto, tractor, etc.). We also got a chance to practice with each other which was good. Then after a 10 minute break, we started to learn a bit of dialogue. The class ended off with a song, Beber, Beber (some drinking song?), with our instructor playing the guitar. I think learning the language is going to be a bit easier, just because he's making it more fun to learn.

Update on Parking
I ended up paying for parking today. Not that it was a big deal (it was only $3 for 3 hours), but I got the machine to read my ticket. I also noticed the "Please bring ticket with you to pay at ticket booth inside college" (or something to that effect), as I drove into the parkade. Funny how I didn't notice that sign last week? Oh well.

Random Thought
Do you ever notice that in a classroom setting, there always seems to be one person that's annoying? There's this one girl in my class who just goes on and on and on about how she's having a bit of trouble with the language and rolling the r's. Uh hello, this is why we're all here - to learn the language. You could tell that she just wanted the attention.

Random Thought #2
What are the chances that 2 people have the same name in one class? I'm not talking about common names like, Chris or Dave or even Michelle (there's another Michelle in my class). But what about Niccola & Nikola? Sure they're spelled different, but it's the same name. I don't think I've ever seen that name in any of my classes when I was in college, let alone 2.

2003-01-28T20:18:00.000-07:00

Post-weekend report

Friday
After a touch kickboxing class, I met up with a co-worker at the Keg for a couple of drinks (yeah I know, it's not really healthy especially after a workout, but it was made with freshly squeezed orange juice =P), and to watch the hockey game. Unfortunately, Edmonton lost to Phoenix 1-5 :-( After the game, we headed to Irma's place to hang out. The intention was to visit for 1 to 1.5 hours. But after chit-chatting, and looking at old pictures, we didn't leave until 2:30 am (sorry, Irms). Ugh. And I had to work in the morning. Oh well. It's not like I haven't done that before...

Saturday
So after about 4 hours of sleep, I went to work. It was brutal. But I seemed to manage OK. By the time I was done, it was about 2:00 pm, and I had to meet my supervisor for lunch. We went for mexican and I had the chicken quesadilla and deep fried ice cream for dessert (yum!).

Fashion Consultant

fashion consultant

Happy Birthday Sue

usual

Highlights:
"...Shelley this is Irma, Irma this is Shelley..." (hehe)
heart of the ocean necklace
"...oh yeah, Sharon this is Uma, Uma this is Sharon..." (hehehe)
"This one time in Lloydminster..."
blah blah blah blah blah...
Where's the draft?
"... btw, Shannon this is Elma, Elma this is Shannon..." (lol!)

Sunday
[Snowboarding 101 - Lesson 4: Due to unfavorable weather conditions, snowboarding has been postponed to next week]
Woke up at 10:00 am. I looked out the window and noticed it was windy out. Irma and I had talked about not going snowboarding if it was windy, since it would be cold on the hill. So, I called her but she didn't pick up the phone (she must've unplugged her phone again). I dozed off and woke up an hour and a half later. I looked out the window again, and it was still windy. I called Irma again, and she finally picked up. I told her that it was windy outside and that I was WAY too tired to go snowboarding. Hmmm, could being involved in all these activities be catching up with me? We both went back to sleep. And by the time I woke up and got out of bed, it was 2:30 pm! Whoa! I haven't slept that much in a long time. I guess it was my body's way of telling me that I needed the rest. So instead, it was a lazy Sunday [your welcome Irma ;-)]. I stayed in my pyjamas for most of the day and did absolutely nothing.

Superbowl XXVII
I'm not a big football fan, but I know enough about the game to understand it. Mind you, I'm not a big sports fan in general, but I know enough to understand and appreciate them. Anyway, the football game between Oakland and Tampa Bay was probably one of the most boring games I've ever seen. Oakland made some bad plays and pretty much handed the Superbowl Championship to Tampa Bay. The half-time show was OK, although I'm not a big fan of Shania Twain. But I did like No Doubt and Sting. Bon Jovi at the end of the game was not bad either.

Back to work on Monday
It was a long day. So much so that, even though I went to kickboxing after work, I couldn't really get into it. Louise, Mary, and Jess weren't really into the class either, so the 4 of us kinda goofed around. We tried to work hard, but in the end, we laughed more than worked out.

2003-01-24T15:42:00.000-07:00

Call From Philadelphia

I just got off the phone with my friend Jenn, who's in Philadelphia right now for work. It seems like she's doing OK. A bit homesick, but things seem to be going fine. I miss her. I can't wait to visit her in March...

2003-01-22T21:02:00.000-07:00

Español 100
Hola! One thing on my "to do" list this year is to take a language course, specifically Spanish. Why? (i) Just because, (ii) I'm planning to go to Mexico this year, so I figure it'll be helpful to know some of the language, (iii) it'll change things up for me as far as putting me in the "school mode", and (iv) my horoscope mentioned that I'd be taking an academic challenge this month. So, Spanish it is.

The main focus of the class is to learn the basics in speaking the language and enunciating the letters correctly. We started with the alphabet and learned colors, and practiced saying a whole bunch of words. About an hour and a half of repeating certain words, we took a 10 minute break, and then learned the history of Spanish. It was a good first class and I'm looking forward to next week.

One thing I didn't like was the parking situation. Well, it wasn't that bad because I parked in the parkade. But what threw me was the way they had things set up. Normally, you'd enter the parkade, press the green (or whatever color) button and get your ticket, find a spot in the parkade, and leave the ticket on your dashboard. In this parkade, you do almost the same thing, except you take your ticket with you and pay for it before you leave at the pre-pay ticket booth at the end of the pedway? They don't have people sitting at the gate on your way out, which is why you have to pay for it before you leave. Uh, OK. It didn't make sense to me at first when I noticed the "Did you remember your ticket?" sign on the door upon entering the building (uh, yeah I remembered my ticket and left it in the car), and the "Did you remember to pay your ticket?" sign on your way out (how am I supposed to pay for the ticket if it's in my car?). OK, so my brain was a bit frozen at the time =P. When I finally clued on what I had to do, I went back inside to pay for my ticket. Only problem was, the machine wasn't working and it wouldn't let me pay for my ticket. Another guy who was also trying to pay his ticket (who also happens to be in my Spanish class), couldn't get his ticket to work as well. So we called security/parking, they took our names down, and we ended up getting free parking. Sounds good to me ;-) Hmmm, I wonder if this parking machine will always be like this?

Happy Anniversary to me!
Hard to believe it's only been one year since I've been with this company. Seems like longer. You know what they say: time flies when you're having fun... ;-)

2003-01-22T08:53:00.000-07:00

You know it's cold when...

you go to unplug your car and the extension cord is frozen

you turn the key to open your car door and it barely moves

you open the car door and it creaks

you sit in your car and the seats are frozen solid (good thing I don't have leather seats)

your car barely starts, even though you had it plugged in overnight (so what's the point?!?)

you have to slam the car door to close it

everything is frosted (cars, trees, roof tops) and you can almost see the frost in the air

*sigh* Oh the wonderful world of winter... =P [think warm thoughts...]

2003-01-21T23:37:00.000-07:00

Can we please get some warmer weather?

Either that, or can someone send me somewhere tropical? Currently it is approximately -26C (-35C at the airport). It's too DAMN COLD! But they say it's supposed to get warmer by the end of the week. Yeah, we'll see...

2003-01-19T16:59:00.000-07:00

Snowboarding 101 - Lesson 3
The weather wasn't too bad today, but we got more snow. Good for the hills, but bad on visibility, especially if you don't have any goggles. Anyway, our regular instructor wasn't there today so we got a substitute. We continued learning our turns, but for some reason I just couldn't get the technique down. I don't know if it was because of the instructor, the weather, or what, but this lesson didn't seem to go as well as the other 2. After our lesson, Irma and I went up the hill a couple more times, then called it a day due to unfavorable weather conditions and the fact that there were a lot of people waiting to go on the chair lift. Plus, I fell on my knee again so it's quite sore.

Highlights:

nutcracker on snowboard...or is it crack on snowboard...how about nuts on snowboards? hehehe =P
if you can't do circles on the hill, then why not circles on the road?
Irma traumatizing herself, by herself ;-)

And in other news
I'm starting to slack off with my posts (among other things). It's not that I don't have anything to write about, it's finding the time to write. Even though I'm on the computer all day at work, you'd think I'd be able to sneak in a bit of time on the internet. Uh, nope. And it doesn't help that I'm training again. Ugh. Maybe I'm doing too much??

Another almost free Saturday
I only had to go into work for an hour and a half, which worked out perfect since I wanted to go to kickboxing at 1:00 pm. Class was tough again, but it was good. Now, if I can just keep up with this routine...

Four Rooms
After kickboxing, I met Irma and Irene at Four Rooms on Friday night. Bonnie and Mike were there (for Mike's birthday) and it was good to see them again. It was a laid back type of night which was good since I wasn't really in the mood to party.

a la mode = you know it (hehehe =P)
reminiscing about New Year's Eve again

2003-01-12T22:35:00.000-07:00

Snowboarding 101 - Lesson 2

Despite the cold weather (-21C), Irma and I still made it to our snowboarding lesson. What's a little cold weather, right Irms? ;-) Anyway, today's lesson consisted of reviewing what we learned last class (heel edge, toe edge), and we also learned how to turn (from heel to toe and vice versa). I couldn't get it at first because I wasn't putting enough weight on my front foot. But after a couple tries, I got the hang of it. I somehow managed to go down the hill in circles [...because the day's not complete without at least one circle...], going from heel-toe to toe-heel. It's kinda hard to describe - you had to be there. After our lesson, we continued but Irma called it quits when she had a bad fall (hope you're OK). I got in a couple more runs and called it quits as well when I fell on my knee. Ouch! It's not that bad though, but it'll be bruised for a while. I also hurt my hand (my scaphoid, I think?), so I'm going to be a bit sore when I go into work tomorrow. Oh well. No pain, no gain, right?

Highlights:

young snowboarder dude giving us tips
"synchronized snowboarding"

2003-01-12T11:25:00.000-07:00

Made another change to the font color. It's easier to read now

2003-01-12T11:05:00.000-07:00

Argh!

My car won't start. Battery is dead and one of my tires is flat. I need a new car...

2003-01-09T02:30:00.000-07:00

Comments thing seems to be working...

2003-01-09T02:01:00.000-07:00

New Look

I figured with the new year, I'd change up my blog template. Which is why I haven't been posting lately. Well, I have been posting just not publishing. I was kinda going for a "winter" look, but it's still a work in progress. Gotta add in the comments thing too...

2003-01-07T22:33:00.000-07:00

Announcement

My friend Jenn is engaged! Yay! I kinda had a feeling she was going to tell me that, based on the message she left me. But her email confirmed it. And not only that, she's also going to Philadelphia for a few months for work. I'm glad that she's going, but at the same time I'm a bit bummed that I won't be able to see her before she leaves (especially since I haven't seen her since September). Hmmm, I guess I'll have to make a trip out to Philadelphia to visit her. ;-)

2003-01-06T21:55:00.000-07:00

Snowboarding 101
Irma and I decided we'd take snowboarding lessons. And not just the one hour crash course you take when you go to the mountains, but actual lessons (like over a 5 week period) where you can fine tune your skills. This was on our "to-do" list last year, but seeing as we weren't able to accomplish it then, we carried it forward to this year. Anyway, I woke up early yesterday morning again (I think there's something wrong with me), and got ready for the day. I called Irma a couple times, and found out later that she unplugged her phone so she could sleep in. Huh? What's wrong with this picture? Usually, I'm the one sleeping in and Irma's the one getting up early. But now the roles have reversed. When I finally got a hold of her, I picked her up and we headed to the local ski hill.

When we got there, we got our gear and proceeded to our lesson. Since we went to Panorama last April, we kinda new some of the basics. The instructor reviewed the basics with us and we practiced on the slopes. After our lesson, Irma and I snowboarded for another hour and called it a day. I would've stayed longer, but I still had my staff Christmas party to go to. Plus, Irma was fighting a cold (hurry up and get better).

Staff Christmas Party
After snowboarding, I went home and got ready for my staff Christmas party. A bit late, I know, but since everyone's always busy with their own thing during the holidays, it was easier to get everyone together after the holidays. All of the managers, including your's truly, had to bartend last night. And let's just say that that was interesting. The only thing I didn't like was the fact that I had to bartend from 11:30 to 1:30 am. Ugh. But that's OK. It was fun. I was paired up with my supervisor and at first we didn't know where everything was. After a while, I got the hang of it, and next thing you know, we were pouring drinks left, right and center. During this time, people were getting me shots. So after about an hour or so of bartending, I was pretty much done for the night. I ended up leaving early, but got someone to cover for me. ;-)

2003-01-05T02:07:00.000-07:00

Movies, movies, movies

Movie # 1
I went to my friend's place for dinner last night, and since I hadn't seen Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon yet (yes I know, I'm a bit behind =P), we decided to watch it. I still wasn't able to watch the whole movie because I had to meet my friend, Louise, later that evening (since it was her birthday and we planned to see a couple movies). I got to the fight scene between Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Zi Yi. So now I have to watch the rest of the movie another time.

Movie # 2
I rushed down the freeway and met Louise at the movie theatre. When I got there there was a major line. Good thing Louise was already standing in line. The theatre manager made an announcement that there was only single seating and front row seating left for Catch me if you can. I figured that we could probably get people to move down the row or something, so we went in. I went up and down the aisle and asked if seats were available, etc., and sure enough they were. Damn. So that meant that we had to sit in the front. Not good. But it wasn't too bad. It's a good thing that it wasn't an action flick, otherwise we wouldn't be able to watch it. It turned out to be a really good movie. After the movie, we had 20 minutes to spare before the next one started, so we took a bathroom break, and walked into the next theatre [shhhh, we snuck into this one ;-)].

Movie # 3
The next movie for the evening was Gangs of New York. Yup, it was a Leonardo DiCaprio theme night. I didn't like this movie that much because (i) it was long, (ii) too much blood and guts for me, and (iii) did I mention it was long? It was a fun evening though, especially since we were able to watch 2 movies for the price of 1. ;-)

I think I'm movie'd out...

2003-01-04T16:10:00.000-07:00

My first Saturday off
Woo hoo! I don't remember the last time I had a Saturday off. So to take advantage of it, I woke up early, went to the gym, and then to kickboxing (since they're adding a Saturday class now). I felt much better and more refreshed. It was definitely a good way to start off the day.

Body Mass Index
While I was at the gym, I decided to get my body mass index done. I was just curious to see where I was at. One of the trainers did the "pinch test", where she pinched my triceps, my stomach, and my leg with this clamp thing. And based on the results of the "pinch test" and my age, my body mass index is 15.3 (normal is between 18 - 20). Hmmm, I guess I'm in better shape than I thought. I figured I would've put on a bit of weight after all that holiday eating.

111 Street & 72 Avenue
That's the intersection I was at when my odometer reached 242,000 km. Wow, I've put on 65,000 km on my car since I got it almost 4 years ago. But I guess that's average mileage? Hmmm, I wonder what my odometer will read by the time I sell it?

2003-01-01T22:08:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year!
And so begins another year. I can't believe it's 2003! Time seems to be going by faster and faster each year. Will it ever slow down? As with every other year, I usually have a "to-do" list which I make for myself. A list of things I'd like to do, see, accomplish, etc. I'm not too sure if I was able to do most of the things on last year's list, but I know that I'm definitely going to do my best to tackle this year's "to-do" list. Hopefully, I can do them all.

New Year's Eve Party
This year (or should I say last year?), Irma and I decided to go out for New Year's Eve. In the past, I've always been at home (or at a house party) for New Year's Eve, watching Dick Clark on tv (does that guy ever age?). But this year, I wanted to experience being out at a party. And not just any party, but a formal one. You know me, I just want to dress up and look good. =P

Now, the plan was:

work until 1:00 pm
do some errands until 3:00 pm
take a power nap until 4:00 pm
be ready for new year's eve party by 7:00 pm
meet Irma, Irene, Joi, and Deanna at Irma's apartment at 7:45 pm

But what actually happened:

worked until 2:00 pm
had lunch until 3:00 pm
met my brother at 3:45 pm
went to London Drugs to pick up pictures and get more film
got home at 4:30 pm (0.5 hours behind schedule)
got ready (took me an hour to do my hair, but hey I looked good =P)
went to Irma's at 7:00 pm – I was in panic mode because I had to re-do my nails (since they chipped from doing them the night before)
waited for Deanna and Joi
headed to the Black and White on Whyte party at around 8:15 pm

The party was a lot of fun. Although I expected people to be a bit more formal. I mean, it was supposed to be a formal party, so I figured all the guys would be in tux's and the girls would be in gowns or something. Instead, most of the guys were just in regular suits, and the girls were in cocktail dresses. There were actually a couple guys wearing jeans? (who let these guys in?). Oh well. It was a good party nonetheless.

Highlights:

took lots of pictures (3 rolls of film = 75 shots)
"that's Davis" (3x)
I'm a princess
aka Raymond
co-worker trying to look down my dress (here, let me make it easier for you… =P)
had my quota plus 5 drinks (give or take one or two?)
I sprayed myself with my champagne [mental note: drinking champagne = headache)
I need a cracker
my dress got spilled on (argh!)
spent the night at Irma's

Today was a lounge-around-recovery day. I would've liked to have slept in, but my phone was beeping. Ugh. I also noticed that Irene was talking in her sleep. The funny thing was, she turned to me, asked me if she was talking in her sleep, and then answered herself. I don't think she was fully aware of what was going on. (hehe). Once we all got up, we had brunch and then lounged around until 3:00 pm. I could've stayed in my pyjamas all day, but I hadn't been home yet. So I changed, and then we ordered some pizza. We watched a bit of tv, then I dozed off for a little while. I finally decided to head home at around 6:30 pm.

Phrase of the Day: "Last night was so much fun…"

2002-12-29T22:51:00.000-07:00

It's finally winter

I woke up this morning and it was snowing. A bit late since we didn't get any of the white stuff on Christmas (not that I'm complaining). Anyway, I got up, had lunch, and went to work. Yup, went to work on a Sunday. Wasn't too happy about it, but with the year end, and all this stuff we have to do for the last payroll of the year, I had to go in and do as much as I can. The worst part was getting to work and realizing that I left my keys at home. Ugh. It took me 45 minutes to get to work because of the road conditions (plus, some car hit a light post), about 20 minutes to drive back home (the other side of the freeway was clear), and another 25 minutes to get back to the office. By the time I finally made it to the office, it was almost 2:00 pm. About seven hours later, I went home. I definitely need a vacation...

2002-12-26T23:27:00.000-07:00

It feels like Monday
Having Christmas in the middle of the week sure screws things up. Christmas felt like Sunday and today feels like Monday, but it's really Thursday. I'm confused.

Olive Garden
I went for lunch with a friend of mine to the Olive Garden. We both hadn't been there in a while, so we decided to go there. We figured that there wouldn't be too many people in restaurants because everyone would be too busy with Boxing Day shopping. And sure enough, the restaurant wasn't that busy. What annoyed me was our server. I realize she was just trying to be attentive, but she was overdoing it. I mean it's one thing to check up on us and make sure our food was OK, but did she really need to visit our table every 8.5 minutes? I don't think so. We got our salad and breadsticks, she asked how everything was. We hadn't even gotten through half our salad and our lunch came (chicken vino blanco - very good). And again, she came by and asked if we were done with the salad. Uh, not quite. She came back again and asked how our lunch was, but we hadn't even had a chance to taste it, since we were still working on our salad. When we finally got to the entrée, she came back yet again and asked how everything was. It got to the point where we had to pretend that we were on our cell phones, just so she wouldn't come by. Perhaps she didn't have many tables, and was bored or something. But it was like she was hovering over us, watching our every move. I think she got the hint when we started grabbing our cell phones everytime she'd pass by. Anyway, we hung out there for a while and just caught up on stuff. [Sidenote: I think I have a new drink: venetian sunset (made with sparkling wine, pineapple juice, and grenadine)].

Star Trek Nemesis
After lunch, it was off to see Star Trek with Joi (we have this ritual of seeing Star Trek or other sci-fi movies together). I know you said not to watch it (as per your blog), but I had to. And just like the other Star Trek movie Joi and I saw (I don't remember which one, and yes Joi, we did see one a long time ago), I fell asleep during part of the movie. The beginning just dragged on and on, and I couldn't get into it. I must've dozed off for a while because then some action scenes came on, and I was able to stay awake for that. Then it kinda slowed down again, and I was about to fall asleep again, but managed to keep my eyes open. Sorry Joi, but I think this is the last Star Trek movie we'll ever watch. I'll watch other sci-fi movies with you, but not Star Trek ones.

Movie #2
After Star Trek, I headed to my co-workers place and watched Original Sin. As the movie says, "it is not a love story, but a story about love". Julia (Angelina Jolie) marries Luis (Antonio Banderas), but little does he know that she isn't who she claims to be (he finds out later on in the movie). He thinks that she's this girl he's been writing to, when really she's not. She pretty much scams him for his money, but then later on they end up together because they really do love each other. Whatever. The movie was OK.

Back to work
After having a couple days off, I really don't want to go back to work tomorrow. See, this is why Christmas should be longer... =P

2002-12-26T01:01:00.000-07:00

And so ends another Christmas...

After all the hoopla of shopping, and the parties, and the food, and the gifts, and the tree, and the lights, it's all over. So much preparation, and it's all over in one day. You'd think that with the amount of time that's spent preparing for Christmas, it would at least last for a week or something. But nope. One day only. Don't get me wrong, I like Christmas (even though I didn't quite feel it as much this year as I did in previous years), and spending time with family and friends, but it could've lasted a bit longer.

We spent Christmas at my aunt and uncle's this year. There was lots of food, and my cousin got a whack load of presents. Of course, he's only a year and a half, so he's supposed to be spoiled. He was so cute, opening up his presents. I think the best present he got was this mini Dirt Devil cleaning set, complete with mop, broom, dust pan, etc, that my brother and Shelley got for him. As soon as he opened it up, he started sweeping the floor. It was quite funny. We hung out for a while, and then headed home to open the rest of our presents.

And now it's time to get some sleep. Thank goodness I'm not working tomorrow. And I'm NOT stepping foot into a mall either. Boxing day sales last way past boxing day anyway, so why bother "fighting" with other people for stuff. Sure there's more selection and all, but is it really worth it? I'll just wait a while. They end up slashing prices even more anyway, so I'm not worried. Besides, I'd rather go for lunch with a friend of mine (whom I haven't seen in a while), and go to a movie with Joi later in the afternoon.

I think I'm losing my touch...

...with gift-giving that is. The gift I got for my brother and Shelley - they already got one for themselves. And for my aunt and uncle, they already had 2 out of 3 things I got for them. Ugh. I'm thinking I don't want to be here next Christmas...

2002-12-25T12:08:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to say...

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!

2002-12-23T23:22:00.000-07:00

I'm done!!!

Yay! I finally finished my Christmas shopping! Yay for me!! It took me an hour, but it's finally done. And everything's wrapped. Woo hoo! I feel much better now.

Phrase of the day

"Oh my god"

2002-12-22T23:33:00.000-07:00

Just when I thought I'm done...
After calling Irma with my panic attack, I realized that I have yet another gift to get. Ugh. The plan for one of my presents, didn't quite work as well as I hoped, which means I have to get something in place of it. Argh! Is this shopping list ever going to end? Well, at least 98% of my presents are wrapped...or should I say bagged?

Walnut Creek
That's the name of the red wine my brother and I had tonight. We both agreed that it goes well with pancit. Who would've thought?

Sunday night programming?
I actually watched tv tonight. Surprising, since I usually watch tv on Thursdays only. I almost forgot what it was like to watch tv on weekends. I ended up watching Junior with Arnold Schwartzeneggar and Danny De Vito. I could've watched The Sound of Music, but since I have the video I didn't bother. [Speaking of which, Irma, when did you want to watch it?]

2002-12-22T18:00:00.000-07:00

I'm exhausted
Three more days...

Saturday
After work, I went shopping. I had to. My plan was to finish all of my shopping that afternoon, but that didn't happen. I got most of my shopping done, but not all of it. Then it was off to Rachel & Brian's for the "Annual Christmas Party". Since I was in the Philippines this time last year, it had been a while since I last saw most of the people there, so it was good to see them again.

Irma breaks out in song ("..her name was Lola, she was a showgirl..." hehehe =P)
Irene's on a diet?
I'm still hungry

Irma and I hung out there for a while and then headed to The Keg for a drink and a late night snack.

[Sidenote: Even with this Christmas party, I still wasn't in the Christmas mode. Is anyone else feeling like this?]

I'm 99% done my shopping...
Yay! I woke up at 10:30 am, walked to the mall (since it's just across the street and I figured I wouldn't be able to park anywhere if I drove), and got the last few presents I had to get. The only thing left on my list is a bottle of wine for my aunt and uncle. Now it's time to wrap them. (I'm taking the easy route this year and using gift bags). I should be able to relax after this.

2002-12-20T23:02:00.000-07:00

5 more days

OK, so I'm officially in my panic mode. I wasn't quite there yesterday, but now I am. I was planning to get off work early so I could finish the last bit of shopping I had to do, but that didn't happen. Instead, I left work at about 6:00 pm and ran around like a mad woman. I didn't even stop to get something to eat, since it would be cutting into my shopping time. Since the malls close at 9:00 pm (if they closed later, I didn't know about it), I figured I had about 2 hours and 15 minutes of shopping (the other 45 minutes was spent driving around). I'm not sure what possessed me to buy something for myself (I think this is a result of Irma's subliminal message), but I did. Then I got presents for 3 other people. I still have about half a dozen things to get, but I pretty much have a game plan. It's just a matter of finding the time to get all this stuff. As much as I don't want to shop on the weekend, it looks like I have no choice. I could put it off until Monday, but I don't think it's going to be much different than the weekend. *sigh*

I just realized that the reason I was feeling all flustered yesterday was because of the full moon effect. OK, so maybe it's not entirely because of the full moon, but it seems that everytime there's a full moon, my day seems to be "off", whether it be in a good way or a bad way.

2002-12-20T01:03:00.000-07:00

6 more days

I can feel the intensity of my panic mode gradually increase as Christmas gets closer and closer. AARRGGHH!! I don't think I'd be so frustrated, if I wasn't so busy at work. Irma, I think your subliminal message had a negative effect on me. ;-) I didn't get a chance to go shopping tonight because (i) my day was completely screwed up, (ii) I was at work until 6:45 pm, and (iii) I met Sue after work and we went to Yokozuna's for sushi. I like going there because it's a nice little place and the food is reasonable, but I wasn't too happy about waiting almost an hour for our food. It's not usually like that, but apparently the cook was way behind. Gee, thanks for telling us that an hour later, when you brought us our food =P. I did enjoy the plum wine though :-)

Hmmm, maybe the reason I'm feeling so flustered is because I haven't reached my quota of alcohol consumption for the week. Or maybe it's because I need a vacation. Or maybe it's because I need to get some sleep. *yawn*