Season's Greetings

I slept over at Kit's place last night...so it was fun...stayed up until 230 am talking and giggling...then had to get up grouchily to get driven back home at 8 am. Then I slept until noon.

Family is happy, I am happy, everyone is relatively healthy and I'm seriously unstressed. My dad is bringing me coffee made from his new coffee machine and I've already eaten a ridiculous amount of chocolate this morning.

NOW FOR THE OBLIGATORY LIST O' LOOT

My new apartment is going to be chock full of stuff. :) This year was The Christmas Of The Small Appliance. Kettle, iron, toaster, MICROWAVE, hand mixer, glass cookware, metal cookware... :D And a series of cookbooks from "The Best of Bridge", which means SWEET AND SOUR CHICKEN WINGS!!!

Loads of chocolate (significantly less now than there was a couple hours ago), $100 cash, $100 gift certificate from Best Buy (glee! DVD's!!), storage cubes, a decorative plate with an American kestrel on it (my favourite type of bird), ground apricot kernels (which I identified immediately in their little ziplock baggie, completely freaking Kit out. LOL), a book by the founder of NaNoWriMo called "No Plot, No Problem"... *sigh* Soooo much. So thankful. :)

Now, it is time to go wrap presents for the family of the Dave. I couldn't wait to give Dave his present, so he got his last night. I'll let him tell you all about it. :)

Blessed Goddess, I'm finished.

As of today, I'm off until the New Year. No tutoring, no craft store, no...money... oh. Well, that's ok. Today was payday and I won't feel it until far, far later.

I can't believe it's been a week since I updated. Not much has happened. I still hate driving, I finished my Christmas shopping, I worked and I tutored. Pretty dull, actually. I didn't make it to the Lantern Festival like I'd planned because of scheduling issues.

Oh, and I baked lots and lots of cookies. Pictures to follow.

Oh, and I'm fighting off the Evil Cold of Ultimate Doom(tm). But that's about it.

Late happy Yule, early Merry Christmas and I'll see you all later. I've got a tree to decorate.

Paaaartay...

Went to D & D's Christmas party last night. Great fun was had, many rumballs were consumed and games were played. If anyone hasn't played them, check out Werewolf (not an RPG by White Wolf), Bucket King and Things. Great fun with much possibility of dirty minds in the last one.

I've gone to the gym three times now. I'm really enjoying it, and I'm wearing myself out so I go to sleep early and wake up early. It's kind of freaking me out. I'm seeing the morning AFTER I sleep, instead of before I go to bed. :p

In other news, I hate driving. In the last five or six months, I've run over a rabbit, had a panic attack in the rain and dark on the way to karate, run out of gas, had stupid moronic teenagers run screaming at the side of my car at 0130 (last night) and seen an accident/almost accident this morning on my way to tutoring. I'm seriously thinking of selling my car and buying bus passes...it's THAT SCARY OUT THERE. Nothing will be done immediately, since I need my car right now to get back from tutoring. But DAYMN.

You scored as Buddhist. Buddhist 85% Anarchist 55% Christian 50% Jewish 45% Cult 40% Catholic 30% Religion created with QuizFarm.com

When in shock, blog.

I got my marks back today. In my Criminal Psych course I got an A- and in my Corrections course I got an A.

Whoa.

Search string

Someone found my blog by googling "thunder cunt". My momma would be so proud. :)

Hmm.

I haven't really been posting much. Very sporadic. I've been doing a lot of work at the gym over the last couple of days. I now know how to use the machines on the circuit training...circuit. I'm starting to come down with what no name yet and Drew had/have. I'm working. I'm not knitting or cooking, although I bought a couple of recipe books for the bread machine. I've gotten a bunch of Christmas shopping done, and just remembered an hour ago that I've got some presents hiding...somewhere... :/

Papa's little girl.

Never too old to call on Dad. :) My car ran out of gas on the way home from Dave's around 1 am. :P He came and helped me push it into a parking lot. And THANK YOU to the two guys who stopped to help me. I'm sorry...I didn't get your names or anything...but you were awesome.

Exercise today: pushing my damned car around.

Nutrition Information

Fat: 36.4%
Water: 66 lbs
Weight: 166.5 lbs
Height: 5' 8.5"
BMI: 25

So I had my introduction thing at Gym #1 today. It was pretty fun. The guy who showed me around was nice, and not a hard seller...good thing because that would have made me walk out. I got a tour and a body index type thingie...see above. I also booked an appointment with a trainer for tomorrow at noon. Wednesday I plan to take a class of some type, Thursday I want to train on my own in the evening and Friday I might get another class. Or Saturday. I want to take full advantage of the seven day free pass I got.

In other news, I didn't check my schedule closely enough last week. I got a phone call at 9:15 or so this morning, "Hey, aren't you supposed to be working at nine?" Huh? SHIT. So it was a short day in which I didn't go out for lunch with my mom and I was late for my gym appointment. :p But the woman I was supposed to meet was sick, so I was earlier than her. :)

And I chilled with NNY and Drew and family today. I had fun. I missed them.

Worker's comp?

Today I got to wear a sporty bandaid on my hand. An otherwise very nice lady came through my till and managed to accidentally (I hope!) stab me on the base of my thumb with her fingernail when I handed her the bag her purchase was in. Right through the bag, and it actually drew blood. Not gushing horrible amounts, but there was definitely traces of red. I had just come back from my break, but I turned off the light and went back to the break room to disinfect it and put on the bandaid.

Yikes!

Go see Blade: Trinity

If only for the amazing quantity of insults. My personal favourite... "horse humping thunder-cunt."

I mean, there's way more to the movie than that...and it's a REALLY REALLY good movie. One of the guys I've secretly had a crush on for three or four years is a vampire in it. *swoon* :D

I now have a battery operated...

...cookie press.

I upgraded. :D

The other one (not this nice) developed a crack in the barrel, so I returned it and bought the bigger one. Who says it's only boys and their toys?

I'm so gooooood.

It's not even two o'clock yet, and I've successfully finished the semester with my last final, and baked 24.5 dozen cookies. That would be 294 for those of you playing at home. :D Of those, there's probably about 280 left...between my mom and I. I still need to put apricot or raspberry jam in them, but they are baked.

Sheesh. I'm on a role. I ought to go knit a sweater or something. Or not.

(Psst, NNY. Was it freezer jam that we used?)

Congratulations Bimkins...

...for receiving his first ever anonymous troll comment.

CAWWW CAW!!!

I believe there is a crow stuck in our chimney. Either that, or it's hanging out on the top being REALLY REALLY NOISY!!!!

(edit: five minutes later) No scrabbling, no cawing. Must not have been stuck. Good thing. Although if it comes back again, it's being turned into a pot pie.

Mmmm...COOOOOOOKIES....

Yesterday, with the no name yet family, I participated in the creation of aproximately 16 dozen cookies. SEEEEEXTEEEEEEN DUUUUUUUUZZZZZZON!!!! Oh, and I participated in the eating of the equivilent of about two dozen. :/ Equivilent being "dough which fell out of the bowl and into my hands (whoops!) and we can't just stick it back IN the bowl, can we?!" Although the total of two dozen did consist of actual baked cookies.

Hey, there were a lot of broken ones. Don't look at me like that.

I am so totally a home-geek. I was so excited last night about the cookie press (mine's not this nice...) we were using, as well as the deal I got on it... ($17 at work! Minus 50%!!) I compared it to the joy of amazing yarn.

What have I become? (shakes head sadly) I was about to go looking online for BREAD MACHINE RECIPES today (My mom has a bread machine that she doesn't use, so I get it on loan when I move out.) but thought to myself, "Self, maybe we ought to y'know...study for that last exam that's tomorrow really FRICKING early?" And myself said, "Word."

Which is why I'm blogging right now. Whoops.

One down...

...one to go. I feel pretty good about this exam...but this is the one that I did the readings for all semester. We'll see how I do on Wednesday's exam. Although it's snowing like crazy right now, both on and off the mountain, so maybe it'll be postponed.

Wait. I don't want that. I have knitting to do! And baking! And... oh gawd. I sound like a domestic chiqua. Oh well. My knitting and baking is for Yule... :)

I have this love/hate thing with Christmas. I love the family thing, the friendship thing, the eggnog thing...etc. I hate the commercialization of the whole thing...regardless of whether one celebrates Christmas, Yule, Saturnalia or any other religious event. (Hanukkah seems to have mostly escaped the rampant commercialization...but maybe that's because I don't know any Jewish people to ask.)

Ok, I'm done here. Time for some Christmas shopping. :p

Linkies.

So my blogroll and comics are back up after being down for the last month. I went through my blogroll and pulled any that didn't update or that I didn't read any more and I added a couple I'd found over the last month or far, far longer (See? I linked to you Peechie!! It only took me what? Three months?). I'll be doing the same with my comics, getting rid of link rot and the ones that I don't care about any more. Would've done it earlier, but blogger was acting up.

Wow, what an exciting post. I'm going to go work on my Christmas wishlist and study for my final and knit and look through cookie recipes. I swear, I'll be more interesting...well...later. Sometime later.

Worst joke ever...

...but I laughed so hard just now that I'm still giggling...several minutes later. Obviously I need more sleep.

Here you go.

I feel shamed by my nerdiness. And now my brother and his friend are laughing at me because I just told them I was blogging that.

Ooh...fun

Why didn't anyone tell me panic attacks were so much fun?! Especially while I'm driving!! In the DARK and the RAIN!!

*bibble*

PS. I'm better now. But jeez..

Argh

I had the worst headache today... blinding, blinking pain. It sucked ass. I'm currently sitting here next to my printer which is on about page 7 of my 165 page novel. Yikes. It's taking a while. My printer is really slooooowwww...

I am going to bed. I must sleep. Good night.

Confuzzled.

Why isn't my blog displaying my archives? Or any other posts?

I am teh tired. I was up all night sick again, then I worked for six hours. Now I sleep for an hour and then go tutor. Yeesh.

Fool me once...

So, you all know that really expensive corset that I've got? The one I loaned out to someone? The one I just got back after over two years? The one that I haven't actually worn anywhere yet?

Well, I loaned it to someone tonight. This time however, I know where she lives, works and who her family is. :)

Lora and I hung out tonight... had dinner, chatted, said "Thank God it's OVER" about three thousand times, critiqued my new hair (she likes it, YAY!...and she'll help me with it next time YAY!!!), and lots of other stuff, including the trying on of corsets and bragging about my yarn stash. Lora, I'm sorry for bragging about my yarn stash so much... :)

Ok, so now I'm going to work on the short story I started tonight. Ye gods, this writing thing is like crack! For my BRAIN.

So true...

The first rule of a witch hunt...don't limit yourself to the witches.

Ohhhh, read the DIRECTIONS...

Sooooo, I tried stripping all the dye outta my hair today. I checked the package. Not very good instructions, so I just decided to wing it. The stuff started changing my hair colour before I'd finished putting it in. Eep. Strong.

After I got all the stuff in, the tips of my ears started tingling where I'd accidentally gotten some. Then my scalp started tingling. I wiped off my ears, but they still kind of itched. Then my scalp started itching. Then my scalp started stinging. Then burning...

I decided to go look this up online. Please allow me to share with you the knowledge of this endeavour. Ahem.

THIS STUFF CAN CAUSE CHEMICAL BURNS ON SCALPS.

Chemical burns? Holy shit, get this stuff off my head RIGHT FRIGGING NOW.

So I showered it all out, and once again I have the sunburst head, with blond roots and red everywhere else. Siiigh. Maybe I should just get it professionally done since I obviously can't be trusted with chemicals. Either that or I need to get more research done. On the plus side, I can easily make my roots green and keep the rest of the hair red, thus fulfilling my obligation as a Christmas tree.

Holy crap, I can't believe I did it. 

SQUEE!!

I'M 96% FINISHED WRITING NANOWRIMO!!!

Gleeeeee!!!

I am sloooowly catching up. This evening I broke 40,000 words. I now have only 9548 words to go for NaNo. I want to write at least another thousand words tonight, but the story is almost over. Then, I'll need to write a few scenes I forgot to add in. :D I am pleased.

Open Letter

Dear fucking Bitches who decided to make my life miserable today,
(you know who you are...or if you don't, you're going to find yourself dying alone in a "care home" that your children stuck you in so that they didn't need to listen to your idiocy.)
Hi. I just thought that you'd like to know that you did not succeed in completely ruining my day. In fact, today I managed to go for nearly two hours of my shift without crying, which you somehow managed to miss. Next time, make sure you come in right at the beginning when the store opens so that you have a better opportunity to spread your bile around.

Plus, you gave me the opportunity to go and hang out with some trees in the rain, without my jacket, because I couldn't stand the store for a second longer and I preferred to make it look like it was the rain making my face wet.

Smiles, and sunshine.
Karin

PS, You're lucky that I didn't puke on you, thanks to the food poisoning I'm currently suffering.

Exercise today: kicking the shit out of the lockers at work

From Peechie.

1. Reply to this post if you want/need me to tell you how cool you are!

2. Watch my blog over the next few days for a post just about you and why I think you rock my socks.

3. Post these instructions in your blog and give your friends a much needed dose of love and adoration!

(I have no idea if anyone's actually going to do this...but don't expect to see this until after NaNo is over. :p )

Ooh...yummy.

Today I discovered hot chocolate nirvana. A new coffee shop opened up at Poco Plaza, on the Lougheed Highway about two blocks east of Coquitlam Centre. This place is called "Mayan Art Cafe" and it is really nifty. It's so serene in there, with tiled floor, burgandy or green walls and loads of fabulous carvings. The hot chocolate will only be liked by those who like cocoa and/or dark chocolate, which rules out a couple of people I know. However, anyone who wants to come out and visit me, I'll take you there.

The hot chocolate is made with REAL chocolate imported from Mexico and grown in a fair trade agreement with the farmers. It's so incredibly rich and fabulous. Just, yum.

I'm sorry for the lack of content. I've been trying to spew words onto my computer for NaNoWriMo, and I'm also sorry for neglecting all my friends. :( I'm a bad, bad person. :(

Too early!!

We have a Christmas song CD playing at work, consisting of about six songs that just get played over. And over. And OVER. All. Day. Long.

I don't think I can take this for the next 32 days.

On the plus side, I got to wear a purple stocking on my head for an hour today before my manager told me it looked silly (it was resting on my head because the top was too small) and gave me a red Santa hat. We didn't have any purple Santa hats. :(

Yikes

I don't like this Mac keyboard at school. I've been spoiled by writing over 10000 words on a snazzy ergonomic keyboard that Dave loaned me. :)

The Answers

Ding ding! Peechie got it right!

1) I have been proposed to four times.
-Once when I was seven, once when I was 12, once when I was 16 and once when I was 19. Nothing since...I guess I've slowed down a lot. :)

2) I have grown multiple cactus (cactii?) from seed.
-They're itty bitty, but they're definitely spiky.

3) I have four phone numbers with which one can reach me.
-My parent's line, my line, modem line, cell phone.

4) I read "Gone With the Wind" in two days.
-I was in Victoria at Guide camp when I was about 11.

5) I met one of my best friends on the basis of the same Care Bear lunch box.
-Hi Justy!

6) I am missing a knuckle.
-When I was about 12, I was riding my bike and squeezing the brakes to break them in and all of a sudden a got a horrible pain in my left hand. We went to the hospital and got it x-rayed and they said it looked like it had never existed, although my mother and I know that it did. So, it might have disintegrated or something weird. I figure it was aliens. Why must they only go for anal probes?

7) Sunlight makes me sneeze.
-Ding! This is the lie. Everything else seems to make me sneeze though. My mom has photo-sensitive sneezing though.

8) Using hot water from the tap for cooking gives me the heebie jeebies.
-I blame my mother. She taught me that hot water from the tap is full of bacteria and germs because of the hot water heater filter never being changed. Or something.

9) I have no food or drug allergies. (Cats aren't food, are they?)
-Not allergic to anything except air bornes. Oh, and exercise... :p

10) When I had the chicken pox, I had pox in my ears, mouth, nose and girly bits in addition to all the other bits.
-Yeah, it was gross. I still have some scars.

Nine Truths and a Lie

Stolen from many many people. Here's the rules. I'll tell you ten things...you try to guess which is the lie.

1) I have been proposed to four times.
2) I have grown multiple cactus (cactii?) from seed.
3) I have four phone numbers with which one can reach me.
4) I read "Gone With the Wind" in two days.
5) I met one of my best friends on the basis of the same Care Bear lunch box.
6) I am missing a knuckle.
7) Sunlight makes me sneeze.
8) Using hot water from the tap for cooking gives me the heebie jeebies.
9) I have no food or drug allergies. (Cats aren't food, are they?)
10) When I had the chicken pox, I had pox in my ears, mouth, nose and girly bits in addition to all the other bits.

You speak eloquently and have seemingly read every
book ever published. You are a fountain of
endless (sometimes useless) knowledge, and
never fail to impress at a party.
What people love: You can answer almost any
question people ask, and have thus been
nicknamed Jeeves.
What people hate: You constantly correct their
grammar and insult their paperbacks.


What Kind of Elitist Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Priorities...

I still have several hundred words to write for my paper, roughly 12000 words to catch up with NaNoWriMo, several knitting projects on the go for Christmas presents, and I haven't worked out since Saturday. So what have I been doing for the last 30 minutes, you may ask?

Why, starting a poncho of course. I'll cross post the details on Knitting Pretty when I get a bit further along.

Discovered via Haloscan Comments

Here tis.

Exercise Saturday: 1.5 hours karate

GLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

Filming starts on the 27th of November in Vancouver!!!!

November 11th

"November 11th"
The Cruzeros

My uncle Bob lost his leg in the war
Southern Italy, 1944
They flew him back home to the Vancouver rain
He was pumped full of morphine
But he still felt the pain.
He still felt the pain.

They built him a new leg
But it never fit right
And it bothered him for the rest of his life.
But he could swim like a fish
And play cards like a shark
And he taught me courage
Comes straight from your heart

November 11th, 11 am.
I stop what I'm doing, wherever I am
In a moment of silence,
I think about what might have been
Without soldiers like him.

Now the soldiers are older
And many have gone
Like my uncle Bob
But his memory lives on
We live in freedom
'Cause they won that war
So remember what this day is for.

November 11th, 11 am.
I stop what I'm doing, wherever I am
In a moment of silence,
I think about what might have been
Without soldiers like him.

Exercise today:

How to destroy my willpower, in one easy step.

1) Plop an open bag of salt 'n' vinegar chips on my lap.

...

*munch* Thanks a lot, mom. *munch*

Goals met.

Damn. I feel pretty good right now. I challenged myself to write 3000 words in 3 hours, and I pulled it off. Ouch, say my wrists and To Bed, says my brain. Yet, I know naught of what they speak, for I have written!!

And apparently the connection from my brain to my fingers has been severed, because I have no idea what the above means.

I sleep much lots now.

Wondering:

I just got thanked by a SmartCan garbage disposal unit about five minutes ago at university. Could androids which collect my garbage for me be far behind?

Pondering:

"If I carry all the books on fitness and weightlifting I own around with me for a couple of weeks, I don't have to follow the programs they give me."

Good and Bad

Good: had an amazing session at karate yesterday. We seem to have found one of my strengths. Since I have really lousy balance, it's a good thing that I can ground fight fairly effectively.

Bad-eque: I have bruises all over.

Bad: It's raining, so no Ultimate.

Good: I have a vicious cramp/headache combination, hold the mustard. Er...well, it's good that there's no Ultimate. Not the hurty bits thing.

Bad: my computer was broken-ish and not opening anything. This meant no NaNoWriMo, blogging, checking blogs or other things.

Good: it also meant I couldn't work on my paper. ;)

Good: I *cough*boughtsomebooksyesterday*cough* at Value Village, including a book on knitting, one on running, one on craft stuff and one from 1979 written by Ahhhnold about women's weightlifting.

Exercise yesterday: 1.5 hours karate

Via Jen-Dave's-Sister-Who-Doesn't-Have-A-Blog

Save Liberal Americans

Exercise today: going to karate. I missed the last two weeks *BAD KARIN*

Jeez Murphy.

*looks at her credit card bill* You know, for someone who planned to make most of her gifts this year, this is REALLY FRICKING HIGH!

Recovery!

Huzzah! After nearly two years, I have regained possession of my black, $200 Victorian corset. ****GLLLLLEEEEEEE****

Since everyone is doing it...

...and since my content is going to be CRAP for the next 27 days...

A is for age: 25
B is for booze: Gin and Tonic, Bailey's, Stella Artois, wine
C is for career: Student, entrepeneur
D is for dad's name: Glenn
E is for essential item to bring to a party: several kinds of wine
F is for favorite song at the moment: "Suds in the Bucket" Sarah Evans (I know, country, blah blah, shut up.)
G is for girlfriend: Keegan/Kittens, Bimkins
H is for hometown: Coquitlam BC
I is for instruments you play: tenor drum, or none of these well, voice, alto sax, flute, guitar
J is for jam or jelly you like: homemade strawberry freezer jam, apricot
K is for kids: nope, maybe later
L is for living arrangements: renting my parent's basement suite, moving out in March
M is for mom's name: Jutta (pronounced Yu-tah)
N is for name of your best friend: Several...Keegan, Bimkins, Justy, Dave (yes, sweetie, you count)
O is for overnight hospital stays: Grade 7, they thought they needed to take out my appendix, overnight-ish with No Name Yet, Mr. NNY and Drew
P is for phobia: spiders, drowning, suffocating, small spaces, not breathing
Q is for quote you like: "Writing is easy. All you do is stare at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead." Gene Fowler "There are three rules for writing the novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are." W. Somerset Maugham
R is for relationship that lasted the longest: Just over three years, from when I was 16-19.
S is for sexual position: Yes, they exist. No, I'm not telling. :)
T is for time you wake up: On my own, between 10 and 1.
U is for unique trait: the ability to be interested in incredibly diverse things
V is for vegetable you love: baby carrots, new potatoes
W is for worst trait: the inability to stick with any interest for more than a couple of days, or maybe weeks. (I'm getting better at that now though.)
X is for x-rays you've had: ankle, hand (knuckles)
Y is for yummy food you make: grilled cheese sandwiches? Ooh! Apple crisp!
Z is for zodiac sign: Libra, but honestly, who cares?



Exercise today:

Started

Well, it has begun. My first 3586 words were written over the last two days. I'm on track. :) We'll see how far I can get.

Heh. That's about all that's interesting for me. Oh, I bought blueberry tea. It is tasty and makes for a great motivator.

Exercise today: my fingers got lots of exercise...

Happy...

...New Year, Hallowe'en, Samhain, All Hallow's Eve, Day before the Day of the Dead... am I missing any?

48 hours to go...

In preparation for the insanity which is NaNoWriMo, I will be changing my sidebar to reflect the "I don't have time to do my blogroll or comics" and be moving all that stuff somewhere else until December 1st. For those who are interested, my NaNo blog is now up. Here [edit: link's fixed. :)] it is. I'll be putting a word count here, but that's all the detail, so if you want to go look at it, you'll have to go there. (Damn, I think that was too many commas...ah well...)

So, I'm trying to get my sleep patterns back to some semblance of normality. I've had about three good nights of sleep in the last month, so I'm going to bed now. Have a good one everyone. I'll post about the eclipse tomorrow. :p

Winky smiley punkin 

Pretty proud of myself

Thursday I had my yearly review at work...they decided I'm doing average on everything except I'm doing better than average at customer service. (all 3/5 and a 4/5) My greatest strength: customer service. Greatest weakeness: customer service (in the form of talking too much to customers.) Tee hee.

So they ran all the numbers through the system and it turns out that I get a $0.26/hour raise, which is $0.24/hour less than I was making as a supervisor. I have no problem with that. I'm so much less stressed as a cashier...I make no decisions, I actually want to go to work some mornings (or at least I don't DREAD going to work). I think that deciding to not be a supervisor was one of the best decisions I ever made. :)

Today, I also had my one and only midterm for the semester. This leaves one paper (due Nov. 17) which I hope to finish by October 31st so I can do NaNoWriMo without anything hanging over me. Then, all I need to do is keep up with readings so I'm ready for finals December 8 and 9. (I think that's when they are.)

So, I'm feeling pretty good about things right now. Or maybe it's just the hair. Or maybe I'm not letting myself realize how many Christmas presents I've decided to make and my brain is mush. Ah well!

Reflections of Prison

I went to visit Kent and Mountain Institutions in the Fraser Valley yesterday. Kent's a maximum security place, while Mountain is medium. It used to be exclusively for sex offenders (rapists and child molesters... :/ ) but it's more open to the general population now.

Last night I curled up under my feather comforter in my double bed after having a nice dinner with a friend, chatting and watching TV, drinking a gin and tonic, doing a few rows of knitting, then taking a long, hot, private shower with fruit scented shampoo and conditioner. I didn't have to be anywhere at any particular time, nor did I need to check in with anyone to let them know where I was or when I'd be back. If I didn't want to be in my room after 11, I could have gone for a drive, or walked in my garden, or stayed at Dave's place. I could have even just gone to the kitchen for a snack and/or a glass of wine.

There's so many things that have been happening around me over the last couple of weeks which are allowing me to see things that I've been taking for granted. And I think that even though those things are often negative, I've been taking positive things away from them.

And there's nothin' wrong with that. :)

Not that I'm making a comparison between me and saaaayyyy...Jennifer Garner...but if you look at my Red Haired Stripy Yarn Ninja impression and the picture underneath, there might be a slight resemblence... if you squint? Huh? Huh? 

Tada!! Practically twins! 

Things I've learned from country music this week

He said, "I was in my early forties
"With a lot of life before me
"When a moment came that stopped me on a dime.
"For most of the next days
"I was looking at the x-rays,
"Talking about the options
"And talking about sweet time."
I asked him when it sank in
That this might really be the real end
How's it hit you when you get that kind of news?
Man, what'd you do?

And he said,
"I went sky diving, I went Rocky Mountain climbing.
"I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fu Manchu.
"And I spoke sweeter and I loved deeper
"And I gave forgiveness I'd been denying."
And he said,
"Someday I hope you get the chance to live like you were dying."
--Tim McGraw "Live Like You Were Dying"

The Rather Attractive Result of a Home Streaking Job Gone Wrong.

Today at work, the best comment I've ever received about my hair. Not compliment, but sort of an observation.

 

Best comment on my hair...ever. I was working at the craft store today, and my hair is now various shades of red plus a rather obvious couple spots of yellow. So a gentleman, probably in his late forties, comes through my till and looks at the hair while I'm ringing up his stuff. Totally deadpan, he asks "So, does your hair do that every autumn?" Stunned silence from me, then I started laughing hysterically. Dude totally made my week. I've been telling everyone in the store...now they expect me to go red, green and gold for Christmas. Hehe. Little do they know that I was already planning to. >:)  

All my problems seem so small.

I messed up my hip a little at Ultimate.
I have a midterm next Monday.
I'm a couple of pounds overweight/less in shape than I'd like to be.
I sometimes get sad for no reason.
I still live with my parents.

...

I just found out a friend has inoperable cancer.

Kind of changes one's perspectives on things...

Exercise Saturday: 2 hours karate
Exercise Sunday: 2 hours Ultimate

A little late...

THE ULTIMATE SILENCE
October 12, 1998



Listen to the mustn'ts, child.
Listen to the don'ts.
Listen to the shouldn'ts,
The impossibles, the won'ts.
Listen to the never haves,
Then listen close to me ...
Anything can happen, child.
Anything can be.

~ Shel Silverstein

Six years ago today, Matthew Shepard was murdered for being homosexual.

What will you do to end the silence?

Click here to post this on your own page or weblog

Honest...I'm still here.

I've just been busy and exhausted. Happy, but totally fagged out. Which means tired, in Brit speak. I'm not sick though...which is good because it seems everyone is. :p

Whoa. Day 4.

I skipped Days 2 and 3 because I was kinda busy. Dave didn't take me out for dinner Saturday...instead, he threw this huge surprise party for me with a ton of people. At one point there was 18 people in the house! Pretty good for Thanksgiving weekend!

More details later...I have to go tutor.

But...wow. Just, wow. I cried a couple of times throughout the night because I was so overwhelmed by everything...and I wasn't even drinking. :) It was amusing.

Friday: Day One of BirthDayWeekEnd(tm)

Sitting here, playing NeoPets, a Pokemon-like game. It's idiotic and addictive. And I'm too tired to go out and do stuff for Day One. That's ok. :) Days Two, Three and Four will be more interesting. I'll keep you posted. Oh, and Donna? My NeoPet is named "MurrMurr"...just for you. :)

Unfair!

*grumble* On a day I got to sleep in, the phone rang with a wrong number at exactly the same time (to the minute) that my alarm was set for. (it was off) Nine minutes later (how long my snooze button is set for), another wrong number. ARGH!

blah.

I tutor. I eat. I sleep. I go to work. I knit a little. I work on my paper for Crim. I go to school. I sleep. I visit with Dave. I get visited by Meesh. I chat online. I work on my outline for my novel. I sleep. I tutor. I work. I knit.

That's about it. My weekend better be more exciting...it's my birthday!!

My brother is my new hero!

Not only did he remove the Spider of Ultimate Doom(tm) from my bedroom wall without killing it and letting it go under a lily of the valley in our backyard, he did it without complaint and without any hint of teasing. This is AFTER telling me that he was spooked by them. YAY!!

Ladies, he is 20 years old, single and intelligent. :)

Exercise yesterday: two hours of karate

Banned Books Week

Got this from Justy. Banned book week was last week. So, here's a list of the banned books on the site which I have read.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Anne Frank: Diary of a Young girl
Arabian Nights
The Bible
Canterbury Tales
Catcher in the Rye
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Clan of the Cave Bear
Different Seasons
A Doll's House
Don Quixote
Fahrenheit 451
Gone with the Wind
Gulliver's Travels
Harry Potter (not on the site...)
It
James and the Giant Peach
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Little House in the Big Woods
Little House on the Prairie
The Lorax
My Friend Flicka
The Odyssey
The Stand
To Kill a Mockingbird
Where the Sidewalk Ends
Where's Waldo?
The Witches (Roald Dahl...not on there.)
A Wrinkle in Time

Eyuaach!!!

Warning: this post contains visuals. Of arachnid. And lots of capitals. And a couple of F-bombs. You have been warned.


There is a huge enormous disgusting spider in my room. Seriously, it's got to be about three inches across (Thank all the powers that that's with the legs included. I think if it was just the body, I'd move my ass to Alaska.) It's currently sitting above my outside door, about six and a half feet up...just high enough so I don't feel comfortable about squashing it because ohmyfuckinggod whatifImissanditjumpsontomyface!! Or I squash it and then it falls on me?! Or I get spider guts spraying on me?! Or...oh god... I could THROW something at it but then if I miss it crawls away and it's SOMEWHERE UNDER SOMETHING IN MY ROOM!!!! There's stuff under the place it's sitting, so I can't put a chair there, and I'm sure as hell not going to CLEAN under there when there's a GIANT FUCKING SPIDER ON MY WALL!!!

And there's only one person online my ICQ list...luckily he's giving me tips. Unluckily, he's NOT COMING OVER TO SQUASH THE SPIDER FOR ME! And there's no one else awake in my house.

Ironically, I'm usually the one who does all the squishing or relocation of spiders, but in this case, I'm totally unable to do it. I think that I'm acting like such a girl because I'm tired, and because of the position of the spider in relation to everything else in my room. And because there's no one to be brave to.

I'm thinking about grabbing the insect spray and just dousing the thing until it drowns, then sleeping upstairs until the fumes have dissipated.

HEY! INTERNET!! SEND SOMEONE OVER TO MY HOUSE TO REMOVE THIS SPIDER!!

Proof!

So I registered at NaNoWriMo.org this afternoon, within an hour of the registration being open. I AM SO FREAKING EXCITED ABOUT THIS!!! I'm thinking of setting up a blog (groans from everyone who's ever seen my immense list of blogs) for people to read the story in progress. Anyone interested? Drop me a line in the comments. EEEEE!!! I want to start writing NOW, but I think this is better. It forces me to make character lists, and chapter outlines, and actually decide what I'm going to write rather than just sitting down and going, "Huh. Ok." and then leaving it after ten minutes because I'm already bored.
 

As promised, exciting things

Well, they're exciting to ME, anyway. :)

1) o/~ Should I rent, or should I buy now? If I rent there will be trouble...but if I buy there may be double... o/~

I'll be moving out in either February or March.

...

Shut up...stop laughing at me. I mean it this time.

Now I need to decide about renting vs buying. I'll be moving to North Burnaby, either near Skytrain or a major bus route, or near Commercial Drive. For the apartment/condo- two bedrooms minimum...but three would be even better. In-apartment laundry would be a major asset, in-building is necessary if there isn't anything in the apartment. Fireplace would be nice, same with balcony but neither of those are essential. I'm not adverse to renting/buying a house if the prices are right. (and to buy, it'd have to be VERY right.) Sooooo...talk to me. Where should I live?

2) Itsa ma birthday! Coming up October 10th...I'll be 25. Even better, it's the three months out of the year that I'm only a year younger than Dave, rather than two. So, if you feel like buying me a present...please donate some money to breast cancer research, the SPCA or the Children's Hospital instead. I've got lots of stuff.

3) This one is probably the one I'm most immediately excited about. Tomorrow I'm registering for NaNoWriMo...also known as National Novel Writing Month. This is the craziest thing I've ever committed to do solo. Basically it involves writing a 50,000 word novel (roughly 175 pages by their estimate) from the time of November 1 12:01 am to November 30 11:59 pm. That's about 1667 words per day. I've got a bit of an outline, a main character and the rough sketch of several other characters. I'm frightened, but in a good way. It's kind of scary, but I've been thinking about becoming a writer for a while now. This seems to be the best way to just write. Anyone else interested in going absolutely fricking nuts signing up?

*takes a deep breath*

Ok. I can do this. I have a paper due tomorrow I haven't started writing yet. However, I have researched it, and now all I have to do is spill out 4 pages of information in some kind of coherent order. No problem! *whimper*

*reaches around behind the computer to unplug the modem cord* See y'all on the flip flop. I'll be back later this evening or tomorrow.

Bzzzt... *black screen with a white dot fading in the centre*

I'm boring

Visiting with people, doing readings for a paper, working, going to class, knitting and finishing watching Queer as Folk season two. :p Oh well. More exciting things will be happening...stay tuned.

Visiting

So, my Oma's been here for the last couple of days. It's been nice. There's been a lot of desserts, she's come to watch me do karate and play Ultimate and there's been a bunch of "When I was your age, I already had two children." This leads to my mom quickly adding "But don't be in any hurry!" I'm inclined to agree with Momma on this one. :)

We have evidence of my occasional mad Ultimate skillz. My mom actually got a video of one of my points. :)

Exercise yesterday: 2 hours karate
Exercise today: 1.5 hours Ultimate (3)

Stunning realization

I was playing around with a hairstyle program, and I've realized something frightening. I look an awful lot like a boy. When I was trying those hairstyles on myself, I looked like a badly made up drag queen. Whoa.

I'm going to just assume that it was a lousy fit on the hairstyles, and a poor picture...because, as much as I like men...I don't particularly want to look like one.

Note: sorry about not being here...very busy week. Ye gods. And my grandmother's in town this weekend, so I might not be available for...well...anything. :p

This day is for the birds

Apparently Donna had the pleasure of dealing with a dead bird due to cat causes this morning. I had a similar experience...

I was tutoring and the cat brought a bird into the kitchen. THIS one was still alive. So I got to be the brave one, catch the stunned bird and let it go outside. Then I got to do the mental "ew ew ew, bird blood on my hands and FEATHERS STICKING TO MY HANDS OH DEAR GOD GETMETHECLEANERANDTHESOAPANDTHERUBBINGALCOHOL!" dance. Couldn't do a real one because I had to maintain decorum in front of the kid and the lady I tutor for.

Ar.

Exercise today: 2 hours Ultimate

Arrr!

Don't ye be forgettin' that today be Talk Like A Pirate Day mateys!! Tell someone that they be walkin' the plank today! Arr!

Exercise yesterday: 1.5 hours karate

Unsexy bruise. :p

Hmmm...how did Karin get this bruise? Was it diving headlong after a disc to score the winning point? Nope. A miscalculated karate movement? Nuh uh... How about saving a child or pet from a car. Not that either. Give up?

*cough* Doorknob. You may all proceed with laughing hysterically at me now. :p

You know...with my incredible ability to bruise in a stiff wind, coupled with my equally amazing ability to...well... walk into doorknobs with the least provocation, it's a really, really good thing I don't do things conducive to bruising...like say, Ultimate Frisbee...or karate...
 

ICQ post from someone who has way to much time on his/her hands

(Got a "hi" from this person a couple weeks ago, so I'm curious as to where I might know "him" from.)

Date : 9/18/2004 Time : 12:36 PM
LoverGirl: so, do I know you?

Date : 9/18/2004 Time : 1:09 PM
Flo: yes

Date : 9/18/2004 Time : 1:10 PM
Flo: you are a bitch

Date : 9/18/2004 Time : 1:12 PM
LoverGirl: Ah. :) You DO know me.

Date : 9/18/2004 Time : 1:13 PM
LoverGirl: Anything else?

Date : 9/18/2004 Time : 1:15 PM
LoverGirl: Did you get disconnected? I sent a couple of replies, but you might not have received them.

(note my concern here. What a pity that my fabulous and intelligent remarks might go unheard. *sigh* )

Date : 9/18/2004 Time : 1:20 PM
LoverGirl: All right, so are we finished then?

Date : 9/18/2004 Time : 1:23 PM
LoverGirl: Cool, thanks for playing, don't forget to pick up our home game.


So I'm not exactly sure what all this was about...Seems like since I changed my username to LoverGirl, I've been getting a lot more hits from random weird individuals.

NO! Nononono!!

Away with thee, scratchy throat! Cease pestering me, thou sneezing and stuffy nose! Headache and lack of energy begone! *poof?* *please poof?*

Yeah...so it looks like I might be getting something again...dammit! Unfair! And I got to have my "yearly female test" and checkup today. Bleah. At least I know that according to my blood pressure, I'm going to live forever. :D

It's that time of year again...hot chocolate at the computer!! 

I just said "wang" to my mother.

Actually, that's it.

Um...ok, I'm going to do the rest of my review stuff so I'm allowed to watch episode one of the second season of Queer as Folk. Yikes. Major cliffhanger, much?!

Ick.

I've got a wicked headache. I fell asleep on the couch and somehow knotted up my neck. Ouch. My calves feel much less agonizing from Ultimate on Sunday. I can walk again!! With much less pain! *glee*

SOMEONE PLEASE STOP ME!

*stares at the 3/4 eaten box of chocolate covered almonds.* Oh, dear god. What have I done?

Oh well...new feature here at Random Synapses...all the cool kids are doing it. :) Well...my mom says I'm cool. ;)

View My Webcam See me live on my webcam.

Swing by...check me out. :)

So very efficient

Unplugging my modem helps me get schoolwork done considerably. I've actually been doing work...colour me shocked. :) I had planned on going to a volunteer meeting for Out on Campus today, but I slept in. :p Oh well...there's a whole semester to become an activist.

What else? My room is starting to look like a war zone again. I need to get things organized. :/ Preferably before midterms and essay season happens again.

My classes are most interesting. I am pleased. I am even more pleased that I only have two assignments for the whole semester. :) One of my courses is based on class participation (10%) and two exams (45% each). Fortunately, exams are one of my strong suits.

Such a boring post. :p I have started a knitting blog so that I don't bore everyone here with tales of my knitting. :) Knitting Pretty (shamelessly cribbed from a couple of different sources. Ttthpt. I'm not original enough to come up with a knitting pun. Anyone got any ideas? Knit Happens has already been taken.)

GLEEEEEEEE

I'm starting class tomorrow...like in a real classroom. AND I'm taking the bus up. This happens so infrequently, it's worth a mention.

Freaky.

Well, I'M impressed.

Despite being sick...despite The Demon telling me that I shouldn't exercise...despite many other factors, I managed to go to both karate and Ultimate this weekend. I am pleased. I am feeling really good about myself, and *scuffs feet* I scored three points today... *blush* I'm REALLY happy about that. That ties my record for the first season I ever played.

I'm glad the season has started. I'm not glad that the trees are starting to change colours. I don't do well in winter...but winter's not here yet! And today was a beautiful summer day. I am happy.

Exercise today: 2 hours Ultimate, yesterday: 2 hours karate

Stripy toque...finished it last night. 

I should really eat better

Drinking orange juice instead of pop doesn't really do one much good when one's breakfast and lunch consist of several handfuls of Zesty Nacho Tortilla Chips and Salt 'n' Vinegar chips. Um...heh. :P

Luckily Dave took me out for dinner last night and I've got half a hamburger in my fridge.

Oh, man...not fair.

Being sick, I can handle...barely. Having really bad cramps? Hey, I've dealt with that for the last 11 years. No problem. Being sick, having really bad cramps at work while all the painkillers are at home in my bathroom? THAT feels like the universe is just kicking your ass for the hell of it.

On this day, seven years ago...

I also had a cold. My ears were plugged, I was hungover (well...actually, just very tired), and I was jet-lagged from being in Scotland the day before. It was my first day of university!! Seven years ago today I expected that I would presently...

...be finished school.
...be married. (YIKES!)
...have a career of some form.
...DEFINITELY be out of my parent's house.
...probably have at least one child.

Instead, I am...

...finished my degree, but taking courses that interest me.
...in a wonderful, long term relationship which is showing no signs of ending.
...er...well, we're working on this one. I'm fussy when it comes to careers.
...February or March, I'm outta here.
...enjoying NNY's child and knowing that I'll have one when I'm ready.

You know...when I put it that way, I'm not nearly as frighteningly behind as I thought I was.

Whew.

School's out forever!

Oh, wait, no it's not. Picked up my books and correspondence texts from university today and got to see Justy's new place. :)

Woo! Cough syrup!

I've never been high...but I imagine it's what today felt like. I don't actually really remember much about work today...I hope my till balances. :/

Woo.

I'm feeling about eighteen thousand percent better this morning. In fact, I'm off to work. I figured that a four hour shift wouldn't kill me, and since I'm getting time and a half (Happy Labour Day everyone) I decided to drag my butt out of bed. So, here we go!!

Stream of (un)consciousness

By popular demand...well, at least by one person. I haven't been watching tv because moving flickering lights make me unhappy. Neo-citrin is blessed by all the gods, spirits and ghosts of our ancestors. Buckley's cough syrup is from the foulest pits of hell (I haven't resorted to drinking it yet). Mr. Noodles, chicken flavour tastes really good going down. I hope I don't have to deal with it coming back up.

I'm a little nervous about going to lie down. When I woke up from my nap this afternoon and sat up, all the junk in my chest shifted around and made me cough. Yech. My throat is feeling a lot better.

I've been reading a lot of baby blogs lately. *grumble* And now I've stumbled onto several infertility blogs. *sigh* I'm such a hypochondriac... luckily it's controllable for me. However, I know more about IVF and mucous plugs and male factor and other methods of trying to have children on reduced fertility.

I think I'll need to buy for a new apartment: a dining room table and chairs, at least one easy chair, possibly a new couch, several strings of lights or other lighting type implements.

I think I should be going to bed. I am a terrible patient...I deal best with being left alone...unless I want something. Then it becomes "Get me juice", "No! I want grape juice", "What do you mean we don't have grape juice", "I don't care that no one in the house drinks grape juice?", "I want a blanket." "NO, not that blanket", "This blanket's too hot.", "This one's not warm enough".

Luckily, afterwards I'm very grateful.

Now to rummage through the "colds and flu" cabinet and pick out a nice flavour of medicinal syrup. (WHAT? No grape flavoured!! Damn you!)

Great green globs of greasy grimy gucky stuff.

Ooh...*incoherent moan of the bad sort* I feel so awful. I have this monstrous hybrid of stomach flu and "cold" flu. I decided at 3 am as I practically crawled to the bathroom (because I was too dizzy to stand upright) to throw up that I should probably stay home from work. This is also true because by 7am I had gotten a grand total of about two hours sleep.

*whiiiiiiiiiiiiine* I ache all over. I get chills. My throat is sore. I feel nauseated. My nose is plugged, unless it's leaking green shit. I'm dizzy. */whiiiiiiiiiiiine*

I think it's time for me to go back to bed. On the plus side...since I haven't felt like eating in three days, I've lost four pounds.

Meeting new people

Meeting people is good. Meeting people in the midst of food is good. Meeting people in the midst of food and funny movies is even better. Meeting people in the midst of food and funny movies, and armed with several bottles of wine...just in case...is awesome. Thank you peechie for a fun evening. :) We'll definitely have to do something, now that we both know that we don't put on our "crazy internet" faces the first time we meet. :) I got to my first destination safely...now to get home. Before 10 tomorrow morning. Ugh.

In other news, there is something in the air tonight...I'm in the middle of a strange, airborne allergy attack. Bleah.. :p

Good things in strange packages

I missed going to Playland yesterday with Devon and Donna...probably a good thing though...I feel really yucky now. I'm all dizzy and my stomach's doing weird gurgling things. I don't wanna know how I'd feel after eating all the Fair food, going on evil rides of ultimate doom, etc.

So I get into work today and I'm not working. Whoops. I guess it's better than the opposite...not going into work...and turning out to be working. This give me a chance to lie around and sleep or work on knitting clean my room or go up to the university and buy books.

What's that day again?

Today is Dave and my second year anniversary. I've already told him all the mushy stuff, so I don't need to inflict it on anyone else over the blog. Instead, I'll just do a "quick" synopsis of what we did recently. Oh, and stick some mushy stuff at the end. You have been warned.

The last few days have been great...I think we've spent pretty much 48 hours straight together and we don't want to kill each other. I think this bodes well for the long term strength of our relationship. :) Monday night we went to Ikea and in order to create a harmonious bedroom at some point, we both might get wardrobes which will enable us to create a blended furniture family.

Oh dear god(ess)(es)...this is way to grown up for me.

Tuesday we bummed around most of the day cuddling, went to visit NNY and family, and GAVE THEM THE FINISHED BABY BLANKET!!!! YAY!!!!!! I'm sure I'll post about it later in excruciating detail. Then we went downtown to do some shopping. We actually didn't wind up buying anything...shocking! There were some gorgeous inexpensive leather boots, but my calves are just too fat for them. Dammit. We went out for dinner at Anton's last night. There was so much food...it was incredible! Much pasta. In a shocking turn of events we actually rented a movie last night. Between Dave and my DVD collection, it rivals most video stores in sheer volume, but we rented "Twisted" with Ashley Judd. I think that the thriller genre has become tied with s/f and fantasy in my list of favourites.

Today we cuddled for a bunch of the day, then Dave surprised me with lunch at Milestones...this was where we went for our first date...and first Valentines, and first year anniversary... *big romantic sigh* Then we went shopping again...this time we (read: he) actually bought something. After this we went back to my place where I took a nap. Dave had planned an Ulti practice for this evening, so he went back to his place to prep. I went over and we went to practice. Happily, it was just the two of us, so we got to continue our together time. After practice we went and watched "Dead Poets Society"...a movie I'd never seen but have always wanted to. Now, I am home and trying to cope with the idea that I'm going to have to fall asleep tonight without a boyfriend in the room with me. How very bizarre.

I would just like to finish off by saying what an amazing two years (well, and four months since we met, but who's counting anyway? *looks innocent*) I've had. Warning: mush ahead. Also...poor grammar ahead.

Dave: it's hard for me to express how much you've helped to change me into the person I've been trying to be...the person I want to be. Thank you for all of the everything that you've done for me...from listening to me garble Old English translations at you over the phone for six hours at a time, to always making sure that I have a glass of juice or pop when I come over. For pushing me to work out, putting up with my whining, and taking my fingers out of my mouth, under the pretext of holding my hand, when I'm about to start biting my nails again. Thank you for putting up with my strange idiosyncracies in the kitchen (no, you can't boil pasta in water which has come out of the hot water tap!). Thank you for treating me with respect, listening to my ideas (even when you decide against them :) ) and coming over to visit me when I'm randomly angry...even when I take it out on you. Thank you for late night taquito runs and letting me drool over Adrian Paul's torso. Umm...figuratively speaking...and from a great distance.

Thank you for loving me.

(dammit...all that mushy stuff. :p)

Exercise today: 1 1/4 hours Ultimate practice